Cinematography

Cinematography and Camera Positions in ‘Black Swan’

Cinematography is the art of making motion pictures and combines camera angles, movements and positions. These things help the audience to understand the thriller genre by creating a relationship with the character and allowing them to feel more engaged in the film. 

I analysed two short film clips of the thriller ‘Black swan’ because I wanted to a diverse number of camera shots. One of these is the mid shot. With this shot you can see the characters body from the waist up, their clothes and you can also see the emotions on her face. The character is wearing a dark dress, which contrasts with her pale skin, and this gives the audience an indication of the characters innocence but also shows she has a dark, sinister side. Her facial expression shows she is tense and focused on something and her dark eye make up makes her appear mysterious and dangerous. This is conventional to a thriller because it features a previously weak female character that has been possessed and transformed into someone dangerous and seemingly powerful. This is something that the audience would expect to see as it fits into the stereotypical themes and storylines of thriller films. The contrast between one character's good and bad side is a common theme within thriller films,a s it builds up the tension and suspense as the audience is never sure which side will be the more dominant one. A representation of two highly contrasting personalities is conventional to thriller films, as they evoke fear and mystery which is something the audience would expect to see. 

Another position used is a long shot; this is used to show the background as well as a person in the shot. It’s used to give an indication of the characters environment. In ‘Black Swan’ the long shot is used to show the shadow of a person in the foreground and a woman in an empty room in the background. The use of this position makes the woman in the background seem like the victim because she’s positioned far away, so is smaller than the character watching her. She appears vulnerable whilst the person in shadow appears powerful and domineering, because their figure is larger. By putting the watcher in shadow, it makes the watcher appear dark, mysterious and sinister. This is conventional to a thriller because in many thriller's there is a weak female character and someone dangerous overpowering her. This representation of weak female characters and strong, overpowering male characters is conventional to thriller's because it evokes an element of danger, which builds the tension. The weak female character, alone, is also conventional because the audience connect and feel sympathy for this characters as she is physically weaker than the typically strong male that overpowers her and creating a relationship with the character helps the audience to engage in the thriller. 

The last camera position I analysed was a close up. This shot shows the tops of the characters shoulders and her face fills most of the screen there is only a little bit of background so you can see the characters face very clearly and the audience can easily engage with the character and form a bond with her. When this position is used in the film, it shows a woman crying. This suggests weakness and vulnerability, something typical to a thriller. She is also wearing a white t-shirt and scarf, which again shows the characters innocence. The use of the close up shot also portrays the characters importance and allows the audience to feel closer to the character and form a bond. This relates to the conventions of a thriller because it shows a weak female character, who is most likely the victim. Females are used as victims because people feel more sympathy for females because females are traditionally seen as a lot weaker than men and the audience feels sympathy for this character, so would be more involved in the film. . The audience would expect to see a victim who's practically helpless and easily overpowered, because it builds up t eh fear and suspense, but also because then they can feel a stronger bond with the character. 

Through analysing these different camera shots, I have discovered that each shot is used specifically to give the audience an indication of the characters role in the film. It also guides the audience into creating bonds with the characters which helps them to engage in the film.

Url’s of the clips I used; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXM1mcZuibI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsvtIzebNcw