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LADIESOFTHEDANCE
A LOOK INSIDE THE HOTHOUSE NEW YORK BALLET WORLD OF BLACK SWAN
psychological thriller set in the Aworld of the New York City
Ballet, Black Swan is the fourth feature from director Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler) and
cinematographer Matthew Libatique ASC following their collaborations on Pi, Requiem For A Dream and
The Fountain.
It stars Natalie Portman as Nina, an experienced dancer who strives for perfection, and the cast also includes Barbara Hershey, Vincent Cassel, Mila Kunis and Winona Ryder.
Production of Black Swan began outside Lincoln Center, home of
the New York City Ballet, and continued for several weeks, entirely on location in New York, mainly in Manhattan.
They also shot at the Performing Arts Center at the State University of New York Purchase, the versatile stage where Bob Fosse shot portions of the cinematic dance classic,
All That Jazz.
Aronofsky worked with his talented design team to entwine two visual ideas: a visceral view of ballet featuring raw, handheld camera work and a more surreal and frightening but equally gritty, series of images filled with refractive mirrors and eerie sightings of doppelgangers that blur the edges of reality.
The always-moving camera seems to both dance and descend with the main character.
Bypassing a century of both dance-on-film and psychological thriller techniques, Aronofsky and Libatique instead brought their own trademark style to a world rarely seen in this kind of raw intimacy.
Shot on 16mm Fujifilm ETERNA Vivid 160T and Vivid 500T, most of the film’s scenes relied on a single hand-held camera that moves continuously, sinuously, with no resetting for masters or close-ups.
“I was excited to shoot a psychological thriller mostly hand held because I couldn’t think of a time when it had been done before,” says Aronofsky.
“There are sometimes a few scenes in thrillers where you see from the monster’s POV with a hand-held camera, but to do the whole thing hand-held in a documentary style felt unique.”
He continued: “I also felt that bringing a handheld camera into the ballet world would help to get inside it, as we had done with the wrestling ring in The Wrestler. The camera is dancing and spinning with the dancers. It captures the energy, the sweat, the pain and the artistry close up.”
And then there are the mirrors, which play a major role in the film’s visual architecture. “In the world of
ballet there are mirrors everywhere,” explains Aronofsky. “Dancers are always looking at themselves, so their relationship with their reflection is a huge part of who they are.
“Filmmakers are also fascinated by mirrors, and it’s been played with before, but I wanted to take it to a new level. Visually, we really pushed that idea of what it means to look in a mirror. Mirrors become a big part of looking into Nina’s
character, which is all about doubles and reflection.”
Black Swan, which received a Gala Screening at the 54th BFI London Film Festival, was originated on 16mm ETERNA Vivid 160T 8643 and ETERNA Vivid 500T 8647. It opens in the UK in February
Photos top and right: Natalie Portman in Black Swan; above l-r: Matthew Libatique behind the camera with director Darren Aronofsky (right); Mila Kunis and Vincent Cassel in a scene from the film
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