Alannah Ray: Black Swan

In this scene Nina's mother tucks her into bed and puts on a music box. Her room is extremely feminine and juvenile, with pink frills and stuffed animals. Even though she is an adult, Nina is not treated like one by her overbearing mother. This scene sets up how innocent and fragile Nina is portrayed throughout the beginning of the film. A "sweet girl".

Nina has just auditioned for the main role as the Swan Queen. Although she portrays the White Swan beautifully, she fails to capture the Black Swan. She meets Leroy to convince him to give her the role but he critiques her, saying she does not capture the Black Swan. He advances on her for a kiss, and she bites him in protest.

After informing her mother about getting the role, Erica buys Nina a cake to celebrate. Nina protests eating the cake, perhaps hinting at an eating disorder. In frustration Erica goes to throw away the cake but Nina stops her, settling for a lick of frosting. The moment is tense and shows the complicated relationship between mother and daughter.

Despite protests from her mother, Nina goes out with Lily to celebrate. While out, Lily spikes Nina's drink with ecstasy. A wild night of dancing ensues. This scene flashes by in a drugged out blur.

Nina brings Lily home with her late after their night out. A sexual encounter happens between them, during which we see Lily's back tattoo of wings pulsate to show her as the Black Swan persona. The next day when Nina brings it up she finds out the encounter didn't actually happen.

As stress mounts, Nina's hallucinations increase. Here her mother's painting come to life to taunt her and she attempts to rip them off the wall and eventually her mother has to restrain her. This results in Erica trying to keep Nina from preforming.

Throughout the film as Nina's stress rises she finds scratches on her back. Her mother is disturbed to see them and recalls Nina's past self harm. In this scene the scratches have left her shoulder blade raw and she hallucinates pulling out a feather. This also foreshadows her full psychotic transformation into a swan during her performance.

Between scenes she returns to her dressing room to find Lily dressing to become the Black Swan and a fight insures, resulting in Nina stabbing Lily with a shard of mirror. She hides the body and returns to the performance.

At one point on stage she becomes an actual swan, showing her reaching perfection as the Black Swan persona and a high point of her hallucinations.

Although initially rejecting his advances, through the Film Leroy becomes the object of Nina's affection. Here she has fully become the persona of the Black Swan, sensual and unafraid of expressing her sexual desire.

Nina had stabbed herself, not Lily during her hallucination. As she jumps off the stage for the suicide of the Swan Queen she bleeds out, murmuring that her performance was perfection as the screen fades to white. She sacrificed everything but in her eyes reached the perfection she so desperately wanted.

Part 1) A mirror (or glass) represents the fragile state of mind. This is a very basic representation of this idea but it may become more abstract through ideations.

Part 2) As the mirror shatters the typography fractures.

Part 3) Full breaking of the mirror is mimicked by full breaking of the text.

Concept: Ink slowly drips/ spreads on paper (footage would be filmed by me) and text would shutter on to contrast the slow spreading of the ink. This alludes to the shattering mental state of Nina. The close ups would eventually pan out to reveal an image of feathers or a swan