Film Poster Analysis - 'Black Swan'

 

Black Swan (2010) - Darren Aronofsky

 

• The poster for Black Swan goes against typical genre conventions by using a bright white background rather than a dark coloured background that has been used in many other psychological thriller posters such as Shutter Island and Before I Go To Sleep. This may have been done to persist with the overall theme and genre of the storyline.

• However, they have still used the colour scheme of white and red but have added the colour black in as well. These colours have been used in a different way that the usual conventions as they present the poster in a more simplistic manner whilst still making it appear mysterious and disturbing.

 

• Using a black font for the title "Black Swan" connotes the storyline of  the film by the use of black and white colours whereas all the other text featured is a pale, brown colour which doesn't stand out quite as much as the black text, making it look less prominent and drawing more attention to the title.

• The strong use of the contrasting colours black and white continues to persist with the theme of the film by having strong connotations for each of these opposite colours. For example, purity and innocence are connoted with the white, swan like colours and the black connoting the protagonists dark transformation from the white swan to the black swan.

• The style of font used is more thin and precise which looks more delicate and petite and aids the style of the film. Furthermore this font is unconventional for a typical psychological thriller poster, therefore makes more of a bold statement.

• Dark red lipstick is worn by the protagonist in this photograph, connoting a sense of danger and violence, furthermore contrasting with the pale face and white background. The use of the pale make up on the protagonists face shows her theatrical status.

• Strong black make up that has been used around the eyes further connotes her transformation from white swan to black swan whilst also makes her look more intense, dangerous and mysterious. The feathered make up used portrays swan like features, all the more showing her transformation.

• The protagonists red eyes and large black pupils also make her appear more dangerous and intensifying the audiences view of her, making her look like more of a threat to herself and to other characters around her.

• The camera focuses more on the protagonists facial features in the centre of the poster but begins to blur out her less prominent features as the focus leaves the middle area of the face and progresses towards the side edges of the page. This shows her importance as it maintains focus on her and the tiara she is wearing, furthermore showing her role and status in the theatre. 

• Featuring the release date "this fall" in a fairly normal, plain font focuses on the main features within the poster making everything else look more prominent, whilst still making it a bigger sized font than other text, to still highlight its importance.