This document analyzes the trailer for the film Black Swan. It discusses Vladimir Propp's character archetypes and how they relate to characters in the film. It then examines the purpose of movie trailers in marketing films. Various elements of the Black Swan trailer are analyzed, including title meaning, characters, settings, shots, sound, intended audience, and how effectively the trailer marketed the film.

1. Black Swan Trailer Analysis
Frankie Roncoli

2. Watch the trailer Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jaI1XOB-bs

3. Vladimir Propp
Propplan Character types
Vladimir Yakovlevich Propp was a Soviet formalist scholar who analysed the basic plot
components of Russian folk tales to identify their simplest irreducible narrative elements
Propp developed a character theory for studying media texts and productions, which indicates
that there were 7 broad character types in the 100 tales he analysed, which could be applied to
other media:
-The villain (struggles against the hero)
-The donor (prepares the hero or gives the hero some -
magical object)
-The (magical) helper (helps the hero in the quest)
-The princess (person the hero marries, often sought for
during the narrative)
-The false hero (perceived as good character in beginning
but emerges as evil)
-The dispatcher (character who makes the lack known
and sends the hero off)
-The hero AKA victim/seeker/paladin/winner, reacts to
the donor, weds the princess

4. Purpose of trailer
• Trailers are a key component in marketing within the film industry; designed to
make you want to see the film. To do this they employ many techniques to
tantalize the viewer. They do so through music (which helps set the tone of the
trailer) and in many cases star appeal as the audience can then relate the trailer to
other successful films the characters have starred in.
• The overarching idea is that a trailer is there to highlight the most attractive
aspects of the film, e.g. if the film were to be action the trailer would most likely
include the most action packed scenes like explosions and car chases in order to
attract the potential audience.

5. Title analysis
White swans in dreams are symbolic of
cleansing and purifying ourselves and our
lives. Black swans indicate deep
mysteries within us that are longing to be set
free to express themselves creatively.
This is rather fitting as ballet comes under the
umbrella of creative arts. The colour black
itself carries many connotations that
juxtapose with ballet, black is associated with
mystery, power and death all of which
contrast heavily with the elegance of ballet.
We can infer that it is a thriller/horror
with the dark colours creating a feel of
mystery and tension. The font is serif,
indicating this film is for an older
audience again this reinforces the genre
of the film. The white against the black
again connotes images of good versus
evil which is a theme throughout. The
title enters letter by letter creating
suspense and anticipation. The title
appears to have been cut in half which
ties in with the theme of cutting which
is appears often in the trailer.

6. Characters
Natalie Portman personifies the swan at the start
she is very much delicate and elegant, she very much
takes on the proppian character type of the princess
as time goes on she personifies the black in the title
becoming very disturbed, dark and troubled this
subverts our expectations as an audience she no
longer embodies a princess. Natalie Portman, a well
known star who has played many lead roles in
popular films appeals to the audience straight away
as we recognise and associate her with these films
persuading us to watch black swan.
Mila kunis, again a renown actress
acts as Natalie Portman’s rival almost
taking on the proppian role of the evil
stepmother, although obviously not
possible she embodies certain
characteristics that make her very
similar, e.g. the rivalry between the
two makes a relationship not
dissimilar to a stepmothers and
daughter

7. Location and Setting
The location of this trailer is set mainly in a
ballet studio which helps anchor the genre of
the trailer; thriller. The mirrors in the trailer act
as a reflection on Natalie’s character as if she
is looking into her soul. Superstition also
surrounds the mirrors again this reinforces the
theme of horror that runs through the trailer.
A ballet studio is also a place where you push
yourself and are striving to achieve your best,
something that the protagonist does
throughout. The lighting and filters are dark
and gloomy which creates an eerie
atmosphere. There seems to be a blue filter
used to make everything appear more washed
out and sinister.
There is a scene when Natalie Portman is in the bath in
which she appears incredibly vulnerable and scared
this is a key setting as it shows her fear, a theme that is
present throughout this trailer. Baths are symbolic of
cleansing and an emotional or psychological cleaning,
as if she is trying to get rid of something that wont
leave (alike her mental illness)

8. Shots
• Lengthy over-the-shoulder shots
• Frequently uses a technique known as the hip-hop montage, which is a sequence
of images or actions shown in fast-motion with accompanying sound effects,
usually shown to simulate a certain action, such as taking drugs.
• There are lots of close up/extreme close ups which help show the emotion on the
characters faces and also help intensify them.
• There are also many fade to blacks which again intensify the trailer also the colour
black bares significance to danger and things of a sinister nature.
• The pace of the shots vary this is to again to make the trailer seem more thrilling,
the longer shots are used to highlight something, e.g. hurt and the faster shots are
more gripping and intense.

9. The use of sound
Use of sounds to objects that are not always seen on screen i.e., smashed glass, these
are used to alert the audience and almost frighten them as the sounds are unknown
and unexpected.
There is a mixture of soundtracks, there is a voiceover as Natalie talks of a dream
accompanied by a delicate piano which builds to a fast pace and intense crescendo as
she says “she killed herself” the music gets more and more sinister. The soundtrack is
rather orchestral which creates an eerie atmosphere.
There is a lot of diegetic within the trailer that make the thriller more action packed
and enhance to the violent themes within such as “attack it”
Whispers again are rather chilling and repeating sweet girl becomes rather haunting.
‘What happened to my sweet girl?’
‘SHE’S GONE’ Natalie Portman shouts this as the music builds to a crescendo it
symbolises the changes she has made over the course of the film, it reflects her
opposite characters, at the beginning she was very sweet and innocent now she is
aggressive and intimidating, this ties in with the theme of binary oppositions

10. Who are the audience?
The audience for black swan is primarily an older
audience with certificate being 15 we are made
immediately aware that there will be scenes suited to
an older audience. However I believe that the majority
of the audience would be teenagers as the film is
rather contemporary with themes that would attract a
younger audience e.g. sex and nudity, violence and
gore, drugs and violent and intense scenes. I think
females would be more inclined to watch this film
rather than males as the film relates heavily with
emotions.
The director Darren Arronofsky mainly
directs thrillers, so the audience have a
preconception of the genre of black swan.
Often certain people are attracted to
certain genres so once made aware of the
director many people will seek out Black
Swan as it appeals to their taste in films.

11. Why women?

12. Attracting an audience.
The genre is implied in many ways, a recognised director helps imply the
nature of the film as the director is established within certain genres
therefore putting him in the credits will attract a bigger audience.

13. How effective was the trailer?
Domestic Total Gross: $106,954,678
Distributor: Fox Searchlight Release Date: December 3, 2010
Genre: Drama / Thriller Runtime: 1 hrs. 43 min.
MPAA Rating: R Production Budget: $13 million
I believe this trailer was extremely effective in enticing the viewer, personally the trailer
was fast paced, exciting and interesting and considering I myself embody the target
audience (18 year old female) I think the trailer did a great job of persuading me
towards seeing the film. As you can see from the above figures the film did extremely
well, and as there was no novel for the audience to base their assumptions on it was
solely the trailer they had as means of advertising. This indicates