How does the use of mise-en-scene and sound in the clip from ‘The Black Swan’ convey a sense of lost innocence and revelation? 

The scene starts with Nina rushing to her dressing room. In terms of mise-en-scene, Nina’s black swan costume contrasts starkly with the other dancers, (who wear white), as well as the washed-out, grey walls. This juxtaposition implies that she isn’t as perfect and clean as the others, as white being the colour of innocence implies that the dancers are angelic almost, while Nina no longer has that purity and wears black to show her evil side, which reflects the part she plays. 

The Swan Lake score is playing as we follow Nina; this non-diegetic sound implies that what we are witnessing is similar to the production that the music is for. Consequently, we suspect that the main character will unfortunately meet a tragic end. Over this music, as a group of dancers pass, we hear a peel of laughter, however, due to the fact that it is non- diegetic, we don’t see the origin of the laugh. This could be interpreted to be a sign of paranoia from Nina, (a trait found in people who have lost their mind); this could foreshadow the revelation that she is mentally unstable. Alternatively, it could be a representation of voices inside of her head, potentially hinting to us that she has split personality disorder, again, foreshadowing the realization of her mental demise. 

Nina enters her dressing room to find shattered glass and blood on her floor from a previous scene; she looks panicked, but efficiently goes about attempting to cover it up. She selects a pink towel to cover the blood, the mise-en-scene of pink is that it is often associated with little girls, so consequently innocence. This is dramatically ironic; as such a colour is being used in an attempt to cover up a deadly crime. Alternatively, the colour is created through the mixture of red and white, potentially implying that the pink is just tainted innocence, suggesting that even the seemingly loveliest things have another side and aren’t what you originally expected. This inference is a direct parallel alongside Nina’s character- she is tainted innocence and has another side to her. To me, the mies-en-scene of the broken glass and mirrors on the floor with the blood, could be a visual representation of Nina’s life crumbling and shattering around her… at her own hands- as it was her who caused the destruction in her dressing room. As she drops the towel, we hear her heavy breathing, telling us she is nervous and scared of being found out. It could also be seen as guilt, however, Portman’s performance of Nina leads me to believe that the characters mind is set solely on the performance and at the time is disregarding rational human emotions, as she is focusing on playing the role. 

This is reinforced as Nina immediately moves to sit before a mirror where she applies show makeup in order to turn into the swan. This shows us she is completely immersed in the role and is immovably focused. This inhumane behavior, (not breaking down at the thought of her crime), is once again another clue about Nina’s questionable state of mind. 
In terms of mise-en-scene, the colour white is effectively overused. Nina applies white makeup, in a white dress, with white lights surrounding the white dressing table; consequently, the shot is very bright. The white light is artificial lighting, and although this could just be mise-en-scene to create an authentic feel of a legitimate backstage of a theatre, it could also suggest that Nina’s life has now become artificial and false. Her obsession with the role is not natural; consequently, natural light is not used. Nina is also staring directly at the mirror, mirrors in this sequence are vital and extremely significant, as not only does it literally show two of the character, but a common trait of people with multiple personality disorders is that they often look into mirrors- as if to search for themselves, (another clue to Nina’s disorder). A similar shot to this is demonstrated in ‘The Shining’ when we view Jack through a mirror for the first time- as if we are seeing another side of him. After we see him like this, he begins to act differently. His dark side is shown and takes over him, this has links to Nina’s story in ‘The Black Swan’.

The non-diegetic sound of a knock on the door triggers Nina to turn abruptly. She looks very paranoid and suspicious, and as she opens the door, a gasp of shock and fear is clearly audible. She is face to face with Lily, who juxtaposes Nina in this scene, cleverly displayed 
through the mise-en-scene. Although she wears white, as Nina does, Lily has severe, defined features, in contrast to Nina’s’ painted white face and soft, plain complexion. Also, Lily’s mannerisms contrast to Nina’s. Lily is very laid-back and easy going, whereas Nina is very uptight and seemingly petrified. Nina’s face is strained and frightened, but Lily seems to ignore this as she wears a smile and a tender expression. During this exchange, the constant swan lake score becomes frantic and intense- mirroring Nina’s emotions. The music builds and builds until Lily leaves and Nina is once again left alone; with the music busy and racing. Once again the music parallels with Nina’s mind, as her thoughts are obviously racing, as her eyes flicker from the broken glass, to the pink towel on the floor. 
The intensity of the music increases as her panic does, (again, showing correlations between sound and characters feelings). As a result of the building music and the diegetic sound of her heavy breathing and panting, combined with the mise-en-scene of Natalie Portman’s appearing genuinely terrified and confused, I feel nervous and intrigued. I become concerned for the character but also feel on edge, as the music creates an atmosphere of revelation and tragedy, through the dramatic climax. 
As Nina looks down, we see a close up of a wound- red against her white, feather bodice. This shot is vital as it physically shows what the audience had been suspecting- that Lily was a figment of Nina’s imagination, so she consequently injured herself in an attempt to kill Lily. The red set against the white reinforces the continuous theme of tainted innocence, as the deep red has tarnished the white. 

The music stays at a constant intensity until a shard of glass is pulled from the wound. At this point the music slows, as if it has been released and feels relief. However, the iconic bar of Swan Lake immediately kicks in and we see Nina realize what has happened. 
She then gingerly resumes her position in front of the mirror and we are presented with a practically identical to a scene to one we saw earlier- the only change being that she wears white now instead of black- this binary opposition showing the two extreme sides of her. In terms of mise-en-scene, the desk is very cluttered and full, which to me implies a cluttered busy mind. It could be seen that her mind is cluttered and full because practically two people inhabit it. A mid shot originally shows Nina hysterical and sobbing, but almost like a switch has been flipped, her emotions seem to be halted, as she inhumanely, eerily calmly continues to apply her makeup. 

There is a jump cut and we are suddenly confronted with Nina on stage, embodying the character of the White swan, this is ironic, because we know her innocence has, (if not been lost), been compromised by the fact that she has a very dark, deadly side to her. However, it could be fitting, as she is playing the role of the kind, innocent, white swan on stage, and we have now had the revelation that she has subconsciously been playing this role the whole time, in her day to day life. 

The mise-en-scene of the stage is very dark and Nina is dressed in white, this could imply that at heart, she is innocent, but has been swallowed up by the world of obsession and passion- bringing out her evil side. The mise-en-scene of the stage in ‘The Red Shoes’ is quite similar to this, as the main character is dressed in a pale ensemble on a big, dark stage. The story of ‘The Red Shoes’ is a story, which although isn’t identical to ‘The Black Swan’ also deals with obsession. (Nina deals with, or doesn’t, her obsession of her role). 
A close up shot of her shoes while she dances is matched with non-diegetic sound of a birds wings flapping as well as the constant non-diegetic swan lake score. The sound of the wings could imply flying free, which Nina is about to do after her personal revelation that she is battling with the demons within herself. She knows she won’t be burdened with this for long. The use of a handheld camera following her round the stage also reminds me of the fact that she is constantly being followed by her demons- there is no escaping them. A red light also gets cast across her face, the connotations of this colour is not only blood-shed and danger, but also passion which is appropriate as she is indulging in her passion in this scene- dance, however, it has also become her downfall, meaning it is a danger to her. 

In terms of mise-en-scene, I believe the stage represents her state of mind. It is chaotic, busy, hectic and Nina is thrown about by fires in black; potentially visual representations of her battling with her demons.