Black Swan effectively utilises the convention of setting through the two locations that Nina is continuously shown at, the dance studio and her home. Setting includes location, influence on events/outcomes and the use of signals through costumes, props, sets, shots, etc.
Nina lives at home with her mother in a small apartment. The camerawork in this film is intentionally done to not give the audience a sense of space at the apartment. This makes the audience feel Nina's pressure through the setting as its tight and confined, making the audience uncomfortable and nervous for Nina. Nina's bedroom is girly and childish. It is full of stuffed animals and decorated in pink, girly colours. There is butterfly wallpaper that is draped in the background. The butterflies symbolize the metamorphosis Nina will have to undergo in order to become the Black Swan - the process of her coming out of her cocoon and breaking free from her mother’s control. There is also a music box with a twirling ballerina, which reinforces Nina's dream to become the 'perfect' ballerina. At one scene (at 1:11:13), it plays the song Dance of the Swans, which is from Swan Lake. This links to the show Nina is in which is Swan Lake. At the start of the film, Nina's bedroom seemed warm and innocent. Aronofsky changes the mood of the bedroom throughout the film, even though the same items remain in the bedroom. By the end of the film, her bedroom seems dark and scary. This follows with Nina's transition into becoming the black swan where she loses her innocence and purity and becomes dark and evil. In the scene (at 1:11:30) where Nina grabs all of her childish stuffed toys and throws them down the rubbish chute. By looking closer, the audience notices a toy fall out of Nina's arms and on to the floor as Nina stuffs them in the rubbish chute. This toy is a black swan, which again links back to Nina becoming the black swan. All the other toys end up in the rubbish chute except the black swan. This shows how she has lost her innocence that was represented by the pink and white stuffed toys and all she has now is the black swan, which is what she has become. Aronofsky continuously uses the symbol of the black swan and white swan throughout Nina's apartment - it is shown when Nina is having a bath and a white swan is shown behind her. A white swan is also shown when Nina is lying in bed and there is a white swan figurine next to her. These scenes occur towards the start of the film, representing her as the white swan that is innocent, virginal and pure.
Nina is predominately shown at the dance studio and the stage where she spends hours perfecting her moves. The dance studio is dark with shades of black, light and dark grey tones. This dark environment Nina is made to work in brings out the darkness in Nina which helps her to become the black swan. The concrete walls that are shown in the hallways feel unfriendly, gritty, cold and harsh. At the scene (at 7:53) where all the ballerinas are dancing, the shot makes the scene feel busy with the bars close together so all the ballerinas are close together which gives the audience a feeling of a lack of space. All of the ballerinas are wearing dark shades of clothing like black and greys while Nina is the only one wearing light pink. This shows the darkness surrounding Nina and how she becomes one of them later on in the film, much like the scene where Nina is on the subway and she's the only one in pink clothing. Aronofsky keeps juxtapositioning Nina's outfit at the start of the film to show how she stands out and she's innocent but by the end of the film, she blends in but then Aronofsky reverses it in the final dance scene where Nina is getting ready and she walks past the other ballerinas which are all wearing white tutus while Nina is wearing a black tutu, showing she has now become evil and dark after 'killing' Lily while all the others are now innocent. The fact she is dressed in black gives her character a reflection of being ‘bad’, either she’s done something bad or something bad will happen to her. The use of mirrors are constantly shown at the dance studio, showing the audience the madness and insanity Nina is experiencing. Aronofsky says "In the world of ballet, there are mirrors everywhere. Dancers are always looking at themselves. So, their relationship to their reflection is a huge part of who they are. In Black Swan, it takes on a whole other meaning. Visually, we are really pushing what it means to look in a mirror." This means that in Black Swan, Aronofsky uses mirrors to create a 'dance studio' setting, but he also uses it to show Nina's descent into madness and shows her evil twin in some scenes. The mirrors also show the pressure Nina puts on herself, as she is told to 'lose herself' for the role of the black swan. To 'lose yourself', you forget about your surroundings and perform. When Nina is aware of the mirrors, it shows her more innocent white swan coming out as she is struggling to lose herself in the role. When she looks in the mirror, it shows her insecurities of her appearance and her performances.
