Cinematographer, Matthew Libatique once again did a brilliant job in Black Swan. Shooting with a mixture of documentary-style handheld and traditional set-ups, the gorgeous visuals and deliberately jarring edits helped sustain the manic pace of the film. Graphic and harsh at times, yet beautiful and poetic, Black Swan also features some of the best use of CGI to date and some incredible special effects. But how did they mix in the after effects to Mr. Libatique’s work? It seems that in our digital age, just about anything can be done if you put your mind to it.
A new demo reel from the effects company Look FX does an excellent job of showing how the digital effects were incorporated into the film to enhance the mood and story. You’ll see some interesting “before and after” comparisons and examples of scenes where you would never guess they used any effects at all. Unfortunately fans of Natalie Portman will also be disappointed when they see just how little of the actual ballet dancing she did.
Note: This does contain spoilers so if you haven’t seen the film yet, I recommend you don’t watch it.
Also be sure to take a listen to our Darren Aronofsky special from episode #244 of Sound On Sight Radio.