Anyone who paid attention to the behind-the-scenes rumblings of Darren Aronofsky’s recent “Noah” knows the type of passion evident in the director’s work, and photographer/filmmaker Niko Tavernise, superbly and consistently, has provided a insightful peek into that creative process. Part of Aronofsky’s close circle since “Pi,” Tavernise has already crafted extended making-of docs on “The Wrestler” and “The Fountain” (which we’ve already highlighted), and now he’s turned his familiar gaze onto Aronofsky’s striking 2010 psychological thriller.
Tavernise has uploaded a series of four featurettes on Aronofsky’s ballet psychodrama “Black Swan” — “Metamorphosis”, “The FX of ‘Black Swan’, “France Interviews”, and “On Pointe” — and trust us when we say your morning is shot in the very best way possible. With most reaching 20-30 minutes, totaling roughly an hour, the docs strike a mix of fly-on-the-wall footage, shot during the film’s frigid New York production, and informative sit-down interviews with key collaborators including Aronofsky, actress Natalie Portman, writer Mark Heyman, and others.
It’s especially interesting to witness Aronofsky’s skill in adapting his signature filmmaking style onto the world of ballet — witness how he decides to film the training scene between Portman and Vincent Cassel as he tells her to “Attack it!”, or the blend of effects work and choreography later on. The methods are deceptively simple and very intriguing, much like Tavernise’s continued documentary work itself.
Check out the four featurettes below, plus one more featuring bonus footage, and then head over to Tavernise’s Vimeo page for much more.