Tim Burton is an American film director; widely regarded for his dark, quirky and gothic films. Burton has created numerous amounts of children movies such as, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) to Edward Scissorhands (1990) and Corpse Bride (2005). These films gained worldwide success, garnering up to an astonishing amount of $1 billion.1 Burton was able to grab the attentions of many viewers by his unique style; leaving them wanting more. Although he didn’t always start out that way. As a child, Tim Burton was considered very introverted and unassuming. He reserved himself to his drawing and used it as a way of communicating his feelings along with ideas. At his childhood years, Tim enjoyed and admired artists like Dr. Seuss, …show more content…
By working with different styles it helped him build his own unique style. Butron’s characters are oddly figured but inviting in their imperfections like Maurice. He uses pen and ink for his illustrations much to Dr. Seuss artworks. Tim Burton also keeps everything mostly dark and dreary similar to Charles Addams. The materials he would use in his drawings would range from crayons, pens, glitters to paints (oils, acrylic, water colors) and pastels. Along with blending his techniques with other famous artists, Burton’s effective usage of cinematic techniques is another primary reason why so many viewers were lured into his films. Cinematic techniques are important when filmmaking because they help tell the story in the most effective manner possible. The cinematic techniques clearly shown through Tim Burton’s movies in order to make them more impactful are lighting, camera movement and …show more content…
As said before, Tim Burton’s movies have a dark undertone to them, which means the palette of colors he uses are very limited to deeper shades. For example, In the Corpse Bride, the lighting of the building and the streets are all gray while the people in the town look very pale. This creates a dreary and depressing mood. But when the main character crosses to the world of the dead by a corpse bride kidnapping him, we are hit with warm pink, green and other bright colors. These vibrant colors show the lightness of the atmosphere compared to the world of the living. The lighting separates the two worlds pretty distinctly for viewers, also makes us want to understand why the worlds are so different. Why would the world of the dead, which is usually portrayed as despairing, be so bright? It makes the audience formulate questions and bring their attention to the film more intently. It builds to intense scenes like when the dead were crossing into the world of the living; lightning was flickering on and off. The bright flashes of lightning was dramatic, but helped audience realize that something bad going to happen soon. And in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, another Tim Burton directed movie, the outside of the chocolate factory is bleak-looking, but when Charlie gets to go inside the factory, it’s like a completely
In the movie Edward Scissorhands, the dark and shadowy castle looks like something out of a horror movie. This is one of Tim Burton’s lighting techniques to make everything look grotesque and ominous. When Charlie’s house was being shown in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the house looked dark and hopeless. Charlie’s family doesn’t look sad at all though, in fact they are happy because even though they live in the worst house in the town, they have a home and a meal every night and they are one big happy
For example, Frankenstein and “The World Is Too Much with us” by William Wordsworth but show a depressing mood almost. In Frankenstein there is a depressing tone when Frankenstein’s creation did not turn out the way he wanted it to. For example he touched on this by saying, “my sleep with horror, cold dew covered my forehead, my teeth chattered” (chapter five). Therefore, by saying all of his physical contributes with the creation of the monster shows how he is living in fear and creates and depressing mood. Similarly, in “The World is too much with us” it can be seen to how there is a depressing tone by saying the humans are taking to much from nature. Wordsworth shows how how we are greedy by saying, “we have given our hearts away” (line four). By saying, “hearts away,” it is almost imagining as if our souls were taken from us and we betrayed all of our manners. Which is similar to Frankenstein having his soul and pride being taken away after creating the monster, in that case both create a depressing mood. However, Frankenstein can also be seen different to other romantic pieces, such as “My heart leaps up when I behold”, by Wordsworth. The setting within both create different images. Within Frankenstein it is very difficult to create a peaceful setting within due his gory descriptions. For example, within the piece he talks about his experiences in a morgue and how creepy it is, by saying, “man degraded and wasted” (chapter five). Which allows you to to imagine the bodies ruined and destroyed and wrecked. However, in “My heart leaps up when I behold”, the setting that is described is glorified and happy, just by saying, “A rainbow in the sky” (line 2). Just by imagining a rainbow in the sky, it allows for their to be a peaceful image, unlike the thought of dead bodies. Another key difference from these poems is the
The director Tim Burton uses colors to create a happy mood during the scenes in the movie Edward Scissorhands. He portrays the neighborhood and all the people that live there in bright pastel colors which gives off a happy feeling. These bright colors give off the impression that everything is picture-perfect and everyone is content. The whole neighborhood is unchanging and routine. Throughout the movie Burton shows the men have left for work at the same time every day and everything is a lively color. When Edward arrives, he is dressed in all black and is
For example, in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) Burton implements dim lighting during meaningful moments and bright lighting during more vibrant moments. This effectively conveys the tone set for the scene and maintains a clear balance in the scene. This helps the audience clearly understand the scene’s characteristics and its meaning to the film. Similarly, in Edward Scissorhands (1990) Burton utilizes lighting to set contrast between the characters. The superficial town is set in a bright, sunny setting, however, the lives the characters lead are quite the opposite of bright. These individuals spend their free time judging others and have no individuality whatsoever. Furthermore, Edward, one of the only characters who is kindhearted, is portrayed in dull, dark lighting. The lighting contrasts with his sweet personality to emphasize who is accepted and who is not. This contrast helps the audience understand the contradicting worlds of Edward and the frivolous town. In addition, in Big Eyes (2014) Burton implements lighting to show the slow transition of Margaret Keane’s life. The lighting depicts the dulling of her life as she faces troubles in her life. The use of lighting here helps the audience see the clear transition in Margaret Keane's life and clearly understand the conflict in her life. Similarly, Burton utilizes lighting in his films
in the book is very dark, and it helps set the awful mood for the rest
wealthy Hollywood director. Charlie and The Chocolate Factory and Alice in Wonderland are examples of Burton movies that the characters have to go through challenging obstacles to find their triumph. Burton uses low angles and high key lighting in Charlie and the Chocolate factory and in Alice in Wonderland to emphasize that positive attitude affects a person’s fortune.
Indisputably, Tim Burton has one of the world’s most distinct styles when regarding film directing. His tone, mood, diction, imagery, organization, syntax, and point of view within his films sets him apart from other renowned directors. Burton’s style can be easily depicted in two of his most highly esteemed and critically acclaimed films, Edward Scissorhands and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Burton ingeniously incorporates effective cinematic techniques to convey a poignant underlying message to the audience. Such cinematic techniques are in the lighting and editing technique categories. High key and low key relationships plus editing variations evinces the director’s elaborate style. He utilizes these cinematic techniques to establish tone mood, and imagery in the films.
To begin, Tim Burton’s use of variant lighting creates a contrasting mood of peacefulness within darkness. Burton uses low key lighting, and side lighting throughout Charlie and the
“One person's craziness is another person's reality.” –Tim Burton. A well respected director Tim Burton has always been known for the ability to send a strong universal message. In one of his most widespread movie, Edward Scissor Hands he reveals his true potential as a filmmaker to show how society can treat an outsider. Edward Scissor Hands Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and many more of his creations, Tim Burton uses lighting, and camera movements to depict a unique gothic cinematic experience. The appearance of a person is only an illusion, the inside is the truth of someone.
The dark colors and distant characters create a gloomy and depressing atmosphere, instilling a greater sense of solitude in the audience. The scene depicts an empty street
On August 25, 1958, Timothy Walter Burton was born (“Biography”). Burton had a painful childhood in which the relationship with his parents and brother was nonexistent (Morgenstern). Through his intense feeling of isolation, his visual talent began to develop. The comfort found in hobbies such as writing and drawing led him to attend the California Institute of the Arts which led him to his first job in any artistic field at the Disney Animation Studios (“Biography”). Burton has since been referred to as one of the most visually gifted writers, artists, and filmmakers that America has seen (Hanke). His short stories, poems, and film scripts are centered on an inner darkness which he has been slowly acquiring since his childhood. He throws himself into everything he writes and makes even the simplest characters have a deep, complex meaning. His famous darkness and symbolism is shown in his book The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and Other Stories. The book contains a collection of his short stories, poems, and illustrations about a variety of fictional characters that can be compared to Burton and his life. Tim Burton’s home life and previous hardships have made a significant impact on his work. In my paper, I will draw parallels to his life and work as well as prove that there is reasoning and beauty in the way he is.
Tim Burton is a Very Famous director of many Awesome well made movies and stories. He uses Music, Camera angles and Framing to make his audience feel like they are part of the story. His style is Gloomy and suspenseful, He uses Camera angles to make a character seem small or large compared to another object. One technique Tim Burton uses in most of his films is long shot. He uses this in his films such as Edward Scissorhands when Peg enters the giant room on the top floor of the Mansion.
Animation and horror films were an inspiration to him growing up and becoming a director. The films that I analyzed were Corpse Bride, Beetlejuice, Frankenweenie and Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. As well as my research I was able to get different people’s look and opinion on Tim Burton’s gothic style. I was able to take their thoughts and incorporate them into what I mentioned about the films. The films that I analyzed have some gothic aspects but they all have a theme of death incorporated in some way. As was stated in a review by American critic Roger Ebert, “Burton uses special effects and visual tricks to create sites that have never been seen before. The movie takes place in an entirely artificial world, where a haunting gothic castle crouches on a mountain-top high above a storybook suburb, a goofy sitcom neighborhood where all of the houses are shades of pastels and all of the inhabitants seem to be emotional clones of the Jetsons.”So in what ways does Tim Burton 's use of the gothic genre affect the cinematic aspect in his films? He uses many ways, whether it is costumes, makeup, camera shots, setting, lighting and so on. However, I believe he always has at least a theme of death revolving each film. The main thing that shaped his films and his career is his influences. I noticed that in some films he portrays his childhood and his influences in his
Burton uses close-up camera angles to show significant items in his film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Tim Burton uses a close-up camera angle when Charlie finds the golden ticket to show how it is significant to the story. The golden ticket is significant because it is like his ticket to a new and better life. In Edward Scissorhands there is a close-up of the hands his inventor was going to give him which is very significant to the story because if his inventor finished him and
In his film, Only Lovers Left Alive, Jim Jarmusch adds the unique element of vibrant colors to the vampire genre through his brilliant use of lighting. In doing so, Jarmusch creates a juxtaposition between the paleness of the vampires and the vibrancy of the world around them causing the audience to understand the vampires’ hypersensitivity. In a sense, Jarmusch uses the lighting of the film to force the audience into perceiving the film through the over stimulated senses of his characters. Therefore, the lighting becomes the audience’s avenue into understanding the lifestyles of the vampires living inside Only Lovers Left Alive; Jarmusch allows the audience to get sucked into this over simulated atmosphere crated through the lighting of the film.