Tim Burton is one of the most unusual and unique directors of our time. He brings characters to life by putting them in a habitat they don’t belong. His movies “Alice in Wonderland”, “The Corpse Bride”, “Charlie and the chocolate factory”, and “Edward Scissorhands” all demonstrate how one of a kind his movies are.
Using cinematic techniques, Tim Burton points out the misfit character and shows how different they are then everyone else. His use of camera angles, lighting, and sound give the viewers a different perspective on the movies, and help pick out the individual character.In one of Tim Burton’s popular films “Alice in Wonderland”, high angles are used to show Alice falling down the rabbit hole. Burton does this because he is showing that she is helpless and trapped. The lighting between the two worlds is drastically different.
When at her engagement party, the lighting is high key creating a calm and happy mood. When in Underland, the lighting is low key making the scenes more eerie and suspenseful. The sounds in the two worlds are very different as well.When she is at the party you can hear diegetic sounds such as birds chirping and the music from which the orchestra is playing. Once she enters Underland, suspenseful non-diegetic music is playing.
Having different lighting and sound in the different worlds help show how Alice is in a diverse place now and she doesn’t belong there. Tim Burton may have a strange way of putting his movies together, but that is why they are all very creative and intriguing. The movie “The Corpse Bride” is another film produced by Tim Burton that a character is placed in unfamiliar habitat.You could tell by the camera angles, lighting, and sound that Victor did not belong in the land of the dead. In the film, when showing Pastor Gallswells yelling at Victor, there are low angles on him. The low angle on Pastor Gallswells shows he has the power and that he is much more threatening than Victor.
This scene is more intense then some of the others simply because of the camera angles used to create the mood. The lighting in the two worlds were completely opposite of each other. The land of the living was low key making the scenes mysterious and gloomy.The land of the dead was high key making the scenes more joyful and pleasant.
Even though most of the music in this film was non-diegetic, the sounds in the two different worlds were not the same. When Victor was with the other living people, the music was more creepy and disturbing. When with the dead, the tone of it was more energetic and pleasurable. Putting Victor in the land of the dead is another example of how Tim Burton’s style is putting a character where they obviously do not belong. With Burton’s wild imagination, he creates some of the most astonishing movies to this day.Tim Burton produced “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” as well.
Charlie Bucket was the misfit of the group because he was the only normal child in the group chosen to enter the factory. When showing the children and where they were from, the lighting was high key, making the scene more cheerful. But when showing Charlie’s house, the lighting was low key. This made his family’s house seem not as happy or welcoming. You could also tell a difference in the condition of the family’s house by the sound.When showing the town and the house the Bucket’s lived in, there was non-diegetic music playing that was frightening and disturbing.
When showing the other children’s homes and towns, the non-diegetic music was more upbeat and jolly. The movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is another great example of Tim Burton’s style by Charlie being placed with all the disobedient children. Burton’s strange and unusual past help create the spontaneous movies he makes today. “Edward Scissorhands” is one of Tim Burton’s most famous movies.Having scissors for hands makes him Edward quite different then every other character in this film.
The cinematic techniques help show how different the mansion where he is from and the town he goes to really are. When Edward is living in the mansion, high angles are pointed towards him showing that he is defenseless and weak. The lighting in the two different locations is completely opposite. When in the mansion, the lighting is low key making the scenes more mysterious.
When filming in the town, the lighting is high key.Tim does this because he wants to show the difference between the environments Edward lives in. The sounds in the scenes are also unlike. In the mansion, scary and troubling non-diegetic music is playing.
The non-diegetic music playing in the town is more calm and peaceful. When watching Edward Scissorhands, you know right away the Tim Burton produced it because of Edward being placed in a town he does not belong, and the unique twists Tim throws into the movie. As you can see, Tim Burton creates multiple stylistic techniques from all of his movies.Burton is a unique person and no other director can produce a film like him. He puts an individual character into a setting he/she does not belong. Using cinematic techniques, Burton distinguishes an original style unlike anyone else’s.
“Alice in Wonderland”, “The Corpse Bride”, “Charlie and the chocolate factory”, and “Edward Scissorhands” are all great examples of Tim Burton’s amazing skills and methods to creating outstanding movies. Camera angles, lighting, and sound were only a few of the techniques Tim Burton uses to construct his movies into his own.
