Tim Burton and his Whimsical Movies

662 Words2 Pages

Tim Burton is dark when he directs whimsical movies. In the movies Edward Scissorhands, and Alice in Wonderland, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Tim Burton uses camera movements, sound, and lighting. He uses the elements of sensitivity, romanticism, and a touch of horror to keep the audience's mood continuously changing and craving more.
In the movie Edward Scissorhands, Tim Burton uses camera movements to shift the view or perspective of his viewers, caused by the up and down movement of the camera. Some examples of this movement are tilt, dolly/tracking, and zoom. Tilt, the up and down motion of the camera to make you feel uneasy, is used in this movie when going up the stairs of the castle. This technique causes the atmosphere to be suspenseful and leads the audience into feeling that something is going to happen. During the movie Alice in Wonderland when Alice is falling down the hole chasing after the rabbit, dolly/tracking is used to make the audience hold their breath and feel like their briskly falling right along with her. It also builds suspense, especially since while she's falling, the camera tracks random objects flying everywhere making you wonder where exactly she's going. In Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, one of the camera movements used is zoom. For instance, when Willy Wonka is reminded of something of his childhood, right before he has a flashback, the camera zooms in on his face. This shows how deep in thought he is and sets the mood for the audience in wonder of what he is remembering.

Tim Burton also uses sound to achieve foreshadowing on what's about to happen based on the style of audio and effects for the audience to perceive. Another key point, in Edward Scissorhands he uses non-diegetic so...

... middle of paper ...

...ottom or side lighting to make the subject appear evil or dangerous, and in this case it portrays that very well. The audience feels powerless and feeble while she comes across ass powerful and authoritative. Lastly, in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory during the scene in which Charlie is just gazing up at the stars from his room through the whole in his roof, front or back lighting is used. This is used to make Charlie seem innocent and happy, despite how poor he is and how tough times are. It also makes the viewer feel empathy for Charlie by how innocent he's portraying.

Each element or faint effect comes through with Tim Burton's style and personality of dark and also a bit mysterious in the ways he leaves you guessing . Every technique adds it's own touch, but combined the way it is, it creates a very unique twist on Tim Burton's own gothic literature style.

Open Document