Tim Burton Research Paper

“...Everything in this room is eatable, even I’m eatable! But that is called "cannibalism," my dear children, and is in fact frowned upon in most societies.” This quote from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory does not only unveil Tim Burton’s dark side, but exhibits his kind of filming style. Tim Burton is known for being a famed director, a screenwriter, and a producer. He is influenced by Roald Dahl, Edgar Allan Poe, and many other people. Burton is best known for his use of dark and delightful elements in films like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Edward Scissorhands. Burton’s film, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, is about a poor young boy, named Charlie Bucket, who gets the last golden ticket out of five other winners that Willy Wonka had sent out for the children; to tour the questionably yet outstanding candy maker’s unbelievable factory. In the film Edward Scissorhands, it is about an invention who became incomplete after its inventor had died, leaving him with scissors for hands. Some cinematic techniques Tim Burton harnesses to form

mood are sound, angles, and lighting.
In Tim burton’s film, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, he uses sound to create suspenseful and eerie moods.

For example, consider the scene in which Wonka’s ex workers are stealing his top secret candy recipes. The slow non-diegetic music starts to build up and draws attention to the reckless actions the thieves are involved in which makes the audience feel curious as to why they are being so secretive. Another example of non-diegetic sound is seen in the scene when Wonka and the kids are on the boat ride to different places inside of the factory. The thrilling background music starts to build up, right before they are about to go into the tunnel. This grabs the attention of the audience because of the fast movements from the boat ride and a spooky feeling about Wonka or what is going to happen next. Ultimately, Tim Burton uses non-diegetic sound to develop a suspenseful and eerie tone for his audiences to

experience.
In the film, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Tim Burton uses lighting to create a gloomy and scared mood. One example of this is when at the beginning they show the entire Bucket family inside of their tiny old house. The use of this technique draws attention to the audience because it shows how depressing or heartbroken the family is. Tim Burton also uses lighting when they show a flashback of Willy Wonka’s dad examining the candy Willy had gotten when he went trick or treating. This technique makes the character seem evil or terrifying to the audience. Clearly, Tim Burton uses lighting to generate a scared and gloomy mood for the audience.
By using camera angles, Tim Burton develops haunting and empowered moods in his films, Edward Scissorhands and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. A great example of this is seen when Peg enters the car with a kind of frustrated mood and happens to see Edward’s house on her side car mirror and is taken at an eye level angle.The use of this technique makes the setting feel suspenseful. This grabs the attention of the audience because it creates a nightmarish feel about the building, right after she looks at it in the mirror. Tim Burton also utilizes this technique when in, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the Salt family was shown standing in their big hallway at a high to low angle. This detail draws attention to the audience because it shows how much power or richness they have. In the end, Tim Burton uses camera angles to establish haunting and empowered moods for his audiences.
All things considered, Tim Burton constructs mood by using sound, angles, and lighting. The use of cinematic techniques is an essential part of being a film director because it exhibits a type of relation between the audience and the characters by giving a certain kind of mood for them.