Tim Burton's Influence On Film Making

Over the course of the twenty-first century, certain artists influenced the genres of filmmaking. Tim Burton, a producer, director, screenwriter, and author, known for his distinctive style of horror and fantasy blended with reality, created two of the most critically acclaimed films in our generation. His creative style even led to the invention of a new word, "Burtonesque" (Renee). Known for illustrating stories with an eccentric or gothic twist, such as his reinterpretation of Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Edward Scissorhands, he manipulates various literary and cinematic techniques to display his perspective of fantasy, typically emphasizing the negative elements (Sudhakaran). The films he produces visualize stories

about isolated and atypical characters. Straying from society's status quo for movies, his unorthodox outlook connects with the inner vulnerability of humans, therefore making his projects box-office successes (Campbell). In his works, he manages to incorporate themes of human depravity and overall horror into supposedly happy fairy tales. In his movies, Burton explores dark and disturbing visuals, an assortment of lighting effects, an unconventional sequence of events, and different styles of music, to demonstrate the negative aspects of society and the treatment of individuals society recognizes as inferior or abnormal.
Certain colors correspond to specific emotions or feelings (“Color Meanings, Color Symbolism, Meaning of Colors").

For example, red possibly represents anger, passion, and love, and blue represents sadness, serenity, and despair (“Color Meanings, Color Symbolism, Meaning of Colors"). Over the course of his career, Burton masters the art of manipulating cool and warm color tones to construct a color palette, and when combined with the appearances of objects or characters, plays a large role in conveying the mood of a particular scene (“Color and the Look of a Film – Visual Analysis"). The opening credits of the movie Edward Scissorhands use a navy blue and black color scheme to form the gothic/dark mood of the film (Burton). The characterization of the title character consists of tight, black leather clothes with straps, a pale face with scars and cuts, tangled, messy black hair, a taciturn personality, and signature scissors for hands (Burton, Edward Scissorhands). This appearance gives an impression of a gothic oddity. When seen by the other characters who characterize as quite the opposite of Edward: cheerful personalities and bright, pastel-colored clothes, they group together and debate reporting him to the authorities as their initial reaction. Burton juxtaposes the community in his movie with modern society; in modern society, the bright and happy citizens usually stereotype as the kind and harmless people and the outcasts stereotype as dangerous and threats to the

community. However, in the movie, the pastel-colored citizens antagonize Edward, the "monster" of the film, and attempt to completely alienate him. Jim, the ex-boyfriend of Edward's love interest and the main antagonist of the film, even attempts to frame and harm Edward as revenge and manages to turn many citizens against Edward (Burton, Edward Scissorhands). When Burton blends lighting effects with visuals, he further emphasizes the theme of his movies.
In addition to unique visuals, Burton produces multiple lighting effects by maneuvering the position of the lights in a scene. Film lighting generates three main purposes: to highlight important elements of a scene the director wants the audience to see, to add to the immersion of the world depicted by the author, or to illustrate a certain emotion or atmosphere ("Lighting"). In Charlie in the Chocolate Factory, Burton uses bottom/side lighting and front/back lighting, two lighting techniques, to emphasize elements of the characters in the movie, particularly Willy Wonka, the eccentric candy factory owner, and Charlie Bucket, the young and innocent protagonist (Burton, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). In bottom/side lighting, the light comes from underneath or the side of the character, which produces the effect of the character appearing dangerous or evil (Peterson). In contrast, front/back lighting shows innocence (Peterson). Burton uses bottom/side lighting when introducing Willy Wonka. When combined with dark sunglasses that mask his eyes, the audience receives a mysterious or sinister vibe from Wonka. Charlie Bucket's struggle from his family's lack of money makes him appreciate the small luxuries he gets and his kind heart only contributes to his pleasant personality. The backlighting used in the opening scene when Charlie first emerges accentuates his youth and innocence (Burton, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). The emphasis on Charlie's character helps reinforce the theme of the humble destitute gaining well-deserved riches and the affluent losing their wealth due to their insatiable greed. The children in the movie, excluding Charlie, received their wealth and desired a golden ticket simply for the idea of owning one. In the end, the children gained nothing through the combination of their spoiled upbringings and terrible personalities. Charlie, a kind-hearted boy who lived in extreme poverty, earned an immeasurable amount of wealth at the end of the story. Lighting effects allow Burton to illustrate current traits of his characters, but an unconventional sequence of events in the form of flashbacks allows Burton to give characters more substance and solidify their attributes.
Coupling with lighting techniques, flashbacks enable a director to reveal past information about a character or object and "bridge time, place, and action to move the story forward" (Field). Burton demonstrates this technique in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory when a conversation about parents triggers a flashback for Willy Wonka (Burton, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). Mr. Wonka remembers his parents' treatment of him and the audience learns the reason for Wonka's fixation on candy. His father's actions induced Wonka's eccentric personality which stemmed from the social isolation during his childhood. Burton also uses flashbacks in Edward Scissorhands. In one scene, a flashback occurs and the audience sees Edward's creation (Burton). Using a flashback allows Burton to reveal the true form of Edward and how he originated as a robot and evolved into a sentient android. This also illustrates Edward's disassociation with society and therefore his quiet and withdrawn personality. In another scene, Edward experiences a flashback to the moment Edward's creator attempts to replace Edward's scissor hands with prosthetics (Burton, Edward Scissorhands). This flashback creates a tone of sympathy for Edward as his creator almost made him complete, but the creator passed away before he implemented the prosthetic hands, thus leaving Edward alone with no guidance and a significant abnormality. These flashbacks augment the concept of Edward, essentially a robot, displaying more virtuous qualities than actual humans, yet society deems him the monster. The depressing music also amplifies the emotion Burton tries to impose.
Music plays a significant role in conveying emotion in films (Porter). According to Jack Nugent, audio stimulates the human brain and generates certain responses to "five ways in which music serves the screen" (Porter). Music solidifies the atmosphere of the film and assists in the immersion of the audience, displays unspoken thoughts and implications on a scene, distracts the audience during pauses in the story, builds connections between scenes, and creates a sense of finality in the story (Porter). Burton utilizes different genres and styles of music to kindle certain emotions and reactions which help establish the tone of a scene. The music in his films mostly appeals to feelings of depression and happiness. For example, in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the scene where the children and Mr. Wonka enter the "Land of Candy," before Mr. Wonka opens the door, the music creates a sense of foreboding and suspense, but once the door opens and the camera captures an overview of the colorful area, the music switches to an upbeat pace and generates a sense of awe (Burton, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). Edward Scissorhands demonstrates an example of music showing the mood of the film. The opening credits use creepy and eerie music which alerts the audience to the dark and gothic genre of the movie (Burton, Edward Scissorhands). The scene where Peg meets Edward at the mansion also uses ominous music, and when combined with visual effects, such as shadows, to mask his appearance and only show the clear shape of the scissors, created the image of a possibly dangerous monster about to harm Peg. The way Burton introduces Edward to Peg adds to the theme of characters' personas contrasting with their true personalities.
Color schemes, camera angles, special visuals, soundtracks and music, lighting effects, costumes, and sets all influence the themes of any film.

Tim Burton utilized these cinematic and theatrical techniques to bring atypical characters into the spotlight of his movies. These characters move us, enthrall the moviegoers, and inspires the audience to root for the underdogs, which Burton typically casts as the main characters. Extraordinary visual effects and shot angles bring the characters to life and show their strengths and weaknesses. Burton uses lighting to highlight fantasy and reality, music to kindle the audience's emotions, and flashbacks to provide missing information. He applies these cinematic techniques so well that the fictional stories actually resemble modern society and the audience relates to the characters. The unique visuals in Edward Scissorhands demonstrate how society perceives the "normal" residents as amiable and accepting and regards those outside the established social norms as "strange" or "dangerous," yet the movie shows the exact opposite. Different lighting techniques elucidate Charlie and the Chocolate Factory's theme of people braving challenges in society eventually earning their paradise and those living in comfort facing their version of hell. Manipulating the timeline in Edward Scissorhands and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory allows Burton to convey how the characters' (specifically Edward and Willy Wonka) tragic upbringings created the

characteristics that defined them, and music stresses the negative elements of an attempted utopia. He portrays the "outcasts" of society as people with unique personalities and handicaps. His mastery of the different cinematic techniques to reveal the flaws in a thriving society shows how his distinctive style elevates him from the rest of his peers.