Tim Burton Cinematic Techniques Essay

Tim Burton, a well-known film director, has many more opportunities to display tone and mood than an author would. In movies such as Edward Scissorhands and Alice in Wonderland he uses various cinematic techniques to display eerie moods and tones. Burton’s films astonish many audiences because of his brilliant use of sound, angles, and lighting to display a unique, gothic, and unusual style for himself. Tim Burton, in Edward Scissorhands, uses lighting to create different tones and moods, as well as displaying his unique style. In Edward’s mansion the lighting is always low key. The low key lighting makes the mansion dark and mysterious, and also gives the mansion a sinister mood. This displays Burton’s style because of the dark and mysterious way this scene was set up. Edward Scissorhands also uses front lighting when Edward was walking out toward the police car. The car light is shined on Edward creating a halo around him. This makes Edward look vulnerable and makes the audience nervous for what may happen to Edward, thus producing a suspenseful mood. Burton's use of lighting proves that he a unique, gothic style. Sound and music both

In Edward Scissorhands, Burton uses a high angle when Peg goes into the mansion and sees that the roof had fallen apart. The high angle makes Peg look small and adds to her shocked emotion. Because of this choice of a high angle, the scene has a spooky, eerie mood. The torn roof and Peg’s reaction is an example of Burton’s unusual, gothic style. Tim Burton also uses angles in Alice In Wonderland. He uses a high angle on Alice when she is having tea with the Mad Hatter and the White Rabbit, which makes Alice look even smaller than the other characters than she already is. This conveys an unusual tone because Alice looks defenseless next to the other characters, which all have odd personalities. Tim Burton’s use of angles adds to the gothic style that he