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Beetlejuice Film Analysis

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Tim Burton contributes to the world of animation in the film industry and redefined stop motion . Lighting is an important cinematic technique directors can use to set the mood for a particular scene. For instance, high-key lighting is used to flood a scene with light, often making the set and characters appear happy and safe. In contrast, low-key lighting casts deep shadows across the set and characters creating a sense of danger. Burton makes good use of lighting techniques in many of his films.

For instance, in the film “Beetlejuice,” Burton uses high-key lighting in the interior of the Maitlan’s house to give it a comfortable, cozy feel that reflects the personality of the family; however, after that family dies in a traffic accident and the Deetz's move in and “renovate” the home, the lighting becomes much darker. This contrast makes the house seem cold and unsettling, matching the personality of the new family. This technique is exemplified by the scene in which the Deetzes host a dinner party for out-of-town guests. The action alternates between the brightly lit attic where the ghosts of the Maitlans reside in safety to the gloomy dining room of the main house where the nasty, selfish Deetzes live out their cold, heartless lives. …show more content…

the audience watches a family as they attempt to navigate the streets of Gotham City which are cast in stark, gloomy shadows. This use of low-key lighting helps to create the image of a city that is cold and dangerous. In Beetlejuice, We see an Establishing shot of the huge white

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The crime scene at the beginning of the film, for example, used a low angle view to show the body floating from underwater. Low key lighting is often represented when scenes are shot inside Norma’s home. The interior shots are also tightly framed shots with extreme camera angles it gives off a depressed, claustrophobic environment. In the exterior shot, the scenes are in high key lighting and use realistic lighting to give off a lively atmosphere that Joe does not experience while inside the home.

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Tim Burton has used many stylistic techniques to give the audience an eerie and out of place feeling. For example in the film Edward Scissorhands, Tim makes suburban life look boring and pointless to the naked eye. In the film, the neighborhood appears plain and boring, filled with homes painted minty green or butter yellow. The castle where Edward thrived for years upon years is full of dust and spider webs as if the building hadn't been touched in years. We see these same style traits in the film Alice In Wonderland.

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1047 Words | 5 Pages

The lighting in Donnie Darko movie is a key component of composition which creates our sense of illuminating for people and things. This movie uses two sources of lighting; natural light, such as daylight, when the scene is in an outdoor area for example, walking from school, at home, waiting at bus stop, or playing outside of the school on sunny days. Another source of light is artificial spotlight which is used in the movie indoors to cut and shape the light at the dining table, in the classroom or in the psychotherapist's house. Also, distinct shadows are used as an essentially smooth surface that reflects hard light in the Halloween party to feature deep shadows and scary areas in function of the plot. Three-points of lighting create ominous shadows in the horror genre for all the actors at Donnie and Elizabeth's Halloween party with lighting from below the cast to create monstrous objects in real life.

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300 Words | 2 Pages

In Edward Scissorhands, Tim Burton uses low-key lighting to incite fear and suspense in the audience. For example, when Peg enters the attic this type of lighting is used to make Edward appear evil or menacing,

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300 Words | 2 Pages

These different lighting techniques are applied in the movie to help set the tone and mood for the film scene. The

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858 Words | 4 Pages

The lighting is mainly focused upon one or two characters, putting everything around them in shadows. This brings about a claustrophobic atmosphere in the scene, creating a mysterious feeling among the audience. Both films use this technique to “hide” something in the background, like the replicants in blade runner. Moreover, the shadows defined by the key light create a more dramatic environment that promotes the mysterious vibe of the scene. It also serves as a way of displaying a doomed outlook onto the world, one that is filled with deception and lies.

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526 Words | 3 Pages

Tim Burton is a famous director who puts a lot of originality into his work. Burton uses editing techniques, music and sound, as well as shots and framing and camera movements to determine the mood of the scene. Editing is one of the techniques Burton uses to create emotion and suspense in the audience. One way Burton does this is by using fade in Big Fish, Edward crosses paths with Karl who was waiting for him on the longer road.

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1118 Words | 5 Pages

Lenny Abrahamson’s drama film Room follows Joy and her five-year-old son Jack and their experiences of living in a tiny room with only so much space. Throughout the film, both aspects of low-key lighting and high-key lighting are filmed in various scenes. These lighting styles indicate both the rough and unstable atmosphere of living in just one small room as well as the freedom of escaping the small room and starting a new chapter in their lives. In addition, both lighting styles also play an important role in the film’s plot and set the mood for the plot by either adding suspense or relief. Room narrates the story of Joy and her son Jack’s lives as they are trapped in a very small shelter that they refer to as Room.

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457 Words | 2 Pages

In the movie, Edward Scissorhands, Tim burton uses low-key lighting when Peg meets Edward for the first time in a castle. Edward was sitting in a dark corner and there was just enough light to see his face but not his clothes. This shows the amount of loneliness of Edward and that he was sad and frightened but also willing to make a friend when he approaches Peg. Also, in the movie, Charlie in the

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432 Words | 2 Pages

In Burton’s films, lighting is used to show happiness or sadness. For instance, in the movie “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, it is shown how dark and gloomy the town is while the factory is disconnected from society compared to when Charlie's grandfather was younger, working in an upbeat and colorful environment. Nevertheless, the lighting in his movies are manufactured for you to think a certain way of something when it could actually mean something else. With the accompany of lighting, Burton’s films

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1064 Words | 5 Pages

From Edward Scissorhands to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, director Tim Burton has been captivating audiences with his unique style for over 30 years. One can agree that Burton has a rare and uncommon gift in the directing world, which allows him to twist the audience emotions, and create feelings that wouldn’t normally be there. In many of his films, Tim Burton uses framing and angles, music and sound, and lighting to control the mood of the scene. To begin, director Tim Burton manipulates lighting to create a feeling of fear and suspense in the audience. One way that Burton does this is when he uses low key lighting, mixed with side lighting, in Corpse Bride.

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719 Words | 3 Pages

The use of background light was an important focus in this picture, there was less attention to lighting the actors faces but in almost every frame there is well placed background light often combined with a moving light source. Repetition was also evident within the visual composition of the frame, the actors were rarely positioned within the center of the frame but always to the left or the right with a light source covering them from behind. Ridley Scott perfectly matches colorful high key light with low key lights creating impeccable contrast, this lighting used could be described as a modern Citizen Kane style. Although this is overall a very dark and low light film, the motif of shadows and darkness allows the beauty of light to truly be

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1071 Words | 5 Pages

Tim Burton’s distinct style became evident in his very first films and stayed clear in his later film, while the plot of Burton’s films vary greatly his style stays pronounced. This can be seen across his many movies from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Edward Scissorhands, “Vincent”, and “Frankenweenie”. In all of these films his distinct style is developed through the use of a strong contrast of high and low key lighting to show contrast between characters and circumstances, a recurring motif of mobs antagonizing the antagonist, and the frequent use of shot reverse shots to show the development of the relationship between the outsider and the people on the inside. With the use of a contrast between high and low-key lighting, a recurring mob motif, and the use of shot-reverse-shots Tim Burton develops his hopelessly bleak style. One of the most evident cinematic techniques that Tim Burton uses to develop his hopelessly bleak style is the use of a strong contrast of high and low-key lighting or colors.

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793 Words | 4 Pages

To represent this low key lighting is used in Charlie’s home to show that the reality of his life is there living in poverty. This pattern continues in the cult classic Edward Scissorhands. The town that Edward is welcomed into is in high lighting to signify that it is the life that he never had. He wants to be accepted and loved and this is the place that his wish comes true. Unfortunately we know that his fantasy is unrealistic and there is no way he can live normally.

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1077 Words | 5 Pages

He uses lighting and editing techniques in his scenes to give you movies that shed a new light on the way we perceive the characters and scenes. Mr.Burton uses lighting in all of his movies to really show you it’s his movies because the way he uses it adds a spin to how we view it. In Charlie in the Chocolate Factory he portrays Charlie’s house as a dark dilapidated building that looks abandon like no one could live there or something could be lurking there. When he then shows us the inside it is run down and sparsely lit but it has the most loving, wise, and caring characters. Protagonist characters are not usually displayed to be living in such rundown low conditions but Burton uses this to his advantage to depict his message of don’t judge a book by it’s cover.

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