Cinematic Techniques In Tim Burton's Film

912 Words4 Pages

“And I, Jack, the Pumpkin King, have grown so tired of the same old thing.” Jack the Pumpkin King from Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas is tired of his world being so repetitive; he was ready for something new, something exciting. Tim Burton creates movies that are new and exciting. His stories are never ordinary, and his use of cinematic elements is extraordinary. He expertly uses lighting, editing, camera angles, and sound and music to pull out a wide variety of emotions from joy, to sorrow, to curiosity from viewers in films such as: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Edward Scissorhands, and Big Fish. One of the most important cinematic elements used by Tim Burton is lighting. Burton skillfully uses lighting in his films. First, …show more content…

Usually when he uses high-key lighting there is bright, happy music. The reverse of that is also true: when Burton uses low-key lighting he uses dark, suspenseful music. In Edward Scissorhands when Kevin is walking home there is dark, suspenseful music. Even though Kevin is doing an action as simple as walking, the audience is led to believe he is in danger, because of the nondiegetic music in the background. In Big Fish there is the diegetic sound of a phone ringing towards the beginning of the film. This directs the audience's attention to the phone and the person answering it, the audience knows that whatever is going to be spoken through the phone will be important. In the same movie, Big Fish, there is peaceful music when Edward Bloom is leaving the forest that enclosed the town of Spectre. This was a dramatic change because the forest was dark and scary, but when Edward got to the end of it peaceful music played to assure the audience that Edward was safe, and no longer weak and in danger from the forest.
Sound isn’t the only way to show a character’s power in the scene. Camera angles are used to make a character appear bigger or smaller, which also makes them appear more or less powerful. For example, in Edward Scissorhands when the police is knocking on the door Burton uses a low camera angle to make the police officer look big and powerful. In Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Burton uses