Aaron
Nolasco
1st period
2-14-13
Tim Burton’s Strange Ways
Tim Burton is an American film director who was born on August 25, 1958 in Burbank
California. He grew up watching scary, creepy movies and would draw in his free time . He was
first famous for being an animator and eventually moved up to a better position as a director. He
is now famous for making movies such as Edward Scissorhands, Corpse Bride and Charlie and
the Chocolate Factory. He became a Director because he wanted to make movies similar to the
films he would watch as a kid. Tim Burton’s style would be best described as Eccentric. He uses
specific cinematic techniques such as flashbacks, low-key lighting and eerie music to create his
style.
One of the elements that contributes to Tim Burton’s eccentric style is low-key lighting.
Low-key lighting is used to make the scene flooded with shadows and darkness, to create
suspense or suspicion. In the movie Edward Scissorhands there are a lot of scenes where he uses
this technique. For example, in the scene where Peg enters Edward’s mansion to sell Avon, lowkey lighting is used to hide Edward’s face from view. All Peg can see is Edward looking like a
monster in the darkness. In this scene, the director uses low-key lighting in order to make
Edward look scary. The lighting makes the audience think that Edward is going to do something
bad rto Peg. Similarity, in the film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the director uses low key
lightning in the scene where Willy Wonka and the children open the door to see all the candy.
The low key lighting makes the scene look creepy although the chocolate factory supposed to be
a fun place, but it appears dark and suspicious.
Another element that contribute to Tim Burton’s eccentric style is eerie music. Eerie
music is a type of weird, frightening, mysterious music. For example, in the film Charlie and the
Chocolate Factory, there is a scene where the oompa loompas begin singing when Augustus falls
into the chocolate pool. In this scene, the director uses eerie music in order to show a despicable
humor. In the beginning of Edward Scissorhands he also uses eerie music to make the audience
feel strange. The sounds make the audience think that the film might be about suspense. This
helps define Burton’s eccentric style because eerie music is a symbol of creepy, strange and
frightening ways.
A third element that contributes to Tim Burton’s eccentric style is flashbacks. A
Flashback is a cut or dissolve to action that happened in the past. For example, in the scene of the
movie Edward Scissorhands when Kim hugs Edward because he’s feeling bad, Edward has a
flashback to when his father was alive when the both of them were talking about giving him real
hands. His father had a heart attack and passed away. In this scene, the director uses the
flashbacks in order to show that even though Edward might look like a monster he’s normal like
everyone else and has feelings. This makes the audience understand what Edward is feeling.
Similarity, in the film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Tim Burton also uses the same
technique in the scene where Willy Wonka has a flashback about his childhood when he was
with his father and was getting his teeth checked. This helps define Burton’s eccentric style
because all the flashbacks he uses in these films have a weird meaning to them.
In conclusion, Tim Burton’s style is eccentric. He uses flashbacks, eerie music and lowkey lighting in order to create his eccentric world. People who watch his films often know that
they are going to see a great movie if they know Burton has made it. Tim Burton certainly is a
great director and filmmaker.