A camera, a director, an actor is all one needs to make a movie, that may be something the audience believes. There’s a science to this, camera angles, sound, and lighting/color that make up a movie. As a film director in Hollywood, Tim Burton must pay attention to these simple key factors that create his films. Tim Burton, a greatly respected film director, creates gothic, bittersweet films ranging from friendship to young love. As Burton inspired many, he himself was inspired by the author Edgar Allan Poe, whose grim side is reflected in his writing.
He was also inspired by the American actor, Vincent Price, who played dark characters on screen since the early 1940s. The dark, unusual crazy, quirky characters and settings are reflected well by his influences. Which created some of the greatest movies of our generation. Since the beginning of his career Tim Burton has become known for his dark humor, cute yet creepy characters and bizarre settings. Many films by Burton reveal how he toyed around with his film techniques.
The cinematic techniques of sound, lighting/color, and camera movements are all clearly found in Tim Burton’s films, thus giving a deeper insight to the meaning of his films. Sound is a cinematic technique that is used to display true characters. Specifically, there is a diegetic sound of Willy Wonka’s tune when the winners first arrive to the factory. The winners of the golden tickets, are greeted by Wonka’s very cheerful, colorful, and hyper song. The song being played shows how excited and ecstatic Wonka can be. Even though it is not himself singing, the fast pace and cheerful beat is what Willy Wonka really is about.
In this case in “Edward Scissor Hands,” there is a diegetic sound of Edward breaking the microphone as he tries to touch it. With the town’s amazement of Edward, he landed a gig on a popular talk show. As they ask him questions he reaches for the microphone and with his scissor hands, a loud pop is heard, breaking the microphone. The loud pop of the microphone scared and left Edward afraid, because he did not expect it to happen. For the rest of the scene Edward is tense and is slightly insecure because he fears being judged after being seen in a negative way for most of his life.
The sound in these films can show the real vulnerability and confidence to a character. The use of color and lighting can give life to a mood for a certain scene. For instance, in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” the competitor’s candy shops are shown to have de-saturated colors. With Wonka’s candy shop business booming the other candy shops are creating odd sorts of candies to beat out Wonka, local kids are seen trying each of the candies out. The shades of the other candy shops lacks in color compared to the vivid color used in Willy Wonkas candy shop in order to show how important to the community and financially Wonka’s store is.
The soft colors of the competitor candy stores create a mood of despair, because the muted colors show how unimportant their stores are becoming due to Wonka’s. Such as in “Edward Scissor Hands” there is a high key lighting over the pastel houses as mothers and fathers are heading to work one by one in an orderly fashion. The color of the cars and homes match, streets bare of trees, yet look aesthetically pleasing. The light in this scene makes the suburbs feel mellow and calm, giving the effect of a pleasant area and life led by the people there. The soft colors also create an appearance of a peaceful neighborhood.
Hence, light and color can create moods of weakness and relaxation. Camera-movements are a cinematic technique that is used to evolve the setting. In this situation there is a tilt when Charlie’s home and town are seen for the first time. The chilly winter snow is falling on the small town. Willy Wonka’s factory and Charlie’s small miserable home are only blocks apart. The tilt gives the viewer knowledge of where Charles home is and where the famous Wonka factory is located. From the snow to the small apartments the tilt gives an inside look to the gloomy city.
Indeed in “Edward Scissor Hands” there is a zoom when Edward’s house is seen from afar. As Peg, an Avon representative, adjusts her car’s side view mirror, she changes the scene of her peaceful neighborhood to the view of Edward’s grand home that lacks in color. The zoom in Edward’s home develops the setting by letting the viewer understand the difference between Edward and the town’s people. Edwards’s home reflects what Edward is seen to be, a possible murderer, dangerous, and creepy- while Edward is nothing of what the people think.
As the setting develops the viewer understands the film better due to the use of camera movements. Tim Burton experimented with his cinematic techniques, showing this in his moves “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and “Edward Scissor Hands”. Light and color play big part in films because it can develop a mood for a number of scenes. For example in Charlie’s town the delicate colors of the candy stores create a mood of despair because the business of the stores is declining by cause of Wonka’s stores. In contrast, the soft lighting of the Edwards neighborhood composes a tranquil mood.
The diegetic sound in both films reveal true characters because the music that Wonka played was energetic like himself, however when Edward broke the microphone it showed his vulnerable side. Also displayed, the tilt when Charlie’s home and the factory is seen for the first time, giving the viewer an opportunity to understand where it takes place. Similarly, there is a zoom when peg sees Edward’s home, giving a deeper understanding of the towns feelings toward Edward. Tim Burton’s films may be just be a little bit odd, but doesn’t everyone stand out in their own way?
