Tim Burton Essay

967 Words4 Pages
A dark, mysterious building is towering above, ominous music is starting to play, and automatically Tim Burton is thought of. Many of Burton’s films are portrayed as a bit “creepy,” even though the plot may be of pleasant nature. As a child, Tim Burton could be considered quirky. In his youth he enjoyed watching monster films and playing in the cemetery. He always thought of his childhood as normal, because it was what he was used to. Tim’s odd life growing up was the cause for many of the gloomy moods within the movies he has directed. A short film Burton had directed for Disney, “Frankenweenie,” was considered to scary for younger audiences. The style of that film opened doors for Burton’s unique style. Time Burton’s dark, mysterious style allowed him to show his uniqueness by using low key lighting, shot-reverse-shot, and close-ups in the films Big Fish, Corpse Bride, and Edward Scissorhands. Tim Burton’s style is apparent when he uses close-ups. Close-ups usually take up 80% of a shot and are used to put an exaggerated effect on a specific object. Burton uses close-ups in Corpse Bride to show struggle. In the film Corpse Bride, Burton uses a close up on Victor’s hand as he is attempting to light his bride’s candle. The effect of this close-up is to show the struggle this man is having with such a simple task. In addition, Tim Burton uses a close-up in Big Fish to show another difficulty. In this film, the father has lost his wedding ring to a beastly fish and must retrieve it. A close-up is used on the father as he wrestles the big fish. The effect of this is to show the troublesome issue the father was faced with. A final way Tim Burton uses a close-up is in the film Edward Scissorhands. For example, when Edward is brought to Jim’s house to steal money, Edward has a hard time getting out of a locked room. A close-up is demonstrated on Edward’s hands scraping
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