Tim Burton Film Analysis
Tim Burton’s playfully grotesque style, seen in movies such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Nightmare Before Christmas (Burton), makes his films easily distinguishable amongst many others. Burton has a way of telling stories that captivates the viewer and takes how one would normally view something, then twists it into something eerie. His many films show a peculiar vision of the world but still leave room for childlike innocence. Through camera angles/shots and framing, as well as camera movements and coloration, Burton maintains the overall mood in his films.
Burton uses many different camera angles/shots and framing to control the overall mood in his many films. In the movie trailer for Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (Burton),Burton used many long shots to show scenery, setting, and even some of the characters. In one part, there was a long shot of some of the characters walking in to the house. This emphasized the setting and made apparent the fact that they had a large house away from civilization, which is important in the movie. Burton also used many different high and low angles in this trailer to capture perspective as well as the setting or area around the character(s). It seemed as if he kept trying to get the bigger picture, not only the characters.
This contributes to having the audience think about more than just what is happening on screen at that exact moment. As well as using camera angles/shots, Burton also uses coloration to control the mood in many of his films. Comparable to many of Burton’s other films, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Burton) has that same, familiar color scheme. His movies often seem to be very colorful but still feel very dull and muted. For instance, the part where Veruca’s father had workers shelling chocolate bars to find a golden ticket (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory).
The workers had on bright red and white outfits that contrasted against the dull background of the factory. This overall color scheme comes together, creating that Burton sense of eeriness. Burton’s familiar way of coloration contributes to the general mood in his films. Burton uses the method of camera movement, in addition to many other things, to control the overall mood in many of his films. For example, nearing the end of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Burton), there is a scene where Charlie, Willy Wonka, and Charlie’s grandfather all take a ride on Willy Wonka’s crazy glass elevator (Charlier and the Chocolate Factory).
Many quick tilts and quick, choppy camera cuts were used in this scene. When they were going up in the elevator, they used this method to show what was happening and put emphasis on the action invloved in this particular scene. This emphasis contributes to the mood in the sense that it sheds a slight amount of light on this innocently twisted film. In brief, Tim Burton has a playfully grotesque filmstyle that is very distinguishable amongst others. He has formed his style through the use of many methods, including: camera angles/shots and framing, coloration, and camera movements.
Burton contributes to the overall mood in many of his films by using these methods.
