Tim Burton: Gothic Cinematic Techniques Used In Gothic Films

Timothy Walter Burton more commonly known as Tim burton is a Painter, Screenwriter, Illustrator, Author, Director, and Producer. Born in 1958, in the city of Burbank, California, to parents Jean and Bill Burton. Burton had a painful childhood in which the relationship with his parents and brother was nonexistent. Through his perception of isolation, he began to develop his visual talents. The content Burton found in hobbies such as writing and drawing led him to attend the California Institute of the Arts which contributed to Burton attaining his first job, in the artistic field at the Disney Animation Studios. Burton’s unpresented style is heavily forged by the works of his childhood heroes, Dr. Seuss and Roald Dahl.Tim Burton has a myriad of opportunities as a director to show mood and tone. In some of his most distinguished movies such as “Edward Scissorhands” and “Beetlejuice” he uses numerous tactics to manifest sinister moods and tones. Due to the tone of his work, his movies are almost always dark and eerie. Tim Burton uses lighting, sound and camera movements to portray a unique gothic cinematic experience.
Lighting is pivotal when striving to reveal the mood of a movie. High-key lighting …show more content…
The non-diegetic sound generates the mood of each scene. Eerie melodies set the scene for villains and angst. During the opening credits of “Edward Scissorhands” haunting music is audible. The ghastly images and music grant the sense that something is awry. Something has happened and now the inventor is dead. The music provides a heads up that there is a problem of some kind. Burton also utilizes diegetic sound to create mood. In “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” the Oompa-Lumpas sing every time a rotten child is taken away. This is an extraordinary way to tell the viewer that something is astray with the child. It makes somewhat lifeless facts appear to be interesting. Sound is a monumental part of Burton’s