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Tim Burton Style Analysis Essay

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What makes a producer’s style unique? How does a producer’s style distinguish itself from others’ styles? In Tim Burton’s imaginative productions, Alice in Wonderland, Edward Scissorhands, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, one is able to identify Burton’s distinct style when peeling back the layers of his films. Summarizing these films, in Alice in Wonderland, a young woman is transported to the mystical wonderland, where she must defeat the forces of evil along with a journey of self-discovery. Next, in Edward Scissorhands, an unfinished project is discovered and integrated into the everyday lives of people in a nearby suburban town. The film shows how Edward, an unfinished man, tries to live an ordinary life and make deal with his …show more content…

Altogether, Burton uses these unique lighting techniques in his films to show his vision of good, innocent, protagonists. In comparison, antagonists in literary works are often associated with threat because they are seen as more powerful and strong, which Burton helps the viewer interpret though his use of low angles. In contrast to the White Queen in Alice in Wonderland, the Red Queen is regarded as evil and cruel, impressing upon the viewer in the scene where she ordered the execution of one of her frog servants because he ate her tarts that she is dominant over her subjects through oppression. This cinematic element transfers the perception that the Red Queen is stronger and more potent than she is, and makes her appear larger than normal. Similarly, low angles are used in Edward Scissorhands when Jim, an antagonist, is shown approaching Edward in a menacing manner. As Jim is being shown through a low angle, one infers that Jim is a threat because of the power and strength the low angle gives him. Burton uses these unique camera angles in his films particularly to show his darker, more threatening characters. The effect of the low angles that Burton portrays potential antagonists contrasts with the effect of the front and back lighting that he uses to characterize his protagonists. The cinematic elements’ effects often used in Burton’s films are always clearly transferred to the viewer and are impressionable, and the style in which Burton

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