Tim Burton: The Style of His Ingenious Mind | Teen Ink

Tim Burton: The Style of His Ingenious Mind

May 21, 2018
By KyleeFowler BRONZE, Clay, Alabama
KyleeFowler BRONZE, Clay, Alabama
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

A little dark humor is good for the soul sometimes, am I right? Ranging from “Charlie And The Chocolate Factory” to “Alice In Wonderland,” Tim Burton has been mesmerizing the minds of his readers and viewers for over 30 memorable years. (“Charlie and the chocolate factory” Tim Burton, Warner bros., 2005) Millions across the world have either heard of or at least seen Tim Burton’s beautiful pieces. His strange childhood caused him to grow the desire of creating bizarre things, and this is clearly shown through his work. He makes audiences feel things that they’ve never felt before, teaching them things that they didn’t know they could see. Through the use of frames and angles, music, sound, and lighting, Tim Burton is able to show viewers what goes on inside of his unique, lucid mind.


When carefully examining Tim Burton’s work, it is visibly noticed that he uses varieties of frames and angles. In 2010, Tim Burton created the magical film “Alice in Wonderland.” This movie is well known and is based on the 1951 movie “Alice in Wonderland” by Lewis Carroll and Disney. The frames and angles in the Cheshire Cat scene are clearly shown. For the first part of the scene, it uses more eye and high angles as Alice walks through the forest and meets the Cheshire Cat. While they talk, it becomes more eye level. These scenes help to make it more dramatic and to make viewers have a sense of curiosity about what would happen next. Of course, shots and framing tie in with the intensity of this particular scene. After rewatching the scene, viewers will be able to see long and medium shots towards the beginning and medium and close-up shots closer to the end. The long and medium shots help onlookers to get a glimpse of the scenery around Alice. The atmosphere is dark and mysterious, with strange plants and lighting,  creating a sense of urgency for those watching. Closer to the middle and end portions of the clip, there are more close-ups and medium shots to help audiences see Alice and Cheshire Cat’s emotions as they conversate.  Another example of Tim Burton’s unique frames and angles in Alice in Wonderland is the scene where Alice first meets the queen of hearts. At the start of this clip, it uses more eye angles and high angles. When Burton shows Alice eating the cake and the white rabbit telling her to stop, we can see her face to face, making it an eye-level angle. When she starts to grow over the rose bushes, however, it creates a higher perspective as viewers begin to see the queen and her subjects on the other side. Moving on after observing these two exemplifying clips, many will be able to find camera movements in different ones.


Usually, when you see a movie, there are parts in the background that go unnoticed, but they help to make the film fascinating. These parts include lighting, music, and even sound. When watching a horror movie, dark light, and eerie music help to build suspense and make an audience more engrossed in the film. Tim Burton has made films with these characteristics. One of his movies which displays these characteristics is the 2005 animated flick “Corpse Bride.” This magical movie has some catchy tunes in it that help to enhance the grimness of it. One song, in particular, is called ‘Remains Of The Day.’ Throughout this clip in the movie, the lighting is dark but includes colorful lights with much storytelling involved in it. The song also helps to tell the story of the bride who was murdered by a mysterious man. The sound effects of the skeletons bones clanking also help to add to the funnily dark song. Another example of Tim Burton’s imagery comes from his strange movie “Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar children.” During ‘the tour’ scene, Tim Burton uses bright and cheery lighting. He shows the children playing and just having a wonderful day. This helps to create the mood for peace and ‘perfection’ for the movie. Through the use of Imagery, Tim Burton is able to make audiences thrilled with what they view.


After deciphering the elements of Tim Burton’s films, from “Sweeney Todd” to “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children,” many points can be picked out to show how he captivates his audiences in such an entertaining way. He uses imagery to help build suspense or create a mood, camera movements to show the scenery and to create a sense of urgency, shots and framing to show different emotions and expressions of characters, and camera angles to help see the big picture.



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