Tim Burton Cinematic Style Analysis

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu once said, “Cinema is universal, beyond flags and borders and passports.” By that, he meant that films uphold the concept of “show, not tell,” using various cinematic techniques and strategies to create a mood and tone that anyone in audience, despite language barrier, can understand. Tim Burton is an American director, producer and screenwriter who has directed and produced over a dozen major films, each one upholding to a distinct style that Burton has created. Burton was inspired by Vincent Price when he was younger, and strives to imitate his dark style in many of the movies he has created throughout his career. He does so by combining multiple cinematic techniques to create darker undertones. Through these techniques, his mood often becomes suspenseful and sometimes even terrifying. The movies Edward Scissorhands, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Big fish all demonstrate how Burton’s use of music, lighting, and framing contribute to the feelings of tension and horror
These techniques, combined with his dark and bizarre story lines, produce the cinematic style Burton is so well known for. Through the study of various cinematic techniques, people are able to interpret movies on a deeper level, understanding that every single aspect of them was intentional and planned by the director. Certain directors and screenwriters tend to stick to the same approaches and the same styles, which can be detected more easily with background knowledge on the different techniques and what effect they have on the mood and tone of the film. Burton is a perfect example of a director with habits, and through studying his films, we are able to understand how and why specific techniques were used, and thus, are able to fully appreciate the art of