Auteur Study

Tim Burton

Alice In WonderlandColour Tim Burton uses dark colours, such as grey and black, and uses misty clouds. The dark colours connote mystery and suspense as we know the film is not going to be a happy film. The Walt Disney logo matches with the dark colours of the background, and the font is serif which shows it is not a modern film.

Shot typesIn the Alice In Wonderland opening, we have a extreme long shot of the sky with the Big Ben in the back which clearly tells us the setting of the film. The movement in this opening is really fast, and everything is shown to be fading away slowly.

Pace of titles/editingThe title comes in the beginning, the shot zooms out to the institution logo and fades out really fast to show the setting, which then leads to the main title, and from then, the dark setting is shown rapidly and there is a continuous flow of the shots and setting.

How characters/time/place are introducedIn this opening of his, the characters aren’t introduced, but the audience will know where the setting is as Tim Burton uses the Big Ben which is a famous London tourist attraction and is iconic. The audience can clearly tell that the film is not modern as the font is serif and the setting/houses are shown to be looking very old.

How do they utilize music and sound?As the titles are being introduced, Tim Burton uses non-diagetic sound, as the setting is shown, the orchestral music goes up beat but slowly fades out towards the end. The non-diagetic sound adds tension and leaves enigma codes as the audience will wonder what’s to happen in the film as they’ll know it will be dramatic and have suspense in it.

Edward ScissorhandsColour In this film opening, Tim Burton again uses dark, mystic colours. The main objects in the opening are in blue, this makes the object stand out more and as it is blue, it suggests dreams and relaxation. The titles are in white which makes it stand out from the background and focuses on the writing more. The grey objects shows that they’re old.

Shot typesIn the Edward Scissorhands opening, there is close up shots of the main objects which stand out. These objects introduces the protagonist in a way as it shows how the protagonist was created.

Pace of titles/editingThe letters moving are similar to the scissors opening and closing. The camera movement is fast as it’s going through the dark house/setting. As it’s going past the object, it makes the audience feel as though it’s not a safe place as the fast pace of the shots make it add tension.

How characters/time/place are introducedThe audience can tell the film is set to be old as the objects are shown to be rusty and worn out. The protagonist isn’t introduced, but there is a shot of hands, which relates to the title alongside the shot of the scissors a the beginning of the opening.

How do they utilize music and sound?The music is an orchestra with voices which create a choir. It sounds as if it’s a nursery rhyme. In the second shot, the piano plays which makes the music sound graceful. The choir paces up and goes louder. The music then is harmonized with the credits and the transactions match the music.

Dark ShadowsColour In this opening, again the colours that are used are dull and seem gothic which is Burtons signature colours. The colours clearly show the audience what genre it could be as the colours are not bright and the darkness connotes it could be a horror or something similar.

Shot typesIn this opening, there are a lot of different shot types. It starts off with a mid shit of the person who seems to be the antagonist, the shot type then changes to a slight point of view of the protagonist. There is then a birds eye view shot of the train which clearly states the setting.

Pace of titles/editingThe titles fade in slowly alongside the protagonist and setting. This gives the audience a bit of a hint as to the setting and characters as they are introduced slowly so therefore can learn more about them.

How characters/time/place are introducedThe character we see in the beginning tells the audience she could be a vulnerable girl and is innocent as her costume is shown to be respectful and tidy. By her appearance and the way she speaks tells us that she is this type of person. On the other hand, the audience would think that she could be playing innocent and actually be evil as at the beginning, her reflection is shown to be looking evil like.

How do they utilize music and sound?The music used is very slow, calming and relaxing. This connotes that the scene doesn’t add tension and doesn’t really leave an enigma code as it is not fast pace music.