Tim Burton is a man very well known in the filmmaking industry. Burton uses distinctive elements of film in Edward Scissorhands (1994) Ed Wood (1994), Sleepy Hollow (1999) Big Fish (2003) Corpse Bride (2005) and Sweeny Todd (2007). To present the themes, which tend to reoccur and become a motif of his unique directing style some of these elements of film language that he uses are, Camera angles, Distinctive Characters, Sound and Colour. These are all used to portray important ideas and are now expected in his films. The three movies I have decided to focus on are Edward Scissorhands, Big Fish and Corpse Bride. The frequent use of De-saturated colour and Over-saturated colour in Burton's films gives his film an unnatural gothic washed out feeling. In Corpse Bride, Big Fish and Edward Scissorhands colour is used to portray atmosphere, and the difference between two different worlds.


The atmosphere that is created in the film Corpse Bride is a very washed out depressing atmosphere, Burton uses De-Saturated colour in shades of black grey blue and very pale whites. Scene 1 we see Victor (the main protagonist) drawing a picture of a butterfly, which he then sets free out the window. The butterfly is the most colour we see in this scene and even that is a very washed out blue. A tracking shot is then used to follow the butterfly and as we do this we see the town that Victor is living in, There is no difference of colour between buildings everything is a depressing shade. We see people at work also no colour but the bland shades of grey and pale faces giving them an almost gothic dead look, the men chopping up fish show no facial expressions. We then see a man shoo the butterfly away getting rid of the only bit of colour in this scene. Burton has deliberately made the colours de-saturated giving them a washed out look, the colours show us that the town is a depressed town the pale faces of the people along with the washed out colour can also be read as the fact that the town is more dead then alive. It gives us the feeling that the people who live there aren’t happy with their life and almost feel imprisoned to the strict Victorian upbringing they have.

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In Edward Scissorhands Tim Burton once again uses de-saturated colour and Over-saturated colour in this film. The town in which Edward Scissorhands lives has saturated colour making it seem unnatural and fake, everything is peachy and happy and too good to be true. But when we see where Edward lives the colour is de-saturated making it seem washed out, dead and gloomy as if Edward is not a part of the town and doesn’t fit in. In scene 3 of Edward Scissorhands we are introduced to the town by a lady who is going around town selling makeup, we see the over use of colour in the town, the houses that are green and pink, the bright coloured clothes and make up everyone is wearing, the colours of the cars. Everything is over the top. Then the lady adjusts her car mirror and in the reflection we see Edwards house up on the hill that has no colour, all the trees around it are dead and the house is gray/black. The colour is washed out making it seem as if it is dead or prison like, Burton has again purposely de-saturated the colour of Edwards house and the colour of his clothing to give us the idea of Edward not belonging, living in his own world, Edwards face is pale making him look as if he is almost dead. We get the feeling he is imprisoned to his own life unable to join the rest of the world.




In Big Fish, we see that a difference of colour is used to portray reality and fantasy once again. Ed Bloom tells these stories of events that apparently happened when he was younger, and it flashes back so we can see these events unfolding. Although Tim Burton doesn’t use de-saturated colour in Big Fish like he does in Corpse Bride he uses Over-Saturated colour for the flash backs, where things are too colourful and unreal compared to what the colour is like in Ed Blooms reality. In scene 8 of Big Fish Ed tells the story of him leaving town and taking a short cut, which then leads him to this over the top happy fantasy town. Bright colours and happy music are used and we get the feeling that the town is surreal. When a little girl steals Ed’s shoes and throws them over a power line with a bunch of other shoes that are dangling there we get to see the contrast of colours between the reality (his shoes) and the fantasy (the town) we see that his shoes are dull and grey whereas the town has the greenest grass and bluest sky imaginable. Burton hasn’t used de-saturated colour in this film like he has in Corpse Bride and Edward Scissor hands but he is still using the same theme, The fact that the colour in the flash backs are over-Saturated making it clear to us that it’s a fantasy world not reality, a world where Ed Bloom lives in.