Tim Burton and German Expressionism

This video shows how the director Tim Burton is influenced by German expressionism in his films. It shows some very early expressionist films and compares them to some of Tim Burton films.

 As you can see Tim Burton has got ideas from old expressionism films and used them in a more modern way. He uses the ideas of sharp straight lines and very contrasting light. To use this genre of film to make it work in a movie where you wouldn't expect it. For Tim Burton to use German expressionism in a super hero film is very unusual as super hero films are not set out to be filmed in this way but the show Arkham in this way really revels how dark and twisted a super hero film can be.

 In this picture Tim Burton has used the German expressionism way of showing loneliness and darkness by having houses in places impossible to actually live but this will show how animated and over the top German expressionism is and how Tim Burton's films really capture that too. He has also copied the way in which you can only see the top of the hill and no other life which really emphasises the concept of either alone or feared.

Finally in the picture you can see that the shadows in German expressionism are very important and how they can tell a lot about a character and Tim Burton really pits this into a lot of his work including in Vincent, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride and many more. Tom Burton also uses the long fingers and arms and long features to create more scary and dark shadows which is also a main feature of German expressionism

how does the director use mise en scene, camera work and sound to establish character in the opening of Se7en?

Figure 1

In figure 1 the character is in his apartment and it looks very small and confined. This creates a sense of being trapped as he can not leave the city or his life, it just keeps closing in on him and now he is trapped in the same city doing the same job with no escape. Also his head being cut of shows that there is no escape because usually the camera would zoom out when he walks past but the camera stays there to show how the routine in his life cannot be broken. The chess board connotes loneliness because its a two player game so it can show how he used to have someone in his life to play it with. Also it can show that he is intelligent. The wild track in the background is of sirens and city life which is always in this characters head as he can not escape this life because he is always thinking about it and living it everyday.

Figure 2

In figure 2 the character has the possessions that matter most to him. He reaches for the detective badge fist which shows how he is always thinking about his job first so links back to figure 1 that he can not escape his life because he is too involved to quit now. The paper rose symbolises the love he has for his wife and he puts it in his jacket pocket so it is close to his heart so his wife is always with him. The flip knife is a Chekhov's gun which means it will later be used in the film and this knife is not used as a weapon but as a key to unlock the the evidence to the crimes in the movie. It shows again that the character is very intelligent and the well kept pen also shows that he takes pride in what he does, along with the glasses case showing he is very sophisticated and wants to look the part and be organised.

Figure 3

 In figure 3 the two characters are meeting for the first time and have met at a crime scene. As they are walking down the street the camera stays at a low angle shot so we can only see run down or old and dirty shops. This shows that the city has no life inside of it and can only be a mysterious and crime ridden place. The rain constantly falling on the characters shows that the city is miserable and again, has no life in it any more which shows how the character in figure 1 feels about his life. The sound of the rain and the hustle and bustle of the city life is the wild track which is playing here and this relates to figure 1 where the character can not escape the sounds of city life. When they walk down the street they keep bumping into people and the character on the right doesn't care about it where as the character on the left is weaving in and out of people and this shows that he isn't used to the kind of life style and is fairly new to the scene. The character on the left is shown to be full of life in a city where there isn't any room for that so you realise that he will not be able to cope with it in the long run.

Figure 4

In Figure 4 the character is in bed and trying to get to sleep but you can hear a wild track of sirens and city noises outside his apartment but this could also be in his head as he can not escape the city because of the entrapment that has been put on his from it. There is a metronome ticking in the background which can show that the only way for him to escape is to try and distract himself from what is going on around him. This can show that the character over thinks things and needs something to try and get his mind away from the city hustle and bustle. The camera is very central and the rule of thirds is used very well to show that the character may not be able to escape his life he has but he does have it very well balanced and under control at this point.