Cinematography utilizes a wide variety of different techniques in order to make a director’s vision come to life on the screen. Edward Scissorhands, directed by Tim Burton, is a prime example of this. It plays with lighting, camera angles, different types of shots, and much more. The audience sees a combination of framing, lighting, and depth of field to convey certain attributes of the characters and atmosphere. For example, the cinematographer might use an extreme close-up, which focuses on a certain aspect of a person, to elicit some type of emotion from the viewer. This close-up could be of someone screaming, which would intensify the fear that is happening on screen.
In Tim Burton’s film, the audience sees the character of Edward introduced fairly early in the plot line. As Peg makes her way into the mansion and towards Edward, a variety of different types of shots are used. When she reaches the attic, a long shot is featured. The camera is distanced at a decent length away from her, making Peg look very small in comparison to the space around her. It also puts her in a very vulnerable position, which can be representative of how she initially feels when she sees Edward. The scene also plays with lighting. There is light focused on Peg, but darkness looms in the corners.
When the audience, and Peg, sees Edward for the first time, he is only a shadow. The film uses lighting again to create an atmosphere that is dark and mysterious. It also adds to that sense of question surrounding Edward and his origins. The viewer can only see the outline of a person, but nothing more in this moment. Before he emerges from the darkness that overtakes him, he is only a shadow. This would be low-key lighting, which is darker and shadowy.
Another scene that highlights the use of cinematography is when the mansion is shown. It uses a low camera angle to look up at the hill from the perspective of the people who live in the neighborhood. The lower angle helps to portray this position of power and seclusion that separates it from everyone else. The framing of the shot also puts the mansion right in the center. This helps to draw the audience’s attention to the drastic differences between the mansion and houses on the street. There is also a deep focus going on. Everything, from the foreground to the background is visible. Nothing is blurred out or drawn out of focus.
Overall, there’s a wide variety of different techniques that the cinematographer uses in Edward Scissorhands that helps to portray the story Tim Burton imagined. These are just a few examples of the cinematography in the film. Framing, camera angles, lighting, and other tools can be used as a subtle way to pull an audience’s focus or convey certain motifs. All of the elements of cinematography add up to the shots taken in a film. A combination of these different shots creates all of the scenes that will ultimately be of importance to the film.
Works Cited
Edward Scissorhands. Directed by Tim Burton. Performances by Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Dianne Wiest, Anthony Michael Hall, and Kathy Baker. 20th Century Fox, 1990.
Photograph of Peg in the attic. Mise-en-scene: Edward Scissorhands. Blogspot, 6 April 2015. http://alliemacier3560.blogspot.com/2015/04/mise-en-scene-edward-scissorhands.html
Photograph of Edward in the shadows. “Edward Scissorhands” (1990): Edward Was Too Pure for This World. ReelRundown, 19 March 2019. https://reelrundown.com/movies/Edward-Scissorhands-1990-is-the-Best-Film-Tim-Burton-Ever-Did
Photograph of the mansion and street. 25-Years-Later, This Is What The “Edward Scissorhands” Neighborhood Looks Like. boredpanda, 2015. https://www.boredpanda.com/movie-locations-edward-scissorhands-suburb-now-then-pictures-voodrew/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic
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