8.

03 English
Thomas Wishart
Edward Scissorhands​ TEEL Essay paragraph
How does Burton use film techniques to convey meaning in ​Edward Scissorhands?

In the scene where Edward saves Kevin, Burton employs camera shots and non-diegetic sound
to convey his ideas of misunderstanding and fear. A close up point of view shot of Edward in
this scene shows how Kevin perceives the situation and highlights why he is freaking out. It is
apparent that Kevin did not see the car about to hit him and does not know that Edward just
saved him; instead thinking the opposite and thinks that Edward is attacking him. Yet another
representation of fear is directly after Edward saves Kevin and when Jim steps out of the van,
Burton uses a low angle mid shot here to create a sense of power and imposing dread focused
around Jim. This causes the audience to fear Jim as he is portrayed as a villain to make said
audience feel small and insignificant in comparison to Jim. Burton also uses non-diegetic sound
to further convey the ideas of fear and misunderstaning. As eerie synth music plays in the
background, Kevin talks to the man who calls Edward ‘a cripple’. Although the effect on the
citizens is non-existent as they cannot hear a non-diegetic sound, the effect on the audience is
very apparent as this sound is commonly used in horror and suspenseful movies to portray
suspense. This element of fear can be seen soon after Edward saves Kevin and the element of
fear can be seen again as Edward is afraid of hurting Kevin soon after knocking him out of the
way. Non-diegetic sound is used to portray fear yet again when the eerie synth previously
mentioned, though being non-diegetic sound, it does represent Edward and Kim’s fear of
Edward being driven out for being different, whereas for Kevin it represents his fear and
confusion in the situation.Edward is on edge as when someone comes to ‘save’ Kevin from
Edward he lashes out with his hand and slashes someone's face causing even more fear in the
town of suburbia eventually driving them to banish him back to his dark empty mansion.
Non-diegetic sound is used to convey misunderstanding when the camera zooms in on Kim and
plays a rising fast paced synth note that shows that Kim understands the urgency of the situation
and can see that Edward has saved Kevin and will then try to reason with the angry mob. In
conclusion, Burton shows his ideas of misunderstanding and fear in this scene by incorporating
camera angles and non- diegetic sound to show that difference should not necessarily be feared
but instead given a chance for acceptance.
Word Count: 428