Lund, Morgan, Noel, Prather 1

Helena Lund, Taylor Morgan, Hannah Noel, Cierrah Prather
Ms. Belzyt
American Literature
10 February 2014
Rationale
Our group used four different ideas that Burton also used in Big Fish. We used flashbacks, voiceover storytelling, a strong symbol and motif, and unique fading. First, we used flashbacks. Burton used this technique very often throughout the film, showing Edward Bloom’s life. We used it in a similar way to show the main character’s past experiences. With the flashbacks, we were able to tell the myth of the tree of knowledge and its origin. Secondly, voiceover storytelling was used in Big Fish, as well as in our film, to narrate the flashbacks as they move along. You can tell the person’s emotion in present times they tell the story that took place in the past. We used this technique to directly relate it to the film because it was used so often in it. Next, we used a main symbol. The snow can be compared to the water in Big Fish. Snow was the symbol we used to transition between cuts and it also played with the idea of the knowledge tree similar to the way Burton used water in Big Fish. Both were recurring motifs that played a major part in connecting to the main idea. Finally, the last technique we used was unique fading. Burton used many things to fade, from shadow puppets in the dark to bright lights of the sun. We used the fading of white to keep the idea of the snow and magic. Using snow as our water, it