People Who Inspire Me To Become A Filmmaker #1-Tim Burton.

My first and foremost inspiration for wanting to become a film director is the eccentric and ingenious Tim Burton. I was first introduced to Burton's work when I watched Beetlejuice as a child, which still remains one of my favorite films. His work has always fascinated me and encouraged me to continue writing strange Gothic-esque dark yet humorous stories and screenplays. I admire his ability to create films that are truly pieces of art and always contain an underlying theme or message. For every media class that I have attended thus far I have either written a paper focusing on a specific Burton film or I have written a biography in order to better acquaint myself with who he is and why he chose the path of filmmaking. I have always shown interest in dark mysteries and horror stories even at a young age when I picked up an Edgar Allan Poe poem for the first time or when I watched The Shining and thought it was brilliant. I feel a connection between the filmmaker's desire to dig deep into the fantastical world of monsters, goblins, ghouls and complex fictional tales. For the longest time I felt that I was the only one of my friends who took such interest in obscure things and almost every time that we had a girl's movie night, I always suggested to watch a dark or action film while my friends unanimously agreed to watch a chick flick. As this trend continued, I decided to try and find a person who shared the same affinity for eccentric films as myself. That was when I discovered Tim Burton and ultimately confirmed my passion for wanting to become a filmmaker since I had already been making short movies with my neighborhood while filming on my Digital Blue camera for a few years. Ever since then I have always identified myself as a big Tim Burton connoisseur and I could relate myself to his unique interests and his driving passion to create films that were not only important for his own identity, but that would also impact the audience in a deeper way.

Another reason why I admire Burton is because he is a talented artist and cartoonist in addition to being a filmmaker and had his start at Disney Animation Studios, illustrating parts of the animated film, The Fox and The Hound. He did not enjoy his time as an animator at the studios since his style of drawing was a far cry from that of the traditional Disney artwork. I too have been drawing since I was a young girl and I am currently expressing that interest as an illustrator for the show 'Camelittle' that is student-run at the university. Similar to Burton, it was a bit challenging for me to adopt the artistic style of the show to my own signature cartooning at first, but soon I was able to incorporate elements of my work into theirs, which made working much easier for me and I absolutely love being on the show. Burton's use of romantic imagery within his pieces is fascinating to me. Although the artwork and animation in his films and sketches are quirky, they inspire me to find my own artistic style and apply it to my own projects and endeavors. I truly believe that his passion is undoubtedly the ultimate force that shaped his fame and recognition today and I admire him greatly for all of his achievements.

Burton uses the elements of contrast and affinity greatly in his feature films and shorts. In every movie that he has directed and/or written, there is always a contrast between the "real world" and the "alternate world" (which is sometimes the world of the dead as in Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride). This contrast is usually depicted through the use of dark and light imagery. For example in The Nightmare Before Christmas, Halloween Town contains a gray and black cold and bleak setting with monsters as the inhabitants while Christmas Town is just the opposite with colorful glowing lights and a warm atmosphere. Affinity, or similarity, in the films is that there is usually an outcast, since Burton considered himself an out casted individual during his childhood. Take for instance Edward Scissorhands who is alienated from society because of his unique physical appearance and is eventually a wrongly accused victim as a result of his uniqueness. This is also shown with the character of Frankenweenie, a friendly dog who is brought back to life by his owner and is feared throughout the town because of his appearance.

    

Halloween Town contrasted with Christmas Town. Which would you rather live in?


Tension and release is created as a means of pushing the limits on the comfortability of the audience. The use of tension is evidenced in Sleepy Hollow when the Headless Horseman brutally decapitates a character in front of protagonist Ichabod Crane. The viewer's first response to this action is one of both disgust and shock as the severed head rolls towards the front of the screen. The release of this particular scene happens when Ichabod comically faints in front of the camera, creating a sense of comic relief. Burton added this reaction shot to purposely add humor after a disturbing situation. The mere fact that Ichabod, a detective in charge of solving the mysterious murders occurring at Sleepy Hollow, shares the same nauseous feeling as the audience after witnessing the Headless Horseman's strike is particularly humorous and causes a release of uncomfortable tension. This element of tension and release is crucial for all experimental filmmakers who aspire to push the limits and take their audiences to uncomfortable heights while managing to bring them back to a level of comfort with hilarity.





Ichabod fainting. I LOVE Johnny Depp!

The objective element of the scene mentioned above is that the headless horseman chopped off one of the character's heads in a disturbing fashion (is there any other way to cut off a head?). We as an audience know that the head is no longer attached to the body; it is visual and straightforward in its presentation. The subjective element, however, is the question of whether or not Ichabod Crane is the right individual for solving the murder mystery of Sleepy Hollow since seems to be unable to handle events related to his mission as evidenced by his sudden fainting. Burton intends to pose this indirect question for the audience's interpretation. If Ichabod is unfit for stomaching the gory events taking place in Sleepy Hollow, who should be in charge of the investigation? Is anyone really fit for the job? Also, Ichabod's means of solving the case are considered unorthodox to the townspeople of Sleepy Hollow, which also adds to the question if Ichabod is qualified or not.

**And just for the heck of it, I'm going to throw in Burton's first animated short, Vincent, because I think that it is phenomenal and captures Burton's signature style. Plus, I just visited the Chiodo Brothers Animation Studio in Burbank, California where this was filmed! Enjoy :).