Lisa Casper

David Brodsky
Tanner Parker
Cameron McRae
Madelyn Capser
Austin Jocobson
12/8/2016
Film 1023
Nabhan
One Person's Craziness is Another Person's Reality

Lisa Casper

One Person's Craziness is Another Person's Reality

Some may say that there isnt an idea for a movie out there that hasnt already been
thought of, but its not so much the idea that really brings the story to life. The key factor in
bringing a great idea and story to life, is the director. The director basically calls the shots,
meaning that he decides the film techniques, symbols, parallels, and actors. When you find a
good director, it is easy to recognize their films. One of the many great directors from today is
Tim Burton.
Timothy Walter Burton, formally known as Tim Burton, is an American born director,
producer, artist, writer, and animator (so basically, he can do most things to make a film). He was
born on August 25th of 1958 to Jean and Bill Burton. He is the oldest of two children. His
younger brother Daniel Burton is also an artist. Tim grew up in Burbank, California, where his
mom owned a cat themed gift shop and his father was a minor league baseball player.
He attended Burbank High school. He was an average student who didnt do very much
to excel in his normal course studies. Tim was more of an introvert. He was always imagining
what the world was really like and creating these dark images in his mind. Throughout his youth
and his adulthood, he was able to find his talent for drawing and designing. Burton has released a
book full of images that he has drawn on napkins at restaurants, bars and such. After graduating

Lisa Casper
high school, Tim went on to study at the California Institute of Arts. He graduated from the
institute in 1979 where he went on to work for Disney.
Tim was always fascinated with films and art. As he was growing up, his favorite movies
were films with Vincent Price and Japanese monster movies. In one of Tims first short films he
had the opportunity to work with his childhood hero and make a film about Vincent Price. The
film appropriately had the name of Vincent. It debuted in 1982 and was super successful,
winning various awards. Tim had made many other short films growing up. most of which were
filmed in his backyard. His films were largely stop motions. The most famous of his childhood
films is The Island of Doctor Agor(1971) which was filmed when he was just 13 years old.
Tim Burton is known for his gothic, dark films. One might ask where his imagination of
these frightening places comes from. Growing up is suburban Burbank, Burton found it
frightening how the people around him could live life so superficially without ever looking at
both sides of reality. He couldnt help but imagine about death and darkness when everyone else
was trying to avoid those topics and pretend that they didnt exist. Tim Burton once said, That
thematic thing of the living world being much more dead than the dead world, playing with
juxtapositions and those feelings I remember having that from very early on. It goes back to
childhood: I just remember that feeling that what people call normal is not normal and what
people call abnormal isnt abnormal.
Burton keeps his gothic style even when he dresses. When you see him, he tends to have
this long black untamed hair. It is as wild and free as his spirit. He is normally wearing black
clothes with sunglasses. Tim says he prefers dark clothes, that way he doesnt have to worry
about his outfits matching colors.

Lisa Casper
Auteur theory is the theory of filming that states that the director is viewed as the major
creative force in a motion picture. In other words, the auteur theory states that the director is the
one who brings the movie to life, perhaps even more so than the screenwriter. The theory arose
from France in the late 1940s. Auteur Theory, or Auteurism, was dubbed by Andrew Sarris, an
American Film Critic. The theory was an outgrowth of Andre Bazin and Alexandre Astruc.
This theory covers the fundamental visual elements such as camera placement, blocking,
lighting, and scene length. All of these are controlled by the director and all of these helps to
convey the message of the film. So, in that sense, the director controls the message of the film.
Supporters of the theory state that all successful films will have the unmistakable personal stamp
of the director. Some examples of Auteurs include Steven Spielberg, Michael Bay, Christopher
Nolan, a personal favorite, and most of All, Tim Burton
It is almost impossible to consider a director an auteur without noticing some sort of actor
choice monotony. In Johnny...I mean, Tim Burtons case, it is pretty easy to spot a particular
repetitious choice in actors in his films. This repetition not only makes it so his movies are
identifiable, but it allows for his values and beliefs to be known as well. Although the director is
in charge of having the final say on pretty much everything that goes on the screen, he does need
the help from others to make it work. This is why he has been known for choosing teammates
who have similar attributes.
In a discussion between MTV News and Tim Burton, the question arose, what actually
happens when Johnny and Tim get in a room together to chat about making a movie? His
response proves this concept. That's the thing we don't really know," Burton says. "It's very
nice to have someone that you can have a completely abstract conversation with and leave the
room, feel like everything's fine, and then realize that if you pick it apart, you have absolutely no

Lisa Casper
idea what either of you said." (Ditzian, 2009) This demonstrates the beliefs of Tim Burton.
Because of his upbringing he questions everything about reality and creates strangeness and
obscurity in his films. This is how he sees the world and believes things to be beautiful. The I
dont know of what is going on, and what is happening is one of Tims signatures.
Something that sets Tim Burtons characters aside is how strange they behave for lack
of a better word. We could turn a movie on halfway through and by the strangeness of the
characters we would guess it is a Tim Burton film. As mentioned, Johnny Depp is often in Tim
Burtons films and has a knack for behaving strangely. Another thing that helps to accentuate the
strangeness in his films is the bogusness and strangeness of his characters. The makeup alone is
very distinctive on all of Tims characters. The characters behave oddly, and when we say oddly,
we mean out of the norm. Not what we would normally see. The characters act strangely and
often leave the viewers wondering why they act the way that they do. These questions are not
usually answered and after watching a film by Tim Burton one is still left analyzing and
pondering his strange characters. This generates a large portion of Tims success and is again,
one of the few things that makes him an auteur.
Any film directed by Tim Burton is sure to stand out. This auteur is defined by his unique
use of style, theme, music, and genre; to list just a few film techniques. All of which, when
combined, are what solidifies Tim Burton as an auteur.
When talking about style, a few films come straight to mind. Films such as Edward
Scissorhands (1990), Nightmare before Christmas (1993), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
(2005), and Dark Shadows (2005). (As a side note, Tim Burton did not direct Nightmare before
Christmas, however, he did play a very large role in the production of this film and as such It
can be credited as a Tim Burton film.) Within all off these films, there are elements that are

Lisa Casper
clearly the same. Colors play a big role, as does the separation between classes or group
structures. For instance, in Edward Scissorhands, the people who live in the township all have
vibrant colors surrounding them, whether in their houses or clothing, whereas Edward and his
surrounds all have drab colors. The same can be said for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The
surrounding area of everything relating to anything outside of the factory is drab and colorless,
but once inside the factory, colors and change are boundless. This is also an example of how
Burton uses visual imagery to show contrast between his characters, whether it be for ideology,
or conformity vs non conformity. In The Nightmare before Christmas, when Jack finds the
portal to Christmas town, everything about that place is strikingly different than Halloweentown.
Furthermore, when Jack begins to bring back pieces of Christmastown, they show a stark
contrast in before and after. All of this combined further adds to the evidence that shows how
unique Tim Burton is as a director.
Another standard use by Tim Burton in his films is solidarity. Of the films listed above,
all can be grouped into this category. Examples of such method can be seen in the Laboratory
from Edward Scissorhands being perched over the town below, or Jack Skellingtons lone tower
spiraling high above Halloweentown. There is a clear cut separation between Willy Wonkas
factory and everyone else around it, or even in the manor setting from Dark Shadows far
estranged from the neighboring town.
There is another aspect to Tim Burton films that many seems to overlook when writing
about the themes used throughout that set Tim Burton apart from the rest, and that is his pure
imagination. No other director can be compared to Burton in the ways that he spins stories and
shapes worlds. Without his unique talent as an artist, it would be hard to say that the world of

Lisa Casper
film would be where it was today. Tim Burton is a director like no other, and undoubtedly will
stand among the greats forever.
I think we can all agree that Tim Burton does have a very unusual, quirky, and fictional
style, but that is what makes his productions great. His films do standout from the rest because of
this. Tim Burton once said, It's good as an artist to always remember to see things in a new,
weird way, and I think that is why he has this particular style of movie that tends to stand out
from others movies.

Lisa Casper

Reference:

"Auteur Theory." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 20

July 1998. Web. 07 Dec. 2016

Ditzian, E. (2009, January 9). Tim Burton explains his abstract relationship with
Johnny Depp. Retrieved December 6, 2016, from
http://www.mtv.com/news/1620521/tim-burton-explains-his-abstract-relationshipwith-johnny-depp/

In Salisbury, Mark (ed.) Burton on Burton, Faber and Faber, London, 2006, p.
253.

"Tim Burton." BrainyQuote.com. Xplore Inc, 2016. 7 December 2016.

https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/t/timburton454905.html