The Task: Term 2 Test Block

3 Parts all covering auteur: Cretic task- find the director you like, analyse their work/ Design Task- planing a scene or two that are in the style of the chosen director/ Production Task- making the film 
Cretic- Prepare an oral presentation which explores a director that has a signature style in auteur theory 

• *Examine directors:  techniques, signature style, recurring themes, plot devices & symbolic codes or motifs ( Specific evidence)
• Formal oral: praying the work of the director in terms of if there are an auteur 

• Take notes on stylistic elements and signature that they use: ex. characters, storyline, genre 
• Are the directors film weird or quirky 
• Tim Burton: _____ (name of film) google images of directors work and save the images 
• Images are the most important part of their work 
• Look at the most important signature of the work and start watching films 
• Draft due in test block 
• Presentation is oral
• Powerpoint or video to talk about or talk with 
• Presentation doesn't include the oral time ( oral time is speaking time) 
• Can show video  20-30secs 
• Analyse directors, visual elements, choice of characters and style
• Reference what other people have said about the director online 
• Analytical presentation : why is the director considered and auteur  
• 6-8 min oral 

Movies directed by Tim Burton

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory:

• Actor Johnny Depp & Helena Bonham- Carter
• Opening sequence visually captivating 
• Music and score by Danny Elfman ( used in a lot of Burton's movies) 
• Factory and town  is dark mostly black and grey 
• Visual features of Burton's movies 

The Chocolate Factory

• Family is not rich very poor
•  Weird character: Charlie's grand aunt, going off topic " I love grapes" when talking about Willy Wonka 
• Flashback ( technique used in Burton movies): Factory is colourful 
• Costume colours at the factory are bright 
• Voice of Willy Wonka ( Depp) sounds odd- girlish 
• Chocolate place melts 
• Flipping from bright/ colourful to dark and dull to evoke mystery ( Burton)- camera shots are slightly canted and low angle 

Type of Shots mainly used in Burton Films: 

Similiar shots 

-

• The character Willy Wonka becomes a mysterious man ( Burton) 
• Uses the word " mystery" in the line " it certainly is a mystery" 
• Set/ Props: The dining table is a bedroom with a bed in which the grandparents sleep in: both grandparents sleep on the same bed directly facing each other 

• " Nothing's impossible Charlie" 
• Town at night is eerie and spooky 
• Costume are a mix of black, brown, dark brown, dark purple & stripes

Burton costume stripes: 

• Set in London ( his films are either set in London or America) 
• Fat kid Augustus: just like how in Alice in Wonderland Tweedledum and TweedleDee are referred to as "Fat Boys", Burton includes as Fat kid eating chocolate 

Fat characters Burton film: 

•  Burton often uses autopsy in his movies: the furthest he could get to use this in a children's movie is in the form us raw meat like sausages  
• Choreographic movements in sync with music 
• Heads of animals are seen on the walls of the Salt's house
• Stripes are used as this is a part of Burton costumes style signature: it is seen when Mr. Salt is dressed in a suite 

• " That was worse than the Fat Boy" referencing to Alice in Wonderland " Fat Boys" TweedleDum/Dee
• Sense of Hope when Charlie is opening the wrapper 
• All extremely different characters and all together weird: Veruca Salt, Violet B, Augustus, Mike

• Grandpa Joe is very weird; dancing 
• Charlie is very intelligent 
•  Although set in England there is no time period and in the Golden ticket is says " Be at the factory by 10am" but there is no address or city 

• Colourful display in the factory opening in contrast to the dull city
• Wonka ( Depp) character is unique and eccentric costume is futuristic

• Wonka ( Depp) high pitch voice, pale face and bob hair 
• Burton's main characters such as Willy Wonka and other main characters in his movies often don't have parents in his films this is a common theme throughout : Wonka misses his parents in particular his dad saying " Dad? Papa?" Almost going through a flashback but doesn't 
• Set design inside the chocolate factory different size trees and weirdly shaped and seize trees

• As an auteur Burton has a hand with the scripts and because of his fascinating with the police department, modern technology, fingerprints and autopsy, he references cannibalism in the line " Everything in this room is edible, even I am edible but that is called cannibalism and is in fact frowned upon in most societies" 
• Oompa Lumpa short people that look identical to each other: Lumpa Land " I teach geography.... There is no such pla-" " Well then you'll know all about it and know what a terrible country it is." 
•  Lumpa Land made up world ( Burton) 
• Oompa Lumpa are even more weird and eccentric : dances around with a cocao bean on their head

• Oompa Lumpa singing either oddly high or low there is no in-between 
• '' are wearing stripes sleeves which again is incorporated in every Burton Movie
• Wonka ( Depp) is extremely sarcastic to the point of funny   
• 
  

Task: Director: Tim Burton/ Alice in Wonderland

General

• The type of lens the director uses and match the lens length 

[ Research ]

Alice in Wonderland: The Visual Guide- Jo Cassey & Laura Gilbert

• Underland- gloomy scary place to live
• The main character Alice liked to dress up with her dolls in different costumes 
• Alice wants her independence and is a determined girl 
• Not afraid to speak her mind 
• Alice wears striped gloves as a sign of individuality- this is also one of Burton's signatures having stripes as a part of costume is every movie of his 
• Alice is views the world differently and wants to do the opposite of what her family say 
• Burton's characters are often weird and dramatic: 

Aunt Imogen - wants Alice to marry a Prince and is waiting for her fiancé but it is only in Aunt Imogen's imagination

Charles Kingsleigh - he is very unique and similar to Alice and is a little looney ( similar to the Mad Hatter). King sleigh believed that " the only way to achieve the impossible is to believe in the possible"

The Chattaways- Gossipy and giggly, they chat too much and are very weird characters, their character later relate to TweedleDum and TweedleDee in Alice's imagination in Wonderland

The White Rabbit- Stylish, squish and punctual, he is never late and is often frantic, well groomed ears. The White Rabbit has a level of responsibility and is very efficient and organised.

Dormouse- Wears The Red QueensI colours. Burton does this to show which side the mouse is on. Mad Hatters side kick and is secretells Alice her destiny in love with him. Keeps an eye tied to her belt and uses a sharp pin to take someones eye out

TweedleDum & TweedleDee- Stripes on the costume ( Burton's signature)

Caterpillar- The wise man tells Alice her destiny and smokes to add to the weirdness of the character

The Red Queen ( Antagonist)- Has a big head and a tiny crown, cold and superior

Knave of Hearts ( Antagonist)- Violent character ( Burton ) ,  brutal and murderous

• It is set in England which one of the places which Burton mostly sets his scenes 
• Wonderland is has to time nor place or concept of time 
• Costumes and Hair: Alice's hair are cascading long blonde locks and her dress wasn't design for falling down muddy holes
• Playing with size and portion of the body as one of Burton's signatures: Alice shoots up and shrinks ( meaning that Alice would go through ups and downs in life) & The Round Hall doors are all different shapes and sizes 
•  Burton as a part of his gothic visual style he uses monkey hands, demonic masks and cracked mirrors when Alice falls down the Rabbit hole 
• Burton makes everything bigger than life: The mushrooms, flowers ( faces on them) 
• Like all Burton movies it starts off happy and bright and soon turns dark and mysterious which is what Burton is best known for
• Actors that Burton frequently uses in his movies are Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham-Carter which appear in Alice in Wonderland 
• Underland- is dark and eerie 
• Red Queens Castle has her crest at the highest point of the castle/  Animal cruelty 
• Odd looking "minions" 
• Knights have spears in their hands

Spaghetti Western

Spaghetti Western:

American made western that the good guy wore white and black guys wore black. Good guys aren't always good and bad guys aren't always bad. Took Clint Eastwood, half actors are Italian. Less dialogue and more pure cinema, dub the Italian people. Low budget directors took westerns films and shot over in Italy.

Hitchcock Pop culture

References in pop culture:

• Lady Gaga lyrics in Bad Romance and Born this way- " I want you Psycho your Vertigo stick, I want you in my Rear Window..." 
• The Simpsons cartoon " Dial M for murder" which is one of the themes in his movies and references Hitchcocks movies: The Birds, North by Northwest, Psycho etc. 
• That 70's Show- Kitty is attack by crows in the shower and Kelso is chased by a toy plane
• Pretty Little Liars (PLL) name of the coffee shop that the main characters visit is called " Rear Window Brew" 
• Slasher movie trend 
• Inspired comedy tv series and films 

Tim Burton

http://illusion.scene360.com/art/75828/tim-burton-film-analysis/

http://burtons-diary.blogspot.com.au

Chosen Director : Tim Burton 

Tim Burton well known auteur director known for many movies including the iconic movie Beetlejuice (1988) where he was presented the script for the movie and took the role as director as it was filled with many quirky and artistic opportunities. Beetlejuice was also the first film in which actor Michael Keaton appeared under the director of Burton, Keaton then went on to star in Batman (1989) which was also directed by Burton which sooner became his biggest box-office hit and still remains. It is evident that almost all of Tim Burton's films are dark and eccentric, although during his early years he tried experimenting with a different style of directing he quickly went back to his old techniques.

As an auteur director Burton chooses to work with many of the same actors over again for their films including Michael Keaton as mentioned previously, Paul Reubens, Lisa Marie and Christopher Lee. Two actors in particular that he is still working with today is actor Johnny Deep and Helena Bonham-Carter, the trio have worked on numerous films together including Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber on Fleet Street, The Corps bride, Dark Shadows and more recently the Alice in Wonderland movie series. A signature in Burton films is that "fathers" are often portrayed in a negative light this is evident in movies such as: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber on Fleet Street, Sleepy Hollow, Dark Shadows & Charlie and the Chocolate factory. The antagonist in his films are cold, superior and brutal they often can be seen avoiding other characters in the movie. The heroes however, are cowards, bizarre and intelligent ( ex.Johnny Depps characters). Furthermore most of Burton's characters are often seen as friendly and optimistic despite the circumstances of the scene scenario. Music is a big aspect of Burton's style the effective use of musical interludes and it comes to no surprise that Burton films include a Gothic atmosphere and set design to re-enforce his visual idea and vision for his film, the use of gothic castles, churches or older creepy buildings are a way to trace the film to Tim Burton. Relating to setting: set at a non-specific location but, incorporates elements of England and America.

Tim Burton as an Auteur director: https://pennyrowe.wordpress.com/2013/01/17/auteur-director-tim-burton/

• Collab with Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter 
• Uses Danny Elfman as his musician and composer for the soundtrack to his movies
• Dark movies with a little humour and quirkiness 
• Includes Women's choir in his movie soundtracks 
• Themes: mysteriousness, eeriness
• Uses scientific techniques and police equipment : finger printing and autopsies 
• Majority of Burton films use flashbacks that affected the character in the past
• Never address the time or place in the films
• Characters are colourful and dramatic: eccentric, weird
• Nightmare before Christmas: odd shape portion to the body ( Mad Hatter, Tweedle Dum/ Tweedle Dee
• Oddly high or low pitch voice

Fantastical Imaginings of Tim Burton - https://www.acmi.net.au/media/428206/edkit-burton-fantastical.pdf

• Vyvyan Stranieri ( Education Programmer, Australian Centre of Moving Images) describes Burton as " a master auteur" 
• Burton constantly paints, photograph, drawing exploring different characters exploring content 

• Challenges Hollywood to further develop his own voice and his own vision for the film 
• As an auteur Burton collaborates with everyone in the team : costume makers, set designers hair and makeup assistants etc. 
•  "German Expressionism- was an artistic movement ( encompassing: film, theatre, painting etc.) that sought to give shape to psychological states though highly stylised visual features. 
• Burton early works Vincent  used German Expressionism it was identified through cinema styles as well as art 
• Expressionist film makers and auteurs like Burton use set designs that are non realistic, geometrically obscure shapes ( Trees in Chocolate factory, over grown mushrooms in Alice) 
• Burton uses Mise- en -scene to insert mood and deeper meaning into the film 
• Burton characters and narrative style mostly represented the main character as an 'outsider' that is often misunderstood 
• 
  

Introduction to Auteur Theory

Founded by the French in the 1940's the word "auteur" translated to english means " author. Generally, used as another word for a directors style which distinguishes his/ her films apart from other directors. Tim Burton, Alfred Hitchcock & Martin Scorsese are all referred to as Auteur directors. Auteur directors mostly work closely with other members of the film crew in order to for-show their vision for their film and are very critical from the style of clothes, hair, makeup and the set design.

Alfred Hitchcock is one of the first names who comes to mind when talking about auteur theory. His most famous films are *Vertigo, Psycho, The Birds, North by North West and Rear Window - (worked with Grace Kelly). Hitchcock’s story telling techniques were renowned for their intelligent plots, witty dialogue, mystery and murder. Hitchcock played on peoples psychological disturbances. He has been attributed with revolutionizing the thriller genre. The reason for his success, however, was not the genre that he was working in, but rather the skill which he exhibited in the film-making.  ie his treatment of the subject in terms of the shots he uses and how he combines them are more important than the genre. One of Hitchcock’s best-known screen moments is the terrifying shower scene in Psycho. This shot features 70 distinct shots in less than 1 minute. They are fused together in such a way that it is difficult to distinguish between the Montage and the Mise-en-Scène. Known as the master of suspense, and known for collaborating with many people. Hitchcock was also well-known for his choice of heroines. They were typically beautiful blondes who appear to be respectable characters, but they when they are in danger or trapped in some way, they react in an animalistic way, Psycho was considered the first slasher movie, Julie Andrews worked with Hitchcock. The reason he stopped working with Grace Kelly because she got married/ became the princess of Monoco. Blamed James Stuart performance in North by North West  (Sometimes this manifests itself in criminal activities). In To Catch a Thief, Grace Kelly is a cat burglar and in Psycho, Janet Leigh's character steals $40,000 and gets murdered. One of the first directors to use 3D, " Dial in for murder" to create depths in the shots rather than a gimmick. North by North West deals with double identity, use different elements of psychology. Hitchcock could choose to use colour or black and white. Start of his movies were similar, became known for 'cool' title sequences. 

Hitchcock signature elements blocked camera movement in sync with the actors, strong visual lengthy dialogue, strong themes as mentioned previously, suspense, dark humour, romance and murder. Hitchcock used plenty of visual locations and settings, in his films the location is not a just background but a major part of the film. This had become a part of Hitchcockian visual signature. Two stories taking place: visual on top of the dialogue, long edits, clever camera blocking and cinematography. The motif in the person environment, would be the same colour around the character