TIM BURTON

TIM BURTON.

Who is he?

Tim Burton is an American film director, film producer, writer, poet, artist and animator. He is most famous for his dark, mysterious movies that blend themes of fantasy and horror, these inclue: Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas. 










What is his style like?

Here is an extract from one of Tim Burton's earliest work, and as you can see from the video his style and methods do not change throughout his whole career. He maintains the same ideology when making films which makes it really obvious that it is a Tim Burton animation.

After creating his own production company, Burton directed the extravagant film Batman (1989). The film was the first film to sell $100 million in the first 10 days of release. When watching films that Tim Burton has directed, you can automatically spot the techniques used and the unique style he portrays. Most of his films have a lot of tension and suspense and you can tell this from the choice of different angles. Many of his movies are distinctive in the way that they have been filmed, he often uses dark lighting to create a subdued atmosphere. Because its like this in more than one movie, we notice that this is a trademark of his and enjoys filming this way. The themes that are repeated in quite a lot of Tim Burton’s movies is that they are mainly creepy and have a dark fe


TIMELINE:

1976 – Tim Burton attended the California Institute of the Arts. In his second year he joined the Disney animation programme

1979 – Burton joins the Disney animation ranks at Walt Disney Productions’ animation studio

1981 – Burton worked as a concept artist on  The Fox and the Hound

1982 – Whilst still at Disney Burton made his first short, Vincent – a six minute black and white stop motion film based on a poem written by Burton himself

1985 – Pee Wee’s Big Adventure was released

1988 –  Beetlejuice, a black comedy about a couple having to deal with life after death,  was released. The film grossed $80 million on a relatively low budget and won a Best Makeup Design Oscar

1989 – Burton directs Batman casting Michael Keaton as Batman and Jack Nicholson as The Joker. The film grossed $250 million in the U.S. alone and $400 million worldwide

1990 – Tim Burton co-wrote and directed Edward Scissorhands casting ’80s teen icon, Johnny Depp, as the lead

1992 – Burton marries Lena Gieseke

1992 - Batman Returns directed by Tim Burton only after he told Warner Brothers that he wanted total control of the film

1993 – Burton wrote and produced but did not direct, The Nightmare before Christmas, due to working on Batman Returns

1994 – Burton and Depp reunite for Ed Wood. Directed by Tim Burton with Johnny Depp as the lead character. A film-maker said to be “the worst director of all time”

1994 – Burton was told Batman Returns was too dark for children. Therefore Burton only co-produced Batman Forever, the third film of the franchise

1996 – Tim Burton produced James and the Giant Peach with Henry Selick directing as they did in The Nightmare before Christmas

1996 – Mars Attacks! directed by Tim Burton and based on the cult trading card series of the same name.

1999 – Depp and Burton return with Sleepy Hollow, accompanied by Danny Elfman, who created a magnificent score for the supernatural film

2001 – A turn in Burton’s films as Planet of the Apes was released grossing $68 million in its opening weekend

2001 – Burton and Helena Bonham Carter begin seeing each other

2003 – Burton directed Big Fish, based on the novel Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions by Daniel Wallace

2003 – October 4th -  Helena Bonham Carter and Tim Burton’s son, Billy Burton, was born

2005 – Burton’s version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was released and once again, Johnny Depp is cast as the lead, Willy Wonka

2005 – Tim Burton’s first directed full length stop-motion film, The Corpse Bride,was released. Featuring Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter as the lead voices

2007 – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street won Burton the National Board of Review Award for best director and a Golden Globe for best director. Also he won Academy Award for Best Achievement in Art Direction. Sweeney Todd showed us another collaboration with Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter as Sweeney Todd and Miss Lovett

2007 – 15th December -  Helena Bonham Carter and Tim Burton’s daughter, Nell Burton, was born

2010 – Alice in Wonderland – Tim Burton’s version shows the story to be set 13 years after the original when Alice is 19 years old. Another film which sees Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter cast as the Mad Hatter and the Red Queen