"Tim Burton interviewed on The Treatment"

           On February 20, 2013 The Treatment host Elvis Mitchell interviewed director and animator Tim Burton regarding his career and his stop motion animated film Frankenweenie. Tim Burton's extensive career had begun with his passion in the arts and illustration, landing him an animator position with Disney. Since then he has made his career acting as writer, producer and director for several films such as Beetlejuice (1988), Edward Scissorhands (1990), Sweeney Todd  (2007), and Alice in Wonderland (2010). True to his roots he has also been involved in a few stop motion animated films such as the popular cult classic The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), Corpse Bride (2005), and now his latest film Frankenweenie (2012). His films are known for their dark atmosphere and twisted designs but feature characters with likable attributes despite living in undesirable or bleak environments.

           After listening to the interview I found that many of Tim Burton's films are the result of several influences he received in his youth. It is a common circumstance for an artist to impart a piece of themselves in the worlds or the characters they create, that is how the an artist makes something theirs, it actually reflects their image like a mirror. What I found surprising is how fresh he had appeared to have kept these memories alive in his heart to be able to make full movies about them. His characters such as Edward Scissorhands reflect himself appealing to that part of all of us that desires to be understood but his stop motion films are the result of stop motion pictures he had seen in his youth. That innocence and purity of youth gives his films as an appeal that charms many audiences to his movies, attracting them through their own remnants of childhood memories.

         In regard to his stop motion animations Tim Burton stated that he gets excited when on the sets of the films. "They're somewhat crude but there's something beautiful like inanimate objects coming to life." Getting to be on the sets with the puppets opens up a whole new world of action and emotion that can be conveyed. The fact that these emotions come from these puppets, these inanimate objects, and to see them come to life in a scene is a driving force in his films. Tim Burton agreed that the result of the effort that goes into filming a single scene is what makes it worthwhile for many of the animators that work with him on his projects.

         His animations provide the audience with a tactile experience with textures and designs that have become associated with his films. This appeals to our child like wonder of wanting to reach out and touch something with a unique texture once again going back to youth and his characters possess this same curiosity. This purity is present despite the common element in Tim Burton's films where the parents of the character are either not present or have parented the character in a seemingly negative light."No matter how you grow up or what your relationship is, you spend your whole life trying to deal with your parents whether they're alive or dead or whatever. It's something that makes you who you are, haunts you forever, a very powerful relationship." Tim Burton had said that he was never really all that close to his father but his death did affect him and the distant or strained relationship between parent and child in his films can most like be attributed to his own.

        Despite the image of the Gothic and strange film that Hollywood has labelled Tim Burton's films Tim Burton revealed that the aura his films exude is another result of his upbringing and a "normal" part of himself. He grew up in suburbia by a cemetery, which is a cold and morbid place to most people but for him it was a peaceful place to be alone with his thoughts. To others this strange activity would label him as strange for participating in, something he grew up to accept. "I've been an uncomfortable person. I grew up feeling weird in my own surroundings, so things that were deemed normal felt abnormal to me." Tim Burton's films also possess this theme as several of his lead characters are out of place or misunderstood characters in an environment where denizens simply can't relate to them.

        I thoroughly enjoyed this interview and greatly valued what he had to say in regards to family, the magic of stop motion and growing up in an environment where it feels you don't fit in. I found him surprisingly easy to relate to being both an artist and an introvert and I believe there are many others in the world that are labelled as odd when they're just different from the accepted norm that can take Tim Burton's words and journey to heart or as a source of inspiration or maybe just take solace in the thought of someone else who isn't so "normal" making it in the world we live. I would say that Tim Burton gives the film world a bit of lighthearted strangeness. He gives it films where the misunderstood outcasts can come together under the shade of darkness his films provide.

A Behind the Scenes Look at our Feature Film

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford


Overall Look

The several aspects of the cinematography that can be seen throughout the film do help and add up to the overall look of the movie. The film stock was fast in several scenes as I would understand it considering there are quite a few scenes that take place at night and even the scenes filmed during the day were toned down in order to give the movie a gray feeling. Lighting for the night scenes were provided mostly by lantern or candle and were done so strategically so that what the audience needed to see for the scene to be understood was seen. Lighting done during the day looked naturalistic but not too bright as colors in the movie weren't very vibrant.

 The lenses gave the film some of it's most unique character. The cinematographer Roger Deakins his own technique involving the lenses that resulted in a wonderful border around certain scenes.  The framing was effective and contained the composition to provide an interesting work of art. The angles were consistent for the most part and kept at eye level throughout the movie. To compliment the slow pace of the story the camera movement was kept at a minimum allowing the audience to focus on the characters within a scene. To add to the focus put on characters slow takes were used generously. The overall look of the film was comprised of all of these elements in order to produce a beautiful film.

Images

      While I'm sure there are several examples of imagery in the film, the image that stood out the most to me was in the train robbery scene which in my opinion it was executed brilliantly, especially for being shot mostly in the dark. It was noted in the class presentation of the film's cinematographer Roger Deakins that one of his film traits was the use of back-lighting a character or playing with prominent darkness.

This is what I took note of as the train robbery scene.

        After watching the film in it's entirety this image becomes all the more powerful. Jesse James emerges from the smoke a dark figure armed in both hands, a menacing figure. The physical representation of Jesse James as a figure of darkness and as a messenger of death throughout the movie becomes solidified in this scene early on in the film and with this image specifically. There are few other images that lead up to this scene that indicate the role Jesse will fill in the film early on.

Shot Lengths

            In general the film has a slow pacing to allow for more insight into the emotions and thoughts of the characters, resulting in several lengthy scenes of characters in thought or scenes of inanimate objects accompanied by narration. These scenes were mostly used to exhibit Jesse James as he became increasingly aggressive, paranoid and depressed.

Shot Types

A majority of the movies shots were medium in my opinion but aside from those I took note of several Medium Close-Ups, Medium Long-Shots, and  Extreme Long-Shots.

Medium Long-Shots were used in scenes were the environment in which a character was placed was used to reflect or compliment the state of being of a character or the composition of the scene. For this film Roger Deakins wanted to create beautiful and artistic compositions, as such scenes like the one above are used multiple times throughout the film.

             Medium Close-Ups were used the most aside from Medium Shots and acted in the same roles as Medium Shots showing expression and posture during conversation or interaction between 2 or more of the characters. As character development and insight was a focus of the film it's understandable that these shots were used greatly. 

              As Jesse James and the members of his gang wandered over the west the setting of the film was constantly changing. The Extreme Long-Shot was used to establish new environments and characters during travel.

Camera Angles

               Eye-Level shots were used predominantly and I did not take not of any significant or dramatic shift in camera angle. I was only able to locate very few scenes of considerable angle change. In those cases I believe they were used either to exude an artistic feeling or a sense of distortion. 

A somber scene i believe to exemplify the artistic vision of Roger Deakins.

A scene I interpreted as distorted, representing Jesse's state of mind.

Composition
          The cinematographer Roger Deakins planned each scene so that the composition would be apparent and it has even been noted that he took his inspiration in his scene composition from the artist Andrew Wyeth, a realist painter. Using similar color palettes of brown and black he gave the film a bleak but realistic feel. He also balanced his compositions making them similar to Wyeth's paintings conforming t the rule of thirds.

Similar to a painting

The Rule of Thirds

Camera Movement

          As stated before, the pacing of the film was slow paced in favor of more in-depth characters and progression of the story. As such the movement was slow or minimized to match the progression of the movie. Even in moments of great excitement the camera was either still or slow moving focusing instead on the feelings the facial expressions of the characters that were being conveyed in moments of distress and excitement.

Cinematography Style

Roger Deakins's cinematographic style involves using specific lenses he developed to fit his vision for the film. He called them "Deakinizers". Essentially these were old wide lenses he placed in front of the cameras to give the film a blurred effect around the edges of a scene. In such scenes it is used to represent the passage of time or a moment in the past that reveals more of the personality of a character. It is done intentionally as it occurs quite often through the film and becomes representation of the concept of time. The cinematography also calls attention to itself in scenes in great darkness, as earlier explained it was a trait of Deakins's to exaggerate such elements. Both of these I believe made the film into a wonderful artistic experience.

2 examples of "Deakinized" scenes showing the passing of time

Our Director!

Stanley Kubrick 

• film director  • screenwriter  • producer 

• cinematographer  • editor 

  Brief Biography

    - Jewish American 

    - Born in the Bronx, New York on July 26, 1928.

    - Dropped out of college to pursue freelance photography

  Film and Personal Traits


  •  dark humor, satire and irony

Lolita (1962)

Barry Lyndon (1975)

    •  book adaptations

    •   a demanding perfectionist with an eye for detail

  Kubrick's Many Famous Films

  2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

     A revolution for the Science-Fiction genre and a turning point for the art of special effects.

  A Clockwork Orange (1971)

Kubrick's most controversial film which received the most award nominations.

  The Shining (1980)

One of the first films to utilize Steadicam technology and a Horror film cult classic.

  Nominated Films and Award Winners

• Killer's Kiss           •   2001: A Space Odyssey 
• The Killing            •   A Clockwork Orange
• Path's of Glory      •  Barry Lyndon
• Spartacus             •  The Shining        
• Lolita                     •  Fullmetal Jacket
• Dr. Strangelove

Dr. Strangelove won the most awards as a Kubrick film.

A Clockwork Orange was nominated for the most awards.

A Dark Haze Covers the Stage

        The Film Noir genre is an dark and mysterious product of the American film industry that is comprised of several ideas and themes. It put the dark nature of the human heart and the concept of fate that is twisted in a way that does not bode well for the characters of a film on display for a wide audience to see back in the 30's and 40's. The director Errol Morris summarized one of these main ideas, "For me the great Noir films are films about fall guys, a person who finds himself caught in a net. The more he struggles, the deeper and deeper he becomes entwined in nightmare." In the Noir film "The Postman Always Rings Twice" this theme is evident as the tale of a man named Frank Chambers begins when he becomes involved with a married woman named Cora Smith. Their harmless flirtation quickly escalates into burning desire and the two begin down a path of Cora's ambitions with Frank ultimately facing the consequences for.

        Cora Smith, played by Lana Turner, is what is known as a femme fatale a common and key element of the Noir genre. " She's very smart, very powerful, and she's extremely sexual. She uses her sexuality to get what she's after and what she's after isn't the man in the picture, he's another tool. What she's after is something for herself." This depiction of the femme fatale as described by scholar Janey Place is a typical concept of the deadly woman in the noir films. The main character who is usually male comes across this woman and she uses him to reach her own ends while leading him astray and down a path of his own undoing. Cora Smith however doesn't exactly fit the role as a typical femme fatale. While she does manage to involve herself with Frank and is ultimately the source of his undoing she does not lead him done that road solely of her own accord. It is more of a joint effort that the two develop plans and devise schemes that get them into trouble. It is true she is the source of negative change in Frank's life but the things that are done are done out of desire and perhaps even genuine love. Cora is ambitious and driven as a femme fatale but does not use Frank as a tool to reach her own ends, at least not intentionally.

        In Film Noir the mood that is created using light and sound has a set formula and a tradition that is followed throughout the genre. The films' use of high contrast black and white made it so shadows and darkness could be use to emphasize or conceal foreboding evidence in scenes or show exclusive details that needed to be brought to the audiences' attention. Creating a glow around a character's face or a highlight on the eyes of an actor show a sort of focus, as if telling you that all the attention belongs there in the glow. The eyes are especially important, as in times of great distress or confusion and ones is at a loss for words the eyes tell an elaborate story that the mouth cannot and in Film Noir times of confusion and distress are common place. An example of such a scene of lighting and contrast can be seen when Cora is first introduced in "The Postman Always Rings Twice." In this scene another element is expressed and that is the tilt of the camera that goes up from Cora's legs as she comes down the stairs. This sort of tilt is supposed to be how Frank reacted as she enters the room. As the audience we are supposed to place ourselves in his position and see through his eyes. Forming this connection with the character is important in the Noir films as it made the fall of that character all the more distressing as someone who watches this go on, unable to do anything to prevent it. This increases the allure of the Noir world, the fact that we as audience members find ourselves in these dark situations we aren't normally or willingly placed into. A connection is further established in most Noir films through the use of narration done through the main character, the fall guy. We hear his thoughts and are present in his head as we watch as his action bear great consequences. The soundtracks for these movies are often dramatic to overplay actions that cannot be seen or significant events of the movie such as the murder of Nick or the execution of their several plots. This helps make Film Noir "dark film" in more ways than one.

          As time went on homages to the art of Film Noir were developed in the form of Neo-Noir.  Comparatively Neo-Noir loses it's literal darkness and replaces it with color film in some cases. The high black and white contrast is lost and replaced with creative uses of lighting to try and and achieve similar moods  and invoke specific emotions such as suspense or distress. Acting has improved a great deal since the 40's and this helps convey perhaps a stronger inner turmoil even without the use of traditional black and white.As a homage Neo-Noir shares many elements of Film Noir in it's products such as story, music and character cliches. An example could be the 1981 Neo-Noir film "Body Heat", which as a fundamentally Noir film is quite similar to "The Postman Always Rings Twice." The story is of typical Noir tradition, with a man becoming involved with a woman he shouldn't have. Ned Racine, who has a reputation with the opposite sex comes across a woman named Matty Walker, a married woman and what he believes to be his next conquest. His involvement with her results in the shattering of his stable day to day and his life is changed for the worse. The story is similar to "The Postman Always Rings Twice" but in a way fits the typical mold of a Noir film a bit more if only because of it's characters. The character involved in "Body Heat" are those of the traditional formula and are an obvious nod to Neo-Noir's predecessor. While Ned is the fall guy, Matty is the femme fatale but unlike Cora, Matty knows what she wants and uses Ned from the very beginning. Where Cora did not fit the typical femme fatale, Matty does completely. The music is a bit different in "Body Heat" as music has changed as time had progressed but the way music influences the mood in a scene has not. The soundtrack still emphasizes the drama involved in crime and the passion of a forbidden love and a life of secrets. The music has definitely been built upon the shoulders of the past. "Body Heat" as an homage to Film Noir is a succesful film that uses the traditional technique with a touch of modern ideas and technology.

Introduction of the Cast

                                          Greetings on a chilly day in California!
                 
                   The title I go by is the artist currently known as Josh Acuna. I am a curious student of the arts and a man fascinated by art history and arts influence on the world around us. As with most artist, I am most greatly influenced by the things I see. Shapes, colors, lighting and designs all have a way of sparking interests and stirring human emotion. It's for this reason I desired to look more deeply into the "Art of Film", as film in today's society has significant influence on the molding of the collective consciousness.
                    Living in Los Angeles it would be difficult not to have been exposed, at least partially, to the film industry and the movie magic of Hollywood. With major studios such as Warner Brothers and Universal so close by you might say we are at the center of film entertainment. Having lived in this center I have been a constant visitor of the Universal Studios since my youth and by watching the movies they produce and how things have grown, I have developed a fondness for the the films that were filmed and created in our backyard.

                          My taste in films tends to lean toward Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Action, Comedies and Animation. As far as I can tell when people go to the movies they tend to want to see something they yearn for, something that they lack, something arranged in an abnormal or improbable way, or someone they can relate to. As someone who can at least appreciate the hard work that goes into the creative process in film making I look for these qualities as well. I rarely go to the movie theater as I get antsy and uncomfortable during a movie but will occasionally find a movie to watch flipping through the channels or by renting a DVD in my spare time.