Contextual studies- Tim Burton

Auteur is a theory within filmmaking in which the director is seen as the primary creative in a motion picture.

In 1954 critic and later director Francois Truffaut (F.T) writes an 'argument', in it he uses the phrase translated as "the authors policy". This was a reaction against cinema where the director who was usually seen as the 'chief-tech' who just shot what the script said. F.T was one of many critics who wanted a 'cinema d'auters': directors who expressed the individualistic world and use of mise-en-scene. 

Auteur cinema expressed a ground-breaking effect in French new wave films of the late 50's early 60's.Having started in the late 1940’s auteur theory (as championed by Andrew Sarris an American film critic who stated three key criteria that define an auteur director:

The director needs technical competence and the ability to organise a film with coherence

The distinguishable personality of the director is seen with recurring signs and styles

There is interior meaning from the cinematic art created from the tension between the director’s personality and his material)

was a development of original cinematic theories. Supporters of the auteur theory argue that the majority of successful films within cinema will have the ‘personal stamp’ of the director who made it.

Having made the decision not to listen to teachers and other art professionals such as Disney when asked to change his style, Burton has developed on in which all of both his animated and live action characters are based on as well as their settings and lives. His 'Burtonesque' style of drawing is one that generally exaggerates the human (or animal) anatomy, these kind of styles are evident in movies such as; 'Alice in Wonderland', 'Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children' and 'Edward Scissor Hands' to name a few.

For example due to his artistic style Burton's original character designs for the characters in Alice's 'Underland' had large eyes and heads (edited later in post), these changes helped characters blend in with the CGI world Burton had created. Something else that inspired Burton is German Expressionism a creative movement that reached it's peak in the 1920's in Berlin.

Another Burton trademark is his use of colour, commonly speaking Burton either swings from one extreme to another. Favouring vivd and electric colour palettes for reflecting madness and eccentricity in films such as 'Alice in Wonderland', while sticking to more sombre and dulls ones for ones dealing with death such as his animations like 'Nightmare before Christmas' or 'Corpse Bride'.

As well as all of this Burton's over all visual style that he is most commonly associated with gothic. This ranges from characters, settings (houses and cities) and props. One the most famous of his films to do this is 'Edward Scissor Hands', the film setting itself is contradictory to the gothic character of Edward who with his nest of black hair and scissor hands is stereotypical Burtonesque. However it is also used in films such as 'Corpse Bride' and 'Frankenweenie' to a larger extent. 

In his films Burton uses reoccurring character types, these include but are not limited to;

The Skittish Outcast

Everyone of Burton's films bar one or two will include an outcast character, the film usually revolves around them being accepted into society or finding love. Even in fictional worlds where everyone is mad there is none the madder then the 'Mad Hatter', even though 'Alice in Wonderland' is focused around Alice herself we as the audience are still made to empathise with the solitary nature of the Hatter (having been rejected from his family and ignored by other people such as the Red Queen). 

This could be due to the fact as a child Burton grew up watching horror movies as he himself felt outcasted and 'weird'.

Punky Rebellious Young Lady

These are often misunderstood women in a world that doesn't understand them, in other words they are extradorinaiy characters in a extremely ordinary world. Audience's can be made to feel they relate to these characters and therefore it can be easier for them to be immersed into Burton's world.

Overall I think Tim Burton is a auteur director as his films have: a distinctive style in terms of character, setting, mise-en-scene and follow similar themes. An audience knows a Tim Burton film when they watch one as it is "Burtonesque", they all follow a gothic theme even if it's something as light hearted as "Alice in Wonderland".

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Para 1: 'Auteur Theory' -https://www.britannica.com/art/auteur-theory

Para 2: Tim Burton character edits

'Director's Trademarks: Tim Burton' -http://www.cinelinx.com/movie-stuff/item/6889-director-s-trademarks-tim-burton.html

'The Influence of German Expressionism on Tim Burton' -https://storify.com/StrangeMixtie/the-influence-of-german-expressionalism-in-tim-bur

Para 3: "10 things you'll see in almost every Tim Burton movie" -http://io9.gizmodo.com/5909293/10-things-youll-see-in-almost-every-tim-burton-movie