With a style so distinct the adjective 'Burtonesque' was coined, Tim Burton has written, directed, and produced numerous iconic films - encompassing cult favorites, box office smashes and inventive adaptations.
Even in those early shorts, Burton's gothic style is clear to see. Take a look at Beetlejuice, Corpse Bride and Dark Shadows, for instance, and you'll see shades of his horror-tinged formative work spring to life in big budget features.
Black trim, stripes and contrasting colours are added to achieve the familiar gothic style of much of his work. Paired with the sharp cheekbones, big eyes, chalky complexion and dark undereye circles, these characters are distinct to Burton.
Adjective. Burtonesque (comparative more Burtonesque, superlative most Burtonesque) Reminiscent of the works of Tim Burton (born 1958), American filmmaker known for his darkly whimsical art and films.
The American suburbia Tim Burton aesthetic is defined by bright and bold colors, as well as 1960s architecture and cars. It stands in stark contrast to Burton's theatrical side, which is defined by Gothic overtones and mechanical machinations and heavily inspired by German Expressionism.
Tim Burton's Eccentric Set Design and Art Direction Explained
What cinematic techniques does Tim Burton use?
In many of his films, Tim Burton uses framing and angles, music and sound, and lighting to control the mood of the scene. To begin, director Tim Burton manipulates lighting to create a feeling of fear and suspense in the audience.
The eyes, faces, and bodies of many characters are circular. Burton often uses circles to suggest unhappiness. Tim Burton draws many of his characters with exaggerated physical features and unusual characteristics, such as oversized eyes or scissors for hands.
Tim Burton's visual style is often influenced by the artistic movement known as expressionism. Expressionism emerged in the early 20th century as a reaction to the realism of the time, focusing on expressing emotions and subjective experiences through distorted and exaggerated forms.
Frankenweenie is a 2012 American 3D stop-motion animated science fiction horror comedy film directed by Tim Burton, written by John August, and starring Catherine O'Hara, Martin Short, Martin Landau, Charlie Tahan, Atticus Shaffer, and Winona Ryder.
To be fair, pretty much anything Tim Burton touches will usually have Steampunk undertones. Sleepy Hollow, however, is the real deal. The movie starrs, pretty much, everyone's favorite actor, the one and only Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci.
Burton was compelled to utilize stop-motion animation because it could bring something purely imagined to vivid life in a way that 2-D animation couldn't.
There are plenty of characters with the INFP personality type throughout Tim Burton's filmography, most likely due to the fact that Burton is an INFP himself. He very much relates to this personality type which embodies the quirky misfit persona who always wants to do the right thing.
But for Burton, a recluse, they seemed out of reach. "You kind of feel like you're alone and nobody understands you, and you think you're the only person who feels that way," he says.
Burton was born in Burbank, California on August 25, 1958. His father is of Dutch, English, French, German, and Scottish descent and His mother is of Croatian, German, Norwegian, and Swedish descent.
After making a series of short films, including the horror-movie homage Frankenweenie (1984), Burton directed his first feature film, Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, in 1985. A box-office success, the family movie centred on a man-child (played by Paul Reubens) looking for his stolen bicycle.
He quickly struck out on his own and became known for creating visually striking films that blend themes of fantasy and horror, including Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Batman and The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Burton, as the director auteur, is comparable to other such directors as Eisenstein and Rossellini, but his style of filmmaking is intrinsically different for its focus on animation and the idea of the fairytale. To elaborate in simple terms; he is not just the author of the film, but the illustrator.
Burton uses juxtaposition in both films to contrast the dull grey town to the bright and colourful Willy Wonka and his factory and in Edward Scissorhands the town is covered in bright pastel colours contrasting to the gothic, dark Victorian Mansion where Edward lives and his black jumpsuit and extremely pale skin.
Burton was heavily influenced by popular culture and has used his childhood in Burbank as a resource for the subjects and themes that he has explored in feature films, shorts, and commercials since 1982. From childhood to the present, Burton has expressed himself through drawing.
