Explore the creative genius behind Edward Scissorhands, Batman and Alice in Wonderland. The Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI), Melbourne, Australia, hosts a unique exhibition direct from The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York. http://www.acmi.net.au Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss en-au Thu, 17 Jun 2010 07:51:41 +0100 Thu, 17 Jun 2010 07:50:50 +0100 FeedForAll v2.0 (2.0.3.1) unlicensed version http://www.feedforall.com Tim Burton: The Exhibition > Audio Tour Explore the creative genius behind Edward Scissorhands, Batman and Alice in Wonderland. The Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI), Melbourne, Australia, hosts a unique exhibition direct from The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York. ACMI Webmaster webmaster@acmi.net.au tim,burton,director,exhibition,moma,acmi,alice,wonderland,nightmare,depp,scissorhands,batman no no Welcome to Tim Burton: The Exhibition at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI). http://www.acmi.net.au/burton_audio_tour.htm 76A1C15C-0245-47BA-9ABE-F9052EAD5B18 Thu, 17 Jun 2010 07:36:50 +0100 Introduction Welcome to Tim Burton: The Exhibition at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI). 00:01:03 ACMI no no Tim Burton grew up in suburban Burbank in Los Angeles. He always felt at odds with the ordinariness of the world of his youth, and was conscious of the weirdness that lay just beneath the surface of everyday life. http://www.acmi.net.au/burton_audio_tour.htm E2B8D42A-CCFA-4AB7-9D3E-341246DC5A9F Thu, 17 Jun 2010 07:37:51 +0100 1: Horror and Humour Tim Burton grew up in suburban Burbank in Los Angeles. He always felt at odds with the ordinariness of the world of his youth, and was conscious of the weirdness that lay just beneath the surface of everyday life. 00:03:55 ACMI no no For Tim Burton, as for many people, drawing is a way to express emotions and feelings that can be hard to articulate. In Mothera, a cartoon drawing from the 1980s, Burton parodies both suburban life and the drudgery of domesticity. http://www.acmi.net.au/burton_audio_tour.htm 947347E1-0BC7-4126-84B5-EFE9A4C97E12 Thu, 17 Jun 2010 07:38:52 +0100 2: Mothera For Tim Burton, as for many people, drawing is a way to express emotions and feelings that can be hard to articulate. In Mothera, a cartoon drawing from the 1980s, Burton parodies both suburban life and the drudgery of domesticity. 00:02:29 ACMI no no Much is made, quite rightly, of Tim Burton’s ability to create distinctive imaginative universes. However these worlds are also defined by the characters who inhabit them and the preoccupations that inform their development. Burton’s fascination with characters and human nature is worked through in his character studies of men, women, girls, boys and, in this series, couples. http://www.acmi.net.au/burton_audio_tour.htm 8CDC9F6E-80E9-4B98-B167-E108258B2B56 Thu, 17 Jun 2010 07:39:53 +0100 3: Couples Much is made, quite rightly, of Tim Burton’s ability to create distinctive imaginative universes. However these worlds are also defined by the characters who inhabit them and the preoccupations that inform their development. Burton’s fascination with characters and human nature is worked through in his character studies of men, women, girls, boys and, in this series, couples. 00:01:59 ACMI no no Creatures are an ongoing preoccupation in Burton’s work. He confesses to feeling ‘much more connected to creatures than people’ and associates them with a particular purity of response. In his art and films, they often represent external manifestations of intense emotions or feelings. http://www.acmi.net.au/burton_audio_tour.htm ED85EBDF-CA91-4C8E-8176-47725CC0DEF0 Thu, 17 Jun 2010 07:40:54 +0100 4: Creatures Creatures are an ongoing preoccupation in Burton’s work. He confesses to feeling ‘much more connected to creatures than people’ and associates them with a particular purity of response. In his art and films, they often represent external manifestations of intense emotions or feelings. 00:01:12 ACMI no no When he was still employed at Disney, Burton directed a made-for-TV version of Hansel and Gretel. This short film was one of a series of fairy tales produced for the newly launched Disney Channel and was only screened once late at night on Halloween. Fairy tales have a particular appeal for Burton, particularly ones like Hansel and Gretel that deal with such dark themes. http://www.acmi.net.au/burton_audio_tour.htm 079220D3-104C-402B-B81F-F5B42D4852DF Thu, 17 Jun 2010 07:41:55 +0100 5: Hansel and Gretel When he was still employed at Disney, Burton directed a made-for-TV version of Hansel and Gretel. This short film was one of a series of fairy tales produced for the newly launched Disney Channel and was only screened once late at night on Halloween. Fairy tales have a particular appeal for Burton, particularly ones like Hansel and Gretel that deal with such dark themes. 00:04:23 ACMI no no During his apprenticeship at Disney in the early 1980s, Burton worked as an artist on a variety of different projects. He worked as a concept artist on the 1985 animated feature The Black Cauldron, directed by Ted Berman and Richard Rich. The film is a medieval fantasy involving a magical cauldron with the power to create armies of undead warriors. http://www.acmi.net.au/burton_audio_tour.htm 1A9DADF3-7359-4DD7-9322-7A83313CDDAF Thu, 17 Jun 2010 07:42:56 +0100 6: The Black Cauldron During his apprenticeship at Disney in the early 1980s, Burton worked as an artist on a variety of different projects. He worked as a concept artist on the 1985 animated feature The Black Cauldron, directed by Ted Berman and Richard Rich. The film is a medieval fantasy involving a magical cauldron with the power to create armies of undead warriors. 00:02:47 ACMI no no Burton’s fascination with the carnival and the grotesque come to the fore in his depiction of clowns. Unlike Burton’s soulful and heartfelt creatures and monsters, his clowns are often predatory and menacing. In his drawings, the clown’s painted face becomes a mask of exaggerated joviality that hints at something much more sinister. http://www.acmi.net.au/burton_audio_tour.htm CEE79551-6B91-4B4B-9799-48BC6FDE6432 Thu, 17 Jun 2010 07:43:57 +0100 7: Clowns Burton’s fascination with the carnival and the grotesque come to the fore in his depiction of clowns. Unlike Burton’s soulful and heartfelt creatures and monsters, his clowns are often predatory and menacing. In his drawings, the clown’s painted face becomes a mask of exaggerated joviality that hints at something much more sinister. 00:01:45 ACMI no no Tim Burton first sketched out the story of The Nightmare Before Christmas in a poem and began developing it as a stop motion animation while still working for Disney. Although the film did not get made for another decade, Burton describes the satisfaction of working on this quirky personal project as a counter to his work as an animator for the classic Disney film The Fox and the Hound. http://www.acmi.net.au/burton_audio_tour.htm 2EA92322-0054-40ED-A962-A86BE69E38C8 Thu, 17 Jun 2010 07:44:58 +0100 8: Jack Skellington Tim Burton first sketched out the story of The Nightmare Before Christmas in a poem and began developing it as a stop motion animation while still working for Disney. Although the film did not get made for another decade, Burton describes the satisfaction of working on this quirky personal project as a counter to his work as an animator for the classic Disney film The Fox and the Hound. 00:02:25 ACMI no no In Tim Burton’s films and artworks, the idea of stitching or being stitched together is a recurring motif and evokes feelings of fragmentation, dismemberment and decapitation. In films such as Frankenweenie, Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow, Mars Attacks! Corpse Bride and, of course, The Nightmare Before Christmas, the characters are often makeshift, cobbled together constructions that represent feelings of psychological fragmentation, of being pieced together and coming apart at the seams. http://www.acmi.net.au/burton_audio_tour.htm 8B70584C-5432-463D-8A8D-23AF14D18C0B Thu, 17 Jun 2010 07:45:59 +0100 9: Stitching In Tim Burton’s films and artworks, the idea of stitching or being stitched together is a recurring motif and evokes feelings of fragmentation, dismemberment and decapitation. In films such as Frankenweenie, Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow, Mars Attacks! Corpse Bride and, of course, The Nightmare Before Christmas, the characters are often makeshift, cobbled together constructions that represent feelings of psychological fragmentation, of being pieced together and coming apart at the seams. 00:02:57 ACMI no no In 1997, Tim Burton published a collection of short stories called The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and Other Stories. Written in verse and illustrated with Burton’s own drawings, the stories depict a range of sad, disfigured and unwanted children. http://www.acmi.net.au/burton_audio_tour.htm 05D2C6D8-38E5-4D0E-9C14-19294EF30D55 Thu, 17 Jun 2010 07:46:00 +0100 10: Oyster Boy In 1997, Tim Burton published a collection of short stories called The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and Other Stories. Written in verse and illustrated with Burton’s own drawings, the stories depict a range of sad, disfigured and unwanted children. 00:02:28 ACMI no no These maquettes were used during the production of Tim Burton’s most recent film, Alice in Wonderland. The White Rabbit, Cheshire Cat and March Hare were entirely computer animated, and these maquettes gave the actors participating in the live action sequences a physical impression of the digital characters to be incorporated at a later stage of the production process. http://www.acmi.net.au/burton_audio_tour.htm 7654ED8A-9BF8-4288-BBF1-9290C4321908 Thu, 17 Jun 2010 07:47:01 +0100 11: Alice in Wonderland These maquettes were used during the production of Tim Burton’s most recent film, Alice in Wonderland. The White Rabbit, Cheshire Cat and March Hare were entirely computer animated, and these maquettes gave the actors participating in the live action sequences a physical impression of the digital characters to be incorporated at a later stage of the production process. 00:04:13 ACMI no no Corpse Bride is based on a nineteenth century European folktale. The story was introduced to Tim Burton by fellow animator Joe Ranft who recognised the macabre story as something that Burton might find appealing. From the outset, Burton wanted to animate this story using stop motion, a medium that he considers to be particularly effective in communicating emotion. http://www.acmi.net.au/burton_audio_tour.htm 49204BF6-302A-4411-9ED4-EB1585D93C59 Thu, 17 Jun 2010 07:48:02 +0100 12: Corpse Bride Corpse Bride is based on a nineteenth century European folktale. The story was introduced to Tim Burton by fellow animator Joe Ranft who recognised the macabre story as something that Burton might find appealing. From the outset, Burton wanted to animate this story using stop motion, a medium that he considers to be particularly effective in communicating emotion. 00:04:36 ACMI no no The idea for the film Edward Scissorhands came from a drawing that Burton had done years earlier as part of an exploration of isolation and disconnection. The image stayed with him and became the basis for this very personal film. A number of Burton’s sketches of Edward Scissorhands are on display here, with each version conveying the loneliness and tragedy that this character must bear. http://www.acmi.net.au/burton_audio_tour.htm A63D9829-A46B-499F-8953-E99AFF111082 Thu, 17 Jun 2010 07:49:03 +0100 13: Edward Scissorhands The idea for the film Edward Scissorhands came from a drawing that Burton had done years earlier as part of an exploration of isolation and disconnection. The image stayed with him and became the basis for this very personal film. A number of Burton’s sketches of Edward Scissorhands are on display here, with each version conveying the loneliness and tragedy that this character must bear. 00:03:59 ACMI no no Tim Burton: The Exhibition. 24 June - 10 October 2010. Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI). http://www.acmi.net.au/burton_audio_tour.htm 24219024-C2A0-494C-B968-A34C8810D638 Thu, 17 Jun 2010 07:50:04 +0100 Credits Tim Burton: The Exhibition. 24 June - 10 October 2010. Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI). 00:03:59 ACMI no no Television commercial for Tim Burton: The Exhibition. Concept: Tim Burton. Animation: Mackinnon & Saunders (UK). Soundtrack: Danny Elfman. Additional Motion Graphics: Benjamin Ducroz (ACMI). http://www.acmi.net.au/burton_audio_tour.htm 9BC3C575-30BE-4DF9-9A4F-A74D27AA9DF8 Thu, 17 Jun 2010 07:51:05 +0100 Tim Burton TVC Television commercial for Tim Burton: The Exhibition. Concept: Tim Burton. Animation: Mackinnon & Saunders (UK). Soundtrack: Danny Elfman. Additional Motion Graphics: Benjamin Ducroz (ACMI). 00:00:30 ACMI no no