Recent Media Experience - Tim Burton

This week, I began my first year of the three year course, Media Professional Studies at Liverpool John Moores University. I was introduced to all the media techniques and modules I will be using throughout the next year. This blog will help keep myself an archive of the different media I will be looking at throughout the next three years on this course.

I recently watched this week two of the director, Tim Burton’s most successful films in the box office, ‘Sweeney Todd (2007)’ and ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)’. Reason why the public viewers enjoy Tim Burton’s direction and producing of his films are that they will always know what to expect; dark and gothic. With Sweeney Todd, Burton’s gothic imagination fits in very well with the plot of this film as the plot is based on violence and murder. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory however you would expect from reading the book authored by Roald Dahl, to fit all its conventions of a Children’s Fantasy genre. The gothic imagination of Burton works in this film, as he uses visual effects to fit the fantasy element of the film, however having Johnny Depp cast at Willy Wonka, instantly make the film much more gothic especially as he has been cast as the gothic and bizarre character in other Tim Burton films including Sweeney Todd.