Research - Directors: Robert Stevenson

Who was Robert Stevenson?
Robert Stevenson (1905-1986) was an English film writer and director. He was educated at Cambridge University. After directing some British films, he moved to Hollywood. He ended up directing a total of 19 films for Walt Disney.

Robert Stevenson

Mary Poppins (1964)
Mary Poppins won Stevenson The Blue Ribbon Award for Best Foreign Film as well as nominations for the Academy Award for Best Director and the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures.

Mary Poppins (Original Theatrical Trailer, 1964)

Walt Disney's daughters adored the book, so he promised to turn it into a film for them. Disney first attempted to purchase rights to the film in 1938, but this did not work as P.L Travers believed a film adaptation of Mary Poppins would not do her novels justice. As well as this, Walt Disney had a reputation as a producer of cartoons and had not yet made a live action movie. Disney succeeded in purchasing rights in 1961, but Travers got script approval rights. The Sherman Brothers composed the music and suggested that the movie should be set in the Edwardian Era as opposed to the 1930s. Pre production and composing the music took approximately two years.
Travers was an adviser to the production. She did not like that Mary Poppins was characterized as less harsh, and hated the animated aspects. Disney cited contract stipulations that he had final say in order to overrule her.

Julie Andrews won the main role of Mary Poppins after her successful stage career. It was her acting debut. When Disney first approached her with the role, Julie was three months pregnant and so was unsure whether to take it. He assured that the crew would be fine with waiting until she had given birth. Playing the role meant that Julie went on to win both  the Best Actress Award at the Golden Globes and the Academy Award for Best Actress.
Disney cast Dick Van Dyke for the role of Bert after seeing The Dick Van Dyke Show. It is said that Van Dyke wanted the role of Mr Dawes, the director of the bank where Mr Banks works. He was eventually also credited as Mr Dawes Sr. having played the part.

Filming occurred between May and September 1963. Post production and animation took a further 11 months.
The film was released on 27 August 1964 in the United States and 23 December 1964 in the UK. It had a budget of $6,000,000 and took $102.3 million at the box office.

Image source: Wikipedia

Research - Directors: Tim Burton

I have decided to conduct some research into fantasy film directors, to see if I can draw any inspiration from their ideas or concepts, methods and works.

Who is Tim Burton?
Timothy "Tim" Burton was born on 25 August 1958 to Jean Erickson and Bill Burton. He became interested in film at a young age. He found pleasure in watching films and creating artwork, and was not particularly academic. As a preteen, Burton would make short films in his garden. Today he is one of the most celebrated and well known movie directors, especially in the fantasy genre. Burton's personal life has attracted widespread media attention; he was married to actress Helena Bonham Carter (Enid, The King's Speech) for thirteen years. She has also appeared in projects directed by her husband, such as Dark Shadows (2010) and Big Fish (2003).

I intend to research a few films spanning a variety of eras.
Early films: 1980s
Vincent (1982)
Vincent is a six minute fantasy short film. It was released on 1 October 1982. The budget was $60,000. It is black and white footage. The production companies involved were Walt Disney Productions, it was originally distributed by Buena Vista Distribution Company in the USA. Vincent Malloy is seven years old. He dreams of being just like Vincent Price (an actor) and gets lost in grim daydreams at the annoyance of his mother. Vincent Price is the narrator of the film.

 Batman (1989)
Batman is the first installment of Warner Bros. original Batman series. The film stars Michael Keaton, Kim Basinger and Jack Nicholson. Burton repeatedly disagreed with the producers of the film (Jon Peters and Peter Guber), mostly this was about casting. Tim Burton choose Michael Keaton for the titular role; they had built up a rapport following their work on Beetlejuice. This was in spite of Keaton's "average" physique, inexperience with action movies and reputation for being a comedic actor. The argument over casting caused Warner Bros. share price to decrease. Burton was ademant that he wanted an "ordinary" man to play Batman, rather than a stereotypical, bulked up superhero. However, casting Jack Nicholson as the joker reassured audiences and attracted older demographic who may not have otherwise seen the film.
When the film opened, it was supported by the biggest marketing and merchandising campaign in film history at the time. It made $250 million in the US alone and $400 million worldwide. The film was a stepping stone for Burton as it helped to establish him as a successful director.

1990s
Edward Scissorhands
Tim Burton cast his friend, actor Johnny Depp, who had a reputation for being a teen idol, as Edward. The film also stars Vincent Price as the creator of Edward. Edward looked human, but had scissors for hands because the inventor died before finishing him. The film is viewed as Burton's autobiography of his childhood. It made $86 million at the box office.

James and the Giant Peach
This is a musical fantasy based on the book by Roald Dahl. The film is a combination of live action and motion stop footage. It stars Susan Sarandon and RichardV Dreyfuss among others. It made $28.9 million at the box office.

2000s
Charlie and Chocolate Factory
This is a 2005 film, which stars Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka and Freddie Highmore as Charlie. After they gained approval from the Dahl Estate, Warner Bros. hired Tim Burton to direct the film in 2003. Following rewrites of the script by various people, Tim hired Jon August, whom he had worked with on Big Fish. He had not seen the 1971 film prior to being hired. Johnny Depp wanted his characterization of Willy Wonka to be distinct from that of Gene Wilder's. Burton also wanted Charlie to be an "average" boy who stayed out of trouble. Filming for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory began on 21st June 2004, at Pinewood Studios in London. Music composer Danny Elfman found the timings of filming challenging because they were also filming Corpse Bride. The Chocolate Room or River set piece took up all of Pinewood's 007 Stage. The British Equity rules state that children can only work for four and a half hours a day. Filming ended in December 2004. The film's running time is 115 minutes and had a budget of $150 million. It made $475 million at the box office.

Charlie and the Chocolate factory (2005) trailer 

2010s
Alice in Wonderland (+ through looking glass)
Burton signed with Walt Disney Pictures to make two films Alice in Wonderland and Frankenweenie. He decided to develop the story because the original story by Lewis Caroll failed to grab him emotionally. He wanted to "keep the classic nature of Alice", whilst also making it an engaging movie where you get some psychology". He wanted to make Alice "more of a story rather than a series of events". Filming began in September and finished three months later. The movie stars Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter and Mia Wasikowska. It had a budget ranging from $150-$200 million and made $1.025 billion at the box office. In 2016, a sequel was released.

Alice in Wonderland (2010) trailer

Sources:
Wikipedia - Tim Burton, Vincent, Edward Scissorhands, Batman, James and the Giant Peach (1996 film) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005 film) Alice in Wonderland (2010 film)
IMDB - Tim Burton

General Feedback from Initial Idea Pitches

See Initial Ideas Post for powerpoint of pitches

My focus group gave me very constructive feedback. They said that the first idea was very original and interesting; they had not heard of it before. They confirmed doubts I had about the mise en scene, the location would be fundamental to the success of the trailer. 

For Idea Two, the feedback was positive, my focus group thought it would be easier for me to film. To make it more original, they suggested that I combine elements of idea one and two together. For example, keep the concept of the evil queen, but she is possessing children who are carrying out her evil deeds for her. When I mentioned that I didn't know how to make it more fantastical, they said I could keep the fantasy characters and decide whether I want to place emphasis on the horror element of dark fantasy.

For Idea Three, the focus group suggested that whilst the location would be obvious, they were in agreement that it would be difficult to create the fantastical elements. One member informed me that there was already a film similar to this, and it may be hard to make it different.

In the end, the group suggested that my idea(s) would probably be used best if I picked elements of ideas one and two and merged them together. This is something that I will consider going forward to making the product. I am going to plan this idea further to see if it works. If it does not flow when storyboarding and in other aspects of planning, then I will attempt Idea One.

Developing Initial Ideas - Idea Three

This idea encompasses the stereotypical view of fantasy films, other worldly and mystical.

Narrative (Synopsis)
Two teenagers lose their way whilst on a walk in the forest. Cynical and carefree, they joke about Hansel and Gretel to keep themselves amused. Little do they know, there is a weird and wonderful world that awaits them beyond the clearing...

Advantages and Disadvantages of choosing this idea
One distinct advantage of choosing this idea is that the setting is obvious (a forest). There are forests near where I live so this will mean that traveling to locations when doing a location recce and filming will be less time consuming. This idea also allows to explore and experiment with special effects. A disadvantage is that I would have to think creatively to create original characters. I would not want these to be too heavily influenced by other media products.

Developing Initial Ideas - Idea Two

With this idea, I can focus on and exaggerate the "dark"/scary component of the dark fantasy genre.

Narrative (Synopsis)
An evil force is kidnapping innocent children and leading them to an uncertain destiny in a world unknown.

Advantages and Disadvantages of choosing this idea
One advantage of choosing this idea is that I can experiment with different camera angles because I would want to maintain a sense of ambiguity surrounding the "evil force". Furthermore, I can develop my skills in using special effects. For instance, I could modify the footage of the children to give them demon qualities. This will allow me to touch on the concept of making innocent things and people scary. Another advantage is that being in school may make it easier to find willing cast members to portray children who are in danger (I would obviously need written permission from their parents and themselves first).

A disadvantage of selecting this idea is that it would perhaps be hard for the audience to identify the genre of the trailer. They may not be able to distinguish between horror and fantasy, so I would have to put a lot of effort into making sure that the genre was clear and that fantastical elements are present.

Developing Initial Ideas - Idea One

An evil queen serves as the antagonist. This adds the essential 'dark' element to the 'dark fantasy' genre.
Narrative (Synopsis)
An evil queen is banishing all fairy tale stories but her own, and is making people forget them. A courageous princess must prevent her from doing so before it is too late and they are removed from history. This character acts as the protagonist/hero.

Advantages and Disadvantages of choosing this idea
The main advantage of choosing this idea is that it is the first idea that came to mind when thinking of dark fantasy. It is the one that my instincts tell me to pursue. I would say that it is the one that I have developed the most so far.
The major disadvantage of choosing to pursue this idea is that it might be difficult to avoid clichés and execute the idea imaginatively. The locations could be a challenge. However, selecting this idea would allow me to explore the "classical" notion of fantasy - what you would stereotypically think of.I could also investigate the concept of innocence turning evil.

Initial Ideas

TRANSCRIPTION OF POWERPOINT TEXT IN CASE OF POWERPOINT NOT WORKING:
I have decided to create a dark fantasy trailer. This mixes elements of fantasy and horror together. Examples of dark fantasy films include: Coraline (2009) Snow White and the Huntsman (2012) and Edward Scissorhands (1990). 
Idea One
I want to explore the world of fairy tales and what happens when people stop believing in them. An evil queen is banishing all fairy tale stories and removing them from the memories of people, but the characters are real. A brave princess must stop the queen before the fairy tales are gone forever. The malicious queen will do everything she can to prevent her. I am most inclined to do this idea but it would take a lot of planning in order not to be cliché.
Idea Two
This idea leans towards the horror side of dark fantasy. Innocent children are being kidnapped and led to an unknown destiny by the epitome of evil. If I were to select this idea, I would be able to develop my abilities in using special effects, e.g. demonizing the children.
Idea Three
Two teenagers lose their way whilst going for a walk in the forest. To amuse themselves, they joke about Hansel and Gretel. However, unbeknownst to them a weird and wonderful world awaits beyond the clearing...  The setting would be obvious for this but I would have to think about the fantastical elements.