"That's a Wrap!" Judson University Student Acts in New Sci-Fi Film

Imagine, a run-down city with abandoned warehouses and churches, where a young man desperately races through the rain to reach the apartment of his estranged mother across town.

This is the setting of The Return, a short action / sci-fi film written and directed by Matt Bilen, a film and digital media professor from Judson University. Several students from the university—Patrick Thompson, Justin Huack, Luke Boeckelmann, and others—teamed up with Bilen to shoot the footage. It took seven days to film, mostly at night to set the atmosphere, and is currently in the post-production stage. It is speculated to be released sometime between this Thanksgiving and Christmas.

The role of the main character Colin was played by Patrick Thompson, a senior at Judson.

Listen to Thompson's audio interview here.    

"It was always late nights, and I was always wet and cold..." quoting Thompson, referring to scenes with Colin running through the rain to escape a militant police force. "...you're just shivering so hard, but it works because you look tortured on screen." (Thompson, 2015)

But the discomfort involved didn't put a damper on his enthusiasm. He was impressed by the film’s professional quality, and his role as Colin felt genuine and immersive to him. He expressed his appreciation for the experience and the joy of seeing the end result.

"Being a part of that process is living the dream for me." Thompson says.

Thompson also provided some background info on what led up to the production. Matt Bilen had been working on a concept for a feature film titled Heavensquest: A Pilgrim's Progress, but the funding unfortunately fell through. He set it aside and began production on The Return in the meantime, inviting Thompson to participate.

Thompson’s involvement wasn't just limited to acting, though. He teamed up with Bilen to be a part of the pre-production as well. Thompson's input had an impact on the story and the development of his character.

When asked if he sees himself acting in the future, Thompson responded "I will work very very hard to make sure that it happens."

And his hard work is paying off. Thompson is also playing a major role in Heaven, How I Got Here, a three-person show based off the book by Colin S. Smith. It's premiering right now through Oct 26th in Chicago, IL, so pick up your tickets to see Patrick Thompson perform live!

Buy tickets here.

Tim Burton’s Creative Fingerprint: "Edward Scissorhands" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"

The purpose of this article is to analyze some common symbols and motifs that are characteristic of Tim Burton's film style.

   

Tim Burton is a director known for his use of Gothic style, along with the genre of dark fantasy in his films. The visual expressions, common motifs, and symbolism define his films, while the lack of complex concepts and advanced cinematography is part of Burton’s intentionally simplistic approach. These elements that characterize Burton’s style can be found in two of his films, Edward Scissorhands (1990) and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005).

Many of Tim Burton's films contain "plastic expressionism and symbolic relation between images" (Bassil-Morozow 19), which make his films as a whole, along with particular symbols presented, easily interpretable. He tends to rely heavily on visual expression to convey a message, and he is most often praised for his "extraordinary visual sense" (Bassil-Morozow 5). He tends to avoid complexity of concept or cinematography (Bassil-Morozow 5), leaving room for appreciation of his visual style. As described by Helena Bassil-Morozow, Burton aims to create a “grand effect by simple means” (5).

Another defining feature of Burton's films is his preference for Gothic style and dark fantasy ("The Gothic Imagination"). The music of Danny Elfman accompanies a great number of Tim Burton movies, and the soundtracks complement the visual elements rather well. The ethereal harps and choirs add a sense of wonder and curiosity to his films, and without the soundtrack, the films may not be quite as compelling to the audience. Therefore, it seems that the two strongest properties of these films are the soundtrack and the visuals, which both work together to create the Gothic style that Tim Burton wants to portray.

EXPLORATION OF FEARS

Burton's Gothic style exploits the "extremely violent and extremely symbolic and disturbing" aspect of fairy tales ("The Gothic Imagination" 17), contributing to the eerie atmosphere that has the ability to evoke a feeling of unease for the audience. Within his films, Burton aims to explore the basic fears that most people experience ("The Gothic Imagination" 17), which can be found in two of his films, Edward Scissorhands and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Fear of Difference

A common fear central to the plot of Edward Scissorhands is the fear of what is strange and different. Edward is quite unlike the people living in the suburbs below his mansion, as he has lived in isolation due to his dangerous hands made of scissors. When Peg (a female protagonist) finds him and brings him to the suburbs, he is initially accepted as an “entertaining oddity”; however, he is rejected when circumstances take a turn for the worst. His dark appearance and seemingly threatening “scissorhands” are a stark contrast to colorful and deceptively welcoming appearance of the neighborhood.

Fear of Poverty

In Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, a fear that is introduced from the beginning is the fear of having nothing. Charlie and his family are already very poor; they live in a run-down home with holes in the roof and can only afford to eat nothing but cabbage. Fortunately, they are a strong and united family, striving to remain content with their lives. However, their circumstances are worsened when Charlie's father is laid off from his job, and they are faced with the possibility of losing the little they have left.

Fear of Punishment

Aside from poverty, another fear that shows up later in the film is the fear of punishment and karma. Each of the children that go to Willy Wonka's factory (aside from Charlie) end up being punished for their vices when they refuse to listen to Willy Wonka (i.e. Augustus Gloop nearly drowning in the same chocolate with which he stuffs himself). And yet, because these children are reckless, they don't feel the terror of possible punishment until it is too late. Therefore, Burton’s intentions may be to instill the fear of karma in the audience rather than in the children in the movie. Along with fear as a central theme in Burton’s movies, there are many other themes introduced in the form of symbolic imagery.

THE "OUTCAST"

There are some common symbols and motifs in both Edward Scissorhands and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. One motif that Burton seems to favor—as he uses them in many of his films—is the concept of the outcast (Bassil-Morozow 1). A major character typically assumes this role, and they tend to fit the description with their quirks or freakish traits that alienate them from the rest of society (Bassil-Morozow 1). Edward in Edward Scissorhands is a solid example of the outcast, as his abnormal appearance repels those who judge based only on what they see. Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is another example of the outcast, yet his abnormalities lie in his eccentric personality. Also, both characters have had issues with their father or father figure in the past—and this is yet another element sometimes used in other Tim Burton films.

TWO WORLDS

In both Edward Scissorhands and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, a significant motif that is central to each plot is the concept of "two worlds," or "thresholds and boundaries, the places where two worlds and two kinds of experience meet" ("The Gothic Imagination" 16). What stands out about these "two worlds" in the two films discussed is how much the elements of this concept in one film closely resemble the elements in the other. For instance, in Edward Scissorhands, the world of Edward's solitude in his dark mansion looms over its neighboring world, the brightly colored and populated world of suburban life. Similarly, in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Willy Wonka also lives in isolation in his grand factory, which towers over the unimpressively typical city.

Edward's mansion starkly contrasts the colorful suburbs.

Wonka's factory towers over the city in the background.

Symbols: Gates & Golden Tickets

There is a cultural and literal barrier between these worlds that is crossed in both the films, causing one culture to encounter the other. The literal barrier is represented by a gate in front of Edward's mansion and Wonka's factory, keeping outsiders from entering. In both films, an outsider does enter, and their rite of passage is a "ticket" of sorts, one being literal (Charlie's Golden Ticket in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) and one being psychological (Peg's unique curiosity in Edward Scissorhands).

Symbols: Cookies and Chocolate

A notable similarity between the two films is how they begin. They both start out with a symbolic montage that encapsulates some of the themes of the film, accompanied by an enchanting "dark fantasy" style soundtrack by Danny Elfman. In Edward Scissorhands, there is a shot that shows cookies of various shapes falling down in front of the screen, which can be symbolic of the "cookie-cutter" suburbs and their conforming inhabitants.

Cookie shapes in Edward Scissorhands

Chocolate production in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Also, snow is falling near the end of the montage; the snow could be interpreted as Edward's care for the people he's met, as creating "snow" from his ice sculptures are the closest he can get to touching people without hurting them. Similarly, the machinery producing dozens of identical chocolate bars in the beginning sequence of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory can represent the appeal of conformity. The golden tickets placed by Willy Wonka himself at the end of this scene could be symbolic of those "one-in-a-million" characters like Wonka.

In sum, Burton’s approach to film is simple yet effective in relaying his desired message. His experimentation with basic human fears also appeals to the audience, along with the presentation of these fears through the use of symbols and a fitting soundtrack. Recognizable elements in Edward Scissorhands and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory are classic examples of Burton’s creative fingerprint.

                                                                                  

Works Cited

Bassil-Morozow, Helena Victor. Tim Burton: The Monster and the Crowd: A Post-Jungian Perspective. London: Routledge, 2010. Print.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. By John August. Prod. Richard D. Zanuck. Dir. Tim Burton. Perf. Christopher Lee, Helena Bonham Carter, David Kelly, Freddie Highmore, and Johnny Depp. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2005.

Edward Scissorhands. Dir. Tim Burton. By Caroline Thompson. Perf. Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, and Dianne Wiest. Twentieth Century Fox, 1990.

"The Gothic Imagination of Tim Burton." Australian Center for the Moving Image (n.d.): n. pag. Acmi.net. Museum of Modern Art, NY. Web.