Escaping Suburbia: A Study in Film Auteur Pertaining to Tim Burton and The Coen Brothers

This project will focus on the concept of “Auteur Theory” which is a particular film theory branch that emphasizes the filmmaker as the “author” of their work. “Auteur” is a French word meaning “author” in the sense of a person holding complete creative control. Studying Auteur Theory allows for viewers to better understand the filmmaker as a person by connecting visual patterns to the auteurs’ own life. The “filmmaker” in Auteur Theory is defined as the director and they must exercise almost or complete control of all aspects of a film. Distinct visual characteristics as well as repeated casting of actors, storylines, genre, and writing are all aspects of identifying a filmmaker as an auteur. The project will include an essay that introduces the concept of Auteur Theory, its background, and introduce auteurs Tim Burton and The Coen Brothers who will be put into dialogue with one another. Selected screen captures will be inserted to parts of the essay to provide a visual reference to each auteurs’ style. The second part of this project will include a representation of the style of these two auteurs in the form of a pilot episode script I have written. The script will provide a visual aid by applying the auteur qualities of these filmmakers in the world I will create