Category: Thesis Proposal

Unit Review (Term 3)

Defining my Research Question

When it comes to my thesis proposal, this term I focused on narrowing down my research question and adapting the key authors for my literature review. Even though I knew which topic I wanted to explore (Tim Burton’s characters and filmography), the question I submitted last term was too broad.

Old Question (Term 2): To what extent do film semiotics play an essential role in world building and characterization within the horror genre?

New Question (Term 3): How does Tim Burton balance horror and empathy in the characters of his movies to create an emotional impact on the audience?

Editing my Literature Review

After I established my new research question, I had to expand my bibliography with authors that focus on the concept of emotional engagement and identification. Since they all had different points of view, I can approach my research question from different perspectives.

Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that my authors come from different fields such as semiotics, animation and psychology. In this sense, I was able to combine different areas of interest and apply them into the field of animation.

Exploring Different Fields of Interest

Working on an animation-oriented thesis has enabled me to explore several fields of interest. Not only do I have the opportunity to analyze the artwork of my favorite director Tim Burton, but also conduct my study from different approaches.

Attending Feedback Sessions

Receiving feedback from Nigel was crucial, as he helped me to polish my research question and establish the golden thread of my paper. This enabled me to organize my ideas and have a clear understanding of my workflow.

Preparing for my FMP

Since for my FMP I would like to create an animation which is influenced by the grotesque style, my thesis will help me to create the theoretical background for my short film. In this sense, I would like to focus first on developing my research and then apply all my findings into my FMP animation.

Introduction

This week, I focused on establishing the keywords of my research proposal and I also worked on writing the introduction.  

Keywords: Tim Burton – Gothic Fiction – Character Engagement – Empathy and Identification

Introduction

The following paper will explore and analyze how Tim Burton balances horror and empathy in the characters of his movies to create an emotional impact on the audience. This study will be conducted from a structuralist perspective, by understanding each element of a character as a meaningful sign. It will focus on the analysis of the physical aspects of the characters, as well as their traits, personality and backstory and how these elements communicate meaning.

Introduction

This week, I focused on defining which research approaches I was going to apply in my research.

Research Design

• Qualitative Research: I will focus on a descriptive analysis of Tim Burton’s movies and the emotional impact the characters trigger on the audience.
  
• Case Studies: I will examine the main characters of some of Tim Burton’s most influential animated and live action movies in form of case studies. The movies are: Beetlejuice (1988), Edward Scissorhands (1990), The Nightmare Before Christmas (1994), Corpse Bride (2005), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) and Frankenweenie (2012).
  
• Diagnostic Research: I will make a diagnosis and attempt to find a pattern between the protagonists of the before mentioned movies by examining the  physical appearance, traits and gothic elements. In addition, I will compare and contrast them in order attempting to find a common reason on how the audience may experience an empathic response.

Introduction

This week, I focuses on revising my bibliography and filmography I wanted to examine for my thesis.

Key Papers

In order to establish what my key papers are, I divided my research into four main topics: Character Engagement, Identification, Horror Genre and Tim Burton. What follows next is a list of the bibliography that I have revised until now according to the four areas of research.

Character Engagement:

• Smith, M. (1995) Engaging Characters. Fiction, Emotion, and the Cinema. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Identification:

• Cohen, J. (2001). Defining identification: A theoretical look at the identification of audiences with media characters. Mass Communication & Society. 245–264. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327825MCS0403_01 (Accessed: 10 May 2023).

Horror Genre:

• Wells, P. (2000) The Horror Genre. From Beelzebub to Blair Witch. London: Wallflower Press.

Tim Burton:

• Hockenhull, S. and Pheasant-Kelly, F. (eds) (2021) Tim Burton’s Bodies. Gothic, Animated, Corporeal and Creaturely. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
  
• Salisbury, M. (ed.) (2000) Burton on Burton. Revised Edition. England: Faber and Faber.

Filmography

As regards the movies, I wanted to combine Tim Burton’s most emblematic animated, stop motion and live action movies. For this reason, I selected the following list of works:

• Beetlejuice (1988) Directed by Tim Burton [Feature film]. United States: Warner Bros.
  
• Edward Scissorhands (1990) Directed by Tim Burton [Feature film]. United States: 20^th Century Fox.
  
• The Nightmare Before Christmas (1994) Directed by Tim Burton [Feature film]. United States: Buena Vista Pictures Distribution.
  
• Corpse Bride (2005) Directed by Tim Burton [Feature film]. United States: Warner Bros. Pictures.
  
• Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) Directed by Tim Burton [Feature film]. United States: Warner Bros. Pictures.
  
• Frankenweenie (2012) Directed by Tim Burton [Feature film]. United States: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

Introduction

Since we last week learned about the ‘golden thread’, I decided to start planning out the structure of my thesis. What follows next is a tentative table of contents divided into headings and subheadings.

Thesis Proposal – Tentative Table of Contents

1. Introduction

2.       Literature Review

2.1     Tim Burton and the ‘Burtonesque’ Style

2.2     How to Bring Characters to Life

2.3     Engaging with Characters through Empathy

2.4     Engaging with Characters through Sympathy

2.5     Identification with a Fictional Character

3.       Research Design

3.1     Data Recollection Tool

4.       Tim Burton’s Characters

4.1     The Contradiction of the Characters in The Nightmare Before Christmas

4.2     The Representation of Edward Scissorhands as the Social Outsider

4.3     The Dead but Living Characters In Corpse Bride

4.4     The Portrayal of the Monster in Frankenweenie

4.5     The Ambiguity of the Demon Barber of Fleet Street in Sweeney Todd

5.       Results

6.       Findings

7.       Conclusion

8.       Bibliography

9. Filmography

Introduction

This week, Nigel introduced us to the term ‘golden thread’ which will help us organize and structure our ideas.

What is the Golden Thread?

The golden thread in academic writing gives us a clear overview on the contents and ideas we want to communicate throughout our paper. For our thesis we have to make sure that we establish first our research question, then our research objectives and define a suitable methodology in order to start developing our arguments.

Introduction

This week, we had one-to-one tutorials and showed Nigel our progress regarding our research topic and bibliography.

Research Question

Old Question: To what extent do film semiotics play an essential role in world building and characterization within the horror genre?

As regards my research question, even though I have defined that I want to explore Tim Burton’s movies and his use of the horror genre, I felt that the term ‘film semiotics’ was too broad. For this reason, I wanted to narrow down the topic and formulated the following title.

New Question: How does Tim Burton balance horror and empathy in the characters of his movies to create an emotional impact on the audience?

In this sense, I will specifically focus on the characters of his movies, and I will still conduct my study from a semiotic approach as I will analyze the characters as signs that convey meaning.

Introduction

This week, we watched some useful videos in class on how to read the appropriate bibliography in an efficient way.

Things to Consider when Reading a Journal

• We need to learn how to identify what our key papers are going to be.
• We also need to establish which papers are going to be our supporting bibliography.
• Looking up the keywords will save us a lot of time and help us organize the bibliography according to different topics.

Introduction

This week, we were introduced to different research design approaches which we will need to include for our thesis proposal.

Research Design

• Quantitative: Focuses on a numeric analysis.
• Qualitative: Focuses on a descriptive analysis.
• Mixed Methods: Combines both a quantitative and qualitative research method.

Quantitative Method

Even though I am still working on adapting my research question, I am confident that I will adopt a qualitative research method as I will analyze Tim Burton’s movies and the relationship between the characters and the emotional impact on the audience.

Introduction

This week, we got an overview of the thesis proposal we need to submit by the end of this term. In the following weeks, I will use the following headlines to start planning the sections of my thesis.

Thesis Proposal Structure:

•         Research title or question

•         Draft Introduction

•         Key words searched

•         General outline of each chapter

•         Draft literature review

•         A draft chapter

•         Indicative bibliography