Research into a large institution

Film Industry research

Warner Brothers:

The company was set up by four brothers; Harry Warner, Albert Warner, Samuel Warner and Jack Warner. 

The brothers started with showing moving pictures in states such as Ohio and Pennsylvania. In 1903, they started buying movie theatres, and they started working more in film distribution. They then began producing their own films.In 1917 they moved their headquarters to Hollywood. finally, in 1923, they set up Warner Brothers Pictures incorporated. 

They're based in Burbank, California, however they do have a studio in the UK based in Leavesden where they filmed various movies including 'The Dark Knight,' and the Harry Potter films. 

Warner Media owns Warner brothers inc as well as HBO, CNN, DC comics, Cartoon Network and many other companies. 

Warner bros was founded in 1923 so it has been around for 97 years approximately.

 Top Five most grossing Warner Bros films:

1.  Harry potter and the deathly hallows part 2 (2011)
2. Aquaman (2018)
3. The dark Knight rises(2012)
4. Joker (2019)
5. The Hobbit: An unexpected Journey.(2012)

All films grossed over 1 billion on worldwide box office alone. These were the budgets for Warner Bros most highest grossing films of 2019:

Joker budget: $55 million

It chapter 2 budget: $79 million

Shazam budget: $100 million

They tend to work with an array of cast and directors on different movies.

They have various films that are being released in the near future. These consist of: a remake of the Rohl Dahl book 'witches,' Wonder Woman 1984, Mortal Kombat, The little things, Tom and Jerry, The Many Saints of Newark and many more.

Research into a small institution

 Belstone Pictures:

Belstone was set up by Finn Cardigan Bruce. He set it in 2016 after doing various work in America. 

Belstone is based in the UK. The company has been round for about 4 years.

The institution has released two films; Tucked (2019) and Tank 432 (2017)

Tucked budget:

Tank 432 budget: 

Belstone tends to work with the same actors. For example they have worked with April Pearson in three films. They have many film
s in pre-production and production. A few are; 

'Untitled festival documentary,' 

'Broken cove,' 

'room 17,' 

'cats in hell,' and a few others.

They also have some movies in post production and release. These include, 

'Tracks,' 

' Paul Dood's deadly lunch break,' 

'hollow,'

'sanctuary of Collel.' 

Pictured on the left are some pictures of some of the films that are in production:

Opening sequence presentation

This presentation is on how the director creates meaning using Camera, sound and Mise-en-scene

POSTER REVIEW - STRANGER THINGS

The use of mise-en-scene in this ‘Stanger Things poster,’ creates accurate connotations of the plot, tone and genre of this tv series. ‘Stranger things,’ is set in the early 80s which is very clearly portrayed in this film poster. Firstly, the poster itself has a very vintage feel to it. The characters look like they have been drawn rather than photo shopped

 onto the poster. Also, the positioning of the characters are quite similar to how posters would be laid out in the 80s. An example of this are the Star Wars posters. It is clear the positioning of the characters in both posters are similar. The main characters are centre, and the supporting characters are positioned around them for example, Han Solo is positioned slightly smaller next to Luke sky walker. Therefore, we can infer that the character in the middle of the ‘Stranger things,’ poster is going to be the main character, who in this case is called Eleven. We can then assume the characters next to Eleven are going to be supporting characters.

 Another way we can assume setting is through the use of costume, hair and make-up. I believe this series is set in America because one of the characters, Hopper, is wearing a police uniform. However, the uniform is American so therefore it is assumed ‘Stranger things,’ is set in America. Also, many of the hair cuts used in the poster shows the time period. We can see someone with a bowl cut positioned at the top of the poster. ‘Bowl cuts’ were seen quite often in the 80s, especially if people would have their hair cut at home by their parents. 

The girl in the middle imposes quite an interesting image. Firstly, she has her hair shaved completely which was not common for regular girls at the time. Also she is wearing what seems to be a hospital gown. Therefore, maybe she is an ill patient. She is holding her hand outwards with a very serious look on her face. This leads me onto my next point.

The tone of the tv series is shown exceptionally well in the facial expressions of the characters. No one is smiling. This leads the audience to believe that the tone of the series is quite dark and mysterious. This is further shown with the border of the poster being covered in darkness with only a few outlines of branches being shown. This creates unknown and mysterious connotations which establishes an unsettling atmosphere for the viewer. This border also suggests where in America the series is set. It could be set in a small town as many cities in America do not have lots of trees/ woodland. There is also a shed positioned at the bottom left of the poster showing once again it is set in a suburban town. 

Another way this poster shows the tone of the film is there is a full moon at the top of the poster. This connotates that the film will be mysterious and eerie. Consequently, maybe the genre is a thriller, horror or even sci-fi.

The props in the movie poster also shows meaning to the audience. Firstly, one girl is holding a baseball bat with a serious look on her face implying that she is going to fight someone or something backing the fact that the genre could be a thriller, horror or sci-fi. The boy pictured below her is holding a camera, suggesting that he is a photographer which may be important in the plotline. 

Also, there are three boys pictured below the other characters on bikes. The bikes look quite vintage and dated from the way the handlebars are designed once again showing the time period.

Finally, the background of the poster poses some interesting ideas of the storyline. Firstly, in the top left of the poster, there are fairy lights strung up with letters painted on a wall. Even though it is unclear as to what this might mean, the image is very fascinating and slightly unusual which makes the consumer want to watch the tv series. 

Secondly, in the bottom right of the poster the is a person positioned in front of a sign that says ‘RESTRICTED AREA,’ which creates a tense and mysterious atmosphere. There is also barbed wire above this showing that it has high security. This indicates that it could be a factory or maybe even a science lab. Either way it reinforces that dark theme. The person is also wearing a suit which seems to be glowing. As a result of this, you cannot tell their gender which de-humanizes this person indicating that they could be a bad guy. 

How tension is created with an opening sequence

This presentation is on an opening scene to a film that one of the previous years have done at our school. I did this presentation with Adrianna

My favourite film

 Birdman (the unexpected virtue of ignorance)

One of my favourite films of all time is ‘Birdman (the unexpected virtue of ignorance).’ ‘Birdman,’ was released in 2014 by the production companies Regency enterprises and Fox Searchlight pictures, along with others. 

This movie was directed by Alejandro G. Iῆάrritu who has also directed ‘the revenant’, ‘Babel’ and many others. 

‘Birdman’ has an exceptionally talented cast consisting of Michael Keaton, who plays Riggan, the protagonist, Emma Stone plays Sam, who is Riggan’s daughter. There is also Edward Norton who plays ‘Mike Shiner,’ a quite controversial character in my opinion who clashes often with Riggan. Naomi Watts also stars in ‘Birdman,’ as Lesley, who is Mike’s Partner and an actress in the play that Riggan has written.

The reason I love this film so much is because it showed me the reality of life. How life really is not perfect, in fact it is far from that. And much like reality, this film is far from perfection. However, it defies this by giving you alternate ways of viewing situations and encourages you to use your imagination to see the possibilities of life rather than just settling with reality. Its shows a middle age man, slowly losing his grip on his career and is trying so desperately to hold on to what he loves which is acting. In his prime he acted in and action series called ‘birdman,’ in which he was a superhero who looked like a bird. Birdman’s voice, however, is still in his head long after his career in the series was over; still telling him what to do and calling him pathetic and useless.

Riggan’s goal in the movie changes however one that sticks with him is that he wants to be remembered. He wants everyone to love him and to be accepted. Possibly why he enjoys acting so much because he likes the attention. I have always been worried about being forgotten even since I was a young child. I am still scared about getting older; I feel like I need to make a difference to the world in order to be remembered or to matter, so I can empathise with Riggan. I also wanted to be an actor when I was younger, I loved performing so much but as I got older, I realised how hard it is to make it, and how unhappy life can be as a performer. I also spent an incredibly long part of my life seeking for peoples acceptance, which Riggan spends the whole movie doing, when I would have been better off accepting myself and knowing I am good enough, which Riggan, debatably, achieves.

The plot of the film is based around a play that Riggan has written in the hopes of saving his career. He also stars in the play along with his colleagues. As the movie progresses, so does the tension. This is mirrored in the soundtrack of the film which is mainly played by a set of drums in a jazz like style. For example, in scenes of tension, the drums with be played loudly and quickly. I would like to associate this with Riggan’s inner anxiety/ feelings. I can relate to this feeling, because when I am panicking or feeling anxious everything seems to be going extremely fast and loud. It makes me feel like I’m not alone when feeling stress. Also, the camera work is done my favourite cinematographer. Lubezki makes the majority of the movie look as if it were done in one shot. The whole movie is done in tracking shots, which makes the film constantly moving, chaotic, and relentless. Also, as time goes on, the more Riggan listens to Birdman’s voice in his head and lets him take over. At the beginning, it is implied that the voice inside his head is due to schizophrenia. However later on Birdman is in fact given a body and you see him flying next to Riggan whilst talking to him. 

Which leads me onto my next reason why I love this film. There is a perfect blend of realism and surrealism. The reason why kids find Disney films so enjoyable is because of the magic and fantasy behind them. There are flying carpets and animals that speak and fairy godmothers. Anything is possible. I believe that Birdman also gives you that chance to use your imagination. The film is divided sharply into two beliefs. What is real and what could be real. For example, Riggan is portrayed to have powers from the very beginning. The opening scene is him quite literally floating when he is meditating. Is he imagining it? Or does he actually have powers that he isn’t allowed to show anyone? Is it Birdman that is making him able to do this? Or is it all in his head? Its up to you, and I love that concept. The final scene also uses this. After being driven to madness and using a real gun instead of a fake gun for the performance, Riggan wakes up in hospital after a failed suicide attempt. On a positive note, his show has now made it because of this. He is going to be remembered; however, he throws this all away, or supposedly does. After his daughter, Sam, leaves the room to get a vase for some flowers. Riggan is drawn to his hospital window as he sees Birdman flying around. It is heavily hinted he jumps out of the window to join birdman. Obviously, a human cannot survive this fall as they were many stories high. So, is Riggan dead? 

There are two ways you can look at is. This is because when Sam comes back, Riggan is no where to be seen. She frantically runs to the window and looks down shocked, implying that Riggan’s body is on the ground, but then slowly pans to look up at the sky and starts smiling and laughing. This could mean that Riggan can fly and the powers are real. See it however you want, but I like to believe in the version of him flying. The version that does not seem real, but what if it could be? There is always that what if.
And that is why Birdman is my favourite film.