Belstone Pictures

 Belstone Pictures

Belstone first came about when an ex-Hurtwood House student Finn Cardigan Bruce left school and gained a deeper level of knowledge on film, enough to in 2016 create Belstone Pictures based mainly in London. Since Belstone is quite a new company the name of ownership is still under Finn Cardigan Bruce who has worked on a wide range of different film and tv shows and so while it is harder for smaller companies to gain support the combination of Finn’s connections and the ambitious and artistic film made at Belstone it is doing very well. One of the perks of being an independent and small company is that you can’t reach out and gain an unknown actor and it will be their ‘breakout performance’. With this said they do contain some well known actors that return to the company such as successful actress April Pearson. Another benefit to being a smaller company is that you can form Synergy as there are more chances of other smaller companies wanting to reach a bigger audience, Belstone also stands as a Cross-media ownership as it produces film, tv shows and short films altogether making 11 types of media (8 released and 3 in pre-production). Belstone has be home to some film gems such as:

• Paul Doods Deadly Lunch Break 

• Swede Caroline 

• Tucked (£23,080 - box office)

• Sumotherhood 

• Tank 432 

These are ranked in popularity but as you can see although Belstone is relatively new it already has gained some traction on awareness and relevance. This could be due to the ‘controversial’ topic they choose to talk about such as sexual, race and other important issues that draws in a specific art appeal and critical reception. So while Belstone Pictures are not making the most well known movies they are making important movies that they want to make that will find the target audience and interest them. 

Walt Disney

 Walt Disney 

Disney has grown very very far from its humble past/start in the 1920’s Missouri when Walt and Roy O.Disney, brothers, made their company and their first short film with the company ‘Alice’s Wonderland’ which has obviously now made a name for itself just as Disney has. Out of the 97 years Disney has been around much has changed with the company starting with the change of location as it started in Kansas City and ifs headquarters is in California with Disney locations all around the world (parks/shops) other changes that has been greatly noticeable would be the Annual Gross Revenue (in millions USD) from 1991(6,11) to 2020(65,388) which has obviously been displayed in the movies and well known parks around the world in places like Paris, Tokyo, California, Florida shanghai and hong kong which proves to show their incredibly vast international audience. Another change that has occurred in Disney's root would be the current owners of Disney as it is no longer owned by Walt Disney himself but it is now a publicly traded company with the largest shareholder being Vanguard Group Inc. meaning they own the most of it.

The benefits of Disney working like this is that it has more reach to different audiences and resources. It also means that it is not in control of one person which can be a lot and possibly too much. The company's success can be due to the childhood making and iconic movies that they made which strict everyone’s attention and is still doing that today as you can see from the popular of their biggest successes and Gross:

• Avengers Endgame ($2,797,800,564)

• Star Wars ($2,064,615,817)

• Avengers Infinity War ($2,044,540,523)

• The Lion King ($1,654,367,425)

• The Avengers ($1,515,100,211)

• Frozen II ($1,445,182,280)

These are just some of the highest successes for the company and with an income like this the company can offers to spend some cash on their movie budgets which is shown with: 

• Star War: Rise of Skywalker ($275,000,000)

• Onward ($200,000,000)

• Frozen II ($150,000,000)

Disney has made too many movies to count but it is at least around 150 creating a phenomenal reputation for themselves. Throughout these 150 movies multiple actors have made multiple appearances creating a relationship between the company and them, some examples of this being Robert Downy Jr and Jim Cummings. The same happens with directors probably because of the success disney gained from their work but they are wanted again and once again form a relationship such as the iconic and obvious Walt Disney, Wilfred Jackson, Jack Kinney and Samuel Armstrong. The obvious benefits of being such a big and relevant company such as disney is that a film that you realise will have a high chance of being noticed just from the reputation that you have also you reach a bigger audience and have less limitations when it comes to budget and marketing.

Ladybird Presentation

 Ladybird Presentation

What To Fear Presentation

What To Fear Presentation

Marriage Story Poster Analysis

 Marriage Story Analysis 

This poster or should I say these posters perfectly oppose each other in a very harmonious way and reflect the very vibe of the movie perfectly. From first glance there is so much that you can depict and take from without even thinking but from our natural prejudices that are ingrained in us we register thoughts and predictions for the film and/or characters. Throughout this essay I will be analysing how these techniques of manifesting ideas from the imagery is done and how it is effective. 

 The first and maybe most noticeable message that I picked up on would be the clear gender representation through both posters. The most obvious hint of gender representation i would say would be through the colours of the two poster as in the 1st poster on the left side the colours are a shade of pink or a very close colour, either way it is a very feminine and calm hue which would side with the stereotypical female attributes. This feminine presenting colour also gives us a feeling that the women being depicted will have a very maternal and soothing feel to her. On the other hand in the 2nd poster on the right side there are very cold colours with the light blue/grey which would side with the stereotypical gender colour for a boy. Another point we can take from this poster is that we get the impression that the male figure will be a hold-off or more serious as the colours are very dark while the intensity is very high.

       Other knowledge we gain from these posters would be the settings that could be found in this film. While it is not very specific on the 2nd poster(right side) we can easily tell that it is a city setting which adds to the busy and almost depressing mood that the poster already has with the blue colour which connotes a sad energy, these both give the interpretation that this character will be a busy and complicated person that will go through a difficult and depressing journey throughout the movie. Now in contrast the setting of the 1st poster (left side) gives off a very specific landmark of the palm tree which for lots of people will be connected to Los Angeles, also the water in the setting could connotate that this character will go through movement that is constant. Also opposing the 2nd(right side) poster the 1st (left side) lacks the blue mood and settles with a more uplifting and enlightened atmosphere suggesting that this character could be gaining peace or joy from a situation the other (male) character is suffering from.

        When promoting a film using the cast as a source to interest consumers can be extremely intelligent and this is a fine example as the main cast are hugely popular and accomplished actors. This use has been displayed through the large fonts of Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver's names with their prestigious nominations in a smaller point above, while their profiles shown are not instantly recognisable after seeing their names right above it become very clear and familiar. This use of putting well known actors on the presenting aspect of the movie is useful as they have gained a fan base and they will watch to be loyal but also as both actors are phenomenal people will come to watch for their performances. This use of profiles being the only part of the character we see could also be to hint to the fact that their surrounding such as the city (probably new york) and la are the only stable and known part of themselves as it replaces the actual characters faces, it makes up their being at this state of time. These profiles are also supported by the colours i have just talked about as the lighter colours on the women's side create a more softer and lighter side to her profile as the colours on the outside and inside of her profile are more neutral and similar adding to the female stereotype. On the male side of the posters the colour contrast is not very supportive as while they are both a shade of blue the inside of the profile is a much darker and heavier colour adding to a much more hardened profile and more intense atmosphere around him. 

      The other very interesting contrast between the two posters and how it works together to tell a story would be the different positions the characters are in. As the female poster profile is facing the right while the male poster is facing the left which communicates the interpretation that they could be facing each other or communicating or failing to do so but they are facing each other, this could mean they are presenting the different and/or opposing personalities and how they clash as they are separate and not intertwined and could represent some tension between them which would be supported by the very different atmospheres they give off. Another interesting point about their positioning would be that the title of the film is clearly stated as a marriage story suggesting a film about a marriage but as both characters are displayed with their own posters and with such expressions of individuality it lacks the connection with marriage and with a connection between the two people this could imply that they are finding themselves outside of the marriage or that they are separating hence the separate posters. Displaying that the title marriage story is not one of a stable and healthy marriage but a story of the end or separating of the marriage.

         In conclusion these two posters have proven and provided so much knowledge on the one film but at the same time has given nothing away. We gain information on the character's personality, background, state of well being and relationship status from just a poster of a silhouette and this is all done through how we as human beings perceive and learn to preserve and connect messages, All together through this poster it has led to a successful and powerful perception of the movie Marriage Story.

    

Dead Poets Society

 Dead Poets Society

My favourite movie would have to be Dead Poets Society (1989) written by Tom Schulman and directed by Peter Weir. This movie follows a group of school boys in an all boys private school called where they find a deep connection to literature through their new English teacher and his passion for the subject. These boys engage with the difficult situations that come with ageing but they rely, support and help guide each other through the hard time, most of the time. This movie is very much a coming of age story that channels all emotions through various ways and is incredibly moving.The cast includes the icon Robin Williams as the English teacher (John Keating), the other leads are Ethan Hawke and Robert Sean Leonard as Todd and Neil. The rest of the group of boys are played by Gale Hansen (Charlie Dalton), Dylan Kussman (Richard Cameron), Allelon Ruggiero (Steven Meeks) and James Waterston (Gerard Pitts). The way this film makes me feel is so overwhelmingly beautiful and tragic, I have never experienced such a range of extreme emotions from a film before. I felt such a close connection to every character which made it sort of interactive and made me very emotionally involved. After watching the movie for the first time I felt so empty and full at the same time, it was a meeting of the two and the feeling is inexplicable. This film is a coming of age which i personally find to be one of my favourite genes as how much i can relate and connect to the character very easily especially Neil as he carries people pleaser traits and putting other opinions before his own which i relate to highly and so seeing Neil’s story play out was very depressing for me and took a few days to fully recover but the characters are so human i imagine it is hard for anyone to not connect or find an aspect the resonates. Throughout the film there is the constant underlying theme of ‘carpe diem’ which stands for seize the day, this phrase is used in the movie and it inspires the boys so the course of the movie states to do what you want and feel is right regardless of what society or people of authority say which takes the boys on very different paths as seizing the day does not mean any one thing but the message stays clear and true throughout the whole film. One of the reasons the boys relationship felt so natural and real would be thanks to Weir’s decision to have all the actors dorm together so that they could bond and it worked so well that the cast look back at that film and only have good things to say, especially Robin Williams who says it was one of his favourite movies he did. Overall this movie  is my favourite because of the unmatchable way it makes me feel through the incredible actors, the deep and relatable plot line, the human feeling behind the whole movie and the emotions it draws out of me. Safe to say the movie is an emotional rollercoaster.

Genre

 Genre

Genre is a way of categorising pieces of media based of its convections which is used as a format for the institutions to set rules/guides and helps them reach their target audience. The genre effects the consumers as it guides them to identify what they have a preference to and also sets up expectations that have to be met an example of a movie genre would be horror. A sub-genre is used to help filter through the larger genre scale and help consumers reach what they are looking for to a more specific scale and helps the institution give to their wanted audience an example of this would be if a movies genre was horror the sub-genre would be thriller. The last version of genre that can be found would be hybrid genre which is the combination of two main genres such as a rom-com, what this version helps do is to expand the audience the institution is trying to produce for which makes more income and awareness.