Wonder Woman Marketing Research

 

Conglomerates

 What impact does it have on the production of a film, if it is produced by a large global conglomerate? 

A conglomerate is a company that has ownership over several companies smaller than them, such as Warner Brothers who produced the film Wonder Woman. Conglomerates are usually well recognized and lots of benefits can arise when big institutions produce a film. Having a large global conglomerate means that you can use the wide range of facilities they hold, including sets for filming, famous actors... In addition to this, the contacts of people, directors, producers, camera men etc is endless creating an all-round high tech and professional film.  

An impact of large global conglomerates producing films is the high budget they can spend. The film ‘Wonder Woman’ had a budget of $200m. These large budgets enable the company to do several things to produce an established film. One of the things the producers were able to do to make ‘Wonder Woman’ a worldwide well-known film was the use of CGI. CGI is computer-generated imagery which is done by an artist who can build 3D models of people, products, environments and more. This feature costs so much because it takes a lot of time, a lot of people and expensive equipment. Just before the beach battle scene from ‘Wonder Woman, a CGI character swings from the top of a ledge down to the beach. The artist who created this character had to add a lot details to make them look real which must have taken a lot of time. The CGI in ‘Wonder Woman’ is just one aspect of the film that made it so popular and well liked. 

Another impact of being a large global conglomerate is the people who they can cast. They can contact already famous actors because of their brand image and the price they will pay for them. These actors are usually part of above the line costs because they will attract a large audience due to fan bases and are an important aspect to help the film be successful. For example, in ‘Wonder Woman’, the character who plays Steve (Chris Pine), was previously in ‘Star Treck’ Franchise and part of the ‘Princess Diaries”. He would of already had a fan base and attract an audience. ‘Wonder Woman’ also had famous athletes who had performed in the Olympics in the beach battle scene. ‘Warner Bros’ were also able to have an experienced, established director. The director of the film- Patty Jenkins had previously directed Monster 2003 and other movies. Her experience on directing adds to the success of the film.  

Furthermore, large institutions have the ability to be able to travel for sets and can have different scenery when needed. ‘Wonder Woman’ was shot in France, Italy and the UK. Travelling a cast that big (900 people were used for the beach battle scene) would have cost Warner Brothers a lot of money (and time).  Having all the right equipment in different locations may have been difficult for the company to move around so they may have had to buy extra camera equipment for the different locations which is another high cost. The cameras conglomerates use are usually ‘high tech’ cameras for the best quality as they target their films at such a large audience and want the film to have the best reputation possible.  

Warner Brothers wanted the film ‘Wonder Woman’ to be aimed at a mass audience and keep the rating 12 to appeal to a larger segment of the market. In order to do this, in all the fight scenes, no blood or graphic content could be shown. They did this to keep up a good reputation as it is such a world-wide known company. This is a time-consuming process and therefore costly.  

Overall, being a conglomerate has many impacts, the largest being the budget. With such a high budget, many things can be achieved making the film more appealable to their target market. The well-known cast and directors also would have appealed to the mass market, making the film more successful.  

Delicatessen write up notes

 

Belstone Pictures Industry Research

 BELSTONE PICTURES

 How did the studio come about? 

When the CEO of the company left Hurtwood House where he had been producing and directing documentaries, he realised he had a passion for film so went to work on sets before starting his own company in 2016. 

· Where are they based (headquarters) do they have studios anywhere else in the world?

Belstone Pictures are based in London  

· Who owns the company? Do they own anything else as well? If so how would this help the studio? 

Finn Cardigan Bruce owns the company 

 

They don't own anything else but have collaborated with companies such as Netflix and HBO which helps with publicity.

· How long has it been running for? 

since 2016 

· What are the institutions biggest box office successes (Give a top 5)?  Tucked (2018) 

  Tank 432 (2015) 

1.  Tracks (II) (2018) 
2.  Paul Dood's Deadly Lunchbreak.
3.  Room 17·
4. 
   
5. What was the budget of the studios top 3 highest grossing films last year? 

They are a small production company and only started in 2016, therefore only have a number films/TV projects released.   

The budget for Tucked was $0.3-0.6million 

· Do they tend to work with the same actors or directors? 

Belstone Pictures have worked with different actors and directors, for example the director for Tank 2018 was Jaimer Patterson, but the director for Tank 432 was Nick Gillespie

· How many new films do they have in pre-production, production and postproduction? 

9 films in production 

· What is the advantage of a big institution/Small institution? 

Having a small institution comes with advantages as well as disadvantages. An advantage of having a small institution is that the films don't aim to please such a mass market and can be a more specific style. Smaller institutions don't have as big as of as budget as larger companies such as Warner Bros, but can produce films to meet a specific niche audience more than Warner Bros who produce films for mass markets such as 'Wonder Woman' 

Small institutions won't have to pay nearly ad much tax as larger companies. Their films also wont be 'americanised'. 

Warner Bros Industry Research

WARNER BROS 

 How did the studio come about? 

Warner Bros came about in 1904, in movie theatres by 4 brothers where they would show moving pictures. They then moved onto producing their own films in 1913 and in 1917 moved production to California. Warner Brothers Pictures Inc was established in 1923. 

Where are they based (headquarters) do they have studios anywhere else in the world?

Warner Bros headquarters are in Burbank California. 

               (This info is from Britannica)

  Who owns the company? Do they own anything else as well? If so how would this help the studio?

A big company called Time Warner Inc owns Warner Bros who own other companies such as HBO, among other ones. This helps because owning other companies because it raises more finance that can be used in movie production. 

                                                  How long has it been running for? 

Been running for 116 years as it came about 1904.

                     What are the institutions biggest box office successes (Give a top 5)? 

Top 5= 

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly hallows

2. Aquaman

3. The Dark Knight Rises

4. Joker

5. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey 

        What was the budget of the studios top 3 highest grossing films last year?

Top 3= 

1	Joker	$333,772,511
2	It: Chapter Two	$211,593,228
3	Pokémon: Detective Pikachu	$144,105,346

                              Do they tend to work with the same actors or directors? 

They work with different actors and directors, but there sequels use the same ones. 

      How many new films do they have in pre-production, production and postproduction?

movies in pre production - 21

post production- 11

 production- 25 

 

Advantages of having a big institution- 

• large budget
• already famous actors
• budget for CGI specialists
• ability to travel to different locations
• large advertisement 
• merchandise...

Analysis of Delicatessen- opening sequence PLAN

 OPENING SEQUENCE NOTES - 

Mis-en-scene

• Death connotations 
• props such as knives
• low key lightning- mysterious 
• dead pig swinging at the end- death connotation 

Camera 

• close ups of 'knife guy' faces and what he's doing. 
• The close ups of his facial expression- uneasy 
• close up of knives- crime, danger, intimidating 
• orange filter- makes the scene feels hot, dirty, sweaty... uncomfortable 
• POV shots- low angle of knife guy when other guy is in the bin- gives the knife guy power.

Sound 

• HYPERBOLIC SOUND- the loud sound effects make the scene scarier
• lack of dialogue- adds to mystery and suspense

Editing 

• lots of long shots and slow takes of the location and characters- adds importance
• the pace speeds up towards the end as the action begins- builds tension
• Cross cuts between knife guy and other guy- shows reasoning for why other guy is worried and shows relationship between them. 

Characters- KNIFE GUY/ 'OTHER' GUY

Knife guy-  

• seen as 'bad guy'
• dirty clothes
• aggressive
• Makes us question why he is using knives 

 Other guy- 

• trying to hide/ camouflage in the bin bags
• he seems trapped in the building
•  scared facial expression 

 

An Introduction to Film Genre

 An Introduction to Film Genre 🎞📽🎬

  Genre...

 is a category or style of art, music or literature 

Genres are used to establish relationships with the audience, and make the films more relatable and enjoyable. Using genres also makes it easier for writers.

Having an established genre gives the audience an idea and expectation of the film before they have watched it, and knowing the genre of a film may be the reason people watch it in the first place. 

 

Sub-genre...  

a subdivision (a smaller part) of a genre. 

a specific genre

they exist to meet peoples specific tastes- they have specific qualities to films within a broader genre

e.g. sub-genre of horror-  zombies 

 

 A hybrid genre... 

the combination of two or more genres (share conventions)

Hybrid genres exist to gives films a twist to them. People have expectations of genres, for example a horror movie is going to involve dark scary locations, death, people getting chased...

Having a hybrid genre gives people something familiar to watch in a genre (the horror movie expectations) but also subverts their expectations by giving them a new twist to keep the film interesting and give the audience something to get excited about. 

e.g. romantic comedy 

Conventions you associate with genre📹🎬:

ACTION- 

• high intensity and lots of energy
• lots of activity 
• stunts 
• running 
• fights and chases
• black costumes
• explosions...

(HYBRID GENRE OF THRILLER AND ACTION)

Year released-  2020

Director- Sam Hargrave

Studio- the Russo Brothers

ROMANCE- 

• fight in the relationship 
• something/ someone in the way of the relationship 
• crying 
• arguments 
• happy endings
• marriages
• divorces

Year released- 2017

Director- Luca Guadagnino

Studio- (production companies) - Frenesy Film Company La Cinéfacture RT Features M.Y.R.A. Entertainment Water's End Productions

WESTERN-

• cowboys 
• sheriffs 
• Americans 
• hot locations
• wilderness
• animals
  
  Year released- 2018

  Director- Jon Cassar

  Studio- (production companies) - Minds Eye Entertainment 
  
  
  
  

SCI FI-

• Time travel
• teleportation 
• Extraterrestrials
• different worlds
• parallel universes

Year released- 2016

Director- J Blakeson

Studio- (production companies) - Columbia Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures

HORROR

• fear of the unknown
• death
• darkness
• suspense
• music
• abandoned houses
• innocent children 
• a 'devil' 

Year released- 2017

Director- Andres Muschietti 

Studio- (production companies) - New Line Cinema, Vertigo Entertainment 

THRILLER

• victims
• the chase
• suspense
• anticipation
•  villans 
• heros 

 

Year released- 2020

Director- Todd Haynes

Studio- (production companies) - Participant & Killer Films