Movie Websites.

The promotional website for the upcoming biopic The Darkest Hour has many features to help promote the movie and help create a buzz, which in turn makes more people aware of it promoting it further.
The first aspect of the website is the footage that plays on repeat, even when viewing the synopsis, this is to keep the idea of what happens in the film going through the minds of the person viewing the website.
The website also features the trailer for the film so people can watch that and hopefully decide to see the movie and tell their friends about it.
One prominent feature of the website is the option to buy tickets. On the homepage under the title it has a link to buy tickets for the film and when you open the link it goes to the page to buy tickets rather than the homepage itself.
The homepage also clearly shows the release date, 12th January and that Gary Oldman plays Winston Churchill, the protagonist.
In the synopsis page not only does it tell you what the movie is about but it also tells you who the cast and crew are, for the crew it is specifically the director (Joe Wright) and the various producers.
One minor note is the website has a gallery although it only features one image.

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.
The top of the page features the movie's logo expanding and retracting and an animation of the main cast and an aligator in the water, which is animated. As you scroll down it features a synopsis of the film and informs us that it is about four teenagers who are sucked into a videogame. The synopsis also informs us that the avatars of the teenagers are played by: Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan and Jack Black.
Below the synopsis is a list of cast and crew, informing us that the director is Jake Kasdan (son of Lawrence Kasdan who is famous for writing multiple Hollywood productions such as Raiders of the Lost Ark). Because of this family link and Jake Kasdan's previous work, this could encourage someone to watch the film.
The website also features bios for the "avatars" of the main characters, as well as a game and a 360 degree experience.
The page also features a link to buy tickets, for the same reason as The Darkest Hour, to get people to see the film and talk about it, creating a buzz.
Creating a buzz is the reason why the page also features a link to share the webpage on Facebook.

The 20th Century Fox animated movie Ferdinand, like Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle does not have a website of its own but rather a page on 20th Century Fox's website.
The first see on the page's header is a picture of a Bull, Ferdinand as well as a comment from a review from a publication.
Below the header there are links to share on Facebook and Twitter as well as to buy tickets, something that appears to be a convention of these websites and webpages.
Below there are several videos including a trailer, clips from the film and other promotional videos. This is all to get the audience of the website excited to see the film.
The webpage also features a synopsis and informs you that it is by Blue Sky Studios, an animation studio responsible for the Ice Age franchise, this may entice potential viewers as the Ice Age franchise has been held in high regard (despite gradually declining in critical and audience reviews according to Rotten Tomatoes).
The page also has a list of the cast which again, may encourage someone to go and see the movie.
Unlike the other websites, Ferdinand's webpage features games, this is likely due to the fact that it is an animated movie for children. And unlike Disney Pixar's Coco, Ferdinand does have a webpage but I'm not sure why a children's film that doesn't appear to have appeal to other audiences (unlike the Pixar movies and films like Paddington 2) as children don't typically have access to the internet without parent's permission.














Molly's Game is a crime drama film written and directed by Aaron Sorkin.
The official website for the film opens with the trailer but it has the option to close it.
The main page of the website has a black and white photo of Jessica Chastain's Molly. To the right of the page is the title of the movie and above the title is the announcement that it is nominated for two Golden Globes, below the title is the statement that the film is based on a true story.
The left side of the websites informs you that it has academy award winners Idris Elba and Kevin Costner, as well as telling us that Jessica Chastain was nominated for an academy award..
The nominations for Golden Globes may persuade a potential audience member to go see the movie as it must be good to have been nominated for best screenplay.
Also as the websites tells you that two members of the cast have Oscars and the lead was nominated for one may also persuade someone to watch the movie because if it has good actors then the movie is probably also good.
The fact that the movie is based on a true story may also get someone to watch the film as people may find the fact that it was based on a true story more interesting than if it was purely fiction.
In the top left of the website there is a drop-down menu which features a synopsis, two trailers, a gallery that features several stills from the movie and a link to buy tickets.
In the top right there are links to share on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to create a buzz to promote the film.

Early Man is a stop motion animation children's film due for release in late January 2018.
Like the website for Darkest Hour it has footage from the movie in the background on a loop.
It also prominently features the option to watch a trailer and to book tickets like the other websites.
Like the websites for Ferdinand and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, the website for Early Man features games.
The website also features a gallery with pictures and videos and, like Jumanji, has a bio for the characters, but unlike Jumanji's there are more characters with bios but many are shorter.
At the top of the website it states that the film is "From Nick Park, Director of Chicken Run and Wallace & Gromit." Both the film Chicken Run and the Wallace & Gromit series are critically acclaimed and award winning, therefore as Early Man is directed by the same person it is likely to be very good as well.
Like the other websites Early Man's website features the option to book tickets which takes to a map to find a local cinema.
The website also prominently features the links to social media websites and the official YouTube channel to share their promotional videos.

The Commuter is a mystery/crime movie starring Liam Neeson and is directed by Jaume Collet-Sera.
The website, like the website for Darkest Hour and Early Man, has footage from the film playing in the background of the website. In the middle of the website is a button to play the final trailer for the film, this may entice someone to go to the cinema to see this film as the trailer could convince them more than the website would on its own.
One interesting thing to note is that in the gallery all of the images move, this may be a useful feature for my website.

From everything I've seen of these websites, I've decided to have a still from the movie in the background of the homepage, to have a gallery with stills and videos, maybe I'll also have the images move with after effects. I'm also going to involve a 360 degree picture of the set and it'll have clickable points. Of course the website will also have a synopsis and a list of cast and crew.
The website will also have a link to social media, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Youtube.