I, Daniel Blake

 1) What is independent cinema and how is it different to Hollywood blockbusters?

Independent films have smaller budgets than Hollywood blockbusters and are supported by public funding, charity, film institutions and public service broadcasters. They are also distributed by smaller companies.

2) What is I, Daniel Blake about?

I, Daniel Blake is about an old man who needs support from the government following an illness, he finds a single mother and her two children who want to get out of a one roomed homeless hostel in London and are given one option to accept a flat 300 miles away. Daniel stands up for them and tries to help them. It is a drama that has a political message behind it 

3) Who directed I, Daniel Blake and why is this important?

Ken Loach, This is important because he is a political director who speaks on important issues.

4) How was I, Daniel Blake promoted to an audience? List at least three different methods used by the film's marketing campaign and how they targeted their audience.

• ‘I, Daniel Blake’ was projected onto the Houses of Parliament ('guerrilla marketing') and in various cities, this creates a lot of word of mouth as it is not a traditional or conventional marketing technique and would get a lot of people sharing their opinions about it.

• Organise free (or ‘pay what you can’) screenings and talks in community centres across the UK to build local enthusiasm for the film’s message. This is good because it develops a strong sense of support from the locals who might feel a sense of similarity towards the more and feel connected.
• Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn attended the London premiere and people that had been denied benefit payments were asked to placard the event. This is good because is generates support from existing labour party followers.

5) What unusual or creative marketing methods were used to get audiences talking about the film?

They projected I, Daniel Blake onto the houses of parliament, This is a guerrilla marketing technique. This would have generated a lot of word of mouth and a lot of news articles would cover it which creates more publicity

6) What was the estimated production budget for I, Daniel Blake and how much did it make at the box office?

production was £2 million and it made £11 million in box office 

7) How can independent films like I, Daniel Blake compete with Hollywood blockbusters like Black Widow?
 

I, Daniel Blake targets a niche and more educated audience, although they might not make profit on films compared to blockbusters they do have a lot more creative control over their movies

8) In your opinion, was I, Daniel Blake a success?

Yes, it made 5x the production budget which is extremely successful for an independent film although it might seem as less compared to a blockbuster it is aimed at significantly smaller niche target audiences and therefore it was successful 


Grade 8/9 extension tasks

Read this Media Magazine article on the disruptive marketing campaign used to publicise I, Daniel Blake. Media Magazine is an excellent publication aimed at A Level Media students and it's a great resource for GCSE students aiming for the top grades.

I, Daniel Blake is an A Level Media text for another exam board. Watch Media teacher Mrs Fisher's YouTube lesson on I, Daniel Blake and make notes on the key points she makes.

Read this Hollywood Reporter interview with executive Alex Hamilton on film marketing - including the I, Daniel Blake grassroots marketing campaign. Why was it successful?