Film Industry: I, Daniel Blake

Our second Film Industry CSP is Ken Loach's independent social realist film I, Daniel Blake.

Remember: for film, we only need to study the industries key concept - so this means the companies behind the film, the budget, the marketing and promotion and finally the box office success.

Hollywood v Independent cinema

Independent films are very different to Hollywood blockbusters like Black Widow. The style of ‘indie’ films is very different to Hollywood blockbusters, as the directors and producers have more creative input – it’s being made in their vision, not in the vision of studio bosses.

Independent films have much smaller budgets, and are often supported financially by public service broadcasters, film institutions and charity funding. They are also distributed by smaller companies.

I, Daniel Blake notes

I, Daniel Blake is an award-winning independent British Drama film. The main character, Daniel Blake, 59, who has worked as a joiner most of his life in the North East of England needs help from the State for the first time ever following an illness.

He crosses paths with a single mother Katie and her two young children, Daisy and Dylan. Katie’s only chance to escape a one roomed homeless hostel in London is to accept a flat some 300 miles away.

Daniel  stands up and fights for his dignity, leading a one-man crusade for compassion that will transform the lives of a struggling single mother (Katie) and her two children.   It is a drama that has a strong political message about Britain in an age of government austerity.

Key details:

• I, Daniel Blake was released in 2016 and was directed by Ken Loach. The film was rated by the BBFC as a 15.
• A UK/French co-production, the film is a classed as a drama due to the nature of the narrative and themes within the film.
• The cast is made up of lesser known actors, including Dave Johns, Hayley Squires and Sharon Percy.
• The film is classed as an independent film, due to the fact that it is a low budget film with a relatively unknown cast.

Director power: Ken Loach

Ken Loach has been a director for over 50 years. He’s never had Hollywood success, mainly because he’s never wanted it. Loach’s style is social realism – telling stories that represent the lives of ordinary working-class people and the social issues they face, for example unemployment, poverty and addiction. His films also have political themes. Rather than create films for entertainment or money, his goal is to expose and educate people to the issues that many people in society face.

Ken Loach's 2019 film Sorry We Missed You highlighted the difficulty of working class people working on zero hour contracts (you can watch the trailer here). Here he talks to Sky News about the film and how it compares to Marvel superhero blockbusters like Black Widow:

Marketing and promotion

Along with traditional trailer and print adverts, the film makers eOne also used disruptive marketing such as:

• 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.
• Film was premiered not in London, but Newcastle (where the film is set) to gain local support. 
• Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn attended the London premiere and people that had been denied benefit payments were asked to placard the event.
• ‘I, Daniel Blake’ was projected onto the Houses of Parliament ('guerrilla marketing') and in various cities
• Loach appeared on BBC Question Time to talk on issue giving the film extra credibility

A conventional trailer was also produced for the film:

Additional promotion:

• A partnership was set up with Trinity Mirror (Daily Mirror owners) to run a marketing campaign based on the film. The Daily Mirror traditionally supports the Labour Party and left-wing causes so therefore agreed with the main message of the film.
• The film also paired up with NomadiX Media's iProjector to create an outdoor campaign using quotes from the film.
• Ken Loach and the writer did interviews with newspapers and magazines to promote the key messages of the film (see clip from Economist below).
• Finally, a video was released using members of the public and politicians that supported the film’s message. This was highlighted with the hashtag #WeAreAllDanielBlake

Secret Cinema Youth screening

Secret Cinema, as part of their charitable Secret Youth campaign, organised a screening of the film in both London’s East End and Newcastle. The event was aimed at first-time voters, and the event happened just before the 2017 general election

The screening was accompanied by talks from Ken Loach and performances from artists that either supported or had a connection with the film’s themes. They also organised food bank donation stalls at the screening and encouraged people to contribute

Budget, box office and critical success

It is very difficult to establish the exact production costs of ‘I, Daniel Blake’ although 16 Films Producer, Rebecca O’Brien, said it was a ‘modest amount’, even for a Ken Loach film. We know some of the funding it received (e.g. £300k from the BFI) and can estimate it to be around £2 million. Compare that to the $200 million that it cost to make our other CSP, Black Widow.

I, Daniel Blake was exhibited in 24 countries and performed well in Europe and other smaller countries. The film grossed £11 million and received a wide range of positive critic reviews.

‘I, Daniel Blake’ Is Ken Loach’s most successful UK release ever and continued to sell well around Europe. Like all Ken Loach films, it did particularly well in France. As well as Box Office success, it was also a critical success and award winner (including the renowned Palme D’or from the Cannes Film Festival).

Regulation: BBFC rating

‘I, Daniel Blake’ was awarded a 15 certificate by the British Board of Film Classifications (BBFC).  This was despite the following scenes being included:

• Bad language (uttered by the main characters out of anger and frustration or for emphasis. Was justified by context and not impactful.)
• Sexual scenes (There are some verbal sexual references voiced in the film, particularly in a scene where a man pays a surprise visit to a woman who is working as a prostitute secretly, to try to dissuade her from prostituting herself.)
• Frightening and Intense scenes (There are two notable scenes of emotional intensity. They include 'the food bank' scene and the ending 'funeral' scene.)

I, Daniel Blake: blog tasks

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

2) What is I, Daniel Blake about?

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

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.

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

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

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

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


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.

Read this marketing case study on I, Daniel Blake. What does 'making a film launch a political movement' mean?

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?

Complete for homework if you don't finish it during the lessons - due date on Google Classroom.

Film Industry: Black Widow

Our first Film Industry CSP is Marvel blockbuster Black Widow.

For film, we only need to study the industries key concept - so this means the companies behind the film, the budget, the marketing and promotion and finally the box office success.

Reminder: industry terminology

In our Introduction to Media unit, we learned a range of media industries terminology that we may well be tested on in the exam. Make sure you know the following:

Conglomerate ownership
Most major media companies are conglomerates that own a range of smaller companies (called subsidiaries). An example of this is Disney owning Marvel.

Vertical integration
Vertical integration is when one conglomerate owns different companies in the same chain of production. E.g Disney owns film studios, CGI specialists, film distributors and TV channels such as the Disney Channel. This gives Disney the chance to make money at every stage of production. Complete ownership = more profit.

Horizontal integration

Horizontal integration is when one company buys other companies at the same level of distribution. E.g Facebook acquired Instagram in 2012 (at a cost of $1 billion) so that they could cancel out the competition by making money from both. Horizontal integration allows companies to widen their audience and find other ways to make money.

Synergy 

Synergy is when a company creates a brand that can be used across different media products and platforms. E.g Disney makes movies but then also has related stage shows, theme parks, merchandise, soundtracks and events.

Black Widow notes

Black Widow is the 24th entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). It raises many industry issues surrounding the production, distribution and exhibition of film in the digital age.  

Film franchise

A film franchise is a series of films or multi-picture stories, often including some of the same characters from film to film.

Franchises have become even more important than individual stars. They consist of connected universes (e.g. Star Wars, Marvel's Cinematic Universe, DC Extended Universe etc) and many sequels (or prequels).

Blockbuster movies

Black Widow is a blockbuster movie. A blockbuster is a major studio movie that's made with a large budget, big stars and often involves a franchise. 

A true blockbuster is extremely popular and brings in a lot of money. Typically, a blockbuster is a summer movie that audiences line up to see the first weekend it's released (which coincides with the school holidays and more family time).

Disney and Marvel

In 2009, The Walt Disney Company acquired Marvel Entertainment for US$4 billion. The Walt Disney Company now owns Disney Pictures, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm and Pixar.

Walt Disney Studios are one of Hollywood's major film studios and generated an income of $2.4 billion in 2017.  This means that they can afford to make more expensive films, market them around the world at great expense and ensure that they are hugely profitable.  

Marketing and promotion

Star Power implies that people will want to see a film with a certain star in it. Most mainstream films and blockbusters will use Star Power to attract audiences to their film. The main star in Black Widow is Scarlett Johansson who is very well known and has established fans. 

Walt Disney Studios had a huge budget to make and market Black Widow although the success of the film was badly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic closing cinemas. Some of the strategies used included:

• Traditional methods such as posters and teaser trailers on TV and in cinema.
• Stars of the film appeared on a range of TV chat shows and press events. 
• Film trailers were released on YouTube and in cinemas. 
• Specific IMAX promotions with 22 minutes of the film shot in 1.90:1 aspect ratio especially for IMAX cinemas.
• Section of the Marvel website with gallery, story synopsis, character posters and opportunities to buy or stream the movie.
• Social media profiles on TikTok, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Social media and YouTube advertising was also heavily used by Marvel to promote the film including using tweets from audience members on massive billboards.

Star interviews and TV appearances:

Specific IMAX promotional videos:

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on the film industry and changed the release strategy for many films. While cinemas are still the primary way of making money for the film industry, some movies are being released to streaming services alongside cinema - or bypassing cinema altogether. Watch this report on Black Widow with an interview with IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond:

Social media marketing

The film used tweets from audience members to help promote the film:

Was the film a global box office hit?

Black Widow’s success is difficult to judge due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Black Widow’s budget was $200m and it only made $379m at the worldwide box office due to the pandemic. Marvel would have spent well over $100m on marketing the film globally so the profit level is very low. Most Marvel films have made around $1 billion at the box office. 

However, this doesn’t take into account revenues through Disney+ so Black Widow may well still make Marvel and Disney a profit in the end.

Film industry: Regulation

Films in the UK are regulated by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC).

Black Widow was awarded a 12A by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC).  It was deemed to have “moderate violence, injury detail”, yet was not too graphic.

With a 12A, no-one under the age of 12 can see the film unless accompanied by an adult. It is quite a new classification (1989)  and was introduced due to the large gap between PG and 15.

It is important that all MCU films are 12A at the most as the major film companies want to keep the young audience for:

• Merchandising opportunities.
• Better potential box office.
• 47% of cinema audiences were aged 7-24 in the UK in 2014.  Word of mouth and peer influence is important in generating interest.

Black Widow: blog tasks

1) List the companies involved in the creation of Black Widow. You may wish to use Black Widow's IMDB entry to help with this but the answers can also be found in the notes above.

2) What is conglomerate ownership? The definition is in the notes above. If you can, explain how Black Widow links to conglomerate ownership.

3) Analyse the film trailer for Black Widow. What aspects of the trailer tell you this is a big-budget blockbuster movie?

4) How was Black Widow promoted to an audience? List at least three different methods used by the film's marketing campaign.

5) What was the production budget for Black Widow and how much did it make at the box office?

6) Would you consider Black Widow a successful Hollywood blockbuster? Why?

7) Who regulates the film industry in the UK?

8) What age rating was Black Widow given? Why?

Extension tasks

Look at the Marvel Black Widow website and note down the different promotional devices used.

Read this feature on Marvel using a fan's tweet to help market the film. Why is audience interaction such an important aspect of modern film marketing?

Read this feature on how Black Widow shot 22 minutes of IMAX footage to give viewers an incredible widescreen experience in IMAX cinemas. Why is IMAX an important part of marketing a blockbuster movie?

Look at this Guardian website page allowing Marvel fans to discuss Black Widow. What interesting opinions do you notice in the comments? 

Read this feature on whether there are too many Marvel sequels and spin-offs. Do you agree?

Complete for homework what you don't finish in the lessons - due date on Google Classroom.