Ken Loach - Director

We have learnt a little bit about Ken Loach during our media lessons and I was inspired to do even more when I found out that he focuses on portraying 'British Realism' in his films. Within our production we also hope to add a certain realist element which is why I think it is beneficial for me to research Ken Loach.

Ken Loach was born in 1939 in Warwickshire, Kent. His most famous works include, The Wind That Shakes The Barley, KES, Sweet Sixteen and Bread & Roses.

All his films focus on gritty British life and come under the category of social realism. Some of his most famous work covers the topics of Homelessness and Child Abuse. Ken Loach prefers to use unknown talent who have had some of the life experience of the characters they portray within his films rather than employing Hollywood actors, I feel that by doing this he adds realism to his films as the characters really come alive. Loach is often said to have not given the actors the full script so as they can respond to situations in the narrative naturally. Due to this Loach's work has been described as 'naturalistic' and I feel that his films do give off this feeling due to the realistic atmospheres and characters that feature within them. Within our production we hope to create natural scenes and atmospheres just like Loach has managed to achieve in so many of his films.

Loach once said, referring to the 1948 film Bicycle Thieves, "It made me realise that cinema could be about ordinary people and their dilemmas. It wasn't a film about stars, or riches or absurd adventures." Loach set out to create films which were very different to the normal blockbusters which dominate cinema. I admire Ken Loach's directing style and would love to create an edgy film which depicts real life, just like his productions.

My Role

The main roles I will take within our production are:

• Director
• Editor

Roles and Responsibilities

I will be in charge of directing the shots and making sure that the scenes are correct, making sure people and props are in the right place and over-seeing the project.
I will also be in charge of editing our product, cutting down the footage and making it fit together, adding in effects and transitions.

Directing and editing will be my main roles, however, I will also be doing some of the sound for our production and I will have to film some of our production due to one of our locations being a girl's toilet which means Jack will be unable to film this section.

Target Audience - Audience Profile

The audience we are aiming to target are the 16 - 24 year olds, this is because we feel they are mature enough to understand the concepts shown within our film and maybe even relate to some of the issues shown. Below is a member of our typical target audience. 

This is Abigail Jones, she is 20 years of age.

She currently lives in Brighton and is in her second year at Brighton university. She studies TV production and cinematography. In her spare time she enjoys reading and watching films, her favorite film genres are romance and drama. Her all time favorite film is The Notebook and her favorite book is Romeo and Juliet. Outside of education Abigail enjoys spending time with her friends, going shopping and to the cinema, she is a big fan of the Twilight saga. Abigail also enjoys going to concerts and her favorite music artists include Ellie Goulding, Ed Sheeran and Katy Perry.

Shot List Draft Two

Here is the second draft of the shot list which I have written.

We decided to change the shot list as we found some of the shots to be to obvious. For example, we got rid of the close-up shot of Sophie turning off the light. We figured that the audience would know she turns out the light without showing them. We also changed the shot list as we got rid of the character Evanna.


-- FIRST SCENE -- Dance Studio
Close up of fragments of Sophie's body, she is listening to music loudly.
Camera is still in dance studio, Sophie is in corridor and turns on light. We see the light stream through the glass door. Establishing shot.
Close up/tracking of Sophie's feet walking to studio.
Close up of Sophie, waist down, walking through door.
Close up of door closing --FILM NAME HERE--
Close up of specific parts of Sophie's body, stretching.
Camera pans up to Sophie starting to dance. --Music Starts-- 
*Various dance shots* *Collaged together to symbolize ellipse of time*
Long shot of Sophie walking out of room.
Scene suddenly cuts.

-- SCENE TWO -- Sophie's Bedroom

--Classical Music fades into being played on a CD Player--
Medium shot of Sophie turning off the radio.
Medium close up of Sophie's face looking out window, sun flare.
Point of view shot of sky.
Medium shot of Sophie turning on the CD Player and raising her arm ballet like.
Long shot of Sophie taking off her ballet shoes.
Close up of Sophie putting them in her ballet box.
Medium shot of Sophie looking at baby photo.
Close up of Sophie putting photo in pocket.

Medium close up of Sophie looking in mirror and putting make-up on. (behind view)
Medium close up of Sophie's face, her still putting make-up on. (Front view)
Scene dramatically cuts to next street scene.

-- SCENE THREE -- Street

-- Music Speeds up, starts getting quicker --
Cuts to shot of Sophie's feet walking down street (jump cuts/animation)

Medium shot of Sophie drinking from alcohol bottle
Close up of Sophie buying drugs from man (jump cuts/animation)
*Various street shots TBD included here*

Long shot of Sophie walking into toilets. (jump cuts/animation)

-- SCENE FOUR-- Public Toilets

Close up of Sophie splashing face with water and looking at herself in mirror.

Camera pans backwards as toilet door shuts.
-- Music dramatically stops --
*Credits appear on back of door*

Script Draft Two

Here is the second draft of our script written up by Jack.

Scene 1 - Ballet Studio

The short film begins with an establishing shot of the dance studio. There is complete darkness to begin with, until Sophie switches on a light in the corridor outside of the studio. Light filters in. We hear the diagetic sound of her footsteps as she walks. The camera cuts to the corridor. There is an over the shoulder shot which depicts Sophie walking down the hallway. We hear the the tinny sound of modern music blasting from her headphones and she struts. She opens the door to the dance studio and slams it shut, where the name of the film - 'Flight' appears. When she enters the studio the lighting is low, the only source of light coming from the door. The light which is pouring in is unnatural. We see Sophie's silhouette as she enters the dark studio. We hear the diagetic sound of her sighing. It then cuts to show her stretching, preparing to dance. The use of fragmentation shows the confusion of Sophie's identity, and emphasises the fact that she is torn between completely different lifestyles. Seeing parts of her body adds to the enigma which surrounds her character. The ballet shoes which she is wearing allows the audience to know that she is an aspiring ballet dancer. The camera then pans upwards to show Sophie dancing. The non-diegetic music then begins to play. As she dances the camera follows the movements of her limbs. This shots will primarily be close ups. Throughout her dance routine, she pauses and looks at herself in the mirror. The close up allows the audience to see her determination to dance, yet the conflict in her lifestyle. After this is a collage of her dancing. As the shots progress they show an ellipsis of time. The scene ends with Sophie turning off the lights and exiting. 

Scene 2 - Sophie's Bedroom

The classical music is replaced by music coming out of Sophie's radio. There is a close up of Sophie turning the radio off. The camera then shows Sophie looking out of the window. There is then a Point of View shot, and the Sun causes a lens flare. Sophie then puts some ballet music on and practises some basic movements. These are, again, mainly fragmented, close up, shots. A long shot follow, which shows Sophie taking off her ballet shoes. There is a close up of her putting them in her 'Ballet Box'. Sophie takes out a photo of her as a child with her mother and slips it into her pocket. There is a medium close up of Sophie putting on make-up in her mirror, from the back. It cuts to another medium close up to show her putting the make up on from the front. She blinks and turns to leave, satisfied with her image.

Scene 3 - The Street

The first shot is a low angle. The camera remains stationary as Sophie walks down a dimly lit street. The camera cuts to a close up of her walking with a bottle in her hand. Another close up follows showing Sophie drinking from it. Several jump cuts follow as she walks down the street, symbolising her detachment. The camera cuts to a long shot, showing her walk down an alleyway. Sophie purchases drugs from a silhouetted drug dealer - this is shown by a mid shot, and then a close up of the drug itself. Sophie's hands are shown by many close ups in this scene - a parallel to the fragmentation shown earlier in the short film. There is no dialogue between the two characters. More jump cuts follow as Sophie walks into public toilets.

Scene 4 - The Toilets

The final scene opens with a close up of Sophie's feet as she walks into the toilets. The toilets are dimly lit, yet brighter than outside, and have a 'gritty' feel to them - a completely different atmosphere from the one shown in the dance studio. There is a mid shot of Sophie splashing her face with water. There is a mid shot of the photograph of her falling out of her pocket, followed by a close up of the photograph. There is a shaky, over the shoulder tracking shot as it follows Sophie walking into one of the cubicles. The hand-held camera effect makes the audience feel uneasy, yet it also involves them into the narrative. The are more jump cuts which are placed closely together, creating an almost animation effect, showing how uneasy she is about making this decision. The door slams shut with a loud bang and the film ends.