Filmmaking That Inspires: Ken Loach's "Kes"

This is the third in a series of behind-the-scenes blogs about the story behind the making of a documentary - in this case, my film, "Life Online," the story of a family in Florida that's uniquely dedicated to the "YouTube" lifestyle.  Interested?  Donate at:  http://tinyurl.com/acegrw4 . 

These blogs and vlogs will trace the evolution  of this project as I prepare, shoot and edit "Life Online." I hope these prove helpful to aspiring filmmakers.

If you've read my blog, you may remember that I have a particular appreciation for Ken Loach's landmark 1969 film, "Kes," a narrative feature film about a 14 year-old's bleak life in a British mining town in the mid-20th century, and the faint flicker of hope he discovers in training a wild kestrel.  

Film

The trailer for "Kes," as presented on Criterion's YouTube Channel

The film, a masterpiece of bare-bones filmmaking, is considered by the British Film Institute to be one of the top ten British films of the 20th Century.  In America, however, it's still largely unknown. Until Criterion's recent Blu-Ray/DVD reissue, it wasn't easily available here. Even today, the  authentic regional dialect makes understanding the film a challenge (though the new release offers options, including subtitles, and an alternative soundtrack - recorded at the time with the original actors - with more conventional english pronunciation).

 "Kes," according to Loach, was heavily influenced by the tradition of documentary filmmaking.  Loach was striving for authenticity at every stage - including casting.  With one exception, every cast member including the extraordinary young lead, were non-professionals hired from the very town in which the story takes place.  These individuals - particularly the school children - understood and lived the world featured in writer Barry Hines book and screenplay.

Loach, whenever possible, liked to minimize the filmmaking environment.  He would keep lighting to a minimum (not an easy task when low-light technology was in its infancy), or create a sense of intimacy for the actors by removing even the camera from their immediate space.  In one instance set in a greenhouse, Billy Casper, the main character, is engaged in a private conversation with his teacher.  To preserve the authenticity of that private moment, particular for his non-professional lead actor, Loach had a hole drilled into the wall of the greenhouse, and shot the actors from a distance through a long lens.    

Loach didn't like to over-use the camera for dramatic effect, preferring to allow actors and settings to establish mood.

Though "Kes" is a narrative film, and I'm shooting a documentary with a decidedly more upbeat vibe, it represents the sense of time, place and respect for the subject that I hope to emulate in "Life Online."  

My goal, too, is to keep my presence to a minimum, and allow the real-life subjects to be themselves.  

Three Great Documentaries

This is the second in a series of behind-the-scenes blogs about the story behind the making of a documentary - in this case, my film, "Life Online," the story of a family in Florida that's uniquely dedicated to the "YouTube" lifestyle.   Interested? Donate at http://tinyurl.com/acegrw4

These blogs and vlogs will trace the evolution  of this project as I prepare, shoot and edit "Life Online." I hope these prove helpful to aspiring filmmakers.

There are a number of films that have inspired my upcoming documentary, "Life Online," the story of a family that has embraced the YouTube "lifestyle."  With three boys and their mom all creating content for their individual lifestyles, and all family members contributing to their non-stop production "studio," this film will offer a great perspective on why more and more people are deciding to express themselves publicly through YouTube and social media.  "Life Online" asks, 'What happens to family life when there's an audience to serve?'

Three documentaries in particular loom large in my decision to tackle this project:

Considered by some as the original 'reality show,' "An American Family" was a multi-part public broadcasting series featuring the life of a "typical" suburban family in Santa Barbara in the early 1970's.  They turned out to be anything but typical, as their family literally disintegrated under divorce and a series of dramatic revelations by each family member.  Unlike today's "reality" programs, this documentary wasn't subtlety moved along or even scripted by the producers.  Events simply unfolded from May to September of 1971, during which time Producer Craig Gilbert's team shot hundreds of hours of 16mm film.   It's also worth noting that shooting a film like this in the early 1970's required cumbersome camera, lighting and audio equipment, creating a  disruptive environment that some suggest may have been a provocative factor (among others) in the family's demise.

I'll long been fascinated with the patience, dedication and trust necessary to create "An American Family."  Unlike so many of today's "reality" shows that pretend to portray life as it unfolds, this program felt authentic.

Oscar-winning director Michael Apted, who has moved back and forth between feature films and documentaries, continues to create the "7 Up" series of feature documentaries, an extraordinary portrait of a group of ethnically and economically diverse Britons whose lives he has revisited every seven years since they were seven years old - now, over fifty years.  Inspired by the Jesuit saying, "Give me a child until the age of seven and I will give you the man," this is a uniquely revealing portrait of human nature.  The "7 Up" films not only prove that personality may indeed be in place, but they're also an extraordinary tribute to the resilience of human beings in general.  Apted shows a respect for his subjects that offers a great example for any filmmaker. (Here's a review of the latest film in the series, "56 Up")

Respect for the subject was the central factor in the effectiveness of "The Boy Mir." Director Phil Grabsky's film follows a peasant boy in Afghanistan from ages eight to eighteen, during the dramatic events of the last decade, as he and his family struggle to survive amidst the chaos and then emerging new freedoms transforming their world.  Grabsky returned to Afghanistan periodically over ten years to tell Mir's story, creating a film that personalizes a story that exists for the West mostly in impersonal headlines.   (Here's my review of the film; I had an opportunity to interview Grabsky about 'The Boy Mir. ' Here's my blog, 'The Minute You Pull Out a Camera, You're Intervening').  

"An American Family," the "7 Up" series and "The Boy Mir" are varied in style and approach - but share three important elements that, I feel, make them effective films: Dedication of the filmmakers, trust and mutual respect between the filmmakers and their subjects, and uncommon patience.  If I have the opportunity (Consider contributing here) to create "Life Online," that's what I'll be striving for.