Challenging Traditional Advertising Norms with Milo Blake

Milo Blake is a trailblazing UK director known for his technical expertise and fearless creativity. He had recently won the Gold Commercial Award at YDA for his powerful film ‘The Empty Seat’.

His fresh, innovative voice has also earned him recognition from prestigious organisations such as UKMVAs, Young Arrows, Kinsale Sharks, Ciclope or Vimeo Staff Picks, establishing him as one of the industry's most exciting and promising talents.

Milo spoke with LBB about joining Grayskull, working on more international projects, and the return of craft orientated films.

LBB> How do you feel about this new representation with Grayskull?

Milo> I’m very excited - I think the roster feels curated in a nice way with great talent on it and the team seems lovely, so that’s the right combination to have.

LBB> You are now represented in Spain and LATAM, which are markets and cultures that may feel quite different compared to your London roots. How do you think these markets will differ from those in the UK and Belgium, based on your previous experience? Which departments or roles do you think will be the most different to you?

Milo> To be honest I don’t really know, I know that certain markets have a greater frequency of a certain type of work but all have their own nuances. Part of me not knowing or coming into it with not so many expectations is part of the excitement for me.

LBB> How do you think this new rep could affect/change your reel and upcoming projects?

Milo> I think the more my reel has an international feel the better, I think in this modern global working environment, this is something you have to work towards. It likens the chance of you being able to explore different tonalities that come from working with new reps/new brands etc.

LBB> What excites you in the advertising industry right now, as a director? Any trends or changes that open new opportunities?

Milo> I feel like there is a trend which is coming back to craft orientated films which definitely appeals to me. I say this both in the sense of a technical nature but also being able to shape performances within a film.

LBB> What elements of a script sets one apart from the other and what sort of scripts get you excited to shoot them?

Milo> I like something where the throughline of the idea is well considered, and this can be very simple but it connects therefore it makes it easier in my role as a director to riff off that. But I also like when people are willing to be unconventional and challenge traditional advertising norms.

LBB> How do you approach creating a treatment for a spot?

Milo> It starts with me making a mind map from all the points of intrigue or curiosity there might be for me in a script, then I do a lot of watching and visual research. Once I feel like I’ve explored enough, I try to connect my own instinctual responses to my research and then try to find the best combination that I feel can evoke what we think the film’s core feeling to be.

LBB> For you, what is the most important working relationship for a director to have with another person in making an ad? And why?

Milo> I think the relationship to the creatives and the CD who is closest to the job are key in order to make sure you're both seeing the film in the same way. I think you can get trapped by where you started in the beginning of the process and unless you keep consistent conversation with your creative team, I don’t know whether you can make the most out of the evolving process that every film will take once you get into the actual practical side of making rather than an idea in theory on a page.

But to be honest this same need for consistent communication applies to EP, producer, DP everyone’s gotta be sailing under your banner and be comfortable with the course we take even if we have to adjust it at points.

LBB> What type of work are you most passionate about - is there a particular genre or subject matter or style you are most drawn to?

Milo> I’m enjoying making social awareness campaigns at the minute, I think I have a good sense of emotional intelligence and these films allow me to express that but also improve it. I feel like they are a little more character driven and I enjoy being able to dig deeper into someone as advertising is inherently a bit of a fleeting presence.

LBB> What misconception about you or your work do you most often encounter and why is it wrong?

Milo> I felt like before my last film, the biggest misconception about my work was that I was this super technical, only editing quickly and using a lot of stock footage type guy. I feel my technical base is pretty low compared to some other directors I know, my DP’s help me out a lot aha! I’ve always felt my skills are broader than that and actually casting, performances and characterisation, emotional sensitivity, world building are the things that I believe are where over time, you’ll see the best sides of me.

LBB> What’s the craziest problem you’ve come across in the course of a production – and how did you solve it?

Milo> I mean sometimes I feel like the budgets and the timelines are the craziest problems I have to deal with. But an instance which is a little bit more specific is on a music video shoot. There was heavy rain in the UK, we were in an abandoned warehouse, and the roof started to cave in and leak onto all of our lighting equipment. I needed to basically firstly keep calm, slightly reconfigure how we were gonna block it to lessen the chance of a problem and to some extent put my faith in the production gods!

LBB> How do you strike the balance between being open/collaborative with the agency and brand client while also protecting the idea?

Milo> I personally like to have options in my shots that can as much as possible give me pathways in the edit. This is sometimes why ADs hate me, but I feel like the nature of advertising currently means you do have to balance more voices in the room.

It’s a really tricky challenge, I think if you have a strong working relationship with the agency they can help you in terms of translating how protecting the idea is ultimately the best course, but I think there will always be subjective interpretations of this.

LBB> What are your thoughts on opening up the production world to a more diverse pool of talent? Are you open to mentoring and apprenticeships on set?

Milo> Of course! I think it’s vital that we keep diversifying our range of perspectives and experiences but I think this needs to be properly supported and on merit. Performative efforts towards these goals only harm what we aspire to do for change and more likely entrenches feelings of disconnection and misunderstanding. If you would like to be one of my sets, hit me up and let's discuss.

LBB> Your work is now presented in so many different formats - to what extent do you keep each in mind while you’re working?

Milo> Aspect ratio wise for me is largely dictated by what perspective causes the right atmosphere or feeling we want our audience to feel, it’s one step in many of answering those higher aims. There’s no set right answer as I think they can be interpreted in different ways, again I think it's a communication thing, speaking to your HODs and working out what the impacts are on each of the departments.

LBB> What’s your relationship with new technology and, if at all, how do you incorporate future-facing tech into your work ?

Milo> To be honest, I don’t have loads of experience in these future-facing displays of tech, yet anyway. I would say that I think AI can be a useful tool in terms of research particularly when time is of the essence but I feel like my style will be more about the physical experience of making a film. Some of these new technologies can leave me a little hollow, but again they are tools and not to state the obvious, but it’s how you use them.

LBB> Which pieces of your work do you feel show what you do best – and why?

Milo> 'The Fork' - This is my favourite film I have made because I think it comprises a lot of what I love about film. It’s very atmosphere driven, the locations are a key texture to it and it aims to say something a bit more significant about life in a way that I hope is unexpected.

​'Eastpak' - Subcultures have always been something that I have been fascinated by so I really felt comfortable in these different worlds. I think the nature of this project made casting and detailing a super important part of the process which is why I have such fond memories of making the film.

'Shelter' - This will always be an important film for me because it was my first display of exploring and representing characters in a more real world emotional type of way I guess. It's by design more restrained and this gave me a different type of experience in making the film and particularly with the actors that I really enjoyed.

​The Empty Seat - This is the most successful film I have made, and sort of changed the trajectory of my career and how I was perceived. It was the first time in a commercial I was given the space to express myself quite freely and it was in service of a really important message also.

LBB> What are some upcoming projects that you’re excited about? Tell us a bit about them?

Milo> To be honest, I’m most excited about making my first short. I have a script that I’ve been working on in the background for some time now.

It's a film that is going to really challenge me as a director but I think that’s what excites me about it. It’s two actors in a room for 70 percent of the film, and I feel like its mixture of inspirations are ‘12 Angry Men’ by Sidney Lumet, ‘Rashomon’ by Akira Kurosawa, ‘The Ghost Writer’ by Roman Polanski and ‘Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf’ by Mike Nichols.