The Evaluation Question 1 (Part 2)- Emma Robertson

I wanted to look Happy-go-lucky (2008) to look at how the representation of femininity has changed over time

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1045670/

Interview with Sally Hawkins who plays Poppy in the film:

Modern women

• Contemporary type of feminity
• Go with the flow
• Spontaneous no worries
• Happy
• Carefree
• Positive outlook on life
• Ambition

Interview with Mike Leigh talking about his style:

British Socialist style explored in ‘Happy go lucky’:

• Iconography of London- TFL signs, union jack apron
• Real realistic locations- unglamourised e.g. North London setting
• De-saturated colour palette- more muted, dull colour
• Naturalistic body language/facial expressions
• Composition- establishing shots-places and characters within their locations
• Minimal make-up
• Costumes and hair appropriate
• Naturalistic lighting

Continuing on the theme of having a female protagonist, I looked at briefly other inspirational films including:

Andrea Arnold’s Fish Tank (2009)

http://www.fishtankmovie.com/

I believe this film targets our female 16-24 year old audience from:

• The main character played by Katie Jarvis
• R’N’B soundtrack
• Bright colours used
• Down to earth dialogue
• Realistic mise en scene, costumes and behaviour
• Able to relate to her everyday life struggles

Then, I decided to watch ‘Looking for Eric’ (2009) to examine how masculinity can be represented. This is where our ghost character, Rich, was inspired from as Eric Cantona is part of Eric’s imagination

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1242545/

Interview with cast:

However, I used British independent directors as my inspiration for our production as they had a limited budget and used experimental techniques to convey creativity.

Grian’s Lou-Lou Lives Here (2003)

• Reinforces the importance of natural lighting to emphasise a depth of field
• Contrasts the lightness of the character and darkness of the woods mise en scene
• Has a tense, suspenseful and chilling mise en scene
• The film’s mise en scene inspired our ‘park’ location in All my love.

Emma Robertson