Directions : Director Research - Greta Gerwig

Director Research - Greta Gerwig

Fig. 1 Portrait of Greta Gerwig

Greta Gerwig is an American actress, director and writer best known for Lady Bird (2017), Little Women (2019) and Mistress America (2015). 

Gerwig prefers her work to hold authenticity, particularly with regards to the characters interactions. The majority or Gerwig's directing work focuses on the actors and enabling them to deliver realistic performances mainly through the use of authentic fast-paced dialogue.  She draws upon how people behave in the 'real world' and uses and encourages this to create authenticity. 

Both Lady Bird and Little Women (two of the most well-known films Gerwig has directed) are coming of age stories that focus upon finding a way of existing in the world and both centre around familial relationships. 

Gerwig ensures that she works with the director of photography before shooting this is mainly to ensure that the actors and story/dialogue are the main focus of the film rather than the camera movement. She prefers a sense of stillness 

In addition to this, she works alongside the director of photography in thinking about how the film should look. For example, as the film Lady Bird, is set in 2002-2003, Gerwig wanted it to have the appearance of a memory, so she worked with director of photography Sam Levy to present her ideas and to achieve the final look. She also wanted the image to appear as though the viewer was slightly removed so that they would feel as though they were watching a memory. 

Fig.2 Film Still of Saoirse Ronan on the floor in 'Lady Bird' (2018)

Greta Gerwig often draws upon inspiration from things such as books, films, TV shows and the world around her. For the character of Lady Bird McPherson in Lady Bird, she knew that she didn't want Lady Bird to be a polished person, setting unrealistic beauty standards. She wanted her to be a realistic teenager, who suffered from things like acne, dyed her hair herself, who wasn't glossy like fashion magazines and the media make people appear to be. 

Gerwig drew upon films such as Romeo + Juliet (1996), Clueless (1995), and 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) with regards to demonstrating to Saoirse Ronan, who plays Lady Bird, what her character wanted and would've "cherished" (Gerwig, 2018). 

For Little Women, Gerwig drew upon her love for the book that she grew up reading. She drew upon experiences of how much harder it is for people to get on board when a woman tries to do/achieve something and used and emphasised this within the film for example, throughout the whole process of Jo writing and publishing her novel. 

Gerwig prefers the characters in her film to be equals in terms of not just serving the main character but as if they were a main character as she believes that "If you followed any single character, they would have their own movie" (Gerwig, 2018). 

Decision

I decided to take forward Greta Gerwig's Lady Bird. It was a film that I enjoy watching and felt as though I could adapt to make it my own. I chose the scene that takes place in the gym of Immaculate Heart of Mary (The Abortion Seminar Scene) and the scene that follows on from this and takes place in Lady Bird's family room and consists of an argument between Lady Bird and her mother, Marion. I felt as though I could attempt to put a greater emphasis on the characters in terms of who they are, how they come across, and their relationships through the use of things such as production design and camera shots. 

Bibliography:

Berman, E. (2018) 'How Greta Gerwig Is Leading By Example'  In: Time Magazine At: https://time.com/5180697/how-greta-gerwig-is-leading-by-example/ (Accessed 11/02/2021)

Fig.1 Ryan, J. (2019) Portrait of Greta Gerwig. [Photograph] At: https://variety.com/2019/film/podcasts/greta-gerwig-little-women-hell-bent-on-directing-1203452020/ (Accessed 31/01/2021)

Fig.2 Levy, S. (2018) Film Still of Saoirse Ronan on the floor in 'Lady Bird' (2018) In: Lady Bird. United States: Universal Pictures. (Accessed 11/02/2021)

FilmD. (2020) The Directing and Writing Style of Director Greta Gerwig At: https://www.filmd.co.uk/articles/the-directing-and-writing-style-of-director-greta-gerwig/#:~:text=Acting%20Style,in%20her%20first%20two%20films. (Accessed 11/02/2021)

Giardina, C (2018) 'Cinematography Secrets to 'Baby Driver', 'Lady Bird' and 'Wonder Woman' ' In: The Hollywood Reporter At:https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/cinematography-secrets-baby-driver-lady-bird-wonder-woman-1070738 (Accessed 11/02/2021)

Hart, H. (2017) Cinematographer Sam Levy's Shot List Pictured Lady Bird A Year In Advance At: https://www.motionpictures.org/2017/12/cinematographer-sam-levys-shot-list-pictured-lady-bird-a-year-in-advance/ (Accessed 11/02/2021)

IMDB (2021) Greta Gerwig Filmography At: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1950086/#director (Accessed 11/02/2021)

Malkin, M. (2019) 'Listen: Greta Gerwig 'Was Hellbent on' Directing 'Little Women' '  In: Variety At: https://variety.com/2019/film/podcasts/greta-gerwig-little-women-hell-bent-on-directing-1203452020/ (Accessed 11/02/2021)

O'Falt, C. (2017) 'How Greta Gerwig's Brilliant Use of Colors Turned 'Lady Bird' Into An Emotional Nostalgia Trip' In: IndieWire At: https://www.indiewire.com/2017/12/lady-bird-greta-gerwig-color-sam-levy-1201907175/ (Accessed 11/02/2021)

Stevens, I. (2018) 'Lady Bird' director Greta Gerwig: 'I'm interested in women, period' ' In: Financial Times 09/02/2018 At: https://www.ft.com/content/245c13d4-f162-11e7-bb7d-c3edfe974e9f (Accessed 11/02/2021)