GAMEFACE // CHANNEL 4

GameFace, written by and starring Roisin Conaty, follows Marcella as she attempts to navigate work, relationships and the general indignities of thirty-something life, aided by her friends, a dubious life coach and an extraordinarily patient driving instructor.

Having worked on the original pilot, returning for the series gave us the opportunity to develop a visual world we had already begun to establish. Working with Production Designer Ros Cumberland, we embraced a bold, playful approach to Set Decoration that reflected the pace and irreverence of the writing.

Marcella’s world was deliberately imperfect. Rather than creating polished interiors, we filled the sets with the evidence of a life being enthusiastically lived: wine stains from long house parties, scribbled notes, patched-up possessions, fancy-dress remnants, novelty objects and googly eyes inexplicably stuck to plant pots. Furniture and props were sourced for character as much as appearance, allowing humour to exist quietly within the frame without always needing to become the joke.

Soft curves, graphic shapes and a mixture of materials ran through the sets, punctuated by flamingos, neon, balloons and occasional moments of complete visual nonsense. With frequent cutaways and montages, individual environments also needed enough personality to register quickly and complement the performance.

One of my favourite examples was a mermaid-themed children’s party built inside the basement of a rather grand West London townhouse. Fish, balloons and aquatic props transformed an otherwise grown-up interior into something wonderfully ridiculous.

Across the series, the Set Decoration was allowed to be colourful, scruffy and occasionally absurd. The details didn’t take themselves too seriously because neither did Marcella’s world.

STYLING THE MESS, COLOUR AND COMEDY OF A LIFE STILL UNFOLDING.

Wine stains, novelty props, neon and everyday nonsense gave Marcella’s world its colourful, deliberately imperfect character.