The Pursuit of Happiness

Choice of media affects the message

The medium you use affects the messages you want to convey. That's why Super 16mm was chosen for this feature.

	Actor/Director Peter Riegert as Leo Spivak in Pursuit of Happiness.

Producer Lemore Syvan was sounding a bit like Marshall McLuhan, the sociologist who coined the phrase, “The Medium Is the Message” in his 1964 book Understanding Media. She was explaining her decision to produce The Pursuit of Happiness in Super 16mm format by describing why and how the choice of media affects the emotional content.

“The Pursuit of Happiness is the story of an advertising salesperson who goes through a difficult time,” Syvan says. “The one-line pitch would be a comedic version of a modern Death of a Salesman. It’s a modern day tale that has a very classic element to it. Even though it’s very contemporary and takes place in 2003, we wanted the look and feel of the film to ground it in a way that was appropriate for the material.

Syvan’s credits include Angela, A Walk on the Moon, Santitos, Maze, Rose and the Snake, and Casa de Los Babys. Her 2002 film, Personal Velocity: Three Portraits, was produced in digital video format. It won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. Syvan explains that The Pursuit of Happiness is not the same type of story and therefore requires different aesthetics.