The Brief
Every year, LoveLove Films produce one project for charity for free under the LoveLove Community Outreach programme. This year, we produced a charming animation narrated by Doc Martin and Men Behaving Badly star Martin Clunes OBE for The Big Issue Foundation.
The Big Issue Foundation is a financially independent charity who believe in a ‘hand up and not a hand out’ and recognise that earning an income is a key step in a person’s journey towards stability and a better life.
The Big Issue Foundation was launched in 1991 by Gordon Roddick and A. John Bird in response to the growing number of rough sleepers on the streets of London. The two believed that the key to solving the problem of homelessness lay in helping people to help themselves. Vendors buy their magazines with their own money and sell them at their own profit or loss.
One of the main goals of The Big Issue is to push the idea that achieving something for yourself is 100% more empowering than having it done for you. The Big Issue offers the incentive of earning an income; it means that they engage with a number of individuals who are not seen by other services or projects.
The Process
The aim of the video was to encourage viewers to participate in the numerous exciting and diverse events ran throughout the year by the charity, such as The Big Sleep Out, Big London Night Walk and The Big Step Challenge.
LoveLove Films’ Animator Joe Simpson states: “I wanted to create a tasteful aesthetic by restricting the colour palette to shades of The Big Issue Foundation brand, and create an advert that was fun and playful through the addition of a cheeky puppy. I thought it would also be nice if the animation played out on a magazine held by a big issue vendor, because this summarises what the big issue is all about and symbolises how fundraising will directly influence the lives of the vendors.
The Result
The Big Issue Foundation were thrilled with the final product. On working with LoveLove Films, Stephen Robertson, Big Issue Foundation CEO says: “I was delighted when Georgina Hurcombe and her talented team of animators at LoveLove Films offered to make a short film to promote our portfolio of fundraising events. The Big Issue Foundation is reliant upon charitable donations to fund our vital programme of support for Big Issue vendors and the events programme is an important part of our strategy. I am delighted with the exceptional standard of the final animation and am grateful to everyone involved, including the vocal talent of Martin Clunes!
Last year alone we captured the personal achievements of over 2000 Big Issue vendors and helped them achieve some truly life changing achievements. This film is a wonderful testament to the diverse range of events that people can get involved with in the knowledge that every penny raised will contribute to our work. We will use the film across our channels to spread the word. Thank you LoveLove Films for all your wonderful support and for providing your skills for free!”
On working with The Big Issue Foundation, LoveLove Films’ MD Georgina Hurcombe says: “It means a great deal to us to have produced this film for The Big Issue. Community is integral to the fabric of LoveLove Films and for this reason we produce one community outreach project every year. We decided to support The Big Issue because we’re all very passionate about the problems The Big Issue Foundation focuses on; people of no fixed abode are often seen as invisible so it’s great that The Big Issue offers them some visibility and a ‘hand up’ rather than a ‘hand out’. Homelessness is a big issue where we live in Bournemouth and it’s heart breaking to see people sleeping rough in the festive period – to us The Big Issue seemed like a great fit for our community outreach project this year, as an organisation we are happiest producing content that has a positive impact!
We hope this film shows just how much fantastic work The Big Issue is doing and all the amazing events they organise! We approached Martin, who we worked with on the documentary Martin Clunes: Riding Therapy, about voicing The Big Issue animation and he didn’t hesitate in getting involved, testament to the numerous charitable causes Martin is involved with. And he’s really lovely to work with too, so that’s a bonus!”