Proposal! Personal Project time

I propose to make a mini documentary about the lives of homeless people on the streets of Bath. I would follow the stories of one or two people, delving below the surface to show the real lives and emotions of people that most often go ignored or are scorned simply because of their circumstances. I would like to find a story of the reasons why a person can end up destitute and on the streets struggling to survive on a day-to-day basis, how they are treated and what they go through every day. The purpose of this would be to change perspectives on how we treat or view homeless people, contrasting vox pops of middle-class people saying how they view homeless people with the reality of how it is to be living on the streets.

I would also like to perhaps find another person with completely different reasons of why they are homeless and contrast their lives - one, a stereotypical 'bum' that has no reason for being homeless other than being a junkie and too lazy to get up and find a job, and the other one that has it together, is intelligent and can hold a conversation yet has had hard circumstances that have resulted in him being unable to live any other way. I want to do this to show that, although there are homeless people who live that way almost because are simply too lazy or addicted to drugs or alcohol to get a job and a place to live, there are also those who have stories and reasons that break the stereotypes of how we often view them, challenging the 'scum of society' stigma.

The purpose of this would be to create a challenging, thought-provoking piece that would follow the lives of two homeless people in order to show their emotions and feelings, focusing mainly on their personalities in order to show them as a real, normal person that perhaps has had harder circumstances than most. I would like this piece to show humour, reality and views on life that could challenge the norms of how we see the homeless.

The piece would be aimed at young, upper-to-middle-class adults that live in an urban environment and would come into contact with these realities every day. The tone would need to informative, yet I would like it to be more informal and down-to-earth, showing real life, that this is a reality that needs to be looked at differently. I would also try to make sure that the tone is not condescending or patronising in any way and not too heavy or depressing, but is frank, challenging and uplifting, carrying an ultimate message of hope that we can play a part in changing lives of those around us.