Haircuts4Homeless: More than just a haircut

The piece I’m most proud to say I produced was a documentary called “Haircuts4Homeless: More than just a haircut.” The documentary was based on the charity Haircuts4Homeless and highlighted the vulnerability of homeless women while also commending the work the charity does. The charity visits different cities across the UK and gives homeless people free haircuts. The founder of the charity is actually my father so you can imagine the emotional connection I had to the project. I wanted to make sure the doc was perfect, therefore there was a lot of added pressure. I’ve been involved in a lot of ‘H4H’ sessions, however rarely with an intimidating film crew by my side. I thoroughly understood the sensitivity of these women and ensured I was as friendly and as calm as possible when speaking to them all. As producer on the project it was my mission to make sure no one felt uncomfortable, therefore I made the effort to go round and speak to everyone, introducing myself and the crew, and explaining why we were there. In reflection, I feel I was very professional and sensitive to the situation when on shoot, I made sure we were not intimidating any individual and if they weren't comfortable with being in shot I made it of a big importance to cater to their wishes.Interviewing contributors was something I feel I learned a lot from. One of our contributors was called Emily. Emily was homeless but on top of that, she also has autism, therefore the vulnerability was increased compared to other women we spoke to.

In regards to interviewing Emily, due to her autism and vulnerable situation, the interview had to be an even more calmed and relaxed atmosphere. When asking questions about her time sleeping rough, Emily began to feel uncomfortable and emotional. Although this is something that makes good content as it shows the raw emotion, the questions leading up to this moment should’ve been more about getting to know her so she felt more relaxed. When she began to feel uncomfortable, it was decided that the subject would be changed until she felt comfortable enough to speak about it later on in the interview. In future, when I am hopefully working in the industry, if I’m interviewing someone with learning disabilities i’ll make sure it's a necessity to have a longer interview with conversational questions that can be irrelevant to the situation, to allow time for the person to feel completely comfortable in their surroundings. This was a new experience for me, I had never interviewed contributors from such vulnerable situations before, and I have now learned the increased sensitivity you need to bring to conversations when interviewing them.

The end result of the documentary definitely exceeded expectations, I knew the concept would deliver but people were truly touched by the documentary, a key aim of mine. I was so proud of myself and the crew for creating such a successful documentary considering the sensitivity of the topic. I hosted a family viewing where everyone attended and watched the film and it brought them all to tears. It was nice to highlight my father's amazing work through my passion for tv. The documentary is something I’ll always be proud of as it was a project where we really felt as if we helped others who don't have a voice.