My rotoscoping test!

I love the effect of rotoscoping

and it fits very well with my project

i want to strip a face of its identity, to make an impact on how people see homeless people!

Rotoscoping!

Here is an example of rotoscoping

I have a love for skateboarding so i'm even fonder of this video! 

I wanted to go for a more 'Annonymising' effect, as you see it everyday where people walk past homeless people without even acknowledging they exist, so i wanted to make an impact on people, to make them realise that they are human beings as well.

The Questions i will ask

What is your name and how old are you?

Where were you born?

When and why did you become homeless?
(if you don't mind me asking)

How do you make money?

How do you feel about how people treat you?

What is going through your head when people ignore you when walking past?

If you could say anything to those people what would it be?

What is the kindest thing someone has done for you?

Has there been any negative experiences?

If there was a 10 year old child standing in front of you is there any advice you would give them?

My previous confrontations with the homeless

There are two different types of confrontations i've had with the homeless:


The first kind is very much a negative experience: abusive, intimidating and inconsiderate ways of trying to 'demand' money from me, which i don't appreciate because a lack of respects is not the way of begging for money.

but the second type is very much the opposite, a much more beautiful experience, its very rare but it has happened.
there was my favourite where there was a man in an indent in the wall where a door had previously been, his leg was missing and he obviously has had a rough time, i got closer and said hello, he didn't say anything. not in a bad way, he was maybe shocked that someone was actually talking to him, i reached into my pocket and gave him 10 pounds ... the look i received will stay with me for as long as i live, it was like i had just given him a huge block of gold, again his voice was very subdue ... again though it was because of the shock, i would do it all over again to see that reaction. some people would argue that homeless people don't deserve it ... maybe they don't ... but this is why i'm doing the research.

Brief conversations with the homeless

Being as though I've chosen what i'm going to base my artefact around; annonamising the homeless, i wanted to get as much conversation material between people and the homeless, so i can better understand how they feel so i can right a script that would be sympathetic to their experiences.

Here is one article i found on the internet of a conversation held by Josh Terill with homeless man Joey:

What’s your name and how old are you?Joey, and I’m 27

Where were you born?Here in Modesto…I’ve traveled around quite a bit but I always end up back here.

When and how did you become homeless?I became homeless almost four years ago and it was really just a bunch of shit that led up to it. First I had my two baby girls and tried my best to make it work with their mother, but it just wasn’t working out. I used my relationship problems as an excuse to relapse on heroin after six-years of being clean. Then very quickly, I started to lose everything. I got laid off at work and thought I could depend on my parents to support me until I got clean and back on my feet, but they had already been fed up and kicked me out. So I’ve been on the streets since.

How was your upbringing?I had a perfect, “Leave it to Beaver”-type family. No abuse or anything like that…my parents didn’t even raise their voices at any of their kids. I had every opportunity and advantage to succeed in life…I really have no excuse to be where I’m at. Both of my parents make more than $100,000 a year and are amazing people. I don’t really seem them anymore, but I’d like to.

Are you religious?I grew up in the Catholic church and was baptized as a baby and what not, but I wouldn’t say that I’m religious. More spiritual than anything.

Spiritual?Yeah, not Christian, not anything like that. I know there’s a God, but that’s all I know. Any attempt to comprehend or understand “It”, or “Him”, whatever, it’s just not possible. There’s no human, no book, no church or anything that can tell me something about It that I can’t find out on my own. It’s not like they are better than me or have some sort of super power. But yeah, i believe in God, and I know He’s looking out for me.

How do you make money?Well I was on unemployment for a while, but two months ago that got shut off. Now I just pan handle and hustle here and there. I make anywhere between $50 and $150 a day. I’ve got a $100-a-day habit right now, so most of my money goes to that.

Do you think there’s a stigma that comes with pan handling?There are way more good people than bad people out there in the world. People are naturally selfish, I think. However, maybe it’s just me and my experience, but I run into a greater number of people who are willing to help me out than people who don’t and just say “fuck you”, or something.

Are you happy?No, not at all.

When was the last time you were?Fuck, I honestly don’t know if I’ve ever been truly happy.

Do you have any short-term or long-term goals?Yeah, I need to get clean and sober, man. I need to pull my head out of my ass and get my life together. I need to get a job and try to salvage what relationships I can or seek out new ones. I need to be happy. I’m so fucking sick of doing the same shit every day. Nothing changes if nothing changes, but it’s so fucking hard when you have nothing and no one to encourage you.

If you had an infinite amount of money for one day, and then the next day you went back to how you are now, what would you do for that day?
I would spend the day with my daughters and spoil the shit out of them. I’d let them know that daddy loves them and that I’m going to get better.

Imagine 10-year old you is in front of you. What advice would you give him?
Listen to your parents. They are right about everything. And even if they aren’t, they definitely have your best interests in mind. Shut your fucking mouth and listen. Be humble and stay on track.

The next thing i need to do is speak to a homeless person myself and get a first hand experience.

Lecture 1

Visual Literacy - The Language of Design 

"We need to effectively communicate ideas, concepts and content to a range of ideas using a range of context"

"We solve problems of communication through type, image and/or motion"

After the lecture, what is Visual Communication to me?

• sending/ receiving messages using images and/or type.
• the content of the message is effected by the target audience, method and media.

And what is Visual Literacy to me?

• the act of interpreting someone obscure/abstract images to understand the meaning.
• The lecture presentation had a great quote saying "Visual Literacy is giving the idea that images can be read"
• its a way of (as a community) defining what certain symbols mean
• semiotics: the study of symbols

The things i have learnt and will take away from this lecture is the way that everyday symbols are taken for granted and the use of semiotics could easily be used in any work to get across a meaning with more effectiveness.

The Lecture i have chosen to link my finished artefact with

After much deliberation i have decided to base my Animation on the lecture i attended about photography. the reason for this is because of some of the photography by Dorothea Lange, some of the images she has produced has a very powerful effect on the viewer, invoking many emotions including empathy sympathy and worry. with all my animations i try to invoke various emotions too, i want the viewer to finish watching it being affected in one way or another.

so if i use Dorothea Lange as an inspiration with a certain subject matter i can create the same effects!

My first idea is to document a homeless person talking about there life and rotoscope the footage to 'anonymize' the homeless community to raise awareness as to how certain people treat the homeless: walking past them without acknowledging their existence.