Housing Instability

Independent Age is a nationwide charity supporting older people facing financial hardship, and one of our regular clients — we’ve built up a strong, ongoing relationship with them over several projects.

Independent Age wanted to shine a light on housing instability and its impact on older people, using an observational documentary style to let contributors’ stories speak for themselves. Michael had already shared his story with the charity as a written case study, and was asked whether he’d feel comfortable telling it on camera too.

Michael spoke with our director, Harry, on the phone beforehand to understand exactly what the filming day would involve. As we always do, we spent plenty of time chatting with Michael while the crew set up, so he felt relaxed and comfortable sharing his story once the cameras started rolling. We filmed several sequences of his day-to-day life in Laughton, Essex, where he was staying on a friend’s sofa after losing his home when his business collapsed in the recession, using a multi-camera setup and aerial drone shots, then shaped the film in post-production around the most powerful moments of his account.

The film ran across Independent Age’s social channels as part of a wider campaign about their work.