Becontee:
100 years on

Client: Mirror

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Europe’s largest housing estate this creative project unearths the stories of those that call it home.

Challenge

Daily Mirror asked us to make a short film that incorporates interviews with real people who still live on the estate. It was essential that we collaborated with local people from Barking & Dagenham college.

Services

Concept / Creative Direction / Working With Schools / Casting Real People / Real People Casting / Filming / Editing / Social Edits

Our unique approach

Our creative approach to this project was to use a distinctive split-screen technique. We incorporated split screen to be able to intertwine details of the estate with resident interviews, all within a single frame.

By working collaboratively with a local college we were able to unearth authentic local stories which added depth and richness to the film.

We teamed up with songwriter, Billy Bragg who provided a lovely soundtrack to this film.

Results

The stories of those featured in the film were celebrated in the Mirror newspaper and the film was published on the Mirror’s YouTube channel.

The film also caught the attention of Romford Film Festival and was selected to screen as part of the opening night.

This film is a celebration of the estate which is being used for every anniversary going forward.