Speechless. Sad. Uplifted. Inspired. Hopeless. Hopeful. These are just some of the rollercoaster of emotions I felt while I was working on a video loop for the Gateway 180 homeless shelter Open Your Heart Gala event.

To give you some background on the project,  Gateway 180 was having a gala, and they wanted a video loop filled with their client’s faces. They also wanted to combine the images with statistics on emergency homelessness.  The video looped throughout the night on an 8-foot wide screen flanked by smaller 4-foot screens, which displayed the statistics. What was unique about this set up, besides the sheer size, was the juxtaposition of smiling children’s faces next to staggering statistics such as this one:

“One-fifth of homeless children are separated from their immediate family at some point.”

We had a short turn-around time and considered using stock photography. We initially thought that solemn photos would be appropriate for the loop, showing the stark realities of homelessness. However, the pictures that Lenny, Gateway 180’s go-to photographer, took told another story, a story of hope. Every picture featured a smiling mother and/or child. We thought the contrast between the pictures and the statistics would make a statement that the families of Gateway can still smile through their circumstances.

We decided not to do a traditional slide show: one static image after another. To prepare, we outfitted each picture with a more visually interesting background (the original photos had the standard portrait background).  We did some post-production on the photos to bring out the lights and darks. Then we created the illusion, using After Effects, that these children were filmed with a motion picture camera rather than a still camera.. To accomplish this, each child was cut from the original photo and recomposed with a new background; we then animated a virtual camera around the child’s picture.

The night had a color palette of orange and brown. So we applied a brown hue across the whole loop. For the statistics that flanked the video loop, we turned to Apple’s Keynote. It allowed us to quickly layout type and animate it with professional results.

I feel blessed to work for an employer who is philanthropically inclined. I have been working with and for non-profits for most of my career.  Being able to use my talents for the greater good falls in line with my belief that I was put on this earth and given these talents to do more then what my 8-5 job calls me to do. I also feel humbled that I can do work for a great organization such as Gateway 180 and look forward to continuing my service work through MarketPlace and hopefully on my own time.