Rotherham Council

We created an animation for Rotherham Council about different types of hate crime and how to report it, with funding from Safer Rotherham Partnership. We worked closely with the council’s Children and Families Services along with six young hate crime victims. After we discussed ideas for the animation, the victims drew images of themselves which we based the final animated characters on. Because of Covid restrictions, the victims recorded their own voices for us as it wasn’t safe to meet or record at a recording studio. The victims asked to be portrayed holding a flag symbolising their identity (which was targeted in their hate crime), including race, gender, sexuality, religion, and disability. We suggested that they throw the flag to the next character in the animation, a bit like passing a baton, with the symbol changing in mid-air. They really liked this idea. We sent character designs and then the animated scenes for review, and we received weekly feedback from the council and the victims. The music was provided by a local youth band. Rotherham Council were delighted with the result.