mp march april 2010
DESCRIPTION
Media Production is the first magazine for creatives in the Middle EastTRANSCRIPT
Issue #07 March - April 2010
25 AED, 2 KD, 26 SAR, 2.5 BD
March - A
pril 2010First A
nniversary Issue
Registered at International Media Production Zone
CONTENTS4 Welcome 5 Editorial6 NEWS10 KNOW WHO
Interview with David Roberts from DWTC about CABSAT 2010
12 KNOW HOW Test Your Creativity
16 KNOW HOWShooting Rockstars -
Photographing Live Music Events
20 KNOW HOW Digital Media in an
Architectural Design Studio
24 KNOW WHO Ammar Al Attar
30 KNOW WHOJalal Abuthina
34 KNOW WHOMirzam Manifesto
40 KNOW HOWFirst Anniversary
Cover Tutorial
40 KNOW HOWAdobe Lightroom
Workshop at the Shelter Dubai, Part 1
42 KNOW HOWCreating a Character Tutorial
48 Focus on Germany 1 Shoot Locally, Think Globally 2 ALFILM Arab Film Festival 3 Arab Film Artists in Germany 4 European Film Artists in the Middle East 5 ARABSHORTS.net 6 Berlinale Talent Campus and mecfilm
64 KNOW WHO Script Talk
70 KNOW WHO ADFC New Voices
72 KNOW HOW Digital Journalism
74 KNOW HOWThe Skill of Lighting for Film
80 KNOW WHOInterview with Mahmoud
Kaabour from Mahmovies! Music for the Eyes
84 Review Shure PG 42 USB
الجيوب المتغايرة: 91
قدم في الكويت.
تعرف على نائلة 95الخاجه
TeamManaging Partners
Hamad Al Saab Ali Sultan
Operations DirectorArch. Amera Al-Awadhi
Project ManagerSylvia Voss
Sales and Marketing ManagerHamad Al Saab
ContentAli Sultan
Copy Editor (English)Lysa Warren
Copy Editor (Arabic)Hamad Al Saab
PR and Client RelationsHamad Al Saab
Creative DirectorAli Sultan
Creative DesignerLezanne Swart
Publishing and AdvertisingThinkTank Publishing & Creative House FZ-LLC
UAE OFFICE
Dubai Media CityBuilding No. 5 - Office G14
Dubai, UAEVoice: +971 4 4347683Fax: +971 4 4343926
Email: [email protected]
Kuwait OfficeYousef Al-Shallal
Email: [email protected]@thinktank-me.com
PR Consultant KuwaitIbtesam Sultan
Printed at Emirates Printing Press, DubaiDistributed by Abu Dhabi Media Company
The opinions and views contained in are not necessarily those of the publisher’s. No part of this publication or content, thereof maybe reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form without the permission of the publishers in writing.
WELCOMEDear creative readers,MP Magazine is celebrating its first anniversary at CABSAT. In conjunction with Dubai World Trade Centre and the support of Thomsun, Pro Technologies and Avid we created the Creative Media Zone, where we invite creatives and technicians an exclusive opportunity to participate in real-time podcast production. With New York Film Academy as content managers we are all looking forward to your creative contributions and support.
In 2010, we are exploring new opportunities for Middle Eastern
creatives to produce films abroad. One of our correspondents, Talal Al Muhanna has put together the feature ‘Focus on Germany’ where he explains funding opportunities in Germany.
Expanding the network of creatives to the US and Europe, we introduce Oday Rasheed, Furat Al Jamil and Iman Kamel, successful Arab filmmaking talents. In Script Talk we spoke to Saudi scriptwriter, Ahd Kamel, Palestinian filmmaker Annemarie Jacir and Egytian- Welsh writer / director, Sally El
Hosaini, about script writing and its challenges.
Our inspirational showcases this issue are from the UAE photographer Ammar Al Attar and Kuwaiti design team Jassim Al Saddah and Anas Al Omaim, who are introducing us to their project, Mirzam Manifesto.
Looking forward to seeing you at our Creative Media Zone.
Till the next issue...
COVER ART WORK
By Lezanne Swart, Media ProductionCover Material and execution by Emirates Printing Press
p48
p24
p40
p64
p34
p16
p80uctionby Emirates
Your Work
on Our Cover
Submit your work at
NEWS
Short Film Corner @ Festival de CannesOrganized by the Festival de Cannes, the Short Film Corner is the essential rendez-vous for short film makers worldwide. The event includes workshops, screenings, networking opportunities and special competitive awards. The next edition of the Short Film Corner will take place from May 12-21, 2010 and submissions for entry will be accepted until April 18, 2010 (though the cut-off date may come sooner if the maximum quota for films is filled early on). Each film registered at the Short Film Corner is allowed to use the ‘Short Film Corner - Cannes 2009’ label. This distinction certifies the potential of the short film and its viewing by a wide audience of professionals during the Cannes Festival.
For further information about the Short Film Corner, visit www.shortfilmcorner.com
The Arab Film Festival is now accepting submissions for the 14th Annual Arab Film Festival 2010 held in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles. Festival dates will soon be announced. Founded in 1996, AFF has grown into an important bridge between the Arab world, Arab-American communities, and the broader American public.
The mission of the Arab Film Festival (AFF) is to enhance public understanding of Arab culture and to provide alternative
Book your flights and get ready to pack your bags because the 3rd annual Gulf Film Festival is soon underway. From April 8-14, 2010, the GFF will host two film competitions in Dubai as part of its mission to encourage creativity and excellence among filmmakers from the GCC region.
The Festival will also present International Cinema in order to fulfill its primary objectives of developing the film culture in the Gulf and creating greater opportunities for the region’s
In January 2010, the Culture and Arts Programme of the A.M. Qattan Foundation announced the launch of a new audio-visual initiative intended to stimulate the growth and development of filmmaking in the Palestinian territories. The A.M. Qattan Foundation is an independent development organization working in the fields of culture and education in Palestine
and the Arab World. Co-funded by the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Production Support Project aims to increase and attract investment in Palestinian film production (specifically short and medium length films); build-up technical infrastructure for filmmaking; and develop local capacity in specific technical departments. There will be a particular emphasis placed on improving the availability of lighting and grip equipment and access to training in this department too. The deadline for applications for the first round of PSP funding is on April 15, 2010.
Launch of Production Support Project
ARAB FILM FESTIVAL (USA)
For more information about the Production Support Project, visit www.qattanfoundation.org/psp
representations of Arabs that contradict the stereotypical images frequently encountered in the mass media. The Arab Film Festival screens films from and about the Arab World that provide realistic perspectives on Arab people, culture, art, history and politics.
The deadline for entries is May 15th, 2010. Entry form and information at www.aff.org/call.php
filmmakers to screen their films and build on future film projects. Just don’t forget to pack your show reels and get some attractive business cards for all the networking you’re going to be doing!
For more information about the Gulf Film Festival, visit www.gulffilmfest.com
GFF is brought to you by Dubai Culture & Arts Authority in association with Dubai Studio City.
Gulf Film Festival in Dubai
NEWS
Smartfish ErgoMotion
Smartfish introduces a new ergonomic mouse. Where a regular mouse is static and forces the hand, the elbows and the shoulders into a static position, the ErgoMotion has a pivot mechanism that allows the user to use the mouse in effortless way.
The ErgoMotion Mouse connects wirelessly to your computer using 2.4GHz USB nano-tranceiver. No software is required. The nano-tranceiver provides instant and uninterrupted connection, wire free. The nano-tranceiver is also small enough to leave plugged into your laptop so you are ready to mouse all the time, wherever you are. Saving battery life is easy enough by switching the power on/off while traveling.
The 800dpi laser provides superior response over traditional optical tracking, allowing you to mouse on practically on any surface without a mousepad.
With the list price of around 50 US Dollars, this mouse is worth trying especially if you are an extensive computer user.
For more information visit www.smartfishtechnologies.com
Aflam QaseeraOver 90 scripts (5 to 12 minutes) were submitted and assessed by a number of international readers. Twenty were then read by script developers for further work. Ten will be selected for funding up to 100,000 AED.
The final ten are currently being decided. Some writers came as writer/directors, some had a director attached or a production company in the UAE attached. If writers submitted without a production company ADFC will connect them with a suitable company to see their films produced to an international standard. Again the goal is to connect film talent within the UAE and build a stronger film culture through these types of initiatives. Visit www.film.gov.ae for more information.
Sundance Film Festival
As part of its ongoing efforts to promote emerging talent from the region, ADFC this year selected four emerging filmmakers from UAE to join the ADFC delegation to the 2010 Sundance Film Festival running 21 – 31 January in Park City, Utah. Through a first-time sponsorship program with the Sundance Institute, ADFC offered the filmmakers access to festival events, screenings, filmmaker forums and panels and meetings with top industry professionals. ADFC also showcased the filmmakers’ work on its website www.film.gov.ae. The four filmmakers selected by ADFC to take part in this program were:
Majid Alansari, who has worked in the UAE as a cinematographer, composer and director and directed the short film Colours.
Nawaaf Al Janahi, who has acted in, directed and produced several prize-winning independent short films including Mirrors of Silence. His first feature-length film The Circle premiered at the Gulf Film Festival in 2009.
Hanan Al Muhairi, a winner of the Emirates Film Competition and director of Our Right to Ride, a documentary about the UAE’s first female horse-riding team.
Ali Mostafa, a writer and director whose film Under the Sun won best Emirates Film 2006 and was nominated for best Foreign Film at the San Fernando Valley Film Festival. He was also named best Emirati Filmmaker and premiered his latest feature film City Of Life at the Dubai International Film Festival 2009.
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fairs in the world. Dubai has all the ingredients to become one of the most important new centres for the global art market, and a significant meeting place for creativity and the exchange of ideas.”
The ArtBus, now also in its fourth year, will be playing its role in showing visitors to the fair some of these ingredients. Going on a tour of Dubai’s art hubs, passengers will be shuttled between the city’s key arts venues, from galleries to art studios before heading on to Art Dubai art fair at Madinat Jumeirah. At the head of the buses will be dedicated art guides providing insight into the galleries and art on show. Passengers will also be provided with Art Packs containing a schedule and exhibition information for destinations, equipping passengers with a comprehensive introduction to the galleries and exhibitions visited, as well as the city’s Arts scene as a whole.
This full on art experience follows two routes, with passengers either visiting the Al Quoz art pocket, or the Al Bastakiya Arts Quarter and Dubai International Finance Centre’s (DIFC) Gate Village. Buses will depart from Madinat Jumeirah Souq entrance at 10 am from the 18-20 March 2010. The ArtBus will also make scheduled lunch stops at either the Courtyard in Al Quoz or at DIFC’s Gate Village.
For more information, please visit www.artinthecity.com
NEWSThe ArtBus, your magic carpet to the Arts returns for Art Dubai
ADFC Film Location Library
Once again the ArtBus will be taking its passengers on an artistic pilgrimage of Dubai’s galleries for the duration of Art Dubai 2010.
This year’s Art Dubai promises, to once again deliver the goods with a jam-packed roster of artistic offerings. Speaking about the much distinguished fair, John Martin, its Director and co-founder commented, “With a reputation for innovation and quality built over four years, Art Dubai has consolidated its position as one of the most important new art
The Film Location Library is Abu Dhabi Film Commission’s searchable online database of regional locations. The database is one of the key initiatives under ADFC to promote the regional infrastructure. It
shows the fantastic variety of potential locations for all productions, from the heart of downtown Abu Dhabi, to the varied coastline and desert Islands, to the garden city of Al Ain and the breathtaking dunes
Apple Launches iPadIn January, Apple introduced iPad, a revolutionary device for browsing the web, reading and sending email, enjoying photos, watching videos, playing games, reading e-books, and much more. Its high-resolution Multi-Touch display lets you interact with content - including 12 innovative new apps designed especially for iPad and almost all of the 140,000 apps available on the App Store, www.apple.com/ipad/app-store/. At just 0.5 inches thick and 1.5 pounds, iPad is thinner and lighter than any laptop or notebook. iPad will be available in March starting at the breakthrough price of just $499. For more information, please visit www.apple.com/ipad
and oasis of the Western Region. This service is available for all local and international media and film experts, and you can register new productions, crews and locations on the Commission website at www.film.gov.ae.
Nicolas Kyvernitis Electronics Ent. Ltd.P.O. Box 3191, Sharjah, United Arab EmiratesTelephone: +971-4-2665244, Telefax:+971-4-2626682Email:[email protected]:nmkelectronics.com
cabsatchicco mediaproduction indd 1 2/15/2010 9:20:43 AM
NEWSThe Beauty of Images workshop was held for professional photographers recently, by Advanced Media in the Colonia Film studio in Deira. This was the first workshop of it’s kind in Dubai, offering professional photographers the opportunity to test-drive the Hasselblad H4D-40 by taking both fashion and product shots in a studio set-up, with Profoto lighting equipment. Photographers then also had the chance to edit images on-screen on the new improved Hasselblad Phocus 2.0 imaging software, and print them out to get a closer look at the quality.
Over 70 photographers attended the two day workshop, and representatives from Hasselblad and Profoto were there to assist and point out the finer technical details and of the camera and lighting systems.
An hour long presentation on the Hasselblad H4D highlighted the new technical and creative improvements that were made from the H3D.
The H4D-50, which was the first model in this new series, features a 50 Megapixel medium format sensor and True Focus with APL
(Absolute Position Lock), making auto-focus substantially easier and more accurate for photography professionals. Like the rest of the H System, the H4D series has been specially designed to meet the most exacting demands of high-end commercial photographers who require the ultimate in both image quality and performance.
This revolutionary new True Focus technology helps solve one of the most lingering challenges that faces serious photographers today, true, accurate focusing throughout the image. The new Absolute Position Lock (APL) processor uses modern yaw rate sensor technology to measure angular velocity in an innovative way, accurately logging camera movement and using these exact measurements to calculate the exact distance needed for proper focus. The H4D’s firmware
then further perfects the focus using the precise data retrieval system found on all HC/HCD lenses. This technology takes AF to an entirely new level, allowing photographers to concentrate on their composition, to focus on their creativity, while True Focus takes care of the other, more mechanical focus. The newest addition to the Hasselblad family, the H4D will be available in the UAE from February 15, 2010 through Advanced Media.
For more information on Hasselblad cameras and Profoto equipment please visit www.amediallc.com and for more information about booking the Colonia Film Production Studio, please visit www.colonia.ae
Beauty of Images Workshop
INSIDE CABSAT MENA AND SATELLITE MENA 2010
What is the theme of the new edition of CABSAT MENA and Satellite MENA?CABSAT MENA and Satellite MENA are the industry bell-wether events for developing and growing business opportunities in the broadcasting, digital media and satellite industries. Our two conferences will focus on the latest hot topics driving the industry: Higher Value through Digital Broadcasting and Development Dynamics in the Broadband Satellite & Hybrid Wireless Applications Market, reflecting the continuing evolution of these two sectors in the region.
This year there will also be an increased focus on media production, an area which has seen very strong growth in recent years in the Middle East. In this regard we will be launching the ‘Creative Media Zone’ in collaboration with Media Production Magazine, where companies can view content being generated, manipulated and broadcast in a live, interactive context.
What are you expecting from this year’s CABSAT show?CABSAT MENA and Satellite MENA will provide the platform to bring industry leaders from across the region, from each end of the spectrum, together to share new ideas and look at ways to explore the need for new technologies and upgrades throughout the industry. Some of the key focus areas and highlights of this edition will include HDTV and the benefits it brings to the region, the shift towards locally generated content as well as the considerable increase in satellite coverage and the opportunities this presents.
Media Production Magazine speaks to David Roberts, Industry Group Manager of Dubai World Trade Centre about this year’s CABSAT show.
The CABSAT MENA 2010 Broadcasting Conference and the GVF MENASAT Summit 2010 will also be an important part of this years shows; providing invaluable knowledge exchange and networking opportunities.
After 15 years of CABSAT, what are the highlights that left an impact on you and the exhibition?CABSAT MENA has developed into the most important exhibition for the broadcasting, digital media and satellite industries throughout the region. Whereas initially major OEMs would conduct business via local agents, CABSAT and Satellite MENA are now the first shows on their global calendar of events.
The first editions of CABSAT covered every aspect across the satellite and digital media spectrum but as the industry in the Middle East has matured and grown so has the exhibition. Last year the growth in the satellite industry reached critical mass and the increased demand for products, services and specialist solutions proved that it was the right time to launch a dedicated show for the satellite communications industry; Satellite MENA. This was justified further with a recent report by Northern Sky Research which stated that the satellite capacity leasing market has been growing at an annual rate of 4.2 percent globally with annual revenues for this segment to exceed US$ 650 million by 2018.
CABSAT initially brought together UAE companies and provided a link between the regional and international markets but the show is now a truly global event.
Senior executives from global companies such as Blusens, EuroStar, Hewlett Packard, Hitachi, Sony, Venutech and VSAT are now regular exhibitors at the show and use the CABSAT MENA platform to launch new products and design developments in the Middle East. We also welcome many important decision makers from international TV networks including Al Jazeera BBC, CNBC Arabiya, CNN and MBC.
Other highlights within the show over the last 15 years include the shift from analogue to digital to HDTV, the evolution of satellite technology and coverage and the birth of original content creation in the region.
Where do you see CABSAT 15 years from now?The importance of CABSAT MENA is now very clear to international and regional companies looking to establish lasting business ties with the Middle East.
With the launch of Satellite MENA last year, a dedicated exhibition for the satellite industry, I believe there will be huge opportunities for growth in each of these areas as well as to be able to offer specialist, knowledge exchange and further opportunities as the technology develops, to provide an even more targeted approach to our exhibitors and buyers.
As the show evolves in the coming years, we will see even more focus on interactive
visitor features, a more diverse conference proposition and new target audiences playing a part.
Where do you see new developments and new trends in technology in terms of creativity?There is a major move in technology at the moment towards HDTV, broadcast via the internet (IPTV) and an increase in locally generated content.
Another key trend we will experience during the show is cloud computing and developments in this area will have a big impact on digital media and production values. We will see many examples at CABSAT MENA of new developments in this area which help move many applications and heavy server capacity into a cloud environment. This will also help editors to work on projects while on location and file material through high speed cabling and satellite communications.
Finally, we are also seeing a move towards miniaturisation. As companies reduce the size and weight of many products in the market, while retaining the same high quality, content producers will have more freedom to explore new locations and environments.
What are your highlights for CABSAT 2010?With around 700 exhibiting companies taking part in this years CABSAT MENA and Satellite MENA there really is a huge variety of new products and services available to the MENASA markets. Many leading international suppliers will be on hand at the show this year including Al Mazroui, Al Yahsat, AMT, Arabsat, Avid, Blusens, EuroStar, Fujinon, Harris, Hewlett Packard, Hitachi, Horizon Satellite Services, MediaCast, Nilesat, Noorsat, Satcom Global, Sony, Venuetech, VSAT and Wasp 3D.
I think the conferences this year will also have a great impact on the industry. The CABSAT MENA 2010 Broadcasting Conference and the GVF MENASAT Summit 2010 will provide invaluable knowledge exchange and networking opportunities. We are delighted that Jamal Al Sharif, the Executive Director at Dubai Studio City will be delivering the keynote address at this years broadcasting
conference, offering his insight into the developments in the industry and how we can all benefit from them. The GVF MEANSAT Summit 2010 keynote will be presented by Jawad Abbassi, Founder & General Manager, Arab Advisors Group on regional market growth.
This year CABSAT is targeting technical professionals as well as creative professionals, how do you draw the creative industry’s attention to CABSAT?A first for CABSAT will be the Creative Media Zone – an interactive feature area where content recorded live during the show will be edited and formatted so that visitors can create their own personalised broadcasts from the exhibition floor. Produced in conjunction with Media Production Magazine, this will provide a live interface between the technology exhibited at the show and the creative professionals who use it. It will be a ‘must see’ for anyone involved in content creation or post production and will feature equipment from the likes of Apple, Avid, Genelec, NMK, NYFA, EMDI, JVC, Oasis, Pro TECHNOLOGY, Rode, Thomsun and Yamaha. This will be an exciting departure for CABSAT as a show, giving a real-time insight into the creation, manipulation and broadcast of original content and it will be a great a platform to build on for future editions.
Finally, we are also seeing a move towards miniaturisation. As companies
reduce the size and weight of many products in the market, while retaining
the same high quality, content producers will have more freedom to explore new
locations and environments.
KNOW WHOCABSAT 2010
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TEST YOUR CREATIVITY
What do you see? This exercise is meant to challenge your creativity. Using the negative white spaces on the right to draw what you see. You don’t have to create a master piece, but take some time to observe the lines and try to find shapes you can create objects from.
Have fun and be creative and try to create as many shapes and figures as possible in 30 minutes. You can turn the page and use different orientation to draw.
It would be nice if you share your creations with us or with the MP community on the MP- Magazine website. www.mp-mag.com or www.mediaproductionmagazine.com
These are some examples created by the staff of Media Production Magazine
KNOW HOWTest Your Creativity
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GRAPHICS
Photographing Live Music Events
Shooting Rockstars
here’s a sense of anticipation in the air. The audience have been waiting and the band is almost
ready to go on. The house lights go down and the roar of the crowd washes over you. It’s show time!
The band kick into the first number and the energy is intense. You know you’ve got three songs to get some great shots. Three songs isn’t much, especially when you’re jockeying with other photographers in the pit and you’re all there for the same thing.
Concert photography is my favorite discipline of all the areas I shoot in. Nothing else beats that raw essence and energy, you can see why musicians love playing live.
Capturing it on camera isn’t rocket science but it’s not that easy either.
KNOW HOWPhotographing Live
T You’ve got to have a love of music to be able to know roughly who’s doing what and when during the song, but even then nothing is certain when the bands are on stage.
Rap artists can be difficult to shoot. Their faces are covered with mikes, hoods and shades. Metal bands move really fast but then they’re also easier as they always stop sometime for a guitar solo, riff or break. The higher energy the band the harder they are to shoot. Matt Bellamy of Muse was a nightmare to photograph as he’s all over the place (but I got him). Additionally there are the performers like Steve Tyler of Aerosmith and Scott Weiland (formerly of Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver) who just give you what you want and play for the camera. A pleasure to photograph.
The thing I always try and get across in the photo is emotion. Whether it’s Jonathon Davis of Korn belting out a high note, Joss Stone flirting with the crowd or Andreas Kisser of Sepultura tearing into a solo, getting that feeling on camera is what it’s all about.
>>>
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Nothing else beats that raw essence and
energy, you can see why musicians love playing
live. Capturing it on camera isn’t rocket science but it’s not that easy either. You’ve got to have a love of music to be able to know roughly
who’s doing what and when during the song...
All Images Copyright Nick England Photography. All rights reserved.
www.nickengland.net+971 50 655 2591
I shoot with two cameras, one with a 70-200 telephoto for close ups and another with a 24-70 for wide angles.
More often than not you have to shoot on available light with no flash so I use 800ISO, sometimes higher. This helps give a little more flexibility with increasing shutter speed and narrowing the aperture a little as well.
I normally shoot on shutter priority mode though and set it at a minimum of 1/125th. At that speed and light you’ll normally get f2.8, which I’m not a huge fan of, so you can try going to manual, using your preferred shutter and smaller aperture (f4 or 5.6) settings. Shutter priority takes that fiddling about out of the equation and as I always shoot RAW, I can correct exposure later on. Always focus on the face though, an out of focus face shot goes in the bin.
Even though the standard industry rule is ‘first three no flash’ there are sometimes when you have to chuck in a little flash just to get the shot. I once shot Kanye West using flash because trying to photograph a black performer, wearing black clothes and shades against a black background wasn’t easy using what light there was.
I hate the fact that, more often than not, you only get three songs from the pit to shoot. This restriction does limit what you can get but I’ve found that in most cases it’s enough.
It also depends on the band’s management and I try to get to meet them at the venue before each gig to see what I can or can’t do. Some are unhelpful but most are really nice. The good ones may give you access to the stage to shoot from behind the band out onto the crowd and this makes for some great shots.
Getting access to concerts is always an issue. Unless you’re working for a paper, magazine or stringing for the wires and covering the concert for them, the only other way in is to find a promoter and get in with them.
I had the chance to work regularly with one promoter on their gigs and this gave me some incredible opportunities to shoot many bands, get backstage stage access and the chance to go up into the follow spot tower (the big tower you see 200 yards or so back from the stage) to get a vantage point of the stage and the crowd. That’s a great place to shoot from.
Always try and get some crowd shots, don’t forget to bring ear defenders and the golden rule, duck for incoming! Something I missed one day when Keith Flint of the Prodigy gobbed a mouthful of something foul into the pit all over me.
By Nick England
KNOW HOWPhotographing Live
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1 Design proposal/composite mixed-media rendering, Petra Matar, 2 Design proposal/model, Petra Matar
Communication /Investigation / Representation
evelopments in digital technology provide powerful visualization tools for designers, but overreliance
on techniques afforded by the software we use can supplant critical approaches to the methods employed for design and production. For architects and other professionals involved in the design of the built environment, digital media poses particular challenges. Architects have always confronted the limitations presented by the need to design through drawings and models, which are scaled-down representations of what the building will be once it is complete. Working on a computer screen can further distance the designer from the reality of the constructed building.
However, if digital media is approached in a critical manner, the tools can enhance communication, investigation, and
Digital media offers the potential for deception – This rather strong claim is proven by the proliferation of photorealistic renderings of spaces providing impressions that bear little correspondence to our actual experience of the completed buildings.
Drepresentation. The images presented in this article were developed by students in a fourth-year architectural design studio taught at the American University of Sharjah (AUS) during the fall 2009 semester. The studio focused on developing and understanding the qualities and particularities of the natural environment in order to design spaces and structures that encourage and facilitate contemplation. Through an initial case study, site analysis and the final project, the studio relied on digital media to communicate results of analyses and research findings, investigate design strategies, and representation of intentions. In both the case study and the final project, students employed digital tools to convey the experiential aspects of design proposals.
Representing how a building may be experienced using two-dimensional computer-generated images is extremely difficult and it requires both technical skill and a critical consideration of how the tools can be controlled and manipulated. It also requires an understanding of the limitations of a particular tool and the ability to move between applications and mixed media. This understanding and ability separates training from design education; the purpose of a design education is not to provide demonstrations to show how a particular effect can be achieved using software, but rather to facilitate the Digital Media in an Architectural Design Studio
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development of an approach that is founded upon seeking out (or making if necessary) the most appropriate tool for the task at hand. Design education also has a responsibility to cultivate the discernment that becomes increasingly necessary, as digital media allows for a range of effects to be employed with only a mouse click. This is because, unfortunately, image manipulation software does not come equipped with a pop-up window asking “Do you really want to use the watercolor filter?”
Images shown here range from visual descriptions of physical phenomena (temperature, the effect of humidity on visibility etc.) to impressions intended to invoke the experience of being within the space represented. Digital media was central to the process of developing projects, including Form•Z and Rhino® for modeling, AutoCAD® and PowerCADD for drawing, and the full range of Adobe® Creative Suite® software for image editing and page layout. While some of the material was produced using only digital tools, other images resulted from combining traditional representation techniques such as drawing with manipulation using a range
KNOW HOWDigital Media
of software. The choice of representational technique was based on the tool’s ability to enhance communication.
Studio conversations were never directly focused on digital media, but rather on issues such as the communicative potential of a diagram, investigative paths to pursue to clarify design intentions, or manipulation of two-dimensional representations to highlight the experiential aspects of the space to be inhabited. A goal of the studio was to transcend the distance between representation and experience through an investigation of the possibilities inherent in digital technology. The success or failure of the individual images presented in this article is open to debate and, in some respects, may be less important than their contribution to developing an awareness of the distance between photorealistic rendering and our actual lived experience.
By Kevin Mitchell,Associate Professor of Architecture in the
School of Architecture and Design,American University of Sharjah (AUS)
3 Design proposal/mixed-media rendering, Faten El Meri 4 Design proposal/composite mixed-media rendering, Petra Matar 5 Design proposal/composite mixed-media rendering and model,
Saeed Kherzi 6 Design proposal/composite mixed-media rendering, Parisa Hashemean
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Through an initial case study, site analysis and the final project, the studio relied on digital media
to communicate results of analyses and research findings, investigate
design strategies, and representation of intentions.
1 Diagram showing the relationship between
humidity and visibility, Faten El Meri and Parisa
Hashemean 2 Design proposal/composite mixed-
media rendering, Salma Murad 3 Diagram showing
temperature range, Faten El Meri and Parisa
Hashemean 4 Design proposal/mixed-media
rendering, Khulood Al Ali 5 Design proposal/
composite drawing, Parisa Hashemean 6 Design
proposal/mixed-media rendering, Faten El Meri
7 Diagram analyzing circulation through a case
study project, Naji Mah’d 8 Design proposal/
mixed-media rendering, Faten El Meri
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KNOW HOWDigital Media
A goal of the studio was to transcend the
distance between representation and experience
through an investigation of the possibilities
inherent in digital technology.
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STREET PHOTOGRAPHYDocumenting Moments of Our Lives
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On the left page: 1 Lonely in the Street ‘Leica M6’ 2 Afternoon Tea ‘Leica M6’ 3 Street Cafe
‘Leica M6’ 4 Afternoon Nap in the street ‘Leica M6’
5 Rainy Streets 1 ‘Leica M6’
6 Rainy Streets 2 ‘Leica M6’
7 Rainy Streets 3 ‘Leica M6’
Ammar Al Attar is a talented UAE national who discovered his passion for photography in 2003, when he documented the Soccer World Cup with his friends, using a simple 3.2 mega pixel Canon compact camera.
e is a self-taught photographer, with no formal training, who has developed his technical and
artistic skills over the last 7 years. In 2006, Ammar started reading and studying the technical aspects of the camera and continued exploring the creative evolution of photography through art history literature.
Ammar feels that the camera is a tool that helps capture the moments of our lives. His images show us a different UAE, one which is removed from the tourist hubs and malls, focusing instead on the unique character and culture of the region. At first, Ammar used to capture these moments spontaneously with his digital camera, but then he started experimenting with Lomography. This analogue photography movement captures
H images by using cameras made entirely from plastic and has reached a cult-like status across the globe.
His first contact with the world of Lomography was when he used the Holga medium-format camera. He later added the Lomo LCA+, Diana F+ and Lomo Fisheye 2.0 to his collection of plastic analogue cameras. Through these cameras, he discovered new ways to explore the creativity of his images, by experimenting with lighting, exposure times and cross processing images.
Ammar describes himself as a street photographer, someone who likes to be in the midst of the action when he captures his images. And by taking a step back from technology, which seems to evolve so quickly, he has made room for the creativity of his images to shine through and tell us their story in an authentic voice.
He is currently, the PR Manager of the Emirates Photography Society (EPS) and is working on a street photography project dealing, titled Lost Identity.
For more information on Ammar and his work, visit www.ammaralattar.com and for more information on Lomography, visit www.lomography.com
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KNOW WHOAmmar Al Attar
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Lost Identity Project
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KNOW WHOAmmar Al Attar
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178 Lost ID 1 ‘Nikon D300’ 9 Lost ID 2 ‘Nikon D300’ 10 Lost ID 3 ‘Nikon D300’
11 Lost ID 4 ‘Nikon D300 12 Lost ID 5 ‘Nikon D300’ 13 Lost ID 6 ‘Nikon D300’
16 Contrast Old and New 1 Leica M6’
17 Contrast Old and New 2 ‘Leica M6’
14 My Ship ‘Horizon Perfekt’
15 Our Ship ‘Horizon Perfekt’
Photography is my point of view of our lives
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19 18 Right or Left ‘Fuji Instax 200’
19 Fractured ‘Fuji Instax 200’
20 Spiritual village 1 ‘Holga Pinhole Camera’
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KNOW WHOAmmar Al Attar
21 The Forgotten Past ‘Fuji Instax 200’
22 Spiritual village 1 ‘Holga Pinhole Camera’
23 Spiritual village 1 ‘Holga Pinhole Camera’
Lomography camerasLomo LCA+ - Holga - Diana F+ - Fisheye 2.0
Favorite SubjectsPeople life
Best Time for shootingAll Day
Personal Motto“Photography is my point of view of our lives.”
MembershipFIAP, EPS, PSA, ADIPS
My CamerasLeica M6 - Nikon D300 - Nikon F100 - Fuji Intax
Profile Ammar Al Attar
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MP: Tell us a little bit more about your She’s got the answers series.JA: Living in Dubai can sometimes become extremely boring because we never really get to see anything out of the ordinary and unpredictable. So one Saturday in 2008, my girlfriend and I created an installation on Jumeirah Beach Residence beach as a kind of social experiment to try to shake things up a bit and add a little excitement to our weekend. The beach was packed that day and ‘Angel’ (a 6 foot tall mannequin with angel wings on) made quite an impression, because she was so random and unexpected. For us, the beauty of the whole thing was a play on the idea that someone who had all the answers to all of life’s mysteries and unanswered questions was standing right there in the middle of so many people, but she could never answer any of our questions because, well, she was made of plastic! Watching people’s reactions and taking photos that day was a head trip and a whole lot of fun all at the same time.
MP: What were you commenting on with The Edge of Now series, and what kind of response did you receive when you were exhibiting these photographs? JA: A lot of people assume the series is about Emiratis and Dubai but it’s actually not. It’s about us as a race, as a species, trying to find peace and a place within these times of technological excess and hyper development. The Emirati attire was used, because for many people (especially in the West), it conjures up stereotypes related to the past, or of a time that ‘once was’. Fusing that element with some of the ‘futuristic’ sites of Dubai gave the series the tension that I wanted to tap into. Also, because it was such a dramatic play on stereotypes, the series was very well received and became part of
Jalal Abuthinaalal Abuthina’s photographic work is often a collection of visual narratives which tries to capture
and communicate the complexity, beauty and despair of our shared human experience.
Media Production: How did you first become involved in photography?Jalal Abuthina: I started getting into photography during my last year of university in Montréal around 2003. I was finishing off my BBA (Bachelor of Business Administration) that year and thought I would definitely regret it if I didn’t take some pictures of the city before I left, so I bought a EOS rebel 2000. I started out just taking random pictures of the city and from there on it just evolved into more of an expressive outlet for me.
MP: Your family travelled around a lot when you were growing up. Do you feel that this has had a strong influence on your images?JA: It definitely has an effect on my images
Media Production speaks to Jalal Abuthina how he uncovered his passion for photography and how that has evolved into telling visual stories.
J because it has had an effect on me as a person. Artistic expression is an extension of ourselves, who we are, how we think and how we interpret life and our existence all comes out through it. When you move around a lot as a child I don’t think you can ever become grounded into one way of thinking or being. In my case, because we were always moving, I constantly had to re-adjust to new people, places, cultures and protocol. It was hard sometimes but I’m grateful for it because it gave me the opportunity to see and experience so many different things. I also spent a lot of time in the clouds on planes flying between places, so I think that may have done something to me too.
MP: What message are you trying to bring across with your work?JA: That’s a tough question to answer. I don’t really think it’s about me trying to bring across messages. It’s more like me trying to throw things out into the open and letting people take what they want from it.
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KNOW WHOJalal Abuthina
A lot of people assume the series is about
Emiratis and Dubai but it’s actually not. It’s about us as a race, as a species,
trying to find peace and a place within these times of technological excess and
hyper development.
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KNOW WHOJalal Abuthina
Dubai’s first major international art exhibition at Art Basel (Germany) in 2008. It also involved the first ever photo shoot conducted on the roof of Ski Dubai, which was a very special experience all on its own.
MP: Where do you exhibit your work?JA: Mostly in local galleries and on artsy sites and blogs. I only work on a handful of projects each year that I end up exhibiting to the public. Other more personal works and random photos usually just end up on my website to share with friends and whoever wants to have a look.
MP: What do you think are the strengths and weaknesses between analogue and digital photography? Which do you prefer?JA: I think they are from two completely different worlds right now. Everyone is a photographer today because we all have a cell phone or a digital camera. Laptops are darkrooms. People’s understanding of what photography is has taken on a completely new form of meaning and appreciation. Digital is faster, easier and just more suited to today’s world which keeps moving further and faster away
from the analogue world every day. I use digital because it’s practical, but I definitely prefer film because it has so much more of an authentic photographic element to it. Analogue photography also has a higher grade image output and quality than digital does, it’s also craft orientated and requires trained skill (as opposed to programs) to develop and produce a photograph.
MP: What are you working on at the moment and what can we expect to see from you in the future?JA: I just finished working on a project that was put together for a juried exhibition by Moorfields Eye Hospital and Dubai Community Theatre and Arts Centre (DUCTAC), which was on exhibition until the 24th of February at the DUCTAC gallery in Mall of the Emirates.
As far as the future goes, I’m really looking more towards working with publishers, companies and sponsors who are interested in taking things to the next level artistically in Dubai as well as the region. I think living here we really forget about the importance and power that artistic output has on us as individuals and as a community. It’s also the perfect time to start because the city can no longer rely on its old methods to move forward. Things are changing and that’s exciting because it’s great for new ideas and opportunities.
www.daralsalam.infowww.anewageobsession.blogspot.com+971 50 501 5895
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Mirzam ManifestoArchitectual graduates Jassim Al-Saddah and Anas Al-Omaim started the MiMa initiative to become a cultural melting pot for art and design.
Media Production: Who are Jassim and Anas? Can you tell us a bit about yourselves and your cultural and creative background?Jassim Al-Saddah and Anas Al-Omaim: Well, we are both architecture graduates. Anas from Columbia University in New York and Jassim from the Architectural Association in London. We both have a lot of common interests, the first being our rich Kuwaiti culture and the second an aim to ‘prettify’ what surrounds us.
MP: You have introduced your project Mirzam Manifesto at ‘4’ in Kuwait. Can you tell us a bit about this project and how it started?J&A: It’s a funny story, it started when we were thinking of writing a cook-book about Khaleeji cuisine. We started looking deeper into our culture and realized that there were beautiful meanings imbedded within everything we saw, read and found. Our overall aim was to reintroduce and rethink the way we perceive our culture from its proverbs to its simplest and quirkiest words through traditional calligraphy.
MP: What does Mirzam Manifesto stand for?J&A: As per definition, Mir-zam is an architectural element found in the indigenous architecture of Kuwait. Made of metal, a rare material at
the time, its purpose is to drain rain water out from the vulnerable mud structures in order to keep it intact. Many folkloric stories and songs surround this particular part of the Kuwaiti culture, making it an imperative part of what and who we are.
The same way that this small yet effective element gathers water, the MiMa initiative is to be a melting pot of different people with different disciplines and backgrounds, enabling them to meet, mingle and exchange
KNOW WHOJassim and Anas
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ideas to overlap and create a newer base to argue, discuss and juxtapose upon issues that affect us through a focus on different mediums of art and design.
MP: What is your future vision for Mirzam Manifesto?J&A: Our vision is to implement more briefings that relate to the local environment and make people access art and design more freely..
MP: Are you involved in commercial design activities, or do you prefer working as art creators?J&A: Our aim isn’t commercial; it’s more focused on creating unique ideas, from digital work on canvas seen as art or ceramics, seen as a focus on design.
MP: Your work involves graphic design and mixed media; can you tell us a bit about the work process?J&A: You might have realized, most of the pieces give the illusion of screen printing or an aged look. The calligraphy was drawn in Adobe Illustrator with vector lines and a controlled calligraphy brush. Then, in order to apply depth to the surface of the art piece, grunge brushes from Adobe Photoshop were used. The end-product is a superficial portrayal of an art piece done manually.
MP: How do you develop and execute your ideas?J&A: For this particular project, we used our family members’ experience and books as a reference, giving us an insight into our own oral culture. After gathering all relevant
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We started looking deeper into our culture and realized that there were beautiful meanings imbedded within everything we saw,
read and found. Our overall aim was to reintroduce and rethink the way we perceive our culture from its proverbs to its simplest
and quirkiest words through traditional calligraphy.
We started looking deeper into our culture and realized that there were beautiful meanings imbedded within everything we saw,
read and found. Our overall aim was to reintroduce and rethink the way we perceive our culture from its proverbs to its simplest
and quirkiest words through traditional calligraphy.
information, we sat and discussed the meaning behind the words and how we could relate it to our understanding of its literal meanings by creating a collage of different images to achieve a composition that would enhance the calligraphy representing the word, ‘chosen’.
MP: Describe what a normal working day looks like forJassim and Anas?J&A: Currently, Anas is working on his PHD in architecture at UCLA, which means hectic days with plenty of coffee in his reach. Jassim is also working on a hectic schedule, while preparing his architectural projects and also finding new ideas and preparing briefings for MiMa.
MP: What is the idea behind your creations? What is your message?J&A: To place local art first! Secondly, to make art and design more accessible to people in the region.
MP: There has been discussions and criticism towards digital artwork, how do you evaluate the existence of digital artwork in the world of contemporary art?J&A: Well, everything has its own discipline whether creating art digitally or manually, each has its set of rules and controls. In the end, it is important to have something that is beautifully executed with depth and meaning, which demands attention to be seen and appreciated.
KNOW WHOJassim and Anas
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UNDER COVERFirst Anniversary Cover TutorialIN THIS TUTORIAL WE UNCOVER WHAT IT TAKES TO CREATE A COVER FROM SCRATCH.
It’s our first anniversary and to mark this momentous occasion, we wanted to create a cover which embodied joy and celebration. Working in the media industry is a bit like being in a long-term relationship. It requires passion, hard work and commitment. That got us thinking about gifts which are traditionally given on anniversaries, with the first year being paper. The idea then developed from there into creating a paper sculpture of the number one and using light to capture the spirit of celebration.
The first step is to create a rough mock-up of the paper sculpture. This is really ever the only way to see how
something will work as a three-dimensional entity. I had designed the graphic emblem as well, and also did a quick cut out of thison the rough.
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As you’re refining your rough mock-up, start creating a template on the computer at the same time. It will be ready to print out onto the final piece of paper or serve as valuable
reference as you start drawing out the final template.2
Once the concept was approved, I started working on the final paper sculpture. In this case, I wanted it
to be quite big and decided to draw out the template on a piece of cardboard by hand. When you do this, use at least an HB pencil, so that it’s soft enough to not mark the paper too deeply. Also, draw the template in reverse, so that all of the lines will be on the inside, when you start to assemble the final piece.
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At this point, I do a quick experimental photoshoot to get an idea of what the final will look like and to also see if the idea which often seems great on paper, will work in practice.3
KNOW HOW1st Anniversary Cover
The first step is to create a rough mock-up of the
paper sculpture. This is really ever the only
way to see how something will
work as a three-dimensional
entity.
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I always find it’s beneficial
to shoot more, rather than fewer
images.
Create score lines by making use of the back of the scalpel, which works quite well for this purpose, making sure to make the score deep enough, so that there’s a clean fold.
Print out the emblem and color in the lines that you want to trace on the reverse side of the piece of paper.
This is a quite old-fashioned way to make your own carbon paper. You can make the process easier, by sticking it onto a window with some masking tape. You can use normal carbon paper as well, but it’s more difficult to erase any remaining lines once you’ve cut out the design.
Position the emblem carbon paper on the template and stick it in place, using some masking tape.
This is easy to peel off once you’ve traced
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Remove the carbon paper and using a scalpel with a new blade, start cutting away at the design. It’s
essential that the blade is very sharp to make the cut as clean as possible. Once you’ve finished cutting out the design, take an eraser and clean up any remaining pencil lines which remain, taking care not to tear any of the more delicate parts of the cut-out.
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Start cutting out the template with a scalpel and steel ruler, using a cutting mat underneath the piece of cardboard.5
your design, and doesn’t leave any marks on the paper. Using a pencil, start tracing along the lines of the emblem. Lift one corner of the carbon paper from time-to-time as you’re tracing to check that you can see the lines.
Using double-sided tape, start assembling the sculpture now, by pealing off one edge at a
time and sticking it in place, as precisely as you can.
Stand back and admire your handiwork!
Set up your camera on a tripod, so that you’ll be able to shoot in low-light conditions. I used the
Canon EOS 40D DSLR to shoot the images for the cover.
To capture the cover image, I lit a tea light candle and placed it inside the paper sculpture to create a warm glow, which lit up the emblem cut-out from the inside.
I again experimented with the use of fairly lights in the background to create a really festive feel to the image, by moving them around in the longer exposure times. Which in turn created the streaking lines of light and movement.
The final step is to choose which image will work best with the concept. I always find it’s
beneficial to shoot more, rather than fewer images. In this shoot, the cover image came out of the very last round of shots I took. Remember to try different exposure settings and play around with the lighting. Have fun and experiment.
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11 Create your own photography studio at home, by using large white cardboard sheets
and sticking them to a wall to create a background surface with no edges.
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KNOW HOW1st Anniversary Cover
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With their first workshop, Adobe Middle East introduces the photo editing and organizing software Adobe Lightroom at the Shelter. The concept of Adobe Lightroom is simple yet offers a wide range of features and helpers for importing, developing and exporting images.
Working with Adobe Lightroom is as simple as it is intuitive. The application is made up of five modules, where each one of them features different editing tools.
Adobe Lightroom Workshop at the Shelter Dubai
The Library
The Library is where you start your actual work in Lightroom. Here is where you import your images from either a mass storage device, which will be most probably your camera or from a different device, like external hard drives or folders you have created on your local computer.
If you import images from a mass storage device, which will be your camera, Adobe Light room will create a new folder on your computer where it stores the images.
Part 1
KNOW HOWAdobe Lightroom Workshop
If you import the images from a local folder or an external hard drive, Adobe Lightroom doesn’t remove your folder content to a new location, but creates a link to the actual images and displays a preview in Lightroom. This means, that if you are working off an external hard drive you have to make sure that it is connected to be able to edit the images in Lightroom and export them to any location you need.
After the workshop there was a Q&A session where the attendees had the chance to ask questions on Adobe Lightroom 2.
Part 2
Next issue we will talk about the Development tool that features non-destructive editing for images.Further we will introduce the seamless integration of Adobe Lightroom in Adobe Photoshop CS 4.
Shortcuts
p = pickThis shortcut flags an image to help you shortlist your favorite shot.
u = unpickThis shortcut removes the flag of the image to remove it from the shortlist.
You can view your flagged images by using the filter option for your light box.You can also add
keywords to the images in library to find them quicker.
The navigation window helps you find the right detail while zooming into an image.
You can zoom into an image by clicking on it.To return to the thumbnail view simply press the ‘g‘ key on your keyboard.
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CREATING A CHARACTERIN THIS TUTORIAL WE SHOW YOU HOW TO BUILD UP A CHARACTER BY SKETCHING IT OUT.
In the first step, I spent some time sketching ideas down on paper. Trying to stay as loose as possible and playing
around with finding solid poses that portray the kind of image I’m trying to produce. This is
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The next step is also quite vital. Here I explore different silhouettes, which establishes the overall look of the character, trying out different proportions and even how certain accessories
might look on him. I draw these really small, because this helps me to work broad and not worry too much about detail and just work with putting appealing shapes together. Really try to move from the general to the specific.
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one of the most important steps because this is where you really mush ideas and concepts together. It also serves as a warm-up phase before you begin your final drawing.
Place a new sheet of paper on top and start drawing the general shape of your character, the level of detail
you put into this is really up to you. The most important thing is to try and find more shapes that compliment each other and which don’t overwhelm the design.
5Next, put the drawing on a light-table (if you don’t have one, just tape it onto a win-dow) to make sure that
your composition is working as well.4I have isolated the silhouette I like
the most and drawn in a background to frame the character better. If you
are working with pencil and paper, photocopy this into a bigger size.
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KNOW HOWCreating a Character
This is the finished rough sketch that gives me an idea of where everything is. Even in this phase, I’ve tried to stay as loose as possible to get an overall sense of the characters
gesture, physical attributes, costumes and accessories. I have also added some dark areas to give my piece a little more depth.
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In the first step, I spent some time sketching ideas down on paper. Trying to stay as loose as possible and playing around with finding solid poses that
portray the kind of image I’m trying to produce.
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I try not to work from the top to bottom or vice versa, but rather try to move around the image as much
as possible. This makes me look at the artwork
Here is the final drawing. I have chosen to keep the background sketchy and have my character clearly defined.
By Mr. Mujeeb Syed (Head of Animation Department) and Mr. Bingu Ratnapal (Lecturer - Drawing/Animation)
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KNOW HOWCreating a Character
Now that the sketch is done and a lot of the preparatory work is laid down, I put a new sheet of paper on top
and start to refine the contours. I focus on line variety and try to sculpt with my pencil or pen.
7 in an overall sense, instead of getting bogged down into one spot and overworking it.
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VIDEO
FOCUS 2010:
SHOOT LOCALLY, THINK GLOBALLY
unding opportunities and co-production mechanisms for independent filmmakers in the GCC
have reached new heights in recent months and festival networking and exhibition opportunities continue to generate consistent calendar events for regional filmmakers to convene at and present their work. Participation, however, by Gulf filmmakers in other film scenes (at an international level) and recognition of their cinematic efforts beyond the GCC region, has remained
limited or, in most cases, completely under the radar where non-Arab-themed film fests and markets are concerned.
Is this lack of interaction outside the GCC region due to the fact that Gulf filmmakers do not want to produce what foreign markets are interested in? Or are GCC filmmakers unsure how to best promote themselves and their existing work internationally? Is it possible that GCC filmmakers have no aspirations to participate in other film
scenes in the Middle East, Europe, North Africa or the States? Or is there just too much competition to face abroad or too much complication and expense? Finally, is it because GCC filmmakers feel that their ‘local’ stories would not translate well to other cultures (including other Arab-speaking audiences in the MENA region and the Arab diaspora)?
Whatever the answers may be, MP would like to encourage GCC filmmakers to
In 2010 Media Production is going ‘glocal’ by encouraging independent filmmakers in the GCC to think a little bit more outside the box when it comes to developing, producing and promoting their film projects. MP will, in fact, be encouraging filmmakers to think outside their own borders.
F
FOCUS ON GERMANYby Talal Al Muhanna
FOCUS 2010:
SHOOT LOCALLY, THINK GLOBALLY
unding opportunities and co-production mechanisms for independent filmmakers in the GCC
have reached new heights in recent months and festival networking and exhibition opportunities continue to generate consistent calendar events for regional filmmakers to convene at and present their work. Participation, however, by Gulf filmmakers in other film scenes (at an international level) and recognition of their cinematic efforts beyond the GCC region, has remained
limited or, in most cases, completely under the radar where non-Arab-themed film fests and markets are concerned.
Is this lack of interaction outside the GCC region due to the fact that Gulf filmmakers do not want to produce what foreign markets are interested in? Or are GCC filmmakers unsure how to best promote themselves and their existing work internationally? Is it possible that GCC filmmakers have no aspirations to participate in other film
scenes in the Middle East, Europe, North Africa or the States? Or is there just too much competition to face abroad or too much complication and expense? Finally, is it because GCC filmmakers feel that their ‘local’ stories would not translate well to other cultures (including other Arab-speaking audiences in the MENA region and the Arab diaspora)?
Whatever the answers may be, MP would like to encourage GCC filmmakers to
In 2010 Media Production is going ‘glocal’ by encouraging independent filmmakers in the GCC to think a little bit more outside the box when it comes to developing, producing and promoting their film projects. MP will, in fact, be encouraging filmmakers to think outside their own borders.
F
FOCUS ON GERMANYby Talal Al Muhanna
KNOW HOWShoot Locally, Think Globally
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extend their filmic horizons and get ‘out and about’ as much as possible in 2010. Filmmakers should both take advantage of what the region has to offer while increasing the scope of their knowledge and experience outside their ‘comfort zones’. As a filmmaker, consider attending a filmmaking workshop abroad (a short course at London’s NFTS maybe?); submit your latest film to an international film festival or market (e.g. the Short Film Corner in Cannes); attend an international seminar to gain insight on a particular topic or improve your knowledge about the global marketplace (like EAVE’s Marketing Workshop or Film Finance Forum in Luxembourg); or join an online writing program that will help you develop your script (check-out the New School’s Certificate in Screenwriting course out of NYC).
In 2010, MP will be exploring some of the opportunities available to GCC filmmakers to connect with their international counterparts and peers through festival and market attendance, production-related
activities and educational programs. Alongside regional reports highlighting film development schemes and funding opportunities in foreign lands, there will continue to be profiles of Arab filmmakers who have found success by shooting locally while thinking globally. So, where will the first stop on MP’s global express be? Germany!
Sprechen Sie Deutsch?As Europe’s largest national economy, and with an impressive film funding landscape to match, Germany has much to offer in the way of creative and financial opportunities for film projects of all kinds and to filmmakers of all nationalities. The country boasts an impressive array of film funding opportunities as well as production companies whose producers are experienced in working on film projects shot
in North Africa, the Caucasus and the Near and Middle East regions. So, depending on the quality of your script, your ability to research and network effectively and your skill at pitching, you may find it fruitful to approach a producer based in Germany with your project idea or screenplay.
Funding for feature films in Germany comes from a variety of sources including the federal government, the regional states, private foundations, commercial enterprises and also the European Union. In fact, an almost dizzying array of subsidies, grants, tax incentives and loans are available for film development, film production and film distribution. For feature-length filmmakers whose projects are geared towards the global marketplace, understanding what the different countries have to offer in terms of film funding and production incentives is key to getting your movie produced and, eventually, distributed. Generally speaking, if you want to get bigger budget projects off the ground, assembling often complex and innovatively-structured international co-production deals are a must.
Co-producing in Germany If you are developing a feature film project for the international market and are able to do so in co-production with a German producer, there are a number of well-funded, regionally-situated film funds within Germany which could be considered as sources of finance for a joint project. Keep in mind that each German regional film fund
The Syrian Bride – co-written by Suha Arraf & Erkan Riklis and shot in the Golan Heights with mostly Palestinian-Israeli actors –
received funding support from a variety of European sources, including the German regional film fund in Hamburg.
Keep in mind that each German regional film fund has its own specific criteria for eligibility
and it is up to you and your German co-producer to be informed and up-to-date about what the
details of each film f unds’ offerings are.
Keep in mind that each German regional film fund has its own specific criteria for eligibility
and it is up to you and your German co-producer to be informed and up-to-date about what the
details of each film funds’ offerings are.
48 49
has its own specific criteria for eligibility and it is up to you and your German co-producer to be informed and up-to-date about what the details of each film funds’ offerings are.
Regional film fundsRegional film funds in Germany can be found in Berlin-Brandenburg, Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia, Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein and Baden-Württemberg amongst others. If these names feel like a mouth-full, rest assured that representatives from these funds are more than likely to be English speaking as well, so don’t worry about potential language barriers too much. After all, “where there’s a will there’s a way!”
In short, for serious and aspiring feature-length filmmakers, an overview of what the German regional film funds offer is indispensable knowledge. MP suggests reviewing these criteria by first going to www.focusgermany.de – the website for the umbrella organization of Germany’s seven major film funding institutions. Here, filmmakers can get a picture about what is on offer in each region before proceeding to check out the individual websites of each fund separately for more detailed information. After this, one mid-to-long-term goal worth considering might then be to become better acquainted with German producers and the output of their production companies.
The German Federal Film Fund (DFFF) The regulations governing the German Federal Film Fund (DFFF) or, in German parlance, ‘Filmförderungsanstalt’ (FFA) can be reviewed on line here: www.ffa.de. Again, eligibility for receiving funds from the DFFF is dependent on having a German co-producer on board your project as otherwise you will have to open a bona fide branch office (in Germany) of your non-EU production company that is already commercially registered in your home country. But if your script is good and can attract an international audience, a German producer may just be willing to ‘give it a go’.
Earning ‘points’It’s important to note that many funding initiatives in Germany, including the DFFF, are geared towards supporting projects that will get produced within Germany or, in the case of a regional fund, within the region that provided the funding. Many film funds will, for example, encourage the hiring of German cast and crew and the use of locations in their region. In other words, the more local shooting there is and the more local hiring is done, the more ‘points’ or credits the film will earn towards qualifying for funding. If you’re picture is entirely made up of exterior shots in a desert landscape with a completely
In 2008 the World Cinema Fund in Berlin provided €12,000 in distribution support to Nadine Labaki for her
film Caramel (Lebanon 2006).
Tip: Look out for these
German film fund logos in the credits
and artwork for foreign-made films and you’ll start to get an idea about
who is funding what…
Arab cast and crew, you may in some ways reduce your chances of qualifying for funding because you will be earning less ‘qualifying points’ ultimately. However, if your story takes place in a Western urban capital and has multi-ethnic casting than you might find yourself able to shoot in Munich, Frankfurt, Berlin, Hamburg or Cologne. In short, depending on the nature and content of your story, you may be able to adapt your script somewhat in order to better qualify for the funds on offer.
As an alternative to earning your film’s ‘qualifying points’ for shooting within Germany, you might instead try to post-produce your picture in Germany. Everything from lab work, to editing, to music composition and sound engineering could be organized to take place in Germany even if the shoot has taken place in another country. After all, film production is an economic activity and generating local business is part of what the German regional film funds are all about. If you can tick enough of the right boxes on your application to satisfy the minimum criteria for eligibility for receiving funding, then you might even find yourself able to shoot in the GCC according to your story’s requirements.
DFFF Facts & FiguresIn 2007 the DFFF approved funding for a total of 99 feature film productions. Of these, 34 were international co-productions receiving a grand total of €33.4 million in “conditionally repayable” production loans (i.e. not necessarily repayable if the film doesn’t make a profit). The following year, in 2008, the DFFF approved the production of an additional 99 projects and provided funding to 37 international co-productions receiving €28.7 million.
For more information about the German Federal Film Fund, visit www.ffa.de
For more information about Focus Germany and German regional film funds, visit www.focusgermany.de
By Talal Al Muhanna
Palestinian filmmaker Hany Abu Assad’s Paradise
Now received funding from the Filmstiftung NRW
(North Rhine-Westphalia).
As an alte rnative to earning your film ’s ‘qualifying points’ for
shooting within Germany, you might inste ad try to post-produce
your p icture in Germany.
As an alternative to earning your film’s ‘qualifying points’ for
shooting within Germany, you might instead try to post-produce
your picture in Germany.
KNOW HOWShoot Locally, Think Globally
50 51
FOCUS ON GERMANYby Talal Al Muhanna
FOCUS ON GERMANY
ith this in mind, Festival
Director Dr. Issam Haddad,
Creative Director Fadi
Abdelnour and Program Director Hakim
El-Hachoumi continue to head a small but
dedicated team of volunteers committed
to presenting showcases of Arab films in
Germany’s capital – also the country’s largest
city with some 3.4 million inhabitants.
Particularly committed to following new
developments in Arab filmmaking, the ALFILM
festival aims to present ‘recent fiction and
documentary works from filmmakers of any
Arab origin and in all durational formats’
(i.e. from short to medium to feature-length)
- thereby offering new and underexposed
talents an opportunity to present their work
in a formal but accessible setting.
The Berlin-based ALFILM Arab Film Festival - which
presented its inaugural program from November 18-25,
2009 – was founded with the desire to offer German
audiences a unique platform for viewing and discussing
the richly diverse cinematic offerings generated by
contemporary Arab filmmakers from the Middle East and
from the Arab diaspora.
ALFILM Arab Film Festival
W
Three women are on
their way to visit their
imprisoned men in
Dima El-Horr’s Every
Day is a Holiday (2009)
>>>
KNOW WHOALFILM Arab Film Fest
...the job for ALFILM is to actively build and maintain
a profile and presence for Arab cinema and Arab filmmakers in Germany
In addition to offering screenings, the
fledgling festival also aims to offer
filmmakers, producers and distributors
a periodic gathering point for creative
exchange – a place where those interested
in Arab films and concerned with the
future of Arab cinema can get acquainted,
exchange ideas and strengthen their career
opportunities. For Arab filmmakers whose
works are being screened, attendance at the
events voluntarily (as the fest cannot yet
afford to invite its programmed artists) offers
those unfamiliar with the German film scene
a chance to visit Berlin, promote their work
locally and connect with German audiences
and industry peers. Spirited Q & A sessions
with filmmakers last year were conducted in
a cacophony of languages (including English,
German, French and Arabic) and screenings
for Yemeni director Bader Bin Hirsi’s A New
Day in Old Sana’a and Annemarie Jacir’s
Salt of this Sea were so oversubscribed
that would-be audience members had to be
turned away.
While part of the job for ALFILM is to actively
build and maintain a profile and presence
for Arab cinema and Arab filmmakers in
Germany (it’s the first and only film fest
of its kind in the country), another aspect
of the team’s efforts is squarely aimed at
affecting misconceptions about Arabs and
Arab culture. In this regard, ALFILM seems
determined to challenge cultural stereotypes
through the presentation of original images
and stories from the Arab world – thereby
contributing to contemporary discourses on
relations between East and West, the role
of women in (predominantly) Islamic and
Arab societies and the complexity of Middle
Eastern politics.
Organised under the umbrella of the non-
profit group Cinemaiat, the ALFILM festival
screenings take place at well-known Berlin
venues such as the Hebbel Am Ufer and the
Babylon and Eiszeit cinemas. This visibility
is a plus since one of ALFILM’s successes
lies in exposing films originating from Arab
countries with low film production outputs -
thereby filling a cultural and cinematic gap
of sorts. Last year, as a result of ALFILM’s
distinct programming, German audiences
Event Poster
ALFILM 2009
52 53
Her 2002 short film Hologram – a work in which she sought to fuse her birth city of Cairo with her adopted city of Berlin - received a Euromed Short Film Award in 2004 and was launched on the internet at www.euromedcafe.org. A proponent of richly visual, experimental and poetical cinemas, Kamel had delivered a poem to her cinematographer May Rigler shortly before the pair’s departure for Cairo to make Hologram – a poem which would eventually form the basis of their fruitful work together once they arrived in Egypt. Says Kamel: “I wanted her (May) to travel her first time to Cairo with eyes like a newborn.” For the long-departed filmmaker, however, the process of returning to Egypt as a tourist and a stranger was “a seismographic moment” in her life.
In 2008, true to her nomadic instincts, Kamel and cinematographer Ute Freund – the camerawoman for the 2006 Student Academy Award-winning Ausreisser (Runaway) - packed their bags and headed deep into the deserts of the Sinai Peninsula to create a documentary project that would be the first of its kind: an intimate portrait of the Bedouin women of the Al Gabalia tribe in central Sinai. The process marked an interesting foray into cross-cultural, boundary-defying filmmaking - both for the filmmakers and their subjects. Not only was it officially forbidden for the two-woman crew to actively shoot such a project in the militarised region they were entering (a place where Kamel would have to assume the protective guise of a “university professor studying local bird-life”) but many of the Bedouin tribeswomen they wished to film were reluctant to fully reveal their faces to the camera during the documenting of their day-to-day lives. Eventually, a number of tribeswomen defied this taboo and shared their stories willingly with Kamel. The gradual building-up of trust not only between the tribeswoman and Kamel but also with her accompanying crew member, is perhaps best marked by the tribeswomen’s affectionate referral to the non-Arabic-speaking German camerawoman Ute as “Oot el elub” (‘crystal of the heart’ in local dialect).
Kamel’s other artistic collaborators on Beit Sha’ar (English language title: Nomad’s Home) include her long-time Berlin-based editor Klaudia Begic, the Hamburg-based dramaturge Klaus Freund and the notable German composer Frieder Butzmann.
Cairo-born filmmaker Iman Kamel moved to Berlin in 1987 – after which she followed interdisciplinary studies in art, dance and film at the Berlin School of Arts.
KNOW WHOIman Kamel
Berlin-based Egyptian filmmaker Iman Kamel (third from left) travelled to the Sinai Peninsula in 2008 to film
with the Bedouin women of the Al Gabalia tribe for her project Beit Sha’ar (‘house of hair’).
Iman Kamel
Highlighted Project: Beit Sha’ar/Nomad’s Home (Germany/Egypt/Kuwait
/U.A.E., HDV, 2010)
In 2009, Beit Sha’ar/Nomad’s Home was presented as a work-in-progress at
both ‘Cinema-in-Motion 5’ during the San Sebastian Film Festival in Spain and
at the Dubai Film Connection during the 6th Dubai International Film Festival.
Since the film’s inception it has been the recipient of a production grant from
the MAMA Cash fund in Holland and the recipient of post-production funding
from the DEMO Completion Fund in the U.A.E.
FOCUS ON GERMANYby Talal Al Muhanna
Bassam Al-Thawadi’s feature-length fiction A Bahraini Tale (Bahrain 2006) Michel Khleifi’s feature film Canticle of the Stones
(Palestine 1990) was part of ALFILM’s 2009 focus
on Palestinian films. Canticle of the Stones –
previously a selection of the 1990 Cannes Film
Festival - is available through U.S. distributor AFD
at www.arabfilm.com. Images provided courtesy of
Sindibad Films Ltd.
The next (and second) round of the ALFILM Arab Film Festival will take place from
November 3-11, 2010 in Berlin and film entries are now being accepted if you’d like to submit
your film to the 2010 edition.
KNOW WHOALFILM Arab Film Fest
were able to watch works coming out of
Bahrain (A Bahraini Tale by Bassam Al-Thawadi)
as well as Kuwait (Faisal Al-Ibrahim’s Karma).
The festival also adopts a yearly programming
focus which frames curated works within
particular aesthetic and socio political
contexts. For the 2009 fest th e emphasis was
on Palestinian films (including Michel Khleifi’s
Canticle of the Stones and Mehdi Fleifel’s
Arafat & I ). For 2010 the focus will center on
issues of migration. Says Claudia Romdhane,
one of the festival organisers: “We plan to
focus on films that explore various aspects
of migration which Arabic societies are
experiencing - such as migration to the West
and back to the homeland; migration from the
The charmingly
retro Kino Babylon in
Berlin – site of some
of the ALFILM festival
screenings in 2009
countryside to cities; migration to other Arab
countries and even internal displacement
caused by conflict or political persecution.”
With such a large number of immigrants in
Berlin, the fest can expect to contribute
fresh impulses to public disscussions about
migration as a whole.
For future editions the curatorial team is also
keen to fashion retrospectives of important
Arab directors and mount exhibitions about
their work. “Of course,” reminds Romdhane,
“such programming ambitions require external
support so we are always appreciating when
private businesses, diplomatic missions,
sponsors and individual donors join us to
make these events happen.”
The next (and second) round of the ALFILM Arab Film Festival will take place from
November 3-11, 2010 in Berlin and film entries are now being accepted if you’d like to submit
your film to the 2010 edition.
The next (and second) round of the ALFILM
Arab Film Festival will take place from
November 3-11, 2010 in Berlin and film entries
are now being accepted if you’d like to submit
your film to the 2010 edition.
For more information about the ALFILM Arab
Film Festival, visit www.alfilm.de
For more information about the non-profit
Friends of Arab Cinema in Berlin, visit
www.cinemaiat.de
By Talal Al Muhanna
Her 2002 short film Hologram – a work in which she sought to fuse her birth city of Cairo with her adopted city of Berlin - received a Euromed Short Film Award in 2004 and was launched on the internet at www.euromedcafe.org. A proponent of richly visual, experimental and poetical cinemas, Kamel had delivered a poem to her cinematographer May Rigler shortly before the pair’s departure for Cairo to make Hologram – a poem which would eventually form the basis of their fruitful work together once they arrived in Egypt. Says Kamel: “I wanted her (May) to travel her first time to Cairo with eyes like a newborn.” For the long-departed filmmaker, however, the process of returning to Egypt as a tourist and a stranger was “a seismographic moment” in her life.
In 2008, true to her nomadic instincts, Kamel and cinematographer Ute Freund – the camerawoman for the 2006 Student Academy Award-winning Ausreisser (Runaway) - packed their bags and headed deep into the deserts of the Sinai Peninsula to create a documentary project that would be the first of its kind: an intimate portrait of the Bedouin women of the Al Gabalia tribe in central Sinai. The process marked an interesting foray into cross-cultural, boundary-defying filmmaking - both for the filmmakers and their subjects. Not only was it officially forbidden for the two-woman crew to actively shoot such a project in the militarised region they were entering (a place where Kamel would have to assume the protective guise of a “university professor studying local bird-life”) but many of the Bedouin tribeswomen they wished to film were reluctant to fully reveal their faces to the camera during the documenting of their day-to-day lives. Eventually, a number of tribeswomen defied this taboo and shared their stories willingly with Kamel. The gradual building-up of trust not only between the tribeswoman and Kamel but also with her accompanying crew member, is perhaps best marked by the tribeswomen’s affectionate referral to the non-Arabic-speaking German camerawoman Ute as “Oot el elub” (‘crystal of the heart’ in local dialect).
Kamel’s other artistic collaborators on Beit Sha’ar (English language title: Nomad’s Home) include her long-time Berlin-based editor Klaudia Begic, the Hamburg-based dramaturge Klaus Freund and the notable German composer Frieder Butzmann.
Cairo-born filmmaker Iman Kamel moved to Berlin in 1987 – after which she followed interdisciplinary studies in art, dance and film at the Berlin School of Arts.
KNOW WHOIman Kamel
Berlin-based Egyptian filmmaker Iman Kamel (third from left) travelled to the Sinai Peninsula in 2008 to film
with the Bedouin women of the Al Gabalia tribe for her project Beit Sha’ar (‘house of hair’).
Iman Kamel
Highlighted Project: Beit Sha’ar/Nomad’s Home (Germany/Egypt/Kuwait
/U.A.E., HDV, 2010)
In 2009, Beit Sha’ar/Nomad’s Home was presented as a work-in-progress at
both ‘Cinema-in-Motion 5’ during the San Sebastian Film Festival in Spain and
at the Dubai Film Connection during the 6th Dubai International Film Festival.
Since the film’s inception it has been the recipient of a production grant from
the MAMA Cash fund in Holland and the recipient of post-production funding
from the DEMO Completion Fund in the U.A.E.
FOCUS ON GERMANYby Talal Al Muhanna
54 55
Oday Rasheed is an Iraqi film director and writer who lives and works between Baghdad and Berlin. His first feature film Underexposure(2005) was shot in Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein on expired Kodak film and financed with money that the crew raised by selling their own possessions. After post-production was completed in Berlin with co-producers Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run, The International) and Maria Köpf of X-Filme Creative Pool, the film was screened internationally at the Rotterdam International Film Festival (World Premiere), Arab Film Festival Japan, Arab Film Festival (Netherlands), Munich Film Festival (Germany) and Alexandria International Film Festival (Egypt). Underexposure also won Best Film at the Singapore International Film Festival in 2005.
FOCUS ON GERMANYby Talal Al Muhanna
Oday Rasheed
Above: Filmmakers
Furat al Jamil & Oday
Rasheed at the 6th
Dubai International
Film Festival 2009.
Right: Oday Rasheed
on set.
Oday Rasheed & Furat al Jamil
Furat al Jamil
In addition to being the Executive Producer both on Rasheed’s first feature film Underexposure and on his current project - and second feature-length movie - Qarantina, Furat al Jamil is a writer and director in her own right. Born and raised in Bavaria, Germany until the age of 14 by her Iraqi father and German mother, Furat and her family relocated to Baghdad in 1980 which – in spite of her family ties – was something of a culture shock for the teenager. In 1993, she left Baghdad for London to complete an MA in International Journalism followed by several years working in Argentina on social documentaries. Al-Jamil eventually returned to Germany in 2000 where - four years later - she met, married and began to work with Oday Rasheed. Furat’s current projects include the feature-length screenplays Little Memories – about the magic of childhood memories – and Café Abu Nawas – which touches on the lives of exiled Iraqis in Europe. The two filmmakers continue to live and work between Baghdad and Berlin.
KNOW WHOOday Rasheed & Furat al Jamil
Scene from Rasheed’s
2005 feature film debut
Underexposure.
Young actor Sajad
Ali as the character
Muhanad in a scene
from Oday Rasheed’s
Baghdad-based drama
Qarantina.
Highlighted Project: Qarantina (Iraq, 35mm, 2010)
Qarantina is the story of a professional killer in Baghdad who lives in an abandoned building with a displaced family, watching emotionless as they struggle. This $400,000 90-minute feature has been produced by Enlil Film & Art and made with the support of the Directorate for Cinema & Theatre in Iraq. BASISBerlin – the post-production house which worked on Shirin Neshat’s Women
without Men and the Oscar-nominated documentary The Weeping Camel – has undertaken the sound post-production for the project and also acts as a co-producer. The film has received some of its funding from the Hubert Bals Fund, an initiative of the International Film Festival Rotterdam, and has been supported by the Dubai Film Connection 2009.
56 57
Sinan Al-Kuri and his biological father meet for the first time in Christoph
Heller’s documentary My Father. My Uncle.
German filmmaker Christoph HellerPrior to assistantships at Egoli Tosselli Film in Berlin (in international co-production) and the film distributor Celluloid Dreams, Christoph studied at the German Film and Television Academy Berlin (dffb). He has also production managed on feature film projects but between 2007 and 2009, Heller
KNOW WHOChristoph Heller in Sharjah
Highlighted Project: My Father. My Uncle.(Germany, 2009, HDCam, 80 Minutes)
Born in 1979 in Mosul Iraq, Sinan Al-Kuri was the fourth child of an Iraqi couple. His parents decided upon his birth to give him to Sinan’s maternal uncle Farouk, whose German wife Brunhild had been unable to conceive a child of their own. In essence, the two of them became Sinan’s adoptive parents. Then, in 1982, Brunhild decided to flee Iraq for Germany. However, young Sinan’s adoptive father and biologic birth parents remained in Iraq.
In the spring of 2007, after years of searching, Sinan’s family finally found him through the internet and reconnected with him. A few months later Sinan went to meet his Iraqi birth-family in the United Arab Emirates. Up until the last moment Sinan displayed reservation about both his family and Arabic culture in general, however, upon meeting his father his attitude changed. He had spent his life fatherless until that point.
For further information about the film, visit www.my-father-my-uncle.com
worked on his own documentary feature My Father. My Uncle. – an extraordinary story of a father-son reunion after 25 years of separation that takes place between Germany and Sharjah. The film has been screened in festivals in Dubai, Zurich, Berlin, Mainz, Osnabrueck and Leipzig and was nominated for Best Documentary at both the Babelsberg Media Awards in
Germany and the Golden Panda Awards in Chengdu, China. Especially exciting for this young German producer-writer-director is the upcoming theatrical release of his film in Germany, Austria and Switzerland in May 2010 followed by a TV broadcast in October. Let’s hope it gets broadcast in the Middle East sometime soon too…
German filmmaker Christoph Heller in Sharjah
FOCUS ON GERMANYby Talal Al Muhanna
Video still from DoP Robert W. Gardner’s shoot on Kuwait City’s waterfront in 2008.
German filmmaker Robert W. GardnerRobert W. Gardner initially studied photography at the Design School in Bielefeld, Germany before going on to earn his BA in Film Production at the University of Utah (USA) and an MA in Cinematography from Leeds Metropolitan University in the U.K. Various freelance jobs with CBS and HBO in the USA gained him valuable experience working with professional crews on television projects followed by more recent work in feature film production on the Red Riding Trilogy (Channel 4, U.K.). Trained in the use of both film and video, Gardner is comfortable
KNOW WHORobert W. Gardner in the GCC
Highlighted project: Kuwait(Kuwait, 4min, 2008)
Synopsis: An audio-visual journey through the Gulf State of Kuwait illustrating the lifestyles of its inhabitants and marking the rhythms of the city, the sea and the desert.
For a look at Robert W. Gardner’s work online, visit www.robertwgardner.com
For further information about Resolution Productions in Qatar, visit www.resolutionproductions.tv
German filmmaker Robert W. Gardnerin Qatar & Kuwait
adapting his shooting regime to suit both the budget constraints of busy producers and the stylistic requirements of exacting directors – preferring S16mm, 35mm or Red One when shooting drama or music video and sticking with HD for harder-to-handle documentary pieces or ENG (electronic news gathering) for the likes of CNN West Africa: “Depending on the budget I go between using HDV, XDCAM and HDCAM.”
Robert’s current stint as a DoP in Doha with Resolution Productions is not the first time he
has worked in the GCC – having already shot a travel and tourism video in Kuwait in 2008.
What does Robert like about working in the Gulf? “I believe it is a very fast-evolving media environment and - since it’s still a very young industry - people are open to new ideas and practices. Also the diverse mix of cultures make the Gulf region a very unique place in my opinion. For me, it’s a place for new horizons.”
58 59
FOCUS ON GERMANYby Talal Al Muhanna
On ARABSHORTS.net you can view a curated selection of independently-made films from the Arab world in the genres of experimental, fiction, documentary and animation.
FOCUS on GERMANY:
GOETHE-INSTITUTE CAIRO & ARABSHORTS.NET
ilmmakers from Egypt, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia, Palestine, Jordan, Algeria, Lebanon and the
Gulf countries have been selected for ARABSHORTS.net by a network of nine film curators from nine Arab countries. The project – which was conceived and directed by Berlin-based curator Marcel Schwierin and the Goethe-Institute Cairo (who also provided the funding along with support from the German Foreign Ministry) - is an innovative platform offering viewers instant access to a wide range of exciting
young Arab film productions from across the Arab world; films that effectively demonstrate the versatility and quality of independent Arab film-making from between 2003 and 2009.
Each of the 9 curators from ARABSHORTS.net, presents his or her film selection within a particular cultural context and discusses the conditions of independent filmmaking in their particular country or region too. The curator of the Egyptian film program, Emad Mabrouk, starts by examining the idea of what ‘independent’ cinema means, historically-speaking, and then asks whether or not this can really be applied within the context of an Egyptian film landscape where film production and distribution/exhibition channels are often monopolized or tightly controlled by the biggest players on the block.
On a different note, Rasha Salti – creative director of the New York-based cultural organization ArteEast and curator of the Lebanese selection - points out that each of her selected films don’t so much seek to tell a ‘universal’ story (which anyone anywhere could easily relate to) but, rather, seek to focus the viewer’s attention towards highly subjective viewpoints and experiences – ones that are entirely idiosyncratic to the filmmaker’s personal life, immediate location or distinct artistic view. Salti also insists that the Lebanese selection of films is not “one that abides to the paradigms of mainstream production”.
In short, enjoy your pick of the 63 films now available online and read about local conditions of independent filmmaking in other parts of the Arab world at www.ARABSHORTS.net
By Talal Al Muhanna
F
KNOW WHOARABSHORTS.net
Regional Perspectives at-a-glanceARABSHORTS – Algeria Mounes Khammar’s selection of Algerian films is somehow notable for the fact that it does not include the films of any expatriate Algerians living outside of the country, although he does cite fine films from the likes of Tariq Tegia and Lyes Salem. With regard to his expatriate countrymen, Khammar senses that “the majority reside in Southern Europe and especially France, as the proximity helps them to not feel isolated from the reality of the motherland.”
ARABSHORTS – JordanAla’ Younis - the acting director of non-profit art institution Darat al Funun in Amman - places a distinctly political perspective to the curatorial task at hand by bringing Palestinian narratives to the fore in her pick of films. Her selection includes The Shoe (featuring the Al-Baqa’a refugee camp) and Full Bloom - a documentary about Faraj Darwish (the former Jordan Golden Champion in boxing) and the consequences of his refusal once to fight against an Israeli boxer in a game held in Turkey.
ARABSHORTS – Gulf The amalgamated selection of shorts from the Gulf countries – chosen by the Beirut-born/Dubai-based curator Haig Aivazian - includes the 4-minute long Belooh by Amer Al Ruwass, Mohamad Al Tamimi’s 2-minute animation PG+ and the gender-bending Wa Wailah (Oh Torment) by Japan-based Kuwaiti visual artist Monira Al Qadiri.
In Oh torment (Wa Wailah), a series of repetitive choreographies are set to a folk song of love and lament by Abdul Wahab Al Rashid. Complete with over the top costumes, props and make-up, Wa Wailahis lodged somewhere between a Shakespearean play and an MTV music video. Rich and colorful contemporary visuals are mixed with traditional attire.
Al Qadiri scrutinizes gender roles and conventions (be they social, musical or cinematic) by switching the roles of the sexes: thus the filmmaker herself plays the role of the male singer, while all of the female dancers are played by cross-dressing men.
Description of Wa Wailah adapted from a text by curator Haig Avazian, courtesy of ARABSHORTS.net
Oh torment (Wa Wailah) by Monira Al Qadiri (Kuwait, 10 min, 2008)
60 61
Berlinale Talent Campus
he Berlinale Talent Campus is an annual creative academy and networking platform for 350 up-and-coming filmmakers from all over the world that is held during the world famous
Berlin International Film Festival (or ‘Berlinale’). The 8th edition of the Berlinale Talent Campus took place from February 13-18, 2010 and offered a huge variety of different program elements for up-and-coming directors, screenwriters, actors, cinematographers, producers, editors, sound designers, composers, production designers, film critics and visual artists. Programmed events during the 6-day creative summit included lectures, discussions, workshops and excursions. Entry for the 9th edition in 2011 will be competitive but – if you make it in - you are sure to not be disappointed!
Here are just a few of the names and faces of Arab filmmakers who participated in the 8th edition of the Berlinale Talent Campus in 2010. Other participating filmmakers’ profiles can be viewed online by going to: www.berlinale-talentcampus.de/campus and clicking on COMMUNITY. Who knows, maybe you could be one of next year’s invitees?
Arab Filmmakers @ Talent Campus #8
TName: Fadi HindashFrom: U.A.E.Age: 28Field of work: Director – ScreenwriterWhat he has to say: I’m half Palestinian/half Lebanese and grew up in Dubai. My first feature-length documentary Not Quite the Tali-ban is currently touring the festival circuit and I’m now developing a second documentary project as well as my first fiction feature.
Name: Mark KhalifeFrom: LebanonAge: 23Field of work: Cinematographer - DirectorWhat he has to say: I think cinema is a great way to explore the different levels of the human being.
Name: Moustafa YoussefFrom: EgyptAge: 26Field of work: Director - ProducerWhat he has to say: I like traveling like a nomad, feeling the com-mon elements of what makes us human, how we express them differently. And I enjoy the constant struggle of trying to recreate those on screen.
KNOW WHOTalent Campus FOCUS ON GERMANYby Talal Al Muhanna
KNOW WHOmec film
Amongst many other activities related to Middle Eastern cinema, mec film acts as a distributor of films coming from the Middle East region.
mec - which stands for ‘middle eastern cinemas’ – has been behind the German theatrical release of a number of exceptional feature films including Rana’s Wedding by Hany Abu Assad, Route 181 by Michel Khleifi & Eyal Sivan and, most recently, The One Man Village by Simon El Habre.
Founded by Irit Neidhardt – a German film producer, film analyst and project consultant – mec film represents short, medium, and feature length documentary and fiction films that offer a different perspective on the region; but always from an “inside perspective” according to Neidhardt.
The company – which is based in Berlin since being founded in 2002 – is also responsible for the world sales on a variety of films including award-wining shorts such as Palestinian filmmaker Annemarie Jacir’s remarkable and harrowing like twenty impossibles (Ka’inana Ashrun Mustaheel) and Egyptian filmmaker Tamer El Said’s humorous 8-minute short On a Monday (Youm El-Ethneen). In fact, a compilation dvd including these shorts – not to mention an interesting array of other films - can be purchased online at mec film’s DVD SHOP (www.mecfilm-shop.com).
Neidhardt’s innovation for the growth concept of mec film earned her a 2004 business award from the German government and - if you can’t make the trip to Berlin for a personal consultation about your project - you might want to look out for this extraordinarily well-informed film curator and lecturer of Middle Eastern cinema at the annual regional film festivals in Dubai or Beirut.
For more information about mec film, visit www.mecfilm.com
Scenes from Michel Khleifi & Eyal Sivan’s Route 181 181 (F/B/GB/D, 270 min, 2003). Images provided
courtesy of Sindibad Films Ltd.
Scene from Annemarie Jacir’s like twenty impossibles / Ka’inana Ashrun Mustaheel
(Palestine 2003, 17 min, 35mm, colour, Arabic/English, Engl. subtitles)
FOCUS ON GERMANYby Talal Al Muhanna
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As part of a new Q & A series focusing on Arab screenwriters, Media Production profiles three female filmmakers - asking them about inspiration, the process of scriptwriting and their past and current productions.
A native of Saudi Arabia, Ahd Kamel is a filmmaker and actress based in New York City. She studied acting at the Esper Studio, received her directing degree from New York Film Academy and her BFA in Animation & Communication from Parsons School of Design in New York City.Ahd’s directorial debut, Three Queens, was screened at the Newport Beach Film Festival and for her acting debut - in the short film Razan (directed by Aslihan Unaldi) - Kamel won the Golden Gate Award for Best Actress at the San Francisco International Film Festival. The film
later went on to screen at the Rotterdam International Film Festival in (2007).
Aside from developing her own film projects, Ahd has also worked as a set assistant and technical advisor on director Peter Berg’s feature film The Kingdom.
Currently, Ahd is working on her first fiction feature screenplay, the social dramedy Smile, You’re in Jeddah!
Recent festivals/awards: The Shoemaker at 6th Dubai International Film Festival 2009 (official competition);The Shoemaker at 32nd International Short Film Festival Clermont-Ferrand 2010 (official competition).
Past project at-a-glance:The Shoemaker (2009)
Logline for The Shoemaker:Saber, an Iraqi shoemaker, returns to his family after a period of two years detention.
Current project:Smile, You’re in Jeddah!
Synopsis: Smile, You’re in Jeddah! is the story of a young Saudi woman named Ruba who is grappling with her unconventional decision to marry her American boyfriend Reade. Although her husband-to-be agrees to convert to Islam to satisfy her family’s demands for a more compatible partner for Ruba, life between these two worlds turns out to be even more complicated than she ever imagined. The bold and vivacious Ruba soon finds herself torn between tradition and modernity in this inter-cultural story of love, life and wedding day traumas.
Scene from The Shoemaker by Ahd Kamel
(Saudi Arabia/USA/Egypt, 2009, 16 min, HD,
Arabic with English subtitles)
SCRIPT TALK
FOCUS ON GERMANYby Talal Al Muhanna
KNOW WHOScript Talk - Ahd Kamel
>>>
Media Production: What inspired you to write this story? Where did the idea originate?Ahd Kamel: Smile, You’re in Jeddah! was sparked by my struggle with having to choose an identity for myself. Although I’m Saudi born and raised, I’ve lived in the West for the past 12 years - so I’ve personally found it hard to try to find the balance between maintaining some of the traditions I grew up with while living a ‘Western’ lifestyle. In a way, I wanted to write a story that showed a side of Saudi Arabia that hasn’t been seen very much – and by this I mean the story of the modern, educated Saudi woman (me!). Funnily, when I tell people I am a Saudi woman, I can sense that images of the black veil and preconceptions about oppression immediately spring to their minds. This is not to minimize any realities for Saudi women on day-to-day terms but it is not the whole story. In fact, opportunities to make progress in my life have actually come to me when I’ve been concealed in traditional dress while, at other times, I have had to fight for those opportunities in so-called ‘free societies’. So what I’d like to be able to show the world is that Saudi women of my generation are not as ‘oppressed’ as they are portrayed in the media. And we do know how to stand up for ourselves! So you could say the roots of the story are in some way based on my personal experiences and also my desire to show what being a woman in Saudi can mean in different ways.
MP: How long did it take for you to arrive at your first draft of the screenplay and where is the project at now?AK: The 1st draft was written almost 3 years ago. It was complete garbage but it definitely contained the right idea. Somehow I knew I needed more writing experience but at the time I was enrolled in acting school so I focused instead on that and, in turn, that helped me learn how a scene works and what drives a scene forward. Also working on my
short film The Shoemaker gave me additional skills to come back to the script I began with and to continue to develop it further. Looking back, I’ve done somewhere between 30-40 rewrites - though many of those drafts are not drastically different from one another.
MP: Did you seek any support to develop the project in the early stages through, for example, screenwriting workshops, writer’s residencies, grants etc.?AK: During the early stages, no. I wasn’t really ready to apply for grants or send the work in to a script lab when I was just starting out with it. I guess I knew I had to do more work on the story first and figure out some of the writing things on my own. Now, I’m more comfortable with the idea of sending my work out and I’m applying to a few programs like Interchange (a project of DIFF-GFF-EAVE-Torino Film Lab), FIND (Film Independent) and the RAWI Screenwriters Lab. Rawi and Interchange are specifically geared towards Middle East film projects so that works especially well in our case. As for FIND, it’s in L.A. but I like the way their program is structured and their track record is excellent.
MP: Which stage of the writing process - from initial idea to first or final draft - do you find the most challenging creatively and why?AK: The rewrites and script editing! It can be really hard to let go of old ideas or scenes that you thought were great but then later realized didn’t really serve a purpose. Also delivering the message of your film without ‘spoon feeding’ the audience can be tricky.
MP: As an Arab filmmaker, do you write in English or Arabic primarily? What factors do you have to consider in having to choose one language over another?AK: I write mainly in English but with this project I was forced to pick up my Arabic again, which is great! This was especially important
concerning the Arabic language dialogue in the screenplay because the commentary is very descriptive and cynical and there are comedic moments grounded in the Saudi culture that wouldn’t work in any other way except in the local language of the characters.
MP: Who is your producer and what is the latest development for this project production-wise?AK: Aside from myself, I have one producer attached, Amr Waked, who is based in Cairo. We’re in the process of applying for grants and securing funds and we’re also looking for a Western producer to co-produce the project with us.
MP: Any idea about what your next project might be?AK: I’m taking the ‘one day at a time’ approach for now. I think I will wait to finish this and then think about what’s next on the menu.
For further information about Ahd Kamel and her production company Odd Camel Films, visit www.ahdkamel.com
Q&Aworking on my short film The Shoemaker gave me additional skills to come back to the script I began
with and to continue to develop it further.
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Current project: When I Saw You
Synopsis: It’s the 1960s, the world is alive with change: brimming with reawakened energy, new styles, music and an infectious sense of hope. Tarek, 12, a loveable, lively autistic boy, and his young mother are among the latest wave of Palestinian refugees to arrive in Jordan. With difficulties adjusting to life in a refugee camp, Tarek searches for other ways out. Eventually his free spirit and curious nature leads him to a group of people who will forever change his life.
Media Production: What inspired you to write this story? Where did the idea originate?Annemarie Jacir: The story comes from two places. First, in 2007, I was prevented from returning to Palestine by the Israeli Authorities. So I live in Jordan now. Since the day I was born I always had ‘the privilege’ of Palestine - meaning I was one of the lucky few Palestinians who could go back and forth and, so, spent many wonderful times there. Suddenly this ‘privilege’ was taken from me. Here, in Jordan, I can actually see Palestine. It’s so close it kills me. The second place the story comes from is that I think I’m autistic.
MP: How long did it take for you to arrive at your first draft of the screenplay and where is the project at now?AJ: It took me one year to arrive at the first draft and, right now, I’m five drafts in. But the story always changes, the script always moves. And as soon as I begin working with
Palestinian-born filmmaker and writer Annemarie Jacir has been working in independent cinema since 1994. She has written, directed and produced a number of award-winning films including a post oslo history (1998), The Satellite Shooters (2001) and like twenty impossibles (2003).
Q&A
Jacir was named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s ‘25 New Faces of Independent Cinema’ in 2004 and, four years later, premiered her first feature-length film Salt of this Sea at the Festival de Cannes in 2008. The film - Palestine’s Official Oscar Entry for Best Foreign Language Film in 2008 – is also the first feature film by a Palestinian female director.
Jacir lived in Saudi Arabia until the age of sixteen before moving to the United States – eventually making her way into the film industry in Los Angeles. She moved to New York next to focus on writing and directing and to obtain a Masters degree in film from Columbia University. While in school, Jacir won both the Kathryn Parlan Screenwriting Award and the Zaki Gordan Award for Excellence in Screenwriting. Her feature script Salt of this Sea was selected for the Hubert Bals Development Fund in Rotterdam, the Sundance Screenwriters Lab in Utah, and was a Sopadin finalist for the Grande Prix du Meilleur Scenariste.
Annemarie’s latest feature-length project as writer/director is When I Saw You.
Recent festivals/awards: 2nd Prize of The Circle Conference’s Shasha Grant 2009 screenwriting competition in Abu Dhabi; Grant recipient of the Arab Fund For Arts & Culture in 2009;Bahrain Film Production Company DIFF Development Award at Dubai Film Connection 2008.
Past project at-a-glance:Salt of this Sea (2008)
Logline for Salt of this Sea: A Palestinian Bonnie & Clyde story.Poster for Annemarie Jacir’s debut fiction feature Salt of this Sea (Palestine,
2008,1’44, 35mm, Arabic/English)
KNOW WHOScript Talk - Annemarie Jacir
the actors it will change again. It’s very important to me to always keep things organic and in motion.
MP: Did you seek any support to develop the project in the early stages through, for example, screenwriting workshops, writer’s residencies, grants etc.?AJ: Absolutely. In 2008, I presented the project at the Dubai Film Connection where we received a development grant. Then, in 2009, the project was short-listed for the Shasha Grant in Abu Dhabi and we eventually won the 2nd prize there. I’ve also been to a few festival markets with the script including the Crossroads Co-Production Forum in Thessaloniki. And I work off the feedback of long-time creative partners who share a similar vision as I do, and good producers.
MP: Which stage of the writing process - from initial idea to first or final draft - do you find the most challenging creatively and why?AJ: I have a kind of manic way of writing. It’s a bit like pregnancy. I have an idea and I carry it around for months, sometimes years. I think about it all the time, it builds and grows inside, I talk about it with people, I sketch little notes here and there with images, moments and emotions that come to me. And then suddenly the day will come - and I never force it - where I just sit down at my desk and write the whole thing out in about 3 or 4 days. Then I come back to it and then the re-writing begins, and begins and begins again! The most challenging part though is doing the re-writes – usually around draft 5 or 6. That said, I also work as a freelance screenwriter – in which case I start with the idea, write the synopsis, do the scene breakdown, first draft, revisions, polishes, etc. So when I write for others I adopt a much more ‘normal’ writing routine I suppose.
MP: As an Arab filmmaker, do you write in English or Arabic primarily? What factors do you have to consider in having to choose one language over another?AJ: It’s a great question. I write in English but I think the dialogue in Arabic. So it’s always a weird thing because I write the action in English and then I get to the dialogue and I want to write in Arabic so I usually phoneticize and keep writing. And then I go back and fix the dialogue. In the end, a script is a blueprint for a film, like the work plan of an architect, so the language you write in doesn’t really matter as long as you’ve done your job right. What matters is when it comes off the page and comes alive with actors. So I spend a lot of time with my actors working on language and making it right in terms of the time and place for that particular film.
MP: Who is your producer and what is the latest development for this project production-wise?AJ: My production company, Philistine Films (also known as Lamma Shoftak Co.) is producing this film. We are collaborating with producers from the Arab world and Switzerland and also looking for additional EU co-production partners. Right now we’re hoping to be able to finalize everything soon - including the financing – so we can begin shooting by May 2010. Fingers crossed.
MP: Any idea about what your next project might be?AJ: I have about 35 next projects! I’m working on three at the moment, plus producing a short film of a new director. I like to keep very busy. Inshallah, one of them will go through.
For further information about Annemarie Jacir and her production company Philistine Films, visit www.philistinefilms.org
I have about 35 next projects! I’m working on three at the moment, plus producing a short film of a new director. I like to
keep very busy. Inshallah, one of them will go through.
>>>
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Sally El Hosaini is an Egyptian-Welsh writer/director based in London. She started her career working on several documentaries in the Middle East including one in Yemen (Canal+, RTBF) and a series in Iraq (ITV, Al Arabiya). She then worked as a production coordinator on independent feature films and as the script editor/sole researcher on the BAFTA-nominated, EMMY Award-winning HBO Films/BBC Drama mini-series House of Saddam.
After these experiences, Sally focused upon writing and directing her own films. Her short film The Fifth Bowl won a 2008 Regional BAFTA award for Wales and Henna Night is currently on the festival circuit. Sally has co-written the Iranian/American feature-length screenplay Camelia which will be shot in Syria and New York.
As a filmmaker, Sally considers herself largely self-taught. She didn’t go to a conventional film school but spent a year working practically as a trainee director under the late British director, John Sichel (1937-2005).
In 2009 El Hosaini was proclaimed one of Screen International’s ‘UK Stars of Tomorrow.’
Recent festivals/awards: Regional BAFTA 2008 for The Fifth Bowl;Henna Night at Rotterdam Arab Film Festival 2009 & Raindance Festival 2009 (in competition);Henna Night an Official Selection of the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival 2010.
Past project at-a-glance:Henna Night (2009)
Logline for Henna Night: When bride-to-be Amina locks herself in the bathroom and refuses to come out secrets are revealed.
Current project: My Brother The Devil
Synopsis:Set in gangland Hackney - one of London’s most volatile neighborhoods - My Brother the Devil is a story about brotherhood and betrayal that challenges the stereotypes of what it means to be a young British Arab today. It’s the story of two teenage Arab brothers, Mo and Rashid. Through conflicts brought about by drugs, gang violence, and the need to conform, they struggle to survive the harsh realities of life on the streets in an increasingly hostile, post 9/11 world.
Media Production: What inspired you to write this story? Where did the idea originate?Sally El Hosaini: My Brother the Devil is a synthesis of many things. My personal experiences growing up, memories of past events, and the multi-cultural area I currently live in, Hackney, East London. Being half Egyptian and half Welsh, I know how it feels to have different allegiances and to live between worlds that aren’t always in harmony, culturally speaking. So this drew me to a story that involves two worlds colliding. Also, having lived in Hackney for about eight years now, I’ve always been fascinated by the multi-cultural youth in my area and their search for identity. Even though I haven’t been in their shoes, I can identify with many of the complexities and contradictions they face. The Muslim and Arab youth I’ve gotten to know while researching and writing this film are a disenfranchised generation, but
Q&A
Scene from Henna
Night by writer-
director Sally El
Hosaini (U.K., 2009,
12 mins, 16mm,
English)
they are also more intelligent, thoughtful and sensitive than they are given credit for – not at all the ‘terror threats’ which the media has portrayed them as being following the 7/7 tube bombings in London in 2005.
MP: How long did it take for you to arrive at your first draft of the screenplay and where is the project at now?SEH: When I first sat down to write the script I soon realized that I needed to do a lot more research. All the different characters sounded too much like me talking! So I stopped writing and instead got to know some of the guys involved in gangs in the area. I basically immersed myself in the world I wanted to write about. That’s how I met Aymen Hamdouchi, who grew up in that environment, and who I brought on board the project as my script advisor. His unique insights into the world of the film have helped me immensely, especially in learning the urban slang. Eventually, when I reached the stage where I could hear the different characters’ voices in my head, I began to write. I finished the first draft in about four weeks. Since then, two years have passed, I’m on my eighth draft and now involved in preliminary casting for the film.
MP: Did you seek any support to develop
the project in the early stages through, for example, screenwriting workshops, writer’s residencies, grants etc.?SEH: Yes, and I feel the script really benefited as a result. The first development scheme I joined was called Scene Insiders, which was run by The Script Factory in the U.K. Later on, I took part in the RAWI Sundance Middle East Screenwriters Lab run by the Royal Film Commission of Jordan. This was an amazing week of work where I got feedback from more experienced screenwriters in one-on-one meetings at a beautiful eco-lodge in the Jordanian desert. After Jordan, I attended the Sundance Screenwriter’s Lab in Utah and then progressed to the Sundance Director’s Lab - which was the most useful because it’s not until you stand a scene up with actors that you know if it’s really working or not.
MP: Which stage of the writing process - from initial idea to first or final draft - do you find the most challenging creatively and why?SEH: Each draft gets harder than the last! Maybe because you’re haunted by the ghosts of past drafts. In fact, I sometimes feel like a surgeon at an operating table because you start to work with such precision and - at a certain point - even the smallest tweaks in the story have huge knock-on effects throughout the script. So, the later drafts are harder to do as the work gets more subtle and complex.
MP: As an Arab filmmaker, do you write in English or Arabic primarily? What factors do you have to consider in having to choose one language over another?SEH: I grew up in Cairo but - because we spoke English at home and I went to an English-speaking school - English is my mother tongue. I do speak Arabic, but I can’t express myself as well as I can in English – which is a shame since I find myself working on scripts that will ultimately be shot in Arabic. And my fear of losing the timbre and
Each draft gets harder than the last! Maybe because you’re haunted by the ghosts of past drafts.
KNOW WHOScript Talk - Sally El Hosaini
some of the nuances my writing has in English keeps me from translating anything myself. If there are any excellent English-to-Arabic translators out there please get in touch!
MP: Who is your producer and what is the latest development for this project production-wise?SEH: At the end of last year, the British producer, Christopher Simon came on board to work with me on MBTD. We began our fundraising activities together at the Dubai Film Connection last December and made great contacts there. All in all, the script is getting incredibly positive feedback and the momentum for the production is building fast.
MP: Any idea about what your next project might be?SHE: Yes. I have two original features that I’m developing. Watch this space!
For further information about Sally El Hosaini and Trouble & Desire Films, visit www.sallyelhosaini.com
By Talal Al Muhanna
Left: Scene from
Henna Night.
Right: London-based
writer/director
Sally El Hosaini.
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New VoicesMedia Production: What is New Voices and when did it start?Adu Dhabi Film Commission: New Voices is a mentoring/interning program where emerging UAE filmmakers have a chance to work alongside working/successful professionals in order to learn. It has been said that the best film school is a film set. The hope is that filmmakers will get valuable work experience and gain both technical skills as well as creative ideas and knowledge to become better filmmakers. The program is intended to inspire them and give them the confidence to start to produce and work on films on their
ADFC Documentary Programme
own. In this case we will be running the Documentary program annually in February with an estimated 12 participants producing six half-hour documentaries for broadcast. New Voices Drama will start in September 2010 with more participants and a goal of four half-hour dramas being produced.
MP: Who do you target and what can potential candidates expect to gain from taking part in New Voices?ADFC: In both cases with Documentary and Drama, candidates will gain real working experience and mentoring from industry professionals. They should come away with
additional technical and creative skills and the application process of those skills to an internationally recognized standard. They should understand what it takes to develop programs that engage a regional and international audience, and now have the confidence to not only pitch but produce programs at that level.
MP: Can you explain to us, what the criteria are for selecting applicants?ADFC: Applicants should be Media, TV, Film, Mass Communication graduates or people working in a related industry. In the case of New Voices Documentary it can
MP: What other educational and creative programs does Abu Dhabi Film Commission offer?ADFC: For new filmmakers, Abu Dhabi Film Commission offers the Aflam Qaseera (short film) production fund, New Voices documentary and drama production internship schemes, both giving real production opportunities to emerging talent and production companies in the UAE. The Low Budget Feature Film Fund will see 5 low budget feature films produced as part of a New Producers Development Programme linking Production Finance with Production, International Market events, and eventual distribution. The Emirates Media Skills Training Council is the start of an ongoing forum to maintain a dialogue and connection between Media Educators and Media Companies to help ensure program outcomes and student skills match industry needs. Green Kids on Screen will see a visual storytelling film culture start early on in elementary and secondary schools. Four students from Abu Dhabi were recently sent by ADFC to Mira Nair’s Maisha Film Lab in Kampala, Uganda. Film production master classes will be available throughout the Emirates. The award winning WETA workshop recently gave public demonstrations on prosthetic makeup for film as part of the Emirates Film Competition during MEIFF.
KNOW WHOADFC New Voices
apply to people currently working in Journalism, photojournalism, Television, Radio, Design or other media rich environments who want become documentary filmmakers. They should have produced a related piece for us to evaluate. We are looking for passion, creativity and ideas that will engage an audience.
MP: Who are your industry partners?ADFC: At the moment, we are working with Baynunah Television as they will be supplementing some of the cost, and are the broadcast partner for the half-hour documentaries.
MP: Since the documentaries you are aiming to produce will be targeting regional television, which subjects will you be focusing on?ADFC: We believe that owning an idea helps support passion in a filmmaker, and we don’t want to dictate the subject matter. The participants will be coming into the program with two ideas of their own and will developing those ideas within the broadcast guidelines by our broadcast partner.
MP: What is your future vision for the New Voices program?ADFC: The intent of New Voices Documentary and Drama programs is to become a desired internship program in the region and recognized as an important contributor to the film business and culture in the UAE.
The intent of New Voices Documentary and Drama programs is to become
a desired internship program in the region and recognized as an
important contributor to the film business and
culture in the UAE.
The Shasha Grant is the Abu Dhabi Film Commission’s One Hundred Thousand Dollars international screenwriting competition designed to identify, develop and launch the careers of outstanding Arab writers and filmmakers. The program exposes emerging filmmakers to high-level industry decision makers and facilitates financing for talented writers and directors from around the world. The 2008 Shasha winner has his script currently in production with Fox Pictures.
MP: Can you give us a brief or an outline on this 3 months internship?ADFC: The first three weeks is a time to shake out what participants, know, what they don’t know, and what they need to know. It’s an intensive hands-on combination of classroom, workshop and production experience with a core group of professionals and instructors. After that participants will develop and produce a half hour documentary for broadcast as a small team of two working alongside a professional producer, director of photography, sound engineer and post production supervisor.
For further information about New Voices, please visit www.film.gov.ae
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Digital Journalism is becoming an increasingly important part of our
everyday lives, with anyone having access to the Internet and therefore a voice. Digital
Journalism is the new media landscape for the 21st Century journalist.
Digital Journalism
KNOW HOWDigital Journalism
e spoke to Anthony Frantzis, general manager of SAE Institute to find out more about
the new 12 month course they’re offering in Digital Journalism.
Media Production: What is Digital Journalism? What moved you to develop this course?Anthony Frantzis: Digital Journalism, in very plain terms, represents the convergence of two worlds: journalism and technology.
Digital Journalism opens up new ways of storytelling, primarily through the technical components of new media. Digital journalists combine a variety of media-text, audio, video and photographs to create a complete story. Whilst in the field a Digital Journalist blends traditional journalism skills including video, notebook, editing, audio to then single-handedly produce a story and consequently a one-stop powerhouse for news. Digital Journalism is seen by some as the evolution of traditional journalism and others see it as a threat to traditional journalism.
Due to the onset of digital journalism and the rapid progress of on-line news media, there are countless news options on the Internet, not to mention blogs. One of the problems however, is that with such sites, credibility becomes an issue not to mention journalistic integrity.
SAE has identified an important opportunity in the development of formal education for this significant profession. While there is never a guarantee news stories will be reported objectively and provide factual information, SAE’s Digital Journalism course ensures journalistic integrity and professionalism is upheld.
MP: What can candidates expect to learn during this program?AF: The course combines academic principles with plenty of practical, hands-on tasks. The program equips students with the appropriate specialist journalism skills expected of this challenging new responsibility. Completion of the one year
W professional diploma gives students a broad understanding of new media as well as the ability to learn future technologies rapidly. These are the key elements which will enable SAE Digital Journalism graduates to efficiently deploy knowledge and skills in the working environment.
MP: What kind of qualification will the graduates obtain once they have completed the 12 month course?AF: Graduates will earn a SAE Institute Professional Diploma in Digital Journalism.
MP: What are the criteria to enrol in Digital Journalism?AF: Students must have completed year 12 successfully or have an equivalent certificate. All applicants must be minimum of 18 years old.
MP: What are the possible career opportunities a graduate can expect?AF: We believe this new direction for journalism will see two major shifts:
The first is the redeployment of ‘traditional’ journalists to become more technologically savvy, in other words still retain their respective employment and at the same time become more versatile and consequently more valuable to news organisations.
The next interesting career pathway, is the emergence of the independent news journalist. With this new era of journalism, independent journalists have become widespread.
There has been enormous growth in choice and diversity of news sources, this is important as the wider community seeks a more balanced point of view and are able to discern all sides of a story.
MP: How will the diploma be recognized academically and will the graduates have the option of continuing their studies in the already existing BA and master programs?AF: The qualification is a non-accredited professional diploma. At this stage there in no upgrade path to a degree or post graduate option.
MP: How does SAE introduce digital journalists to the existing content producing industry?AF: SAE has worked extensively in its 34 year history with its associated industries in music, film, multimedia and animation. One of the critical components of our success includes the close collaboration with key industry partners to assist with the evolution of our courses and curriculums. The Digital Journalism Diploma is no different. Already, we have enjoyed widespread interest in Dubai, from newspaper enquiries to Emirates News conducting a news bulletin on this emerging trend. A variety of professional journalists and editors have expressed their support for such a program as well as their regret that this option was not available to them early in their professional development.
Digital journalists combine a variety of
media-text, audio, video and photographs to
create a complete story. Whilst in the field a
Digital Journalist blends traditional journalism skills including video,
notebook, editing, audio to then single-handedly
produce a story and consequently a one-stop
powerhouse for news.
For more information about the Digital Journalism course, as well as other courses at SAE Institute, please visit www.dubai.sae.edu
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The Skill of Lighting for Film
The director of photography’s first duty is to honor the script, and the director’s vision. Doing so involves camera work, tempo, and of course, lighting, for the proposed project. Lighting, and camera workis instrumental in creating the right mood, feel, and look for the film.
opefully the director or producer has hired you because they expect your input and artistry will add value to the vision of the production. Your use of lighting, in concert
with your cinematography skills, will determine your influence on the director’s vision.
The Director of Photography’s responsibilities with respect to lightingLighting often plays a crucial role in setting an emotional tone for the scene, which in turn will help the actors feel as though they are being truthful to reality. Learning how to use different types of fixtures and types of diffusion that are available makes you a better camera person.
You have to meet with the creative team to be on the same wave length and see what direction they want to take. Finding the right mood for a piece can be equated to an actor finding their character, they can read the script and memorize it but the real feelings of the character have to come to them in order for them to appear as that character on screen. Once I have that tone, I will meet with the director and justify my ideas to make sure they correspond with the director’s intentions.
H
After reaching this point you have to come up with a plan. The best camera work and lighting is when it complements the mood of the project and helps to visually tell the story. All too often I see gratuitous camera work whose only accomplishment is to take the audience away from the story. The camera, like an actor, needs motivation for movement and tempo. There are conventional ways to shoot a script that are in place because they work well in storytelling. This may be because we are conditioned from years of watching films and television but they exist because they work. These are tried and true methods that visually keep the audience involved, because it helps them follow the narrative in a way they won’t get lost in the perceivable space in which your story takes place. As a Cinematographer you are the eyes of your audience. It is important to be consistent with your visual style, to create a seamless story from beginning to end. Lighting plays an integral role in achieving this.
Being conventional is great for telling a story, but one must distinguish themselves with their style. How you get from one scene to another, or how you come in and out of a scene might be the best place to forgo conventionality. For example if the script says; “John walks into the pizza place and sits down with his friends.” Convention tells us that we place the camera pointing at the door to see John walk in and pan over as he sits at the table. What I think is more visually stimulating is to start on a close up of a pizza being sliced, panning with the pizza cutter left to right from behind the counter. In the background we see the door opening out of focus, we rack the focus to the door and tilt up to see John entering We continue the pan from the
pizza all the way to John sitting down with his friends. Cutting from the last scene to a close up of a pizza being cut makes the audience interested because it’s momentarily confusing and they wonder what is happening. Now we cover the scene in a more conventional way of storytelling by the use of two shots, over the shoulder shots and close ups. This way we keep the audience visually stimulated but at the same time we use tried and true methods to tell our story. Keeping the audience visually interested without taking them away from the message. Transitioning in and out of scenes like this will help distinguish your work from others who tend to be more unoriginal. Using these ideas to segue in and out of scenes can make a good film better. You also have to anticipate where you are cutting from. Maybe the last shot in the prior scene is of John driving away, left to right, in the same direction the pizza cutter is rolling. The pizza cutter motivates the camera to pan left to right until you end up at the door where John is coming in to meet his friends. The script, however, might very well call for conventional shooting all the way through because that’s the tone of the piece, just keep an open mind. Once you have the camera work configured for the film you have to come up with a lighting scheme. Again it must complement the script and help to tell the story. Each scene should have its own plan but be constructed in a manner that ensures the necessary continuity throughout the production. One must keep this in mind so that each scene in the piece is connected. You might shoot several scenes in the same location, with each one taking place at a different time of day. In such a case, you
KNOW HOWCreative Film Lighting
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may be called upon to replicate morning light, afternoon light and evening light all at the same location.
As an example, I’ll discuss lighting for evening/night time. The audience traditionally has been conditioned to interpret blue light as night time. Many times I have replaced the diffusion on my daytime lights with blue colored gels to represent night. Of course, the sun is stronger than the moon, but the blue gel will take away luminance hence giving a feeling of evening light. I would probably move the light that represented the sun because the moon wouldn’t be in the same exact place as the sun and then just gel the fixture.
How you interpret or read the exposure will make all the difference.
If the script says, “John sits in a dark room waiting for Jane to arrive” then you would need to expose for the key light (the higher light ratio) so the room goes dark and you would lose some detail in those dark areas.
If the script says, “John sits in a room on a summer afternoon”, then you would expose for the fill light (the lower light ratio) so the room looks bright, losing some detail in the bright areas of the scene giving the impression of the sun hitting your subject through a window on a summer afternoon.
In both of these instances, the lighting wouldn’t have to change much but which exposure you choose is crucial. With film stock being as versatile as it is today, it is very easy to over light your scene. You have to trust the film stock which comes only with experience, so embrace every opportunity you have to test different scenarios out.
The role of film stock selection in the lighting processKnowing how much detail your motion picture film will read into the shadows, or how it holds the detail in bright areas, is essential to how you approach your lighting scheme and picking a type of film to use. Once you have the basics down and a good understanding of
these principals, you can achieve a myriad of artistic concepts, taking the project to the next level. Many times I have lit a scene and then adding effect lights to enhance the reality of the moment.
For example, having car headlights pass through the set as though a car is driving down the street, (by use of two small lights rigged together and swung across the set by your gaffer) or the flicker of a fireplace, (by use of orange gel on a small lamp bounced off a hand held silver board being shaken by your gaffer) are just some of the things you can do to add to the realism.
Lighting transitions are also paramount to getting to the next level. Too frequently a scene features characters that walk into rooms that are already lit. To strengthen the reality of a scene, I always find it better to have actors turn lights on creating a lighting transition. This means that the actor walks into a room lit only by moonlight, or by ambient light, and turns on what appears to be the room lights. This would call for two different lighting schemes for the same scene. 1) Blue bounce light representing the moon light, the size of the light unit would depend on your film stock, the distance to the subject and the size of the room. 2) When the actor flicks the switch you would have to coordinate your room lights being turned on by your gaffer at the same time. This means practical lamps as well as studio fixtures that have been set for the ‘lit’ mood of the piece.
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KNOW HOWCreative Film Lighting
Savas Alatis is a Cinematographer and Director of Photography with over 30 years of motion picture, television, and commercial experience including 20 years of experience working with the National Basketball Association. He is the Head of Cinematography at New York Film Academy Abu Dhabi.
For more information about New York Film Academy, please visit www.nyfa.com
After all, who leaves their lights on when they leave home? Incorporating the use of practical lamps (fixtures that are part of the room decor) is important to the reality of a story. This will help the motivation for the direction and magnitude of your lighting. Common sense will tell you that a lamp on a table should motivate lighting from that angle.
When using practical lamps on a set, the bulbs should be replaced with photofloods, (daylight color temperature bulbs) because every day incandescent bulbs are very orange, in color temperature and may even turn reddish on film. You must also have these fixtures on a dimmer, in order to be able to regulate their intensity, so they don’t ‘blow out’ (over exposure of the fixture). Depending upon which film stock you use, they can actually provide enough exposure to light your scene. Often I will rig a studio fixture to replicate what the practical lamp would be doing avoiding the lamp ‘blowing out’, giving me more control over exposure and shadows, therefore rendering the practical fixture as more of a prop.
Quality of light is another point I stress. Direct light is very harsh and isn’t very pleasing to the eye. Diffused light is better, and bounced light is the most beautiful light for skin tones. There are applications for each of the above and using the right technique at the right moment can make or break a film. Most lights aimed at actors should have diffusion gel on them, making a more appealing light for skin tones. A lot of actors are well aware of the light as part of their training; good realistic lighting will help their performance tremendously. A lot of cinematographers like
offers. It’s absolutely beautiful and closer to what one’s eyes see in reality. You can’t achieve that at this point with HD so you have to compromise or do some CGI but there are ways to cheat it and make it look good.
I think young filmmakers are scared away from film because they don’t have the experience and producing skills that it takes.You would actually have to plan out your shoot and do a lot of homework to stay within budget. Whereas when people shoot video they take on a ‘who cares’ attitude, it’s just tape or memory so they tend to be lax in the production because the monetary factor isn’t there.
The importance of using real-life environment in lighting decisionsYou have to be aware of your surroundings if you want to be a cinematographer. All too often I see scenes beautifully lit in places where you wouldn’t normally have beautiful light. Sometimes it’s more realistic to let it be ugly in order to be true to reality rather than force beautiful light where it shouldn’t be. You have to start cataloguing every day experiences. If you see beautiful light coming through your windows at a certain time of day or you’re sitting in a restaurant and there is some wonderful light falling on an area, investigate it, catalog it, take a picture of it and commit it to memory so you can draw on these scenarios in the future. Where is the light coming from, is it bouncing off the building next door, what is it’s direction, sidelight, toplight, backlight? Maybe the clouds are just perfect, is it the time of day, or time of year that makes it beautiful? What fixture, angle or diffusion would I need to reproduce a similar effect? Look around, shadows are just as important, it’s not just the light but the negative fill (shadows), which make beautiful natural pictures. Work to become comfortable with lighting, one of your most important tools to be able to make a scene look real and your film will deliver the authenticity your director seeks.
By Savas Alatis
Quality of light is another
point I stress. Direct light is very harsh and isn’t very
pleasing to the eye. Diffused light is better, and bounced light is the most beautiful
light for skin tones.
to use colored light to create an emotion. Unless you are doing a science fiction film, these colors would have to be justified. Depending on the scene, there might be a red flashing sign or a neon light off in the distance. The scene could take place in front of a store with fluorescent lights, at which point you could use the off color green created by the fluorescent fixtures to create a mood, by NOT correcting the color temperature. These are all techniques to be considered, and being able to use the right technique for different situations is critical for that special moment within a scene.
An important lesson to remember is that using a more powerful fixture is always better because you can always tone it down with diffusion, cutters, or scrims, whereas if a light fixture is too small or weak you can’t make it brighter. There are specific times to use smaller fixtures such as when the size of your space won’t allow it, lighting for extremely low light scenarios or when using a light to illuminate a very small part of your scene.
Lighting for Hi Definition.The trend now is for High Definition format cameras but lighting for HD is different than for traditional film. Here’s a clue: HD is video and at this point in time, HD still doesn’t have the latitude that film has, it doesn’t have the three dimensionality or skin tone rendition either. That doesn’t mean you can’t make beautiful images with HD, you just have to have a different approach when lighting for it. One can shoot a dark skinned person on a cloudy day with 500 ASA color negative and a polarizer and see detail in the subject and the sky because of the latitude that film
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Mahmovies! Music for the Eyes
The award-winning filmmaker, Mahmoud Kaabour, speaks to MP about the bi-annual film series, Mahmovies!, which he curates and with which he has managed to create a space where kindred souls come to hang out on a Monday night to watch and listen to unconventional film and music.
Media Production: With Mahmovies! now in its fourth successful season and growing in popularity, how did you come up with the idea to create this kind of event in Dubai? And also how did the name, which is very catchy, come about?Mahmoud Kaabour: The art landscape in Dubai was pretty barren 4 years ago. I was just returning from Montreal where I was used to walking down the street and walking into an art house theatre at 2 pm, going to see a play, going to the jazz fest for free and I had taken all these things for granted. Then I moved to Dubai and everything was great, I had a good lifestyle, good work but suddenly I was struck by my cultural appetite and how
rotating theme, which will be based on either content or form.
The novelty is very important for us. We are looking to provoke people, we’re looking to expand their cinematic vocabulary and to challenge their perceptions. We’re always pushing the envelope, there’s a slight discomfort that fends off cultural stagnation, however, it is always an enjoyable experience.
MP: When I attended one of the Mahmovies! Black and White Glory nights last year, I had a real sense of community and being amongst people that are like-minded. To create that
unsatisfied it was. I spent a lot of money in my first 2 years buying DVD’s on Amazon and getting on planes to Istanbul and Beirut to catch some culture! On returning from my trips abroad I would always bring with me samples of work being completed by my friends or producers that I had worked with in the past. It became a regular occurrence to have my friends over for what became known as Mahmovies! night as we all crammed into my apartment. A dream was envisioned where we would be able to create a movie night with exactly the same living room feel, 100% free, that anyone could attend with none of the pretense and flashiness of previous such events in Dubai.
MP: How would you say the event has evolved since its first season?MK: Well Music for the Eyes is now in its second season and incredibly popular, so much so that we will now be holding 2 annual events, one for Music for the Eyes, exploring how cinema and music meet, and the other season every year, will be a
KNOW WHOMusic for the Eyes
in a city where people often feel completely disconnected is a rare experience. Is it part of your hope to build a creative community through hosting these evenings? MK: Our mandate was to bring dignified cinema to the city, to bring music in a form which reached out to the hearts of people a little bit more than the commercial stuff that you hear and see everywhere. The other mandate was to build a community with these screenings, and to not only bring like-minded people together but to bring kindred-souls together. We hope it will remain an underground event and that people will feel it’s like a playground. That’s why we have beanbags and that’s why it’s free. It’s a public space, such as a square or park. It’s a place for positive assembly.
MP: Do you think it’s possible to educate people to become more visually and musically adventurous, who are traditionally more ‘main-stream’ and conservative in what they watch and listen to? MK: It’s strictly economic why these movies and alternative types of music are not being presented here and therefore people are not exposed to new ideas. High rent in Dubai means that commercial screenings need to have full houses. If the event is free, people are more open to be curious. The reason people are not otherwise is because they don’t like to bet their money on an unknown movie or a concert.
MP: The line-up for the 5 nights was really impressive and diverse. How do you go about selecting the movies and then the musicians to accompany them, so that the movies and music will complement each other?MK: Yes, there’s a theme around which the films and music are tailored and we try and give people a better idea of that specific theme over 5 or 6 weeks and every evening is a chapter in enforcing an idea of the overall theme.
In this season of Music for the Eyes for example, we explored the theme of intellectual property on the opening night. A good friend of mine, Brett Gaylor, made this wonderful film, called R.I.P. A Remix Manifesto, in which he follows one of the most famous mash-up artists in the world, called Girl Talk. Girl Talk is a guy who mixes elements from different songs into a new
song. It’s not the same as what a DJ does in a club, it’s more like composing new songs by taking the lyrics of one, the beat of another and the voice of yet another song. The kind of acclaim he receives is testimony to the fact that people believe in the health of mixing other people’s creations to build something new. The movie was followed by a performance by The Lost Fingers, which
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The novelty is very important for us. We are
looking to provoke people, we’re
looking to expand their cinematic vocabulary and
to challenge their perceptions.
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are an acoustic trio based in Quebec City, Canada, who shot to fame in 2008. They play gypsy-jazz interpretations of popular 80’s tunes. They acknowledge the original artist, but the product is very much their own. It was interesting to see how they dealt with intellectual property as well.
MP: There were two Canadian films and one Canadian band who participated in this season’s event. You lived in Canada for 7 years, before returning to Dubai in 2005. Why did you pick these films to be screened and this band to come and perform in the Middle East and do you still feel a strong connection to Canada and the cultural scene there?MK: Arcade Fire is an Indie band that has acquired rock star status, and the film by Vincent Morisset, Miroir Noir follows the band before, during and after the release of their critically acclaimed 2007 album, Neon Bible.
This is only one of the selections in which I am paying tribute to Montreal, a city I feel has its fingers on the pulse of the world with the jazz festival and various film festivals that take place there. I continue to have a great connection with the cultural scene in Montreal and by presenting these bands to the audience in Dubai, we’re providing a platform for them.
MP: In the UAE, there seems to be a huge divide between cultures and
KNOW WHOMusic for the Eyes
there even seems to be an unspoken class system in place. This is why I find it inspiring, that you included the winners from the Camp Ka Champ Contest to perform at one of the events. How did you hear about them? And do you feel that including musicians from all parts of the diverse community of the UAE, will start to bring awareness and eventually bridge the divide that exists, at least on a cultural level? MK: That took some work! The Western Union Camp Ka Champ is a well-known singing contest which is held between labor camps in Dubai. As wonderful as it sounds, it’s restricted to the labor camps. The biggest challenge was to bring the laborers out of the labor camps and onto the stage at thejamjar. As you know, there are a lot of invisible walls between the labor camps and the city and there’s nothing more wonderful than music to break down these barriers. It’s not about whether or not you like Hindi music, it’s about you and them being in the same room together and seeing the humanity of the laborers.
MP: Tell us more about the event where Nabil Amarshi and Noura Sedaka performed a ‘series of homegrown introspective experiments’, during which you also narrated a live movie trailer about the upcoming documentary about your grandmother, which you had been filming in Beirut recently.MK: Nabil is the phenomenal artist in residence at Mahmovies!, whom I strongly believe in and have worked with twice before. The first time was on the Satwa Stories, a spoken-word performance in which we paid tribute to the Satwa neighbourhood, which was scheduled for demolition at the time. Nabil performed his own compositions about his life in Dubai in the last Mahmovies! Music for the Eyes . Now he is joined by Noura, a singer, poet and visual artist. They recently worked together on a collaborative effort at Noura’s art exhibition. The result of that was what I can only describe as a mix between jazz and Lebanese lullabies. This season of Music for the Eyes Nabil and Noura extended this collaboration to perform their first ever concert of home-grown Dubai music, and we are delighted that Mahmovies! was the creative platform for that. That same evening I did a live movie trailer with them where we projected images from my upcoming documentary about my 83-year-old grandmother, which is titled, Teta, Alf
Marra (Arabic for Grandma a 1,000 Times) and Nabil and Noura performed live music to it. It was a spoken word performance on the theme of the movie which we filmed and will be used in the documentary.
MP: Do you market the Mahmovies! events in the traditional sense of the word, or does it depend a lot on word-of-mouth, from people who have attended one of the events?MK: Mahmovies! has a Twitter-feed and a page on Facebook, which you can find if you type Mahmovies! into the search field. The evenings are always full and people mostly hear about it through word-of-mouth. We’re not trying to sell anything, so we don’t need to advertise for it. We love it most when people come, because they’ve heard about it from their friends, and not from the newspaper. Essentially, it’s a social exercise, and I find that important.
MP: What can fans of Mahmovies! look forward to in season 5? And when will that be taking place? MK: I’m still thinking about Season 5, which will take place after the summer. There are a few potential themes. We’ll continue to bring alternative underground music and Cinema to enrich the living room experience that we try to retain.
As you know, there are a lot of invisible walls
between the labor camps and the city and there’s nothing more wonderful
than music to break down these barriers.
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here has been a noticeable trend towards mobile production like podcasts, laptop recording studios
and so on. With the PG series, Shure taps into this field of production and provides a product that maintains a simple and straight forward signal flow and therefore a simple workflow as well.
Where a traditional mobile studio has to be equipped with a USB or Firewire sound card, this new generation of microphones already comes with a built-in sound card. It might look weird when you see at the bottom of a mic a USB connection instead of the all familiar XLR connection, but as soon as you
a wide frequency response and thanks to the large diaphragm a warm sound. The concept of the PG 42 is taken from the Shure KSM series microphones, that found their way into studios already. The idea behind this new generation of microphones is to have a more affordable and more mobile alternative to the dearer KSM series.
When it comes to the frequency response, it becomes obvious that this mic is geared towards vocal recordings. With its more linear response in the low- and mid-frequencies and the bit brighter top end frequencies, you can achieve a brighter and airier vocal sound, perfect for speech and vocals.
If you prefer a flatter frequency response and a more multi-purpose microphone you can take a look at the PG 27.
The second section of the PG microphones is the built-in audio sound card. This section of the microphone establishes the connection between the mic itself and the computer. Once you plug the PG into your computer, in my case it was a Macbook Pro, it is detected in the system preferences as Shure Digital. Analogue/Digital conversion and phantom power are already built-in and they are fed through the USB connection directly. The AD/DA conversion works with a sample rate of 48kHz which is enough to capture the mic’s bandwidth of 20 Hz- 20 kHz and the bit rate is set at 16 bit. I would have preferred a
plug in the mic into your laptop, MAC or PC, you will be rewarded with a high quality microphone sound, that elevates your small production set-up to a higher standard recording system; this is a true plug-and-play concept.
For this review I will divide this device into two sections, the microphone and the sound card section.
The microphone is equipped with a gold layered 1” diaphragm, which is standard for regular large diaphragm condenser microphones. This means, with the PG series you get a full-blown studio microphone with
T
Plug & Play
Shure PG 42 USBLess cables, less software installation, more sound, this is the motto of
the Shure PG and the X2u series.
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REVIEWShure PG 42 USB
1_ Headphone jack: For zero-latency direct monitoring.
2_ Pad Switch: Use to prevent clipping from extremely loud sound sources.
3_ MIC GAIN: Adjusts microphone input level before the analog to digital conversion.
4_ USB Connector: Digital audio input and output
5_ VOLUME: Adjusts headphone volume
6_ MONITOR: Blends pre-recorded playback from the computer with live audio from the microphone.
7_ Low-frequency roll-off: 12 dB-per-octave below 120 Hz.
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REVIEWShure PG 42 USB
System Requirements USB : USB 1.1 or 2.0, powered RAM : 64MB RAM (minimum) Operating System: Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional Japanese/ English Edition Microsoft Windows XP Home/Professional Japanese/English Edition (service pack 1.0 or later, or use the USB audio driver update from Microsoft) Microsoft Windows Vista™ Business Japanese/ English Edition Apple Computer Mac OS X 10.0 or later English Edition Apple Computer Mac OS X 10.1 or later Japanese Edition (For Mac OS X 10.0 Japanese Edition, plug and play does not work appropriately)
For more information on these or other Shure devices, visit www.nmkelectronics.com, or call +971 4 266 5244
24 bit conversion, especially when recording multiple tracks with this microphone, to reduce possible digital noise. But again, this microphone is targeting mobile recording set-ups, that will experience a better sound quality than before, when recording with the PG, anyway. If you like the sound but prefer to record in a higher resolution you can choose the PG 42 XLR version that can be connected via XLR to your existing sound card.
ConclusionThe PG and the 2Xu devices by Shure are indeed a very good approach to mobile and smaller sized production set-ups. If you prefer a more linear frequency responds and a multi-use microphone, try the PG 27. If you are a songwriter, podcaster or a vocalist, I advise you to try to PG 42. If you have found your favorite microphone already, but you’re
looking for a mobile solution that provides you with phantom power, no latency monitoring, headphone connections all in one device connected by one USB cable, have a look at the 2Xu.
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هو السبب في أننا نقدمها بالمجان. فهذا مكان عام، كالميدان أو المتنزه. إنه مكان للتجمع ا�يجابي.
الناس تثقيف الممكن من أن تعتقد هل المغامرة في رغبة أكثر يصبحوا لكي من يسمعونه ما أو يشاهدونه ما بشأن موسيقى، وخاصة أولئك الذين يتسمون في فيما والمحافظة بالتقليدية النواحي هذه
يشاهدونه أو يستمعون إليه؟ إن السبب في عدم عرض مثل هذه ا�فالم والنوعيات البديلة من الموسيقى هنا اقتصادي في المقام ا�ول، جديدة. أفكار �ية يتعرضون ال الناس فإن وبالتالي فا�يجارات العالية في دبي تعني أن العروض التجارية مجاني�، الحدث كان فإذا كاملة. بيوت إلى بحاجة فسوف يثير حب االستطالع لدى الناس. والسبب في تراهن أن تريد ال الناس أن بذلك هو االهتمام عدم بأموالها على نوع غير معروف من ا�فالم أو كونشرتو
موسيقي.
حق� مبهر� الخمس الليالي ترتيب كان و العروض تختارون كيف بالتنوع. ومليئ� الموسيقيين الذين يصاحبونها، بحيث تكمل
العروض والموسيقى بعضها البعض؟والموسيقى، العروض حولها تتمحور فكرة هناك ونحن نحاول أن نقدم للناس رؤية أفضل لهذه الفكرة
على مدى خمسة أو ستة أسابيع، وكل ليلة عبارة عن فصل أو مرحلة في تقوية وغرس تلك الفكرة.
في هذا الموسم من ”موسيقى للعيون“ على سبيل ليلة في الفكرية“ ”الملكية لفكرة عرضنا المثال، بريت وهو المقربين، أصدقائي أحد صنع االفتتاح. جايلور هذا الفيلم الرائع الذي يسمى آر آي بين وهو عبارة عن ريمكس يسير فيه على منوال أحد أشهر الفنانين في العالم، وهو جريل توك. يقوم جريل أغنية في مختلفة أغاني من عناصر بخلط توك به يقوم لما مماثلة العملية هذه ليست جديدة. أغاني بتأليف أشبه النادي، ولكنها الدي جيه في جديدة من خالل أخذ كلمات أغنية ما، ولحن أغنية أخرى، ثم صوت أغنية ثالثة. ولعل ما يحظى به من في يعتقدون الناس أن على دليل خير تصفيق لبناء شيء جديد. تال ا�خرين إبداعات جدوى خلط عبارة وهو فنجرز“، لوست ”ذا لفريق أداء الفيلم بكندا، كويبك مدينة في مقره مغنين ثالثة عن مقطوعات عزفوا وقد .2008 العام في يشتهر بدأ النغمات على تنويعات تضم جاز“ ”جيبسي الشائعة في الثمانينات من القرن الماضي. وهم يقرون بصاحب العمل ا�صلي، ولكن المنتج الجديد منتجهم هم. كان من الرائع أن نرى الطريقة التي
تعاملوا بها أيض� مع مسألة الملكية الفكرية.
KNOW WHOMusic for the Eyes
الرابع، الموسم “Mahmovies” دخول مع الكيفية عن حدثنا شعبيتها، تنامي و هذا مثل إقامة فكرة بها تولدت التي توصلتم كيف كذلك دبي؟ في الحدث
المميز؟ ا�سم إلى هذا قبل للغاية جرداء دبي الفنية في الساحة كانت أربع سنوات. وكنت عائد� من مونتريال، حيث اعتدت في المسرح ودخول ، الشارع في السير على أو الذهاب الثانية بعد الظهر لمشاهدة مسرحية، هذه كل وكانت المجاني، الجاز مهرجان إلى وعندما لي. بالنسبة اعتيادية أمور بمثابة ا�مور انتقلت إلى دبي، كان كل شيء رائع�، كنت أحظى بأسلوب حياة جيد، و عمل جيد، ولكن فجأة، وجدت التي لم تجد الثقافية نفسي مصدوما بشهيتي ما يرضيها هنا. وقد أنفقت الكثير من ا�موال خالل المضغوطة ا�قراص شراء على ا�ولين العامين
بعض لمشاهدة اسطنبول إلى بالطائرة السفر و أمازون، موقع من DVDبالخارج، كنت دائم� أحضر أعود من رحالتي الثقافية. وعندما كنت الفعاليات معي بعض عينات العمل الذي يجري استكماله من قبل أصدقائي أو منتجين عملت معهم في الماضي. وقد أصبح من الشائع أن أستضيف أصدقائي فيما وبدأ بيتي. في جميع� نتجمع كنا حيث Mahmovies بـليالي يعرف اصبح يراودنا حلم أن نخلق ليلة عرض سينمائي بنفس جو غرفة المعيشة، مجانية أو البهرجة التي 100%، يمكن �ي شخص حضورها دون أي من التكلف بنسبة
صاحبت مثل تلك الفعاليات في السابق بدبي.
ا�ول؟ الفعالية منذ موسمها تعلق على ذيوع صيت كيف ذيوع� تالقي هي و ا�ن، الثاني موسمها في للعين“ ”موسيقى حسنا، غير عادي، لدرجة أننا نعقد الفعالية مرتين في العام، أحدهما لـ ”موسيقى والموسيقى، السينما بين االلتقاء مواطن تستكشف التي و للعين“، على إما تقوم متغيرة، فكرة ذو وسيكون سنة، كل الثاني الموسم و
أو على الشكل. المحتوى
نبحث لنا. فنحن بالنسبة ا�هم ا�مر االبتكار هو اللغوية حصيلتهم زيادة و الناس، استثارة عن إدراكاتهم. تحدي و السينما، مصطلحات من نحن دائم� ما نسعى الستكشاف الداخل، فهناك أن إال الثقافي، الركود يغلف الراحة قدر من عدم
ا�مر في مجمله يشكل تجربة ممتعة.
Mahmovies عندما حضرت واحدة من لياليفي الخالدة وا�سود ا�بيض لعروض بوجودي شعور راودني الماضي، العام التقت الذين الناس من مجتمع بين أفكارهم خلق هذا ا�مر في مدينة يشعر الكامل الترابط بعدم عادة الناس فيها يعتبر أمر� نادر�. فهل يشكل بناء مجتمع ا�حداث جزء من استضافة هذه عبر خالق
؟ حلمكمإلى ا�صيلة السينما إدخال هو مسعانا كان المدينة، و إدخال الموسيقى التي تصل إلى قلوب الناس بشكل أعمق من تلك الموسيقى التجارية الهدف أما مكان. كل في تراها و تسمعها التي الثاني فكان بناء مجتمع من هؤالء الخاصة، وليس فقط تجميع من تشابهت أفكارهم مع�، بل من تالقت ا�صل هو الحدث هذا يظل أن نأمل مع�. أرواحهم والبداية، وأن يراه الناس على أنه ملعب كبير. فهذا هو السبب في أننا نقدم أكياس الفول السوداني، وهذا
محمود كابور ، صانع االفالم الحاصل على الجوائز يتحدث مع فريق
ميديا برودكشن عن سلسلة ( محموفيز) النصف سنوية التي استطاع
انشاءها وخلق المكان الذي تتالقى فيه االرواح الخليلة في ليالي
االثنين لمشاهدة االفالم وسماع االموسيقى الغير تقليدية .
Mahmovies! موسيقى لالذن
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التقليدي بالمفهوم Mahmovies فعاليات بتسويق تقوم هل من عنها، الشخصي الحديث على كثير� تعتمد أنها أم للكلمة،
أولئك الذين حضروا أحد فعالياتها.لدى Mahmovies تعليقات في تويتر، وصفحة على الفيس بوك، يمكنك العثور بالناس، م�ى دائم� ا�مسيات البحث. خانة في Mahmovies كتبت إذا عليها أي بيع نحاول ال نحن ا�خرين. حديث خالل من الناس عنها يسمع ما عادة و شيء، لذا فلسنا بحاجة إلى ا�عالن عنها. يعجبنا أن يأتي الناس للحضور �نهم سمعوا عنها من أصدقائهم، و ليس من الصحف. فهي في ا�ساس ممارسة
اجتماعية، و هو ما يهمنا فيها.
الموسم في ينتظروه أن Mahmovies لمحبي يمكن الذي ما (10الخامس؟ ومتى سيكون ذلك؟
هناك الصيف. بعد سيعقد والذي الخامس، الموسم بشأن أفكر زلت ال الموسيقية، البدائل المزيد من أولية. وسوف نستمر في تقديم أفكار بضعة
والسينمائية �ثراء تجربة غرفة المعيشة التي نحاول أن نحافظ عليها.
KNOW WHOMusic for the Eyes
كما تعرف، فهناك العديد من الحواجز
غير المرئية بين معسكرات العمال
والمدينة، و ال شيء أجمل من الموسيقى
لكسر تلك الحواجز
كندي فريق و كنديان فيلمان هناك كان الموسم. واحد شاركوا في فعاليات هذا سنوات، سبع لمدة كندا في عشَت لقد .2005 العام في دبي إلى تعود أن قبل و عرضها ليتم ا�فالم تلك انتقيت لماذا في معزوفاته ليقدم ليأتي الفريق هذا الشرق ا�وسط، وهل ال زلت تشعر بارتباط
هناك؟ الثقافي والمشهد بكندا قوي وضعية أخذ ”إنداي“ فريق فاير“ ”أركيد فريق ”ميرور موريسيت فنسنت وفيلم الروك، نجوم إطالق وبعد أثناء و قبل الفريق يجسد نوير“ العام النقاد في الذي حاز على إعجاب ألبومهم
بايبل“. ”نيون ،2007
إلى أعزوها التي االختيارات من فقط واحد هذا ببصمات اشعر التي المدينة وهي مونتريال، أصابعها على ما ينبض به العالم من مهرجانات تحدث التي ا�فالم مهرجانات من والعديد الجاز، هناك. ال يزال لدي ارتباط وثيق بالمشهد الثقافي الفرق لهذه تقديمي خالل ومن مونتريال، في منصة لهم أتيح فإنني دبي، في للجمهور
ليؤدوا من خاللها.
أن يبدو المتحدة، العربية ا�مارات في بل الثقافات، بين كبير� انقسام� هناك معلن. غير طبقي� نظام� هناك أن يبدو تقوم أن المدهش، من أن أجد لذا كامب مسابقة من الفائزين بتضمين
الفعاليات. أحد في لالداء ل�بطال كا بأن تشعر وهل عنهم؟ سمعت كيف المجتمع أجزاء كافة من موسقيين إدراج المتحدة العربية ا�مارات في المختلفة بالتالي و الوعي إثراء في يبدأ سوف على ا�قل على الموجودة، الهوة جسر
الثقافي؟ المستوى االتحاد مسابقة العمل. بعض هذا تطلب لقد مسابقات من هي تشامب“ كا ”كامب الغربي معسكرات بين تعقد والتي المعروفة، الغناء العمال في دبي. وبالرغم من أنها تبدو رائعة، فإنها التحدي كان العمال. معسكرات على مقصورة معسكرات من العمال أولئك إخراج هو ا�كبر العمل و إدخالهم على المسرح في الجامجار. فكما تعرف، فهناك العديد من الحواجز غير المرئية بين أجمل من ال شيء و والمدينة، العمال معسكرات الحواجز. ال يتعلق ا�مر بما الموسيقى لكسر تلك عن بل ال، أم الهندية الموسيقى تحبين إذا كنت اطالعك على و الغرفة، نفس وجودك معهم في
الجوانب ا�نسانية لدى العمال.
نبيل فيها غنى التي الفعالية عن أخبرنا أمارشي و نورا سيداكا سلسلة من التجارب أثناءها في أنت قمت والتي المنزلية، برواية مختصر عرض حي لفيلم عن كذلك الفيلم الوثائقي القادم حول جدتك، والذي
كنت تصوره في بيروت مؤخر�.مقيمة بصورة المتواجد الظاهر الفنان هو نبيل و كثير�، به أومن والذي Mahmovies عروض في ا�ولى المرة كانت قبل. من مرتين معه عملت في قصص ”ساتوا“، وهي عبارة عن عرض لكلمات المجاورة، منطوقة، عرجنا فيه على منطقة ساتوا تلك في ا�زالة جدول على مدرجة كانت والتي ا�ثناء. قام نبيل بأداء ألحانه المعزوفة عن حياته موسيقى Mahmovies عروض آخر في دبي في وشاعرة، مغنية نورا، إليه انضمت وا�ن للعين. الذهنية. للصور ومثيرة بالحيوية مفعمة وفنانة وقد عمال مع� مؤخر� بجهد مشترك في معرض نورا الفني. وكانت نتيجة هذا هي ما يمكنني أن أصفه اللبنانية ا�غاني و الجاز بين خليط بكونه فقط الخفيفة. وفي هذا الموسم من ”موسيقى للعين“ حفلة أول أداء نحو التعاون هذا نورا و نبي طور موسيقية لموسيقى تم تطويرها في دبي، و نحن في Mahmovies سعداء بأننا كنا المنصة ا�بداعية
التي أطل عبرها ذلك الجهد.
مختصر� عرض� أديت ا�مسية، تلك نفس وفي أرشيفي من صور� عرضنا حيث معهما، لفيلم من تبلغ التي جدتي حول الوثائقي الحاسوبي العمر ثالث وثمانين عام�، تحت عنوان ”تيتا ألف مرة“ المصاحبة الحية الموسيقى ونورا نبيل أدى وقد لتلك الصور. كان عرض� منطوق� حول فكرة الفيلم، الفيلم في نستخدمها سوف و صورناها والتي
الوثائقي.
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اطالعك �ثراء نقاشية دولية احضر حلقة أو كان): بشأن معلوماتك إغناء أو بعينه موضوع على أو للتسويق، إياف ورشة (مثل العالمي السوق اشترك أو لوكسمبورج)، في ا�فالم تمويل ندوة في أحد برامج الكتابة على ا�نترنت، فمن شأن كل (يمكنك نصوصك تطوير على يساعدك أن ذلك الكتابة برنامج في المدرسة شهادة على االطالع
للسينما خارج نيويورك).
2010 باستكشاف بعض العام إم بي خالل ستقوم دول في ا�فالم لصانعي المتاحة الفرص من بنظرائهم لربطهم الخليجي التعاون مجلس المهرجانات حضور عبر رفقائهم و الدوليين البرامج و با�نتاج، المتعلقة وا�نشطة وا�سواق، التي ا�قليمية التقارير إلى وبا�ضافة التربوية. فرص و ا�فالم تطوير خطط على الضوء تلقي نجاح قصص هناك ستظل الخارج، في التمويل خالل من النجاح صادفوا عرب أفالم لصانعي التصوير محلي� مع التفكير على نحو عالمي. إذ�،
ما هي أول محطة لقطار إم بي السريع؟ ألمانيا
هل تتحدث ا�لمانية؟وجود مع و - ا�وربية االقتصادات أكبر باعتبارها لهذا موازي ا�فالم لصناعة تمويلي مشهد ألمانيا لدى فإن – الكبير االقتصادي الحجم والمالية ا�بداعية الفرص من لتقدمه الكثير لصانعي و ا�نواع، كافة من االفالم لمشاريع ا�فالم من كافة الجنسيات. تتيح ألمانيا سلسلة إلى با�ضافة ا�فالم لتمويل المؤثرة الفرص من شركات ا�نتاج التي تمرس منتجوها على العمل أفريقيا، شمال في ا�فالم مشاريع تصوير في فإنا وعليه، وا�وسط. ا�دنى الشرق و والقوقاز، اعتماد� على جودة ما لديك من نص، فإن قدرتك و مؤثرة عالقات شبكة تكوين و البحث على المثمر من تجعل قد االختيار، في مهارتك الكائنين المنتجين بأحد االتصال لك بالنسبة
في ألمانيا، بشأن فكرة مشروعك أو عروضك.
المستقبل في ستنتج التي ا�فالم تمويل يأتي فيها بما المصادر، من العديد من ألمانيا في الحكومة الفيدرالية، الواليات ا�قليمية، المؤسسات ا�وروبي. االتحاد التجارية، وكذلك ا�عالنات الخاصة، وفي الحقيقة، فإن هناك سلسلة طويلة من أنواع
الدعم، والمنح، و الحوافز الضريبية، والقروض، متاحة لتطوير االفالم، و إنتاجها، و توزيعها. أما بالنسبة لصانعي ا�فالم الطويلة الذين توجه مشاريعهم نحو السوق الدولي، فإن فهم الفارق بشأن ما تقدمه الدول من حيث تمويل ا�فالم و حوافز ا�نتاج يعتبر المفتاح الرئيسي في الوصول بفيلمك إلى مرحلة ا�نتاج، و بالطبع، التوزيع. وبشكل عام، إذا أردت الخروج بالمشاريع التي تحتاج ميزانية دولي� إنتاج� تضم والتي المركبة الصفقات تصبح النور، دائرة إلى كبيرة
مشترك� مبتكر� بمثابة ضرورة ال مناص عنها.
ا�نتاج المشترك في ألمانياإذا كنت تعمل على مشروع فيلم تمثيلي في السوق الدولي، و لديك القدرة على القيام بذلك بشكل مشترك مع منتج ألماني، فإن في ألمانيا عدد من صناديق تمويل ا�فالم الممولة جيد�، و التي لها وجود على الصعيد ا�قليمي، ويمكن اعتبارها بمثابة مصادر تمويل للمشروعات المشتركة. ولكن عليك هذه ا�لمانية ا�قليمية ا�فالم تمويل صناديق أن االعتبار عين في تضع أن لديها اعتبارات محددة فيما يتعلق باالستحقاق، و أن ا�مر ال يعود لك و للمنتج ما تفاصيل آخر مستجدات واالطالع على المشارك معك في معرفة ا�لماني
تقدمه لك تلك الصناديق.
صناديق ا�فالم ا�قليميةيمكن للمرء العثور على صناديق تمويل ا�فالم في ألمانيا في برلين-براندنبرج، برافيا، نورث راينا-ويستفاليا، هامبورج/شيليزفيج-هولستاين، و بادن-فورتمبرج من بين أماكن أخرى. فإذا كانت هذه ا�ماكن تبدو معروفة بالنسبة لك، فتأكد أن هناك احتمالية كبيرة أن يكون ممثلي تلك الصناديق يتحدثون ا�نجليزية أيضا، لذا ال تقلق كثير� بشأن إمكانية وجود حواجز لغوية. وعلى كل حال، ”عندما توجد
ا�رادة، يوجد الطريق“.
يعتبر والطموحين، الجادين الطويلة ا�فالم بالنسبة لصانعي فإنه وباختصار، ا�لمام بما يمكن أن تقدمه صناديق تمويل ا�فالم ا�لمانية معلومة ال غنى عنها. -www.focus يقترح فريق ميديا برودكشن مراجعة تلك المعايير بالذهاب أوالً إلى
germany.de وهو موقع المؤسسة التي تضم المؤسسات ا�لمانية السبع المعنية بتمويل ا�فالم. هنا، يمكن لصانعي ا�فالم أن يطلعون على الصورة الكاملة بشأن ما هو معروض في كل منطقة قبل البدء في االطالع على المواقع الفردية لكل صندوق على حدة لمزيد من المعلومات التفصيلية. بعد ذلك، قد يكون الهدف متوسط إلى طويل المدى والجدير باالعتبار هو أن تصبح أكثر معرفة بالمنتجين
ا�لمان و معطيات شركاتهم ا�نتاجية.
ل�فالم االتحادي ا�لماني الصندوق (دي إف إف إف)
يمكنك االطالع على القوانين الحاكمة للصندوق با�لمانية يعرف ما أو ل�فالم االتحادي ا�لماني (FFA) واختصار� Filmforederungsanstalt بـ www.ffa. الموقع ا�نترنت في هذا على شبكة
من التمويل تلقي صالحية فإن أخرى، مرة .deألماني منتج لديك يكون أن على تعتمد DFFFتفتح أن عليك تعين وإال مشروعك في مشارك غير ا�نتاج لشركة ألمانيا) (في لمكتبك فرع� في بالفعل تجاري� والمسجلة خاصتك، ا�وربية جيد�، بك الخاص النص كان إذا ولكن، بلدك. فربما الدوليين، المشاهدين جذب ويمكنه
تبنيه. ا�لمان في المنتجين أحد يرغب
كسب ”نقاط“مبادرات من العديد أن نالحظ أن المهم من موجهة – DFFF فيها بما – ألمانيا التمويل في نحو دعم مشاريع سيتم إنتاجها داخل ألمانيا، أو المنطقة داخل – ا�قليمي الصندوق في حالة –التي قدمت التمويل. فكثير من صناديق تمويل تعيين ستشجع المثال سبيل على ا�فالم مواقع استخدام و ألماني وطاقم ألمان ممثلين
في منطقتهم.
”العروس السورية“ - نص كتب بصورة مشتركة من قبل سها
الجوالن مرتفعات في تصويره تم و بيكليس، إيركان و عراف
بواسطة ممثلين معظمهم من الفلسطينيين وا�سرائيليين.
تلقى الفيلم دعم� تمويلي� من قبل العديد من المصادر ا�وربية،
بما فيها الصندوق ا�لماني ا�قليمي ل�فالم في هامبورج.
في عام 2008 قدم صندوق السينما العالمية في برلين 12,000 يورو
كدعم تسويقي لنادين لبكي لفيلمها ”الكرمل“ (لبنان 2006).
KNOW HOWShoot Locally, Think Globally
صور محلي�،فكر عالمي�
FOCUS ON GERMANYby Talal Al Muhanna
فوكس 2010
2010 تجمع بدأت وسائل ا�عالم في العام
خالل من وذلك والعالمية، المحلية بين
في المستقلين ا�فالم صانعي تشجيع
خارج قليًال للتفكير التعاون مجلس دول
ا�مر يتعلق عندما التقليدية، المسارات
مشروعاتهم تسويق و وإنتاج بتطوير
إم بي الواقع، ستقوم الفيلمية. في
التفكير على ا�فالم صانعي بتشجيع
حدودهم. خارج
وفي الوقت الذي وصل تمويل ميكانزمات و فرص المستقلين في ا�فالم المشترك لصانعي ا�نتاج دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي إلى آفاق جديدة في الشهور ا�خيرة، وبينما تستمر شبكات المهرجانات خانات على أماكنها احتالل في المعارض وفرض ليجتمعوا ا�فالم لصانعي بالنسبة التقويم قبل صانعي ا�سهام من فإن أعمالهم، ويقدموا أخرى الخليج في مشاهد فيلمية ا�فالم في دول بجهودهم ا�قرار و الداخلي) المستوى (على السينمائية فيما وراء منطقة دول مجلس التعاون الحاالت، معظم في أو محدود�، يظل الخليجي مهرجانات عن الحديث عند المراقبة نطاق ضمن
وأسواق ا�فالم التي تحمل أفكار� غير عربية.
التفاعل مستوى في النقص هذا يعود فهل إلى الخليجي التعاون مجلس دول منطقة خارج يريدون ال الخليج في ا�فالم صانعي أن حقيقة إنتاج ما تهتم به ا�سواق ا�جنبية؟ أم أن صانعي ا�فالم الخليجيين غير متأكدين من أفضل الطرق الصعيد على أعمالهم و أنفسهم لتسويق العالمي؟ وهل من الممكن أن يكون صانعو ا�فالم لديهم ليس الخليجي التعاون مجلس دول في أية طموحات للمساهمة في مشاهد فيلمية أخرى
أو أفريقيا شمال و وأوروبا، ا�وسط، الشرق في إلى يعود ا�مر أن أم ا�مريكية؟ المتحدة الواليات أنها أو الخارج في الوطيس حامية المنافسة أن والنفقات؟ التعقيدات من الكثير على تنطوي في ا�فالم صانعي أن إلى ا�مر يعود هل وأخير�، بأن يشعرون الخليجي التعاون مجلس دول قصصهم ”المحلية“ لن يتم نقلها بشكل صحيح المشاهدين ذلك في (بما ا�خرى الثقافات إلى الذين يتحدثون العربية في منطقة الشرق ا�وسط
وشمال أفريقيا، و المتحدثين بالعربية عموم�)؟
ومهما كانت ا�جابات، فإن إم بي ترغب في تشجيع صانعي ا�فالم في دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي هنا واالنتشار للخروج أفالمهم آفاق توسيع على وهناك بقدر ا�مكان خالل العام 2010. وعلى صانعي بينما المنطقة تقدمه مما يستفيدوا أن االفالم خبراتهم و المعلوماتية آفاقهم من يوسعون أن عليك أفالم، كصانع الراحة“. ”منطقة خارج إلى حضور ورش عمل صناعة االعتبار تنظر بعين ا�فالم في الخارج (ربما كورس صغير في (المدرسة الوطنية ل�فالم والتلفاز NFTS). قدم آخر ما قمت أو الدولية ا�فالم مهرجانات أحد إلى أفالم من به في القصيرة ا�فالم ركن (مثال: الدولية ا�سواق
92 93
KNOW HOWShoot Locally, Think Globally
كلما المحلي، التعيين و المحلي، التصوير كثر كلما فإنه أخرى، وبعبارة إذا أما التمويل. على للحصول التأهل نحو رصيد� أو نقاط� الفيلم كسب تتألف في مجملها من لقطات خارجية في مشهد صحراوي كانت مشاهدك تأهلك من ما بطريقة ذلك يقلل فربما بالكامل، عرب وطاقم ممثلين مع احداث كانت إذا أنه على النهاية. في أقل نقاط ستكسب �نك للتمويل تجد فقد أعراق مختلفة، و تضم ممثلين من غربية تقع في عاصمة قصتك نفسك قادر� على التصوير في ميونخ، أو فرانكفورت، أو برلين، أو هامبورج أو قادر� تكون قد قصتك، ومحتوى طبيعة على بناء فإنه وباختصار، كولون. على تكييف نصك بعض الشيء لكي تتأهل بشكل أفضل للحصول على
التمويالت المعروضة.
ألمانيا، قد تحاول وكبديل لكسب فيلمك ”للنقاط المؤهلة“ للتصوير داخل في المقابل أن تعد المرحلة السابقة على ا�نتاج في ألمانيا. فكل شيء اعتبار� الصوت و هندسة الموسيقي، التأليف إلى التحرير، إلى الورشي، العمل من يمكن ترتيبه في ألمانيا حتى إذا كان التصوير قد تم في بلد آخر. وعلى أي حال، فإن إنتاج ا�فالم نشاط اقتصادي، و إنتاج ا�عمال المحلية هو با�ساس ما تعنى به صناديق ا�فالم ا�قليمية ا�لمانية. فإذا استطعت أن تضع عالمات صح كافية في المربعات الصحيحة في طلب التقديم الخاص بك ترضي المعايير الدنيا للتأهل للحصول على التمويل، فربما تجد نفسك قادر� على التصوير
حتى في دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي وفق� لمتطلبات قصتك.
االتحادي ا�لماني بالصندوق تتعلق وأرقام حقائق DFFF ل�فالم
بين من فيلم� سينمائي�. 99 إنتاج تمويل على DFFF وافق 2007 العام في تلك ا�فالم كان هناك 34 فيلم� إنتاج مشترك تلقت ما إجماليه 33.4 مليون يورو على شكل ”قروض إنتاجية مشروطة“ (أي ليس بالضرورة أن يعاد دفعها إنتاج 99 DFFF على التالي 2008، وافق العام ربح�). في الفيلم إذا لم يحقق
مشروع� آخر و مول 37 إنتاج� دولي� مشترك� حصلت على 28.7 مليون يورو.
لمزيد من المعلومات عن الصندوق ا�لماني االتحادي ل�فالم يرجى االطالع على www.ffa.de
ا�قليمية ا�فالم ”صناديق و جيرماني“، ”فوكس عن المعلومات من لمزيد www.focusgermany.de ا�لمانية يرجى مراجعة الموقع
ا�لمانية لتمويل ا�فالم الخاصة بالصناديق تلميح: ابحث عن هذه الشعارات الحصول تبدأ في أجنبي�، وسوف المنتجة با�فالم الخاصة الفنية ا�عمال في
على فكرة عن ”من يمول ماذا...“
بقلم: الكاتب والمحرر في إم بي: طالل المهنا.
تلقى فيلم ”الجنة ا�ن“ لصانع ا�فالم الفلسطيني هاني
أبو أسعد تمويًال من ”Filmstifung“ في منطقة نورث رينا
– ويستيفاليا.
IBC_L8.indd 1 25/02/2010 19:21
come and broadcast
your creativity at the creative media zone.
Come and visit us in Hall 1, Stand No G1-31 during the CABSAT MENA & Satel-
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