Waiting on storyboard artists!

Bismillah ar-Rahmaan ar-Raheem,

Asalamu Aliakum,

Alhamdulilah so far I got 4 storyboard artists from Elance. I’ve been busy making contacts with these artists back and forth. I learned that there are difference in cost, depends on how the project is drawn. Some charges frame by frame, others page by page and some by the job. I think the most common is frame by frame, than page by page. Keep in mind we have two month left to start making the film! So I really want the storyboard to be finished in 2 weeks at least.

Over all that is not my main concern. My real agenda is how someone can create a storyboard as a cinematographer or think like a cinematographer for the director of photography. What I mean is a professional artist can draw very good but will he or she be able to visualize what the writer of the script or the director wants the scene to look like!?

I’ll keep all you posted. Jazakum Allah for the support. Wa salam alaikum.

Craigslist vs.Elance.

Bismillah ar-Rahmaan ar-Raheem,

Asalam alaikum,

Alhamdulilah I got contacted by a storyboard artist from craigslist and another from Elance. I posted the project in Elance for 12 days bidding period. The process in craigslist is little bit different. I'll keep you all updated Inshallah, wa salam alaikum.

The script is finally completed

Bismillah ar-Rahmaan ar-Raheem,

The script is finally completed. Last Friday, I met a Labid, a producer from tworams.com, and he gave me some valuable advise about Ummah Films. I emailed him a copy of the final script and hope to get his feedback InshAllah since he has 7 years of experience in the industry and I'm just a newbie.

With two people already casted, we just need to cast the rest of the characters and start putting together a crew to film this short InshAllah. In Islam, we are suppose to seek knowledge from those who are knowledgeable. So I found a person on craigslist.com who has an XL2 camera and can help us with the directing. I sent him an email and am awaiting his call.

Although we are filming in April, we want to be prepared and organized. I have heard that many movies never finish because people quit in the middle of the project. I can't say I blame them because if the project isn't organized, then there really isn't any point of working on chaos. As Muslims, we should not only be organized but we try to do things the best we can based on our resources. Now I don't expect a Steven Speilberg movie (once again, this is our first movie attempt) but we should try our best.

Storyboard the next step

Bismillah ar-Rahmaan ar-Raheem,

Asalam aliakum,

Once the script is finalized our next step will be to create storyboard. Storyboard is a set of images created on timelines for visualization purposes so it can help the film director. Brother Ali showed me this link that has free storyboard software. It’s awesome. Check it out http://www.celtx.com/.

Wa salam alaikum

Finalizing the deal with writer

Bismillah ar-Rahmaan ar-Raheem,

Asalam alaikum,
Alhamdulilah, Inshallah tomorrow I’ll finalize the deal with writer regarding the new script. I thank the Brothers and Sisters for the feedback on it. If anyone is interested to read the new script one more time please do so and leave comments, feedback or whatever you think that should be changed. Everything is by the grace of Allah then with your help and support. Jazakum Allah wa salam alaikum.

The new script is ready!

Bismillah ar-Rahmaan ar-Raheem,

Alhamdulillah, the writer we hired finished the new script! Please check it out here and please post your comments.

JazakAllah khair for your support.

Techniques in Filmmaking

Bismillah ar-Rahmaan ar-Raheem,

Asalam aliakum,
While I am waiting for the script to be re-written and submitted by the 11th of this month, I want to share with you all some of the techniques in filmmaking or shooting a good video. So please check some of the posts by Ali at Ummahfilms for the month of March. Look for the following posts:

Home movie style vs. professional movie style
How to get the "film" look using filters
Cool film techniques
What you'll need to make a film: Part 1 - Camera
What you'll need to make a film: Part 2 - Lighting

Wa salam alaikum

Cast & Crew

Bismillah ar-Rahmaan ar-Raheem,

I spoke to Hossein and he agreed to play the role of Omar. Being that I have never gone to film school and I have no professional filmmaking experience, almost everything is a learning process for me. The goal is to record this film in April. So until then, we are trying to prepare for the actual filming day. The first step thus far has been to put together a script. I have posted the last version of the script (which is currently being rewritten) under the links tab in case anyone is interested.

The one major thing the script lacks is Hassan (main character) narrating his thoughts. Since he is deaf, I think it would be interesting to hear what is going on in his head.

Anyways, once we get the script down, the next step is to storyboard and figure out locations for filming. Yeah, the process gets harder :)

New Template

Bismillah ar-Rahmaan ar-Raheem,

Got tired of seeing the same old template look so I decided to design Tomorrow Never Comes banner. Hence, the new look of the blog :)

I pitched the idea to three friends I know and they agreed to play a part in the movie. So since I have their green light, I used my resources to find pics of each one of them and used them to put them into the banner. When people see progress, they get inspired. So far, we have been trying to keep a tab on everything that is going on and if you have been keeping up since day 1 (which wasn't that long ago), you've probably seen the progress too :)