making a islam awareness documentary

[Jihan]

Asalaamu 'alaikum wr wbr
A few sisters and I are trying to make a documentary on islam awareness. We had our panel last week (inshaAllah we will find out if we recieve the grant, maximum of a $1000 next week from our leadership program ). the documentary is suppose to raise money to help build schools in developing countries (possibly a muslim country).embracingislam is a member at TTI and she's also in this project with me, so if you have any suggestions for us feel free to speak to her as well. Anyways we are still at the beginning of the process so we want you guys to help us with ideas on what to put in the film, how to make the film profressional,where to show it (i.e. specific universities,schools, masjids,movie theaters,etc). now for our project we need to recruit more members and we would love it for TTI member to be members of realvision (that's our venture group name).

inshaAllah... please share any information you have about anything that may help us make the film, sell the film, or find organizations that can help with building schools over seas.

ps: we want to make a section in the doc. where there are interviews of muslim and surveys presented to muslims from non muslim answers. And a section interviewing non muslim and asking questions like who was Muhammad (s.a.w)?
pps: we want to add some light comedy and entertainment. any comedians?

ppps: we need as much as help as possible!!!!!!!!!!!
pppps: JazaakAllah for your efforts

 

[Alisha]

have u ever heard about ummahfilms???
they r into making documentary on similar lines.
and MashAllah they have achieved a gr8 amount of success . they promote thheir videos on you tube n on their websit www.ummahfilms.com

here is a link to their videos http://www.ummahfilms.com/season1.html

their objective is "We provide a Halaal (Islamically permissible) alternative form of entertainment with a positive message. Insha' Allah (God willing), we hope to change the negative stereotypes of Muslims and make films that Muslims (as well as others) can relate to. For Ummah Films, Islam will always comes first so therefore, we will not compromise for the sake of being "artistic" or otherwise - no naked people, no cursing, no Haraam (prohibited in Islam) period. Unlike other artists, we do not think that you have to mock Islam or Muslims to be funny and to us, that type of approach is not funny at all. Instead we try to use humor to the nonsense actions Muslims do to bring attention to it and so people will remember"

u can even send ideas to them for future projects. so plz check it out .hope this info will help u.

 

[BlueFish]

Jihan,

I think it is a wonderful idea that you want to make a documentary! A few questions to get started.
First, do you have a vision of your documentary? Do you know what the content is you want to deliver to your audience? Do you have stimulating scenery for the audience, such as showing several mosques, large and small, maybe city and country landscape? Who will you interview? What will you ask? Where is the location... local, national, international? Is there any other ideas maybe you haven't considered? You don't necessarily need a script for a documentary, but one helps for a guide line, or something so everyone helping has a common vision for the goal. Start writing if you have not already.
Second, who is going to direct your documentary? Do they know what they are doing? And do you have a crew to help, can be small, depending on how much will go into the project. Who will edit your film?
And, decent equipment. There are some other things that go into this also, it really isn't to complicated, but to make a good documentary, it would be in your interests to keep this in mind. If you have any questions, I can see if i can help with an answer. Inshalla, it will be successful!

PEACE!

 

[Jihan]

Blue fish
we do have somewhat of a picture on what we will include in the film. you asked if we had a director the thing is we are venture group of four and we just decide one of us to be a director (hopefully the one most suitable). I want to actually make the video international to some extent, that's why we need help from you guys, if that's possible. we have thought of questions for nonmuslims for the interview. And for our editor that will be my older brother, he has experience in that area.we haven't yet put down all our ideas. we're still accepting ideas from others.


jazaakaAllah for all the question its nice to see what we have exact answers for and what not. It really helped.

 

[BlueFish]

Jihan,

I just thought of a suggestion. If this sounds like it would be too much then don't commit to this idea but since you asked for help... what if other brothers and sisters with experience in film, helped out by sending clips or footage to you. You could get a P.O. box set up, so people could send disks or tapes with interviews and nice scenery, that your brother could edit in. Might help... if the FBI doesn't freak out and raid the PO box, just kidding. They are so paranoid these days or should I say always are. (Hey that might be a point in your film.) Any way, let me know what you think, if I have some time to donate, I could try and get some good footage. I am working on film short now, so I will have a camera for a little while. Just keep me posted, I need to know ahead of time so I don't over whelm myself. I would love to help.

PEACE!

 

[Jihan]

... if the FBI doesn't freak out and raid the PO box, just kidding. They are so paranoid these days or should I say always are. (Hey that might be a point in your film.)!

that's funny!
hey i love the idea it sounds like what i'm looking for, but how do you set up a po box? I'd like to see small video clips from other people. but the thing is I want the clips to be specifically designated for this documentary ( so nothing old, but rather something original). I'll let my brother know inshaAllah and see what he says.

ps: make sure when you send the videos clip you call them names like Why i love being american muslim (then they won't care what's in it) im kidding.

 

[BlueFish]

Think

To set up a (Post Office Box) you would go to your local post office and fill out paper work. I think this would work in any country that has a decent post office.
Here this is an excerpt from wikipedia.com explaining the P.O. BOX for further knowledge.

{A post office box (often abbreviated P.O. Box or PO Box) is a uniquely-addressable lockable box located on the premises of a post office station.

In many countries, particularly in Africa and the Middle East, there is no 'door to door' delivery of mail. For example, mail to street address in Namibia will be returned to sender as undeliverable.[1] Consequently renting a PO box has traditionally been the only way to receive mail in such countries, although some, like Jordan, are now introducing home delivery.[2] In some rural areas of countries like the United States, Canada, and Australia, mail is not delivered so the rentals are often discounted or free.[citation needed]

Generally, post office boxes are rented from the post office either by individuals or by businesses on a basis ranging from monthly to annual, and the cost of rent varies depending on the box size. CBD PO boxes are usually more expensive than a rural PO box.

In the US, the rental rate used to be uniform across the country. Now, however, a postal facility can be in any of seven fee groups by location; in addition, certain customers qualify for free box rental.}

And about sending tapes with a specific title would be smart. If you do this project don't be bias in your choosing of material, just choose informative and well delivered response, this is a touchy subject for a lot of people. Maybe read up on history to get some insight also. There have been many wars fought in the name of God. Many have distorted religion given it a negative image by mixing it with politics (beside Islam, this goes for religions such as Christianity, and Judaism ). Religion has also done a wonder of good for people at the same time. It is touchy subject, because it is a personal thing, my personal opinion is that the beliefs of people and their relationship with God (Allah), belong to their own hearts and minds and not to be exploited so the public can ridicule them and tell them they should be this way or that. When people discover they have the same views and beliefs it can form a community, but if they are forced to believe certain things under compulsion it becomes a fascist hypocrisy and damages people and provides nothing beneficial. So, just a suggestion of caution to keep in mind while performing this project. Protect your fellow brothers and sisters. I trust you will find the best way you can to produce a good piece with a mind opening message, Inshalla!


If anymore questions just ask.
:mashallah:
PEACE!