Al Baraa

UPDATE :: 11.25.2008

Brothers and sisters, PLEASE follow directions.
Do one of two things:

• Suggest a story idea with a synopsis with marketability aspects laid out in bullet form (see google doc below for example)

or

• Take one of the stories already posted in the document and help do some research to expand on the details of it. -- this would mean going out and seeking out the individual(s). See if they would like to be featured in the movie and tell their story, and what not.

UPDATE :: 11.24.2008

I'll continuously be updating this first post w/ story ideas worth looking into for further development.

I've created a Google documentthat everyone can view here:


Either contribute a possible story idea, and state what Marketable Aspect(s) it has (see below for details on what Marketable Aspects are).

I'll be updating the document regularly so give your input regularly as well.

-- -- -- --

If were going to make a movie, let's aim for producing something THEATER WORTHY. I'm talking theatrical release in national and domestic markets worldwide.

In response to the AlMaghrib Movie thread and emails going back and forth on the back end, I figured I'd take the opportunity to drive the development of the movie and take this bull by the horns.

Last year I wrote a rough proposal for a feature length documentary as a means to get the creative juices flowing. If you want to read the proposal idea, see this: First Impact Movie Proposal (this proposal is simply there to get creative juices flowing)

-- -- -- --

As much "hype" there seems to be out there for making a movie -- We don't have anything REALLY developed in areas of:

• Story
• Budget plan
• Adequate Production Plan/Schedule
• Distribution Strategy

The STORY is the most important part of any production/movie/film. What's the story(s) that we're telling the audience that is really of any interest to the general muslim/non-muslim populous? The proposal that I had written up lacks tremendously in this area.

Filming a documentary is a LOT of work. Doesn't matter if its being made for a theatrical release or being made as something amaturish to pass around to family/friends -- the work and time that goes into it is the pretty much the same. What's different is WHERE (pre-production, production, post-production, or distribution) that time is spent.

In making a PROFESSIONAL low-budget movie ($10,000,000 - $50,000), 80% of the work is in pre-production. This involves:

• Research
• Outlining - Scripting
• Budgeting for producing the script
• Incoporating and funding/financing the movie
• Developing production schedule/plan
• Assembling team
• Executing plan officially moving into "Blink! Production"

In order to develop an AWESOME SMACK DUNKIN' story, research needs to be done.

Stories should marketable and be of interest to people. The more aspects of the points below a story holds, the more interest and attention gravitates towards it. When sharing yours (or other's) stories keep in mind the points below.

:: Timeliness ::
A story that really doesn't get old/irrelevant over time.

:: Human Interest ::
Something that really appeals to people's heart strings :: ie: Durbah starting the "visit the old folks" project a while back as a result of "Breach of Covenant" seminar and the tears of gratitute that came forth from those elder people.

:: Prominence ::
Producers usually fulfill this by featuring a known star in the movie (ie;Starring Tom Cruise). For documentaries, this is done by having someone of popular on screen (ie;Michael Moore, Leo DeCaprio) or someone with a very sticky personality (ie;Morgan Spurlock-Supersize Me). Also, featuring stories around some prominant people also helps in this area.

:: Novelty ::
Stories that really haven't been told and are new in their nature. Michael Moore taking a serious issue of 9-11, politics and Iraq War and making it into a satire was very novel in his movie "Farenheit 9/11" No one really took that topic and presented it in such a way, and the stories presented in that movie were stories not covered by other filmmakers and/or media outlets.

:: Weirdness ::
Some stories can have such attributes to them (ie; jinn/black-magic experience of LOG and LUL students classes that can be relayed -- like the taweez w/ a calling to jinn names)

:: Conflict / Conspiracy / Controversy ::
Fights always attract attention. The AlMaghrib student getting run over in Toronto seminar by crazy racist guy, the nutty sufi guy from toronto (all the conflicts are in toronto :P)

:: Impact ::
Gas prices going up or falling drastically, Fannie-Mae going defunct, Credit card companies going out of business -- These are stories that affect a LOT of people. What specific story(s) of AlMaghrib or its students can be told that has affected a LOT of people.

Which seminars have REALLY excited change and positive action? What qabeealh projects have really inspiried people?

-- -- -- --

With that said, go find those AWESOME SMACK DUNKIN' stories that can potentially be included in the movie.

Once we get the stories developing, then we can see which direction we really want to take this movie and what message we want to really push toward the viewers.

Imagine sitting in an AMC Lowes and watching opening credits come up on screen for the next 90 mins!

__________________
"And we will not fear the criticism of any critique in the path of the truth!"
- Companions when they pledged allegiance to the Prophet, sal Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam

AlMaghrib Instructors are now on iTunes! | Click here for details

Hala

Thread stuck. (alhamdulilah I did my part!)

ilmseeker

Wow masha'Allah, I'm excited, subhan'Allah this night is full of surprises, first Ilmfest now this!

__________________

ManOfFewWords

Dude, I would love to help but as with most people, I am at my most creative with a mound of sushi in front of me and the promise of tempura green tea ice cream for dessert.

If you want my help, your treat.

Sorry it's gotta be that way but lately i'm broke and sushi is my irresistible addiction.

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Abu Hurayrah

AlBaraa, this sounds like something we can act on! I'm definitely in, especially if you need anything technical or web-oriented. You know that's what I'm all about...

So, in that vein, I think I'd like to help out with the distribution strategy, in shaaʾ Allaah.

Abu Hurayrah

Oh, and you'll definitely need a narrator...

*clears throat*

EmanRush Media presents...

Al Baraa

ManofFewWords,
Sushi, eh? I'll look it into It's gonna have to be in December

Abu Hurayrah,
Love the enthusiasm! >> Keep in mind, right now I'm not even going to touch anything until the research for story development has been take care of. I want people to focus on researching/telling/pitching stories in this thread to include in the movie.

__________________
"And we will not fear the criticism of any critique in the path of the truth!"
- Companions when they pledged allegiance to the Prophet, sal Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam

AlMaghrib Instructors are now on iTunes! | Click here for details

Shirien

I was asked to respond to this thread in order to get people on the right path in terms of developing the story.

Making movies is much like writing a news story, as Albaraa has mentioned most of the elements of newsworthiness above.

In doing journalism, we're taught that the story is often in the background and only the right people will be able to see where the big story REALLY is.

So is the big story going to be AlMaghrib, teaching students in the West? no, most likely not.

There's nothing really interesting about and Islamic Institute teaching students. Even if the method they use is really different than what's out there.

I would say focus on Human Interest and Impact as the two elements you want to tap into.

One way to do this is to find interesting muslims with interesting stories and part of their interesting story has one way or another to do with AlMaghrib..


Know anyone who was so depressed and wanted to commit suicide until they were introduced to Islam? Did attending that one AlMaghrib class change their life? lol just an example, but you get what I'm saying..

Think outside the box. Look at the elements of newsworthiness (and for the record there is one more element : Proximity) and SOMETIMES the more elements your story has, the bigger hit it will be. wallahu alem.

Let's see your creative juices flow.....


--Shirien

__________________
As for killing time, since when is time an enemy that you should strive to kill?! Time is your breath, it is your lifetime and the moments of your life which you could fill with thousands and millions of hasanaat. It is sufficient for you to say Subhaan Allaah wa bi hamdihi (Glory and praise be to Allaah) once, and a palm tree will be planted for you in Paradise, so how many gardens have you failed to plant? How many hasanaat have you lost? (Islam QA)

w w w . b a y y i n a h . c o m / d r e a m

Abu Hurayrah

fi_sabil_lillah, forgive my bluntness, and this is likely due to inexperience, but I know that I would not be very interested in an AlMaghrib movie structured like a good news story. I am probably misunderstanding something.

Having said that, the Human Interest & Impact aspects make it something more tangible to me. So, for example, I think an aspect that many other AlMaghrib students can relate to is how AlMaghrib helped them focus their lives Islamically. Before AlMaghrib came along, others knew that they were Muslim, but what that meant to them wasn't exactly clear.

Speaking for myself, I knew Islam was more than just praying 5 times a day, fasting on Ramadhaan, etc. (i.e., just ritualistic worship). Attending AlMaghrib classes, first of all, exposed me to a large number of other Muslims that were like me (and, of course, better than me) in so many respects. It also helped me and other focus on what Islam is, instead of trying to make sense of some rather vague concepts (e.g., "Islam is peace!"). We learned how our pious predecessors lived Islam. We learned that Islam has a heritage. We learned that Islam is something clear and unambiguous, and therefore, can impact our lives in clearly defined ways, and not just be a checkbox in the descriptions of ourselves.

So, perhaps for a start, we can gather stories from people about how AlMaghrib has impacted them, and, in particular, in how it affected their own understanding of Islam for the better.

There is another positive from coming from this angle, and that is it would provide a great counter-punch to the hate-filled propaganda DVD that was spread just prior to the elections. Including the aspect of the positive knowledge & understanding component of AlMaghrib will put out the fire that some are stoking in trying to paint all Islamic programs as extremist.

By the way, this aspect of "How has AlMaghrib shaped your understanding of Islam" need not be the feature, but just be one of the aspects explored.

I'm afraid, however, of "AlMaghrib: The Movie" becoming a documentary. Is that what we want?