week 3
Although my week was busy, due to my full time working in Dubai TV, launching our new grid After Ramadan and Summer, I spent my free time searching in the internet to support my video background about Women of UAE in the past and Present. Indeed my research based on 3 aspects that are: what was their rule; the progresses they passed by and their positions now and how. Finding the answers was a bit challenging. How? Since I am considering form new generations, I thought women were isolated and have no rule except looking after their kids and family. But in the actual life, ladies had bigger rule in the society than that. However that was their main rule, but they were still had the right work to support their men and what was more excited for me they were meeting in women's Maglis to exchange society issues , considering the political matters too.
Generally the information I found online were good and most of them repeating the same reflection of Women in the UAE have been encouraged and empowered since the foundation of the state and the role of women in society has evolved considerably over the years. However, these reflects representing my main message in my video, but deep inside of me, they are still not motivating my creative inspiration to lineup my video script , where I am looking for distinctive spark to start with and follow till the end. i felt i need to hear from real people who maybe were part of that progress or lived close to the people who lived the old period and shared their experience with them. So, within my research I found an excited information about "Women's Museum", here in Dubai, talking about Emiratis women and their progress, where defiantly I will find historian people working their, can discuss more ambitious feelings came from the past. So, my next plan that has to be very soon is visiting them in their location.
Costumes from 60's was within my research mission, since my main scene will be build up on one scene from 60's with four charachters (the Young mother and her three doughters, 6,2 and 8 months.
Here are some links to online videos to keep me in the right track regarding to the costumes look and feel:
Video making:
During my research online , i couldn't find any references can explain exactly what style my video will applay. Neverthless, i found some excited referncess i can back too as ideas to be applay:
Audio and visual "feels from the past": http://vimeo.com/45064926
Intimate talk: http://vimeo.com/album/1867562/video/7785880
Message : http://vimeo.com/69583306
Experimental "eyes of an artist not a film maker": http://youtu.be/xlJxkoTzy9M
week 4
In week 4, my progress in media project was a bet less; indeed working in the media field having management duties, make you responsible to accomplish 24/7 tasks, especially when you are taking over your colleague duty in his vacation!! Considering at the same time back for studying in the same circumstance; it is really hectic to manage.
However, I had to meet other tasks deadlines for my other courses at the college "international studies”, I managed to do some online search " self-learning" about the usage of " Canon 5D Mark III camera". How that is linked to my media project?!! There is big time link. Due to the tasks am doing at work " Supervising", I totally missed working with technical tools like camera by myself. In the TV everyone has his own job title and duty. The Producer role and manage the production work, while the Director might decided his scenes and choose his shots, but the Camera person who is taking care of executing that. Though video editor taking care of the post phase, but of course depends in his work into the vision of the Directors.
So, The challenge for this semester is “shooting or taking part of shooting my short video, using " Canon 5D Mark III camera", which I gladly managed to buy it end of week 4 from my saving. Wish me the luck.
week 5
It's week 5, time goes so quickly. No need to remind you that my week was busy at work or college, it seems rush became part of my life routine. However, time management is always important to accomplish your goal, as well as advanced preparation. Here, I am sharing my two documents could guarantee my time management during the coming period, which are:
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Initial Production schedule describing my project workflow. "hope I will manage to follow it".
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Estimated budget to be invested in the production needs to excute Sougha video during the phases of : pre, production, post production and Exhibition literature. “hope to manage paying less..."
week 6
At the early days of week 6, I had good off from all duties; work and college, it was “Eid Adha” holiday.. Happy Eid to you all.. With happy face J. Although I have vacation from work, finally after non-stop busy two years, I started my vacation with first day of Eid for couple of weeks. Though, I back to the college in Tuesday of the same week, that wasn’t really easy day, we got more new assignments and projects to be done with close deadlines; “Case Study” for international study course, and theory research with presentation for entrepreneurship course. Honestly, every time I feel stressed, I think to quit, but I remember it is for matter of time and important step to get my Mater degree, so I have to teach myself how to enjoy it.
Referring to my initial production plan, I had to visit “Women’s Museum” on Wednesday, but unfortunately, that didn’t work, due to two reasons; I got my migraine which last for three days and I was running out of car, my car was in the workshop for 60K km service until 6pm, and worst our house driver is in vacation for two months, so things didn’t work as planned. However, I start over in the next day ’Thursday”, I got slight recovered from my migraine. I moved from home after prayer noontime, to avoid any kind of traffic. The Museum located in the center of Dubai Gold Souk “busy area all the day, but less busy at the noontime”. Indeed am not familiar with this area so I used my Google map to guide me to location, however it offered me a good help, but it was very hard to find parking close to the museum, so I found paying parking and walked to the location nearly for 10 minutes. Oh yeah.. I didn’t mention that I had a journey companion represented by my school hood best friend “Khadeya”, who she has to back to home maximum at 5pm to rest, since her shift in the airport will start from 10pm to 5am. My second companion was my new friend “Cannon EOS Mark3”.
We were next to the museum gate at 2 pm, but with bad luck it was locked with chain?!! Even though they mentioned online it is open from Sat to Thr from 10am to 7pm. There was contact posted on the gate with emergency contact, I called them several times, but unfortunately no respond! So I had to leave and plan to come back next week, but I have to call them first, before I move to their location. What was so weird at that day, sky started raining for 15 minutes at that area of Dubai!! However the weather was hot but bearable.
Disappointedly, my friends and I had to leave the museum, but not to home! Yes since we are in the old souk we had to do some shopping for old costume outfits and fake jewelry “Sougha” that planned to be used in the video. At the beginning that wasn’t really easy, since most of the fabrics and props have modern touch, but after wandering around the souk, we finally made it and found our desired stores “located in internal alleys of the souk” selling old materials from the past.
After spending nearly 3 hours in the souk, then we moved direct to our favorite old local Indian tailor who we used to deal with since we were in the school until now to do what is needed, he promised to try his best and finish the costume in less than10 days due to his busy work. Then I drive Khadeya back to home, and it was already 5.45pm, “poor my friend”.
Backing home I started to download pictures for the 1st time to my Mac, where another challenge faced me, all the images are in RAW format so they have to be converted to JPEG for easy view and edit in my computer. Searching online for solution and reading the menu provided with the camera, really facilitated my work, and here I am sharing the images with you as you saw them above.
Week 7 & 8
In week 7 I had to travel abroad with my family for health matter, action has been taken due to online classes and independent learning assignments for entrepreneurship and international studies classes. Visiting the museum was impossible; considering I was so down to do any achievement at that week. Nevertheless, I came back from abroad Sunday morning, in week 8, In the same day of my arrival, I had classes at the afternoon time, so my initial plan was to finish international study classes at 5 pm and jump to the car to go direct to the museum in the same day. Unfortunately that didn’t work; as usual new tricky assignment took place every week, but this time it’s “group work”, were we spent time discussing about the topic and organizing the job, that took us one more hour after 5pm, which is basically late to reach the museum before its closing time at 7pm. Bearing in mind distance to the museum from the college nearly took one hour; that in the dead time for traffic, but obviously I wouldn’t make it.
Monday Morning, I called the museum to avoid the previous time mistake I’ve done in week 6, this time the operator picked up the phone and updated me that I can pass by during the opening period from 10 am to 7pm, answering my question of the closing reason last time, which was because minor renovation in the place. I reached the museum at 10.30am, paid the fees and had my tour inside this inspiring old Emirati house. I found the museum really different; it’s the twist that I was looking for in the concept of Emirati women from the past to the present, which basically changed a basic line in my script, and a phrase I used as tagline said “stayed at home”; the stereotype info has been shared over and over in most the exist media and has been taught at school. The new facts get the time to sparkle in the UAE history sky about history of Women. I might sound emotional in my last words, but if I did it and deliver my feelings to you toward these new facts then this is the different I am seeking to achieve and you will discover in the next lines and will notice in my alternative short video or “short filler video” as I call it. I met miss “Hawara” works as Museum coordinator, she took me in a tour in the museum 3 floors, small in the size but so deep in the facts there walls are sharing, which took me two hours. In the ground floor she started the museum is a personal cultural initiative, initiated by the founder Dr. Rafia Ghubash. It took her 7 years preparing before it is actual opening from only two years. She started that as personal efforts and supported by lots of Emirati family who shared with her facts and evidences about their grandmothers to display it in the museum, “noticing some of the families asked her to don’t allow picturing their families pictures took place in the museum or use them as media content, she respond to their request and label them with signs preventing taking pictures of them”. Evidences have been provided too as copies from government’s organizations’ archives. The museum has a very nice story, which originally titled under “bait al banat” or “ “Girls’ house” that named after a true story of this house that lived by 3 sisters has no brothers lived there and died there, so the house named in that areas at that period after them.
Hawa shared with me interesting facts about the museum; how the idea started? And what Dr. Rafia did and still doing to support this museum? If you are curious to know you have to visit it to listen to these stories. While backing to my project my focus in each floor was as following, ground floor was so inspiring for me’ it recall a series of images showing history and people’s personal memories of the local district and how they lived as you are entering to someone house. Considering they exhibited women belongings such as traditional jewelry, outfits and others. Furthermore, more evidences and facts has been used in every part for a richer understanding of the Emirates as a place where women weren’t rally isolated and have played important roles in politics, business and education. Shared info “stayed at home” is not accurate, the truth is totally different sharing names, pictures, documents and true stories were evidences for a real people in real life took place starting from 50’s. Considering What was the most shocking for me in the museum, in one of the walls about women worked in Business, picture and story has been shared for one of my grandfather relatives “ Aysha Yousef Al Serkal”, born in 1933, she was one of the first women who worked in the trading at that period (buying goods from India to sell it in UAE). One more shocking fact has been shared with me about women isolation movement took place in the 80’s but not before.
Moving to Mezzanine floor, I got the chance to enjoy art works done by Emirati female artists in Bait Al Banat gallery where the shared art works came from different period ages; statue from 70s to modern statues made in 2000’s. The pieces came from old ages give you the feel of bright future, and the new ones done by the new generations mixed the future mission completing the past live vision, as they were saying “ we are not creating the future that you didn’t know, but we are completing what you started utilizing your experience supported by our new modern tools”. The Emirati artist Fatma Lootah who studied art in Italy did the most inspiring artwork, “at least from my point of view and has direct link to my project”, her piece was about dancing statue made of old fabric for Emirati women’s costume, and gave it name of “ dancing in the light”, as she is inspiring me by saying “ our past wasn’t dark, it was the vital truth of what you are doing and enjoying today”.
While In the First floor I walked between wavy walls designed with Arabic fonts describing lyrics of poems written by the famous Emirati poetry “Ousha Al Suwaidi”, born in 1920, still alive but in a critical health condition in the hospital. Voice Speakers hidden in the walls playing her voice reading the poems in very warm loving voice. In the corners I saw her some of her personal documents and belongings like old reading lens with draft papers got written pomes with her handwriting. All what I felt at that moment is “ intimate feelings combining past with the present, her warm voice was whispering in my ears saying brilliant past gave birth to a beautiful future”.
My journey to the museum came to an end, I was thrilled and full of optimistic and hope, Hawa and I exchanged business cards, where she got shock that I am officially working in Dubai TV, considering I introduced myself to her as student working in my graduation project that about Emirati women where specifically representing the bright past that completing this success present and have the vision for superior future. Happily Hawa shared with me Dr. Rafia's business card, and told me never hesitate to contact them for any further information, wishing me best of luck.
Overall, my visits to the museum encouraged me to rearrange my ideas, and narrowing my thoughts to a focal point; so I am preparing myself to start writing my short alternative video script. The goal of this video has to highlight the different roles Implemented by Emirati women in the past is only compeleting link to this honorable present ”.
Video:
Again I back to online research looking for some video references more close to what I want to do. Bellow findings explain some of the ideas to be implemented in my short video:
- The past vision worked out to be today’s mission+ background music:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yET4p-r2TI8&sns=em
- Never end progress beliefs:
http://www.history.com/shows/mankind-the-story-of-all-of-us/videos/future-of-humanity
wekk 9
Here we are… I started working in the script, gathering my feelings and inspiration facts in one piece. I started my work formatting sequenced running order table for expected video and audio, putting them in an order based to my imagination how the video should be. Doing that, wasn’t really easy and helpful as expected, keeping in mind more ideas kept coming up in how to establish the video; some times with kids, other time with location and then with the mother character!! So I simplified my working mechanism and start over with writing down the voice over script, adding notes on a side to be consider in the final tuning for the final script. Where I started visualizing mixing common old songs to be used as another way for describing the life circumstance at that time. For example, lyrics for one of the old songs (Ya Jarati song), that aiming to say in English “ hey neighbors,, my adventurer sailor will be back with lots of gifts and living material”, that describing women were taking care of raising their kids and secure the city in the absents of their men and husbands.
For now, narrative VO script is 90% ready, considering I found some nice poems in the Internet and I am planning to include some lyrics in my script. I wrote an email to the poet to take her permission using them in my short video, officially I will be saving her right and specify her with special thanks in the end credit. While regarding to next step, I will be breaking down the script and prepare myself for production phase. Will keep you updated with my new,, stay tuned.