Author Archives: Sasha Saeed

Final Edit Notes

Posted on by

Final Edit Notes

8-26-16

 

Spell out what the core concept is during the end of the intro.

The voices fading in’n’out are still sounding like a mistake

Sandwich the images of the universal Muslim woman with shots of Alya’s A roll

Present Omar Mateen to the audience

Take a moment to pause and allow audience to digest the and acknowledge the horrific event

Text on screen and or voiceover

The Obama and trump clips are not working

Slow down a little

Be consistent with lower thirds

Brady bunch intro? 

Lab#6 Intro/Conclusion

Posted on by
  • Introduction obligatory’s– news clips from the Orlando shooting- LGBT Communities reaction to the shooting and also the Muslim communities reaction to the shooting.
  • Conclusion- Alya’s piece of making peace with herself and finally accepting her homosexuality
  • LGBT communities proposed solution on how to come back from an atrocity like this and how to mend fences with the Muslim community.
  • The Scarf story (hope moments)
  • The vigil story (hope moments)
  • Obligatory footage:

    • News Clips from the shooting
    • Castro – gay capital of Sf
    • B-roll of Muslim
  • The A-roll directly tells us the concerns and struggles of the Middle Eastern/ Muslim community, the LGBT community and those that fall under both, in regards to the Orlando shooting and the concept of Islamaphobia in general.
  • The B- roll footage shows us the political climate in pictures 

SMJ Roughcut feedback

Posted on by
  1. Shadow interview with queer Muslimah is hijacking the piece 
  2. Islamaphobia as a personal experiance is a very good segment to include for Aly's piece 
  3. Needs Structure 
  4. B-Roll — News Clips, still photogpraphy 
  5. keep it impactful 
  6. start with Aliyas testimony and then hit audience with a bang! play on emotions 
  7. decide/grouping segments: i.e.homosexulaity, Islamaphobia, LBGT Muslims, Omar Mateen 
  8. make sure none of the footage underminds the core concept 
  9. try and get another interview w the Jordanian Gay man in the Castro 
  10. trim footage overall 
  11. include healing moments at the end 
  12. (The scarf story and the vigil story) 
  13. ten minute mark 
  14. strucutre and impactfulness are KEY!

STORY STRUCTURE

Posted on by
  1. The Narrative spine of this film is the identity crisis of the LGBT (including LGBT MUSLIMS) community, post-Orlando shooting and the rise of Islamaphobia in America due to the current political climate.
  2. The main characters are:

    1. Alya – a queer practicing Muslim woman who balances two colliding identities within one entity. Alya’s interview is witness protection program style where her identity is concealed.
    2. Zahra Billoo – Executive Director of CAIR (Counsel of American Islamic Affairs)

      • Fights Islamaphobia in America everyday. The interview is at her office in Santa Clara.
  3. We plan to add b-roll shots that will play during parts of the interview. The B-roll will tell a visual story that is synonymous with the A- Roll audio story.
  4. The conflict that drives this story is the rise of hatred and bias against Muslims in this country, an entire people is judged for the actions of a few. The other conflict, which drives this story is the hatred expressed by both the American mainstream and Muslim community towards the Homosexuals.
  5. I wish to clear misconceptions about Muslims. I wish to show the world that LGBTQ Muslims do exist. I wish to help people understand that Omar Mateen’s actions are not a reflection of Islam or practicing Muslims in anyway. I wish lastly uncover that Omar himself was most likely gay and he did not get the support he needed from his community, in some ways he too was a victim of his sexual repression and self hatred.
  6. The inciting incident is the reaction the to Orlando shooting.
  7. What will make this story strong is the honesty in the testimonies provided by the subjects.

Interview Questions

Posted on by

1. What was your reaction when you heard about the Orlando shooting?

2. What was your reaction when you heard that the shooter was an Afghan Muslim American?

3. Why do you think Omar killed all those people?

4. Do you think he might have been gay himself?

5. has this changed your view of Islam and Muslims?

6. As a Muslim/Arab do you feel scared of lashback? 

7. What are some possible solutions to mending the bridges between these two marginalized societies? 

Lab #6 Intro Ideas

Posted on by

A montage of news clips that:

Reveals homophobia in mainstream America

Reveals homophobia in within the Muslim Community (Post Orlando commentary)

Any news clips of LGBT muslims 

Orlando Shooting —

Muslims dontating blood 

Omar Mateen's alleged male lover 

Omar Mateen's ex-wife