Thursday, December 13, 2007

UPDATE! Looking for Editor!

As-salaamu `alaikum,

Sorry for the long delay. A lot of things have preoccupied me, including a vacation but here is the latest on the project.

1. I have had some issues with editing. Since the movie is in HD, few people I know can edit the movie. The other problem is that the people I know live far from me so it is hard for me to commute back and forth due to my very limited schedule. So I am looking for a person in LA (not Orange County) who can edit the movie.

2. My vision for this movie has always been to appeal to the non Muslim market. I am networking and finding ways to do that so I will keep you all posted insha Allah.

That's it for now. Again, sorry for the delay but I plan to give everyone abreast on the latest news insha Allah on a more consistent basis.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

A Week After Filming: Time for an Editor!

As-salaamu `alaikum,

I've decided to wait a whole week before I get back into the swing of things with "Going Up North". The quest now is to find which volunteer editor I will pick.

Here are several factors in my decision:

1. I decided to have a narration. I will chop up the movie so it will be based on theme and not sequential order, kind of in a non linear fashion.

2. I will need something to record audio and/or video to accomodate this narration.

3. Location and time.

4. Most important, the equipment necessary for the editing!

Once I factor in all of this, I hope to make a final decision in a few days insha Allah!

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Now What's Next?

As-salaamu `alaikum,

Now after the completion of the filming, we now look to the next inevitable process and that is post production. The main focus would be now editing the movie.

We have had several people volunteer their time and effort to edit the movie. What I am looking for is not just the software but the talent of the editor. I will start making the final decision in a week or maybe a little more so I can feel confident enough with the editor that he will do a good job.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

ALHAMDULILLAH FILMING COMPLETE!

As salaamu alaikum,

Alhamdulillah, filming for "Going Up North" has been completed. We shot the final two scenes last night and it went well.

Now here comes post-production lol.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Last Day of Filming and Debate with SaadImam!

As-salaamu `alaikum,

Alhamdulillah, today is the last day of filming and we just got two scenes left! The remaining scenes will be the "Keeping It Real" and "The Resolution".

We shot the movie in various parts of Westwood in Los Angeles and Compton. Filming has been good and I am happy with what we have so far.

Today, we also filmed a debate between me and SaadImam regarding the issue of "Is Nasiha (Islamic advice) da`wah? It will be posted on SaadImam's Youtube page soon insha Allah so check it out!

Monday, October 15, 2007

Scenes Completed and Scenes Left

As-salaamu `alaikum,

Here are the scenes completed so far:

1. Race Debate

2. College Campus

3. Muslim Labeling

Here are the scenes left insha Allah:

1. Deep Philosophical

2. Explaining the Conference

3. Keeping it Real: Truth Strikes Back

4. Race and Marriage

5. Resolution

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Edi Mubarak Everyone!


Eid Mubarak everyone! I've contacted Friends and Families overseas and its confirmed that the moon was sighted wal hamdulilah.

Abu ‘Umayr ibn Anas reported from his paternal uncles among the Ansaar who said: “It was cloudy and we could not see the new moon of Shawwaal, so we started the day fasting, then a caravan came at the end of the day and told the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) that they had seen the new moon of Shawwaal the day before, so he told the people to stop fasting, and they went out to pray the Eid prayer the next day.”[Reported by the five. It is sahih; al-Irwaa’, 3/102, Abu Dawud 1153]

Eid Al-Fitr is on Friday 12th October 2007. May Allah (swt) accept all our Ibadaahat throughout Ramadhan.

Muslim on the authority of Abu Hurayrah: that “The Messenger of Allah (saw) forbade fasting on two days, the day of al-Adha and the day of al-Fitr”.

SAADIMAM IS HERE! Filming Begins Tomorrow on Jum`ah!

As salaamu alaikum,

Alhamdulillah, I was able to pick up Saadimam from the airport. We begin filming tomorrow insha Allah. I took him to the place where I work at in Compton and he was here checking out the area.

The "street da`wah scene" will be filmed here. So make du`a for us folks!

Friday, October 5, 2007

One Week Left! Yes, One Week Left and Breakdown of 1st Scene to be Shot (insha Allah)

As-salaamu alaikum,

Yes, one week left till the shooting of "Going Up North" insha Allah! I decided to shoot the "street da`wah" scene on Friday, October 12th. The location of the shoot will be in Compton, CA insha Allah. This will be the first scene we will shoot so may Allah grant us success.

The countdown begins!

Sunday, September 30, 2007

HV20 Camera Arrived! Pics, Pics, Pics!







As salaamu alaikum,

Alhamdulillah, the HV20 is here! Br. SaadImam ordered and it arrived. He also bought a shotgun mic as well and that too arrived.

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Scenes to be Shot on Oct. 15-21 (Insha Allah)

As-salaamu `alaikum,

The scenes that will be shot during Oct. 15-21 insha Allah will be the apartment scenes. The scenes will be shot during the evening, giving people a more flexible schedule to make it during the shoot.

Keeping It Real: The Truth Strikes Back Scene: The topic of having knowledge or understanding is brought up by one of the brothers. The conversation changes when one of the characters brings up a debate he was having at work with one of his co-workers. The co-worker brings up anti-Islamic arguments and the brother is telling everyone what the guy was saying to him. Mahdi and others defend Islam and tries to bring to light the truth of Islam and Muslims.

The Race and Marriage Scene: The brothers discuss the issue of racism amongst Muslims and struggle young brothers and sisters have to go through regarding marriage.

The Resolution Scene: After all this time spent pointing out problems and issues, the discussion goes to more of a positive note: try to find resolutions to the problems we Muslims are having and move forward as well as finding true unity amongst people of all backgrounds.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

It's Here! Scenes to be Shoot on Oct. 13-14 (Insha Allah)

As-salaamu alaikum,

Here are a list of the scenes to be shot on Oct. 13-14. The rest of the scenes will be shot during the week of Oct. 15-21 insha Allah.

The "Race Debate", Explaining the Conference and the "Muslim Labels" Scenes: The brothers are in a debate about race. The wait for the door to open at the apartment they're at and they walk on in. While inside, the brothers talk about the Islamic conference they are planning to go. The next morning, the brothers are getting to leave to go to another apartment. The issue of Muslim labeling come up and they get into a debate about it.

College Campus Scene: Brothers and sisters are at the "da`wah table" on Bruin walk at UCLA. Mahdi, Khaleel and another brother are walking towards the table. Before they reach the table, they pose in front of the Bruin Bear and briefly talk about their experiences. The other brother reminense about how he first learned about Islam and eventually converted to Islam.

They walk up to the table, and the people there are explaining Islam to one person who seems interested in learning. She asks questions about the role of women in Islam and the people at the table respond.

The Deep Philosophical Discussion Scene: Mahdi with another brother meets up with a friend at a local park. Mahdi and his friend end up discussing spiritual philosophical issues.

Doing Da`wah in front of the Mosque Scene: A non Muslim friend of one of the brothers is hanging out in front of a mosque in an inner-city neighborhood. The brothers give the man da`wah and explain their life story of how life was before becoming Muslim.

The first three scenes will be shot in the morning. The rest of the scenes will be shot in the afternoon and possibly evening insha Allah.

Question: What if Eid Happens During the Day of the Shoot?

As salaamu alaikum,

It is a possibility that Eid will occur during October 13-14. I've been asked will it be possible to shoot during the Eid.

To answer that question, the filming on that day will start at 2:00 pm. This will give the actors plenty of time to celebrate and attend the Eid prayers.

Friday, September 14, 2007

Cast Member SaadImam Buys Plane Ticket and Camera; NEW Confirmed Filming Dates

As-salaamu alaikum,

Alhamdulillah, SaadImam of Dawah Works has purchased a plane ticket to come to LA for the shoot and will buy the camera (Insha Allah). Yes, the Canon HV20 will be FINALLY bought insha Allah!

The confirmed shooting dates are on the weekend of the Eid which will be October 13-14. During the week after, there will be some shooting here and there to add more footage to the movie. It is possible (depending on how things go along during the filming) that there will be another weekend of shooting, making it also October 20-21.

Alhamdulillah, so far, so good!

Friday, September 7, 2007

Can't Get Any More Interesting: Another Delay

As-salaamu `alaikum,

Another delay regarding the camera. There was a problem with the company that one of the brothers tried to order the camera from; they didn't have the camera in stock!!!

And as a result, there was a delay in ordering the camera and the brother was not able to come to LA for the shoot.

Oh well, that's life. Sabrun Jameelun (patience is beautiful).

But alHamdulillah, everything else is ready. Cast and crew, and possibly more cast insha Allah.