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| Side view of Lebanon showing the Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque (Citing below). As you can see, it is not very industrialized. |
1. A location here in South Florida reminiscent with some famous architectural structures in Lebanon is Viscaya. It is a Renaissance Villa (Although most structures in Lebanon were influenced by the Phoenicians and Romans), but since it has a rather Mediterranean atmosphere being that it is surrounded by water and antique-looking, it could most likely pass by as a foreign land. But, here's the problem with choosing this filming location: IT'S EXPENSIVE! some 20 grand that is surely out of my budget. Additionally, I casually went to their website to see if they require any proper documentation or reason and hooray for me (that was sarcasm if you didn't catch it) they are very strict with it, stating "shoots require a detailed written request and are approved on a case-by-case basis". So I had no other choice than to cross this idea off my list unless I wanted to carry a debt for the rest of my life and waste my time getting my project approved on their terms.
2. In Miami, there is this one Lebanese Bakery that really catches my eye every time I pass by it in which, hooray (that was not sarcasm), the street it is in resembles the streets of Beirut. It is busy, ethnic, and could well work to create that atmosphere that I really want in order to allude to the fact that my main character is still in Lebanon as well as provide that contrast from Lebanese small towns to American small towns. I have two options with this alternative: I could film my main character inside the bakery, choosing Mediterranean food, or film her outside, still eating some ethnic food, but interacting with people. The latter could be a problem because the people she may interact with may not look native to the country I'm trying to insinuate. Also, because the song I chose has to do with an eggplant ( Refer to post 3), it favorably may fit ideally with the scene I am trying to create!
3. I have, as of now, established that my main character is going to be a Maronite Catholic Lebanese. The intention for this includes the fact that Lebanon is the only country in the Middle East that a slim less than half of its population is Christian (21% approximately from the Maronite Rite). A thorough explanation for this will be revealed in a post to come... But, since my main character is Maronite Catholic, I was thinking of filming in a Maronite Church, which is in Miami and, lol, it's next to the aforementioned Lebanese Bakery. I want to introduce something significant of my main character, and not that she's just Lebanese, so I thought why don't I just as well film some interesting aspects of the Lebanese Catholic Rite to show how important this tradition has shaped her life and views. but the possible effects of including this feature would be to rule out the already approved song or play it out later. The reason that I can't play Raksit Leila while a ceremonial ritual is presented is due to the solemnity of the hymns, therefore providing an imbalance (mixing in something upbeat with seriousness is a no-no). I would also have to ask the priest of this Church for permission to film, which I think is least problematic of this alternative. But, still an idea I can surely play around with.
I have explored some great alternatives for the setting of my film, to substitute and allude to Rafka's mother country. But even before I start filming, I would have to clearly identify the plot of this story as it is still quite elusive...
Commercial Photography and Filming. (n.d.). Retrieved March 16, 2016, from http://vizcaya.org/facility-photo-commercial-photography-filming.asp
Fjunur. (2015, June 23). Streets of Beirut - unfiltered. Retrieved March 16, 2016, from http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-1251736
The World Factbook. (2016, March 3). Retrieved March 16, 2016, from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/le.html
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