Story Behind Ilm Summit Videos
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This blog post is simply the story behind the production of the Ilm Summit videos.
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The following message is an excerpt from an email I received recently from SaqibSaab on the image of AlMaghrib to the masses.
The IlmSummit videos. MashaAllah the experience of the ‘ilm and the summit was beautifully portrayed and I was glued to updates that came almost everyday, jazaAllah khair to the players involved.
At the same time, a lot of the image of AlMaghrib offering an incredibly high caliber retreat was put side by side with some “fun” scenes to show the great time everyone had.
I laughed and enjoyed them personally, but a brother once wrote to me:
I don’t think AlMaghrib adopts cheap tactics, overall they are slick with their stuff but sometimes things get out of hand.
The only thing I disagree strongly with AlMaghrib is the videos, and I don’t just mean the beat-boxing.
I really think some of the Ilm Summit videos will do a disservice to AlMaghrib. That is supposed to be the intense 2 week academic seminar. It just bugs me when the cheesy experience is sold instead of marketing.
It’s so weird to see Yaser Birjas talking about qawaid al fiqhiyyah in one video and then cookie monster and dinosaurs in another. Or see Wisam doing an AWESOME recitation, for it to fade out and into a groggy brother being woken up by 3 people.
If you’re wondering what this message is all about, you probably haven’t seen the videos.
You can view all the Ilm Summit videos via the index thread on the AlMaghrib Forums.
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TO THE ANONYMOUS PERSON who sent the email to SaqibSaab:
I respectfully disagree with you.
The videos were produced to tell the story of the students at Ilm Summit and what they experienced. Fundamentally it is part of marketing that these stories be told. However, the purpose of the video’s wasn’t to directly sell AlMaghrib or Ilm Summit.
The videos communicated exactly what was meant to be communicated, which is the atmosphere and environment of Ilm Summit. Not only on the side of brotherhood and sisterhood but also the academic side of things.
By far, everyone I’ve spoken with and my wife has spoken with who’s attended Ilm Summit 2009 agree that the videos communicate accurately what was seen and felt by the students.
You’ll notice that first week of videos contain a mix of the academic and the fun while the second week of Ilm Summit videos are much more academically inclined.
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The purpose behind me going to Ilm Summit 2009 was two fold:
- Gather footage that can be used in an AlMaghrib promo documentary laying forth the academic nature of the institute.
- Produce short “GemReels” for every day of Ilm Summit 2009 that tell the story of the people attending and also show the academic nature of the retreat.
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WHO’S IDEA WAS IT ANYWAY?
The idea of producing a daily video came about as a discussion between some of AlMaghrib’s HQ people and myself at AlMaghrib’s Ilmweek that took place in Toronto in May 2009.
We figured the idea is great especially since no other Islamic organization has really pulled off daily video blogging in an effective manner. The idea certainly gave me butterflies since I personally never produced so many videos back to back.
I’ve always wanted to do something like this ever since I saw Kevin Sites do it back in 2006 with Yahoo’s “Kevin Sites in the Hotzone.” — I just never realized how much work was in store for me.
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WHAT WENT INTO PUTTING THESE VIDEOS OUT?
One of the lessons I’ve learned from past projects is — In order to meet deadlines you need to set a time limit for how much footage you’re going to gather.
I set a time limit of maximum two hrs of footage to edit every day into less than five minutes. A 24-hour turn around time sounded reasonable considering my current skill level and experience – until I got down to editing.
Sleep literally went out the window. I remember having slept only four or five times in the 16 days I was there, and it was only out of exhaustion that I slept. My body would simply shut down.
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CHALLENGES THAT MADE ME YEARN FOR SLEEP
In an event where there is going to be filming, the attendees are usually notified.
During registration they’re suppose to be given release forms to fill out or at least have a sign saying “filming in progress” or something.
It’s been done past events that I’ve filmed at, but for some reason it wasn’t done at Ilm Summit.
For the first five days or so I was able to keep to my 24-hour turn around time schedule.
People were being cooperative and others were quite enthusiastic to be in front of the camera.
However it only took one sister’s complaint for me to receive an “executive order” to re-edit or completely take done some of the videos.
This basically led to a meeting with the heads of Ilm Summit where we decided on the policy of what to film, how things had been going thus far and how we wish to move forward.
Yasir Qadhi made it a point to announce the fact that there is filming and I’m not that hard to miss. Therefor if anyone doesn’t wish to be caught on camera they should stay behind my “contraption” and at the same time I would be making the best effort to keep certain people out of specific shots.
One of the other issues we addressed in the meeting was that not enough of the academic nature of Ilm Summit is being put out there.
The “academic nature” of “What Is Your Story: Ilm Summit Day 08″ and the latter videos was a direct result of that meeting:
From this point forward I was constantly playing catch up, however the videos that came forth were given more exposure for the academic nature of Ilm Summit 2009.
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Next post will be address some personal reflections I’ve had as well as what’s to come next with the Ilm Summit and AlMaghrib stuff.
Shuaib Mansoori Says: 13.10.09 at 7:57 am
Assalamu ‘Alaikum,
I was truly humbled by the amount of work Brother Belal put into the production. Not only was he running around all the time and spending countless hours editing behind his computer screen, he was also attending the after-Fajr Tajweed sessions by Brother Wisam Sharieff.
SubhanAllah, the videos DEFINITELY portrayed the entire IlmSummit experience. I didn’t see anything “unprofessionally cheezy” or “hurting” to the image of AlMaghrib Institute.
Infact as Brother Belal mentioned above, I got HUGE positive feedback from people who did not attend from both the US and Canada. Ofcourse everyone has an opinion, however the good that I have seen come out of these videos CERTAINLY outweighs the “evil” (in the eyes of those who disagree).
May Allah purify our intentions and make us strive earnestly for His Pleasure.
Qas Says: 13.10.09 at 7:39 pm
Assalamualaikum,
I was hooked on the videos and sought them out daily during Ilm Summit. You know this better than me that you will always get critics. Some people can’t accept anything that is not done “po-faced” as academic and some other need jokes every second to stay awake. Alhamdulilah, I think you found the middle ground perfectly where some really human moments were placed between ilm gems. Great job, MashaAllah.
RizaK Says: 13.10.09 at 10:21 pm
Asalaamu Alaykum,
I have to agree completely and give you HUGE props. This is no easy task for even a large team, let alone one person. SubhanAllah I recently put together a one minute trailer and my head nearly exploded! Yet Belal did ~5 minute clips, high quality, BACK TO BACK and then even threw in a kinetic typography video. Simply unbelievable. MashaAllah, may Allah reward you for this work ya Belal!
People don’t realize how difficult media production is, digging graves is much easier! To acheive this quality, this level of flow and consistency is very very difficult. Much props!
Amatullah Says: 14.10.09 at 2:54 am
Assalamu Alykum,
All the way from PK, I’ve learnt a lot about al-Maghrib through Br. Belal’s videos and have come to appreciate the active Muslim community in America…I was so overcome by the whole Ilm Summit 2009 experience that I sincerely wished I was part of the student body there, SubhanAllah and that Allah SWT raises women scholars in this Ummah so that sisters can have as much fun!
I did however thought the ‘inside’ coverage was something personal for the brothers to enjoy.
BarakAllahu Feek,
Nahyan Says: 14.10.09 at 11:35 am
For sure , i thoroughly enjoyed the videos and the quality of work is clear.
Good stuff Belal.
I can see where the anonymous email is coming from, because what the “experience” includes cannot be understood my most Muslims (this is not about the email-er but in general). For those who want the more serious perspective i thin Belal got that in, and the fun stuff (like in the videos) has lessons in it themselves.
1 – it’s authentic (the brotherhood/sisterhood)
we gotta chill with the bros n shuyukh, crack some jokes here n drop some amazing qira’ there
2 – it is what it is
arite i’m out, wa salaam alaikum.
Nahyan
Muslim Apple Says: 20.10.09 at 6:14 am
Asalamu alaykum,
I am clearly visible in the first Ilm Summit video even with the re-editing but I can let that slide. What I did not like was that I was getting texts, phone calls, and emails from around the world of people telling me quite unbeknowst to me that I and a few other sisters were appearing repeatedly in your videos. We saw you filming around the brothers but thought common decency and protocol would have been to inform us that you were filming us as well so at least we could prepared and/or stay as far away from you as possible.
I was featured in an article in the Baltimore Sun during IlmFest name, picture, words, and all, no problem, but the reporter and photographer asked for permission first, big difference. Alhamdulillah, a learning experience to ensure your i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed with the consent forms and/or informing the students ahead of time. And trust me, had you continued filming all of the sisters’ without their knowledge there would have been a much bigger firestorm because many sisters did not appreciate that.
Muslim Apple Says: 20.10.09 at 6:30 am
That being said, I thought the films were very well done and impressive and of high-quality, you’ve really set a new standard for these films. May Allah azza wa jal reward you and increase you in khayr for your efforts in compiling and editing these stories. Ameen.
To Buy Or Not To Buy A Canon HFS100 | Media With an Islamic Framework | Leechon Films Says: 13.11.09 at 3:17 am
[...] spending over two weeks filming Ilm Summit 2009 with my Canon FS100, one thing I came to realize is that editing would be so much faster if I [...]
Adiljan Says: 20.11.09 at 4:26 pm
I liked…. i think the part of reciting Quran was most educational !!! Like show how it was and show how to do… Easy !!! 5 times, turn off tape and practice. Listen to but turn off… Mashallah !!!
PS: The light was not so good bro Belal when you were giving info !!!
SaqibSaab Says: 19.02.10 at 10:30 am
Belal, I never got a chance to reply with my thoughts to this post back in Oct 09 but I will now.
Regarding the whole “cheese scenes” vs. telling the story of the IlmSummit experience, I got two things.
*1. Considering the masses*
For the IlmSummiteers there, they can easily agree that the embedding of both the academics and the fun in the videos accurately reflected their experience there. For us viewers from the outside, it’s a huge shift from serious to fun that we’re not expecting.
It could’ve also been just that episode in particular, because it was focused on Qur’anic learning. People take the Qur’an very seriously, to the point where the style of your video would be unwelcome to them (something you may wanna keep in mind for future vids).
I think a good solution for you to accomdate the masses would be to keep each episode set on its focus. If there’s a video on Wisam’s recitation and teaching style, keep it about that. And if you want to show brotherhood, separate it into a different video.
I know that’ll kill the flow and style you try to achieve, but it may be easier for people to swallow.
*2. Private vs. Public sphere*
I’m gonna try to be super fair here. I enjoyed the footage. I thought it was hilarious and was really well executed, because I knew the brothers in the video.
But to the thousands of people those videos were sent to and will be watched by, they don’t. And that’s why, and this may sting, I feel it was misplaced and inappropriate.
Aside from the point #1 issue, a sister I sent the video to in order to show how awesome IlmSummit is turned it off asking, “why am I being shown some guy in his pajamas?” It wasn’t even a “omg, hayaa” type thing. It was her asking straight, why is she getting an inside video shot of a bunch of guys’ hotel room, lol? It’s a good point.
I know the AlMaghrib HQ brothers have a lot of fun in what they do and their antics are classic, but that humor and experience should be a bit more private and not be sent in a video to thousands of people across the globe.
I feel with your creativity, you could effectively show the experience you want to show in ways that would appeal to more of the masses, and I’m confident you’ll iA pull it off next time around with whatever it is that you do.
Keep up the good work!
Saqib
AlBaraa Says: 22.02.10 at 11:01 pm
Saqib, Jazakallahu khairun for the (better late than never) feedback
Your points are certainly things to keep in mind.
It depends on what sort of message and impression we’re trying to give.
The project was started a means of giving an “inside scoop” of what goes on at IlmSummit. Perhaps taking that approach wasn’t the best decision, however the feeling of authenticity and genuine human touch was certainly achieved. When Ammar, Ali and I discussed it originally, that is what we were aiming for.
However, half way through the process – understanding the points you mentioned we shifted our focus and approach a bit.
For future, we’ll need to have a better understanding of what we’re trying to achieve and how it’ll be received by the target audience. Having done it once, I have no doubt that the next time around will be just plain awesome inshaAllah.