It all began with “Video Killed the Radio Star”, a song by British New Wave group The Buggles and video directed by Russell Mulcahy. While the song topped the music charts around the world, it is best known for being the very first music video shown on MTV on August 1st, 1981. Since then the video has acquired multiple other titles: February 27th, 2000 it became the millionth video to be aired on MTV, it was the first video to be played on MTV Classic in the UK and Ireland, and on February 15, 2010 it was the last video to be played on MTV Philippines before its shutdown.

Since then hundreds of millions of music videos have been created and viewed.  Slowly but surely the viewership has moved from television to online. The first, and one of the all-time most successful, online videos is “Here It Goes Again” by Ok Go.  On July 31, 2006, the band released a video featuring an elaborately choreographed dance on treadmills, directed and choreographed by Trish Sie.  The video was viewed by over one million people in the first six days it was on YouTube. As of April 2010, the original video upload for "Here It Goes Again" has been viewed over 50 million times, and it is the top favorite-ed music video of all time on YouTube. Sie even won a Grammy for the video.

Following in the steps of Ok Go’s “Here It Goes Again”, the most talked about music video is currently one that lives not on television, but online. On August 30th, 2010 Arcade Fire released an interactive video by Chris Milk for the song “We Used to Wait”. The video, called Wilderness Downtown, was designed in conjunction with Google Chrome, which makes use of Google Maps and Google Street View. This video takes music videos to a new level by personalizing the video to the viewer and requiring one-on-one interaction. This video isn’t just about introducing people to new music, but also introducing people to a new way of experiencing the web. The video is a multi-modal, multi-browser, personalized, music video that was built to showcase the HTML5 web standard. We have to say it’s quite amazing and if you haven’t seen it yet, you can check it out here: www.thewildernessdowntown.com

So what do you think? Will internet kill the video star?

Niam Etany and Fatma Naib were chosen to attend the MAISHA 2010 Screenwriting Lab in Zanzibar. In anticipation of the upcoming MAISHA 2010 Documentary Lab in Uganda we asked Niam and Fatma to tell us about their time there. In their own words, here is their experience:

When we received the email from the MAISHA Screenwriting Lab, saying “Congratulations! You have been selected…” we couldn’t believe it.

Fast forward a month and a blue boat sways gently on the surface of the Indian Ocean. The sun has just set and the red light of dusk is creeping in, making the distant islands look like mythical creatures. Arabic music serves in making the setting even more beautiful and assures us that we are not in a dream.

We had never been to Africa before. The furthest we had reached was Egypt, and despite its geographical location, it certainly cannot be considered African in essence. But here in Zanzibar, off the Tanzanian main land, you cannot but remember every second that you are in Africa.

We had a set routine each day; breakfast is served between 07:30 - 09:00, tea break at 10:30. Lunch at 13:00, tea break 15:30 and finally dinner at 19:00. Our day started promptly at 09:00 with either scheduled classes or one-on-one meetings with our respective mentors. By 21:00 we were ready to hit the sack to start the same cycle all over again the following day.

On our first day there we worked from morning till evening with Leonard, one of our two mentors. We read the screenplays we submitted and exchanged our opinions about them. It is always nice to have your screenplay read out loud for you. You can figure out its weak points and strong points. You can visualize it more clearly, identify what needs to be worked on, and what needs to be taken out or added. In addition, we did some screenwriting basics about structure and act breaks, watched few short films and did exercises on plot and conflict.

By the second day of our workshop everybody was getting a better grasp of what this screenwriting thing is about and we were able to have more in depth discussions. In the afternoon we worked on characters, character arcs, and character biographies. It’s important to learn why each character acts the way they do, and talks the way they do.

That weekend we prepared for our Monday one-on-one meetings with Cajetan and Leonard. We spent both days writing and perfecting our final draft. Our mentors were both happy with how our scripts developed and improved between the first and final (or close to final) drafts. While nerve racking, the review process was great. They could see change and liked what they read.

After the meeting, we had more to work on, because you can always make a screenplay better! Every time we looked at our scripts we would think "This is it, I am not going to change anything else” but of course that was never the case and we would end up re-writing our whole script.

On the final day we started by reading our final drafts aloud one last time. One by one we allocated characters for people to read aloud and one person to be the stage director. When our own scripts were read, we had to sit back, relax and listen. We all sat there feeling proud of what we all achieved in the past week. Musarit, the program director, and our mentors, Leonard and Cajetan, gave us their final remarks and it was humbling to listen to what they felt about our scripts. After our final tea break it was time to announce the winner of the two thousand dollar prize that will go towards turning our scripts into films.

Musarit announced that this year there will be two prizes, one will be for Doha film institute DFI participants and the other one is for the rest of the participants. In all honestly though, we already felt like winners by being there and going through the experience. After the prizes were announced our mentors spoke seriously, reminding us that we don't need permission from anyone to make our films. We should write and write, and knock on every door that may help us realize our dreams and make our movies.

Asanti (Thank you) MAISHA and Doha Film Institute for this amazing opportunity to be part of your family. This is an experience that we will cherish and learn from for the rest of our lives.

For potential screenwriters and film makers out there, just do it!

Best,
Niam Etany & Fatma Naib

The workshop culminated with the big-screen premiere of the 7 films made by the students at the Qatar 2022 Bid Fan Zone in Souq Waqif! We'll be featuring each of these films right here on the DFI website for the rest of the week.

1 Minute Film: "The Street Player"

13-year-old Jassim Al Maslamani picked up the DFI 1 Minute Workshop Encouragement Award for this short film with a message - that Football is for everyone.

1 Minute Film: "Football Match"

Our 1 Minute Filmmakers are getting younger and younger with every workshop! 11-year-old Mohammed Muddassir joined our 1 Minute Football Workshop last month and made this animated short film - "Football Match"!

1 Minute Film: "Beyond Football"

Nouf Al-Thani and A.J. tell the story of Jassim and Carlos, two young boys attending an international summer football camp. With Brazil's recent win in the World Cup, Jassim tries to find out the secret behind Brazil's success from Carlos.

1 Minute Film: "Love and Football"

First time director Salah Tahir brings us a story of a young man's frustrating relationship with football in "Love and Football".

1 Minute Film: "Serious Business"

World Cup cup fever can be distracting - especially at work. In Hisham Al Bassiouni's "Serious Business" office workers try to hide their enthusiasm for the World Cup from their boss.

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Fatima Al-Hajri had never made a film until she signed up for one of DFI's 1 Minute Film Workshops. After an intensive week of training, writing, shooting and editing the 16-year-old has put together her first film, "Whispers of the Past", which tells the story of a young boy who is determined to reach his goals.

After you've watched the film, take a look at the behind-the-scenes video below for Fatma's 10 tips for filmmakers.

I will accompany my students on a journey though the different steps of making an animated movie. During each class they will learn a new aspect of the animation and apply it to a class project. The classes will start with the history of animation and go through story development, character designing, storyboarding, animating, and end up with the shooting of their projects under a special animation camera.

In our first class we talked about the history of animation. My students were shocked to know that cavemen where the first people to draw animals in sequential motion. They were excited to see examples of the Zoetrope and the way it makes still images come to life. They also learned about Eadweard Muybridge, the English photographer that made it possible to project animation on a screen. Later on, the whole class was in giggles as they watched "Plane Crazy" - the first animated Disney movie.

They were eager to know more about the history of famous animated characters such as Mickey Mouse and how the animators came up with their design ideas. They were shown how to create filpbooks and each one of my very imaginative students made their own very creative fipbook.

Our second class was so much fun for both the students and the staff, as we all took part in their animation projects. My class learned about the different steps of making an animated movie by showing them examples of a famous film (The Lion King). They also learned about the different types of animation techniques by watching examples of different animation styles.

They were happy to see all the tools they will be using during the course of the class such as, lightboxes, storyboard sheets, punched papers, pegbars and the animation camera. They were even more excited to know that each one of them will get his or her own tools to use in class. Then the whole team joined in on a group project. We made several fun stop motion projects using whiteboards and the help of very talented and funny student volunteers.

The third class was all about how to create animation stories. My students were Introduced to:

• The three- act structure of storytelling (beginning, middle, and an end).
• The difference between animation stories and other stories.
• How they could make their stories fun, exciting, and creative.
• How to organize their thoughts and filter out any unnecessary information.

We explored the limitless possibilities of the animation world (animated characters could fly to the moon and back several times without a scratch). I tried to suggest project ideas that brought their creativity level even higher. They were asked to draw three circles on a piece of paper. On the first circle they chose their characters and sets, on the second one they wrote a problem or a need that their characters have, and on the last circle they came up with a creative solution to solve the problems. We all joined in on a creative brainstorming game (the students and the teacher quickly complete each other's thought to form a fun yet a complete story line). Then each one of my animation team had the chance to share his or her short story they've written with the rest of the class. It's been so much fun so far and there's lots more to learn as we dive deeper into the world of animation.

Our fourth class was about character design. My students joined me on a step by step lesson of drawing simple human and animal characters. I showed the class how we start all drawings with a simple geometrical shape, and then we start building up on to them to make them look good. We had an in-class exercise where they learned how to spot the main characteristics of their classmates (they liked the idea of starting with the teacher though) then we moved on to various birds and animals. They were shown several comparative drawings of real and cartoonish animals, and then they each chose their favorite animal to draw. Their eyes brightened when I asked them to pick any person in class to draw looking like a cartoon character.

They did such a wonderful job that we all knew who the models were just by looking at their drawings. On the second part of the class we talked about model sheets. I showed them several examples of model sheets of famous animation characters like Goofy, Superman, Stitch, and Popeye the Sailor so they feel like they are doing the same thing famous artists did. My kids drew a frontal view and a side view drawings of their creative characters such as, Fancy Pants, The Slow Dragon, Skullgum, Eebbaa with her magical hair, Grumpy Chair, and many more fun characters...

There is no hard and fast rule that makes a good film writer. Writing an Internet blog uses a different set of skills than needed to write for trade magazines; writing reviews is quite different to writing film features and conducting interviews. So one of the first tasks for anyone writing about film is simply to understand what they are writing and for whom they are writing.

When it comes to film criticism, context is king.

It’s invaluable to know the biographical details of the director, stars, and the previous work of all the cast and crew.

Learn about genre. Understand what genre the film is operating in. What are the key components of a genre? Who are the key players? How does this film stand up to past examples of the genre? This is all part of having a good grounding in film history, knowing the key movements and players that have lighted up cinema ever since the Lumiere Brothers filmed a moving train.

The business aspect of cinema is also important. Films are made for different reasons, some to make money, some to complete a director’s vision, some to document life around us, and some as propaganda. Where a film has been made, under what conditions and the budget spent on it, are all other factors that affect how a movie is watched.

As well as understanding the roles on a film set and the process that goes into making a film, it also pays to understand how technology affects film from type of camera used, to how it is edited.

Yet as with all writing, having all the information at your fingertips is meaningless if one cannot relay the information in a clear and precise manner. Most writing is limited by space (even on the Internet) and the need to relay information in the most expedient manner is paramount to good writing.

Also important is the need to have an opinion about a film and to be able to defend it. The last thing that writing about film should be is just an elaborate synopsis, no matter how well it’s written.

Kaleem Aftab - Film Critic

Kaleem will be in Doha this summer to teach classes on writing about film!

We'll be showcasing highlights from our conversations in this blog so be sure to check back!

Arab Filmmakers on the barriers that they face

At Cannes, DFI held a lunch for Arab Filmmakers who were at the festival. We asked them to tell us about the biggest barriers that they currently face as filmmakers in the Arab world.

Dana Thomas of Newsweek on Fair Game

Dana Thomas of Newsweek gives us her take on Doug Liman's "Fair Game" - a political thriller based on the true story of CIA agent Valerie Plame.

Thomas gives the film a thumbs-up, partly because it doesn't show the gruesomeness of war, and partly because it's really a story about love.

Chadi Zeneddine on the selections and prizes at Cannes

Lebanese Director Chadi Zeneddine has been coming to Cannes for the last 5 years. We asked him to explain all the major selections and prizes that make up the Cannes Film Festival - from the Official Selection to the Palme d'Or.

Tim Burton on why Cannes is so important

DFI caught up with Tim Burton, this years Cannes President of the Jury, and asked him what makes this festival so special. Burton and his team of judges are tasked with picking the winners in all the major categories at Cannes, including the prestigious Palme d'Or.

Pan Nalin on coming to Cannes with and without a film

Indian Filmmaker Pan Nalin guides DFI through the process of showcasing a film at Cannes and coming to generate support, financing and distribution for future projects

Ashraf Ghori on Levity: Xero-Error Minus 1

We've been following Qatari filmmaker Mehdi Ali Ali as he brings his first short film to Cannes, but he isn't the only startup Gulf filmmaker in town.

Dubai-based Ashraf Ghori is also here to screen his debut film, Levity: Xero-Error Minus One. The short is a prequel to Xero-Error, a CGI feature that Ghori is in the process of filming and is the first Science Fiction film to be made in the United Arab Emirates. We caught up with Ashraf to ask him about his experience making the film and bring it to Cannes.

Draquila

Some of the biggest buzz early on in this festival has come from Sabina Guzzanti's "Draquila", which received a standing ovation after its screening here in Cannes. The documentary delivers an account of the L'Aquila earthquake and its aftermath - with fingers pointed squarely at Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and his handling of the situation.

The Italian Cultural Minister refused to come to Cannes this year claiming that Guzzanti's film was an unfair political attack on the Italian government. The resulting controversy has only helped raise the film's profile among film critics and the general public.

We spoke to Italian film critics Natasha Senjanovic and Gabriele Niola about the film and the controversy surrounding it.

Thierry Fremaux on Festival de Cannes

On Wednesday we ran into Thierry Fremaux, the Festival's General Delegate who pointed out that many are mistaken by what Cannes really is about - and so he offered some brief clarifications.

We met Mehdi Ali Ali at this year's Gulf Film Festival where he debuted his first festival film, 'Champs Elysees Je T'aime'. Now he is taking it to Cannes for a whole new round of international scrutiny. Follow his journey here!

Organized by the Festival de Cannes, the Short Film Corner has become a decisive meeting point for short film professionals as well as a step to develop their career. 

Mehdi's film can be watched by all the industry professionals at the festival including producers, distributors, programmers, directors, agents, buyers and institutions. 

Part 1: Mehdi Arrives in Cannes

Part 2: Mehdi Takes us to the Short Film Corner