Progress on Episode 2 and Behind the Scenes Pictures

The Chains of Friendship team has been working hard on filming lots more scenes for Episode 2: Return of the Bully.  So far, this episode looks like it doesn't want to end since it just keeps getting longer!  Return of the Bully might turn out longer than A Friend, Not a Bully.  Either way, this episode has some surprising plot twists that will make it totally exciting.

Here are some behind the scenes pictures we haven't shared yet from our last few drama club meets.

Photography by Nur Kose and Adeeba Allimulla

Episode 2 Title Announcement

The Chains of Friendship team has an exciting announcement to make.  We are now revealing the title to our upcoming second episode in our series.  Episode 2 will be called............Return of the Bully. We're all very excited to see how the movie turns out and we hope that you are, too!  We're hoping that Return of the Bully will be even better than A Friend, Not a Bully.  Check out our announcement poster below:

Please share this poster with your family and friends.  And stay tuned to find out more about the series!

Progress on Episode 2

The Chains of Friendship team has been working on our second episode and we recently filmed a few more scenes.  This time we got a scene outdoors.  We finally had the chance to do an outside scene during daylight hours and....it was raining!  Thanks to a handy umbrella, however, our camera didn't get wet.  We are looking forward to seeing how our outside scenes turn out, and we hope you are, too. 

Here are some more behind the scenes pictures from shooting a few new scenes. 

What do you think is going to happen in the second episode?  Write your guesses in the comments below. 

Fun in the Club! By Anaum Allimulla

I never really thought that being in drama club would be so much fun. Apart from learning to work as a team ,  to be patient specially with all the mess ups and noises we all make :-) I get to do this with my friends. we are already filming our second episode. Its turning out quite well and hopefully will be done soon..as it has been easier this time since we are a little more experienced . This has taught me how it really makes you feel when someone is rude and mean to you. It has also taught me about being a good friend and sister. well I'm very eager to see the episode 2 ...aren't you?
Wait and watch.....

Already?

As you may know we are in the making of our second episode of the series. It feels like yesterday we were filming episode one. Time flies when you are having fun. I don't mind because like I said this is something fun and something I don't get to experience every day. The character I play Amina in this episode is more funnier because my cousin is coming back and I get to be sarcastic like I am in real life. I can't wait to be finished with the episode and for people to watch it. You'll enjoy it, maybe even more than first one because the first one was like to start the whole plot and series. Stay tuned and be on the look-out for the next episode. You'll never know when we finish it...end scene!

The Best Part About Acting

         The best part about acting is that you get to do different voices and be different characters. Like in real life I am myself but in the movie I am Ashia and I have a different personality than what I have in real life. I enjoy being Ashia because I get to be in the shoes of a person that is really mean. Like in the first episode, I kept bragging about my phone and making fun of Zeyneb and Khadijah's handwriting. But in real life I am much more kind and not mean like in the movie.
         I really enjoy doing voices in the movie because I get to say different stuff. In every scene I do voices. I sing songs and say things that get people mad. I really don't enjoy doing that but since my character in the movie is like that I guess that I have gotten use to being mean in the movie. I can't wait to finish the 2nd episode.

The Story Behind This Picture: The Case of the Missing Tripod

In a previous post, I posted a bunch of pictures Adeeba and I had taken of different behind the scenes shots from production of our second episode.  One of the pictures I took and posted was this one:

When looking through the pictures in the post later with Huda, I remarked, "Isn't it funny how Meryem has to tip-toe to whisper to you?"  What I didn't consider was what Meryem was whispering about.  Laughing, Huda said, "That's when she was telling me that she hid the tripod."  That's when I realized that I had captured a prank in action!  A prank that had left me flustered until I realized what had happened.

You see, the drama club only meets once a week, and then only for one and a half hours, so there isn't much time to get everything done.  To effectively use every moment of the time we have, I get myself prepared beforehand.  Getting to the center early, I set up the props in their places and got out all the film equipment.  I set up the blanket against the wall for Amina's scenes, carried the heavy coat rack to one of the classrooms for Aisha's scene (which by the way is still there - no one put it back!), made sure the video camera had charge, and got out the tripod.  

Making a movie without a tripod is no fun.  The difference a tripod makes is simply amazing, and the handy ZF tripod located in a hidden, yet easy-to-access place is one of the things that makes our movie better.  With a few minutes remaining before filming would start, I took the tripod box out and left it in the big prayer room/playroom where we would be doing the majority of our scenes.  Then, I got out my camera and began shooting pictures.

Finally, I decided it was time to begin filming.  There was no more time to waste.  We had to get this second episode going.  I put the camera away and got out the video camera, scanned the script to see which scene we would film first, and then reached for the tripod...which was nowhere in sight.  Flustered, I checked back in the other room where my bag was.  Nope, not there.  I looked behind chairs and tables, inside classrooms, even inside rooms I hadn't been in that day.  The tripod was nowhere in sight!  

"Has anyone seen the tripod anywhere?" I asked, looking around more wildly now, and being mostly ignored.  I couldn't understand it.  I just knew I had taken the tripod out.  Where could it have gone?  How could I have lost such an essential item for our movie?  Returning back to the place I had left the tripod, I again asked the girls, "Do you guys know where the tripod is?"  That's when they revealed the secret.  

Pointing to Merve, who was the closest target, Meryem announced, "She hid it over there!"  My gaze flew to the corner where there was a pile of hijabs.  Quickly recovering my prized possession, I ignored the culprit and forgot all about the prank in my haste to begin filming.  It wasn't until the next day, when looking through my pictures, I discovered the evidence...evidence that Meryem was the one who hid the tripod and that all the girls knew about it but chose not to tell me...hmmm....

What an interesting story that can be told from simply one picture!  And how wonderful that it turned out that I wasn't actually the one who lost the tripod!