Aiman's Blog

  Although I had always wanted the name Ali for the character, Zuha initially wanted to name him Devan.  We were finally able to persuade her to name the character Ali because the name Devan felt too out of place for a Pakistani person with south Asian features and appearance. Moreover, we all tried to come up with good names for our film opening sequence. The options were: Who Am I? Evil Inside You Hearings Two Of Us Both Then it struck me, and I named it Labyrinth because Ali's mind is like a maze, difficult to analyze and navigate through. Even Ali can't figure a way out and escape.  My group members liked this idea and we all unanimously agreed to this as the name of the film. We also named our production house "Haze Productions". 

  The crew list consists of all the members of the group only, names: Aiman Saeed Khattak, Zuha Imman, Haseeb Shah, Rushaan Mohsin. 

 Preparation for Script.  This is the first time I've ever written a script, and I have no prior knowledge of script writing whatsoever. So, with the help of Google, I satisfied all my questions and queries regarding script and script writing.  I googled the format of a film script, and used the following script as my inspiration. (taken from google) I also was initially confused as to what EXT and INT meant, as it was my first time trying to understand a script. So after googling what this meant, I found out that INT meant "interior", whereas EXT was supposed to be "exterior". My attempt of scriptwriting truly broadened my perspective.  Moreover, while I was writing the script, and the scene in the park, I was confused, whether being in the park would mean interior or exterior. So I looked it up on Google again. I found myself a satisfying and detailed answer on Reddit.  I used this information and then wrote my script while being mindful of these minute detail...

 Script of The Film Opening  EXT - I-8 PARK - DAY  Ali is leaning against a tree, holding his diary in his hands, reading out of it, something that his other personality had written. ALI You have to kill her. No... I can't kill her. Ali cracks his neck rapidly, and switches personality.  ALI I can kill her, I will kill her. EXT - PARKING LOT - DAY Sarah is walking up the stairs, to her car in the parking lot, talking to her friend  over the call.  SARAH I was never able to understand him. Good riddance, honestly.  He was so unreliable. He'd act a certain way, and then the very next minute, he's a completely different person. And I can't even recognize him anymore. Ali has already heard the conversation between her and her friend. While she is taking the keys out of her bag, she sees his reflection in the car window, he's standing behind her. She gets startled, drops the keys and turns around.  SARAH  What are you doing here? ALI Did you reall...

 EXT - I-8 PARK - DAY  Ali is leaning on a tree, holding his diary in his hands, reading out of it, something that his other personality had written. ALI You have to kill her. No... I can't kill her. Ali cracks his neck rapidly, and switches personality.  ALI I can kill her, I will kill her. INT - GIRL'S BEDROOM - DAY Sarah is in her room, talking to her friend Maria over the call.  SARAH I was never able to understand him. Good riddance, honestly.  MARIA (OVER THE PHONE) What do you mean? SARAH He was so unreliable. He'd act a certain way, and then the very next minute, he's a completely different person. And I can't even recognize him anymore. EXT - SARAH'S BEDROOM - DAY Ali shows up with a knife, and is slowly walking towards Sarah's bedroom door. He has already heard the conversation between her and Maria.  INT - SARAH'S BEDROOM - DAY Ali enters the room, taking slow steps towards her. Sarah stands up, and drops her phone. SARAH  What are you doing...

  The  park is a public property, so we don't necessarily need permission to shoot there. However, we have to be mindful of other people who are there, ensure they either aren't fully revealed in our footage, or if they are, we should ask for their consent.  The indoor shooting, which has to be in a house would require permission from the owner of the house and the family. 

  The location is a well known, commonly visited community park. It is very safe and does not necessarily push us to carry out safety precautions. However, we will still do our best to ensure the safety of our group as well as the actors. 

 Prop Collection And List The props we are using are supposed to be everyday items, to illustrate a sense of verisimilitude.  For example, the first scene in the park, the character has a diary, a pen, and a picture of the girl.  The second scene of the girl in the bedroom has furniture, which should already be there and doesn't need to be collected. The girl is on call so she has a phone; another prop.  There is, however, a very essential and critical prop in the scene afterwards. The man carries a knife. Since we need to ensure and prioritize safety, we will not be using a real knife.  Moreover, another prop we have to get is fake blood. Using ketchup would make it rather unrealistic, so we might buy fake blood and use that instead. If we want to DIY it, we will use beetroot juice.

  I made the mood board of our project. It contains of images that are roughly similar to how I (along with my teammates) envision this narrative, what aesthetics, tone, and mood we are aiming for.  All these images were taken either from Google and Pinterest. 

  My main/major role in the project is as that of the producer and assistant director. I have to ensure numerous details and I plan on taking my responsibility very seriously. Logistics are predominantly under me, and I'm supposed to organize them well, in a detailed way.  As my role revolves around planning, a general way of putting it would be that I am supposed to make schedules, arrange meetings, conduct researches, organize equipment and information. To specifically point out my tasks, I plan on arranging the idea in the shape of a narrative, then producing a script out of it. I am supposed to write the dialogues for the characters. I am supposed to do the casting, and not just randomly pick out people based on my relations with them, but handpick them after auditions with several suitable candidates. I will make the mood board and the story board for the project, and I will also guide the actors with their costumes.  I will also organize the equipment and props that...

 Costume Preparation Since our costumes include normal everyday clothes, informal attire. It is easily available. However, as costume designer, I intend to play with color psychology in a way that would enhance our mise-en-scene. Since in the first scene, Ali's good personality is active, so he will be dressed in a white shirt/sweater. This is the outfit inspiration from what Ali would wear in the second scene. This would reflect his dark state of mind and intentions.  For Sarah, I planned a dress. That would emphasize her feminine, kind nature. I want the dress to either be pink, as it represents innocence and femininity. Or a yellow dress, because yellow is a color that represents joy and happiness. Sarah was a happy, bright natured girl. These images were taken from google and Pinterest.

 Character Description in the Opening Sequence. The character is an unusual, critical and complex one. The character is unique because of his uncommon neurodiversity. He is a patient of split personality disorder, or dissociative identity disorder. This means that he has two separate identities at different times, who influence, affect and control his thoughts, actions and behaviors when present/dominating. Ali, our character specifically has 2 personalities. One of them is that of a nice, polite, moderately normal, empathetic, emotionally available person. This is the "normal" or "good" side of Ali.  His other personality, however, is far from normal and friendly. His other identity is antipathic, and a cold blooded murderer; insensitive and cruel. It is safe to say that both of these identities juxtapose with each other. This identity is insensitive and does not care about others, and he finds peace and satisfaction in chaos, violence and bloodshed. That is his id...