Lights, Camera, Action!: Filming Parent Testimonials
It’s been two days and we’re still reeling from the after effects of an incredibly amazing session of filming parent testimonials for our marketing and advertising campaign.
Here’s a detailed scene-by-scene narration of the shoot.
On Saturday morning ILM Montessori was transformed into a film set by our Director Junaid who arrived at 9:00 AM with his filming crew and equipment that included more than just cameras and lights.
The Principal with her Faculty and Support Staff, (our on set vanity van) provided and immaculately arranged for props and refreshments. Our Admin despite being informed on such short notice executed her role of casting director to perfection by ensuring the parents’ presence.
Filming parent testimonials was originally the Trustees’ idea, who turned producers for the day as they oversaw the entire arrangement and process.
Mr Masroor (sitting in pic) was unanimously chosen among the trustees to prep and interview the parents. He was a complete natural and got the best out of them as they candidly shared their experience with ILM Montessori.
Despite the enthusiasm, arrangements and days of planning, we’d like to confess that we really didn’t expect the shoot to be a cakewalk and progress smoothly without a hiccup.
Much of our initial anxiety was caused by our fear of the huge star cast of parents, all making their debut by starring in ILM Montessori’s first major production.
Bizarre scenarios like parents arriving late like movie stars, throwing tantrums on a Saturday morning, demanding retakes etc. played in our usually positive minds making us nervous.
Adding to our list of woes was the fear of ambience sound and erratic weather dampening our spirits and ruining our outdoor set, where much of our shoot took place.
However to our pleasant surprise, our scepticism and doubts were laid to rest as parent-after-parent arrived on time, waited patiently for their turn and gave some fantastic shots.
Between shots, some of our parents used this rare opportunity to interact with our trustees who they don’t meet on a regular basis. The Trustees were more than happy to hear the parents in person appreciating and giving valuable feedback.
The weather was perfect and that gave us the freedom to shoot outdoors in perfect natural light. If that wasn’t enough, some of our kids outshone and stole the spotlight from their parents with their antics on set and even shared screen space with them.
Spoilt for choice, we made the best of our outdoor and indoor sets by using the picket fence, lawn, the ILM Montessori board, Art Room and main class environment as backdrops.
There were no jitters, tantrums, or outtakes. We all began to enjoy the entire process as our superstars showed no signs of stardom getting into their heads!
We remained awestruck or should we say star-struck as they wowed us with their screen presence as their testimonials reflected their simplicity, honesty and confidence.
We were high on inspiration and encouragement but Dr Taha Mateen’s (first from right in pic) interview on starting ILM and the true purpose of education conducted by fellow Founder/Trustee Arif Vakil reminded us to remain grounded in our vision and mission.
Finally at 2:00 PM it was time to pack up as the curtains finally came down on what was a fantastic, unique learning and enriching experience for us and hopefully for our parents and Director Junaid too, who responded and obliged to do this huge favor for us. For more many many more pictures, check out our album on Facebook here.
Stay tuned for more updates as we will be uploading the parent testimonials in the coming few weeks.