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Edward: Are you familiar with law of motion control?
So basically we have this high-end computer system that’s going to track your moves
Maher: OK
Edward: Pixel by pixel. We’ll back you up and we’ll track the same zone all over again. It’s all computerized… it’s complicated
When you are standing and preforming, the set is going to morph around
Maher: OK, nice
Edward: Are you up on that? Are you ready for performing and acting?
Maher: Yeah. I am ready
Edward: Allright here we go. Excuse me
Maher: New experience (laughs)
Maher: So we just go down, right?
Edward: Yes
Good morning my name is Nic Emiliani
I'm one of the producers for the music video for Maher Zain “ For The Rest of My Life”
It is an absolutely inspiring video and inspiring song with an amazing artist who cares
That’s been my biggest point
I had the pleasure to be in Egypt for 6 weeks and have been back several times since then
And Maher brings back all that love and passion and inspiration, and joy and love
That all the people for the Arab world have especially Egypt
But I’ve really enjoyed working on this video
Maher cares, which is inspiring and moves everyone, he has a great voice
And we're here in Dunbar California shooting the video in this wonderful home
As you guys can see where we turned in basically a ball room into a stage, into a set
Where it is his bedroom, flat, his apartment
But everything was changed when you came along, oh
And there's a couple of words I want to say
For the rest of my life, I'll be with you
I'll stay by your side, honest and true
Till the end of my time, I'll be loving you, loving you
For the rest of my life, through days and nights
I'll thank Allah for opening my eyes
Now and forever I, I'll be there for you
I know it deep in my heart
I came two days ago, and we shot - yesterday and today, we’ve been shooting
Today is the last day for this. So basically it’s a two-day shooting for the video
And it’s a very interesting concept
I was a little bit thinking how to make a song - because it is dedicated to my wife
And how to make a song about love without my wife in it or some girl you know and all that
So I was thinking - I am grateful that we came up with - or the director Lena Khan
She came up with the concept that I’m preparing to get married
I think he actually had fans voting on this Facebook page. He has like 1 million or 2 million fans
And they all voted between “Baraka Allah” and “For the Rest of My Life”
We just thought this one had a more creative concept and was a little different
Because I know for Maher he got married
He just had a baby and he wanted a song to encourage other people to get married
For me it was more that, he has various audiences
He has some who are religious, he has some who are cultural
And I think for Muslims for instance, for people from the Middle East,
It seems like other cultures have a monopoly on love
And so we wanted to kind of show that nobody has a monopoly
And you know this Religion and you know where is he from can also have all of that
So we kind of wanted to show representations and symbolism of the different things
That come with being married, the kind of happiness you can have with your wife,
Having children, the things you can do together.
I praise Allah for sending me you my love
You’ve found your home and it’s here with me
And I’m here with you
Now let me let you know
You’ve opened my heart
I was always thinking that love was wrong
But everything was changed when you came along, Oh
And there’s a couple of words I want to say
I work also as a producer, so I edit the song and I mix it, and produce it and all that
So you get used to that. And you know how it is like, u make a song and you record it
First of course you write it, you produce it and then you make melodies and edit it,
And so you really get tired of it
And then you mix it, so really it’s like. I don’t want to hear it when it is done
When it’s mixed and mastered, you say I don’t want to hear it any more
But you go back to it after a while and then you say oh! It is nice
And you realize because as you were saying that when you listen to a song too many times you just lose it
Lose the meaning and lose the beauty of it, and it’s like you’re working like you are in cruise control
Like a robot. I call it like - I just work like a robot
Armando: I am apparently hanging socks on a green colored hook
Maher: They have a soul, they have wings…. Invisible wings
Armando: That little sock… Look at all the attention that sock gets!
To kind of show that it not reality, some of it is kind of in his imagination perhaps
A kind of surreal thing. We have something called motion control effects
So what happens is as Maher sings the background behind him changes
So when he goes from bachelor to married the bed will change, with some subtle special effects
Other things we were doing to kind of create that semi-surreal look is the sock
Which took us about an hour yesterday, where Maher throws the socks behind him
When he’s cleaning up his room in preparation to have a nice clean married life
And so we freeze-frame the socks
And then Production Design created some frozen socks
And the frozen socks would hold in the form in which he threw them
We molded them and then he came back picked them out of the air off of green screen wires
And put them into a laundry basket
I'll be loving you, loving you
For the rest of my life, through days and nights
I’ll thank Allah for opening my eyes
Now and forever I, I'll be there for you
Lena: Ready everyone?
Maher: So I just walk over there?
Lena: Let's do the walk. Do the walk
Lena: Cut
Till the end of my time, I'll be loving you, loving you
Armando: Yeah, these are some very special socks. It seems like magical powers if you wear them you can like
Leap over tall buildings or like save the world.
Lena’s vision is so - I think she has an ability to listen to the music, to feel the music
And then to create imagery that touches every individual
So I feel like it all crosses these boundaries
And so when you combine her visuals - what she sees - with what Maher sings and what he creates
It is a wonderful dynamic there; so I am really looking forward to the editing phase
So now this scene is supposed to be: I am praying, and I finish praying,
I look to my right and I am just thinking about how someone is missing over there
And just reflecting that’s in the future insha Allah my wife will be praying with me
Yeah, so lets see how it turns out
I know it deep in my heart
And now that you're here, in front of me
I strongly feel love, I strongly feel love
And I have no doubt, and I'll sing it loud
That I will love you eternally
Maher: The one we were talking about before
I pray, I finish my prayer and then I just look back
And reflect that insha Allah in the future I will pray with my wife
And then I go up bring her mat, put it next to me and be happy
Cameraman: And how long did that take?
Maher: Not so long actually. Maybe like we did it like 3 or 4 times but it was quick
But the preparations always take long
The UPM is pretty much in charge of making sure that we come in under budget
Or on budget - not over budget, but on budget
Also making sure that the set is running smoothly, things are getting made
If anybody has any requests, every thing is pretty much set
Maher: Assalamu alaikum Ayah, I am going to be your toy in the future
I'm saying hello from now. Assalamu alaikum
Lena: It's for a little brother for Ayah. And then you will put it in the closet and think of Ayah
Maher: I am going to put this in the closet?
Lena: In the closet, yeah. That and the little teddy bear
Teddy bear will be for Ayah and this will be for the boy
Maher: Insha Allah.. In the closet - that was fun, so after I put all the toys in and I have one left. OK, one left.
I open the closet and everything falls out. So I have to do it again
For the rest of my life, through days and nights
I’ll thank Allah for opening my eyes
Lena: Cut
I think the thing that jumps at me the most about this
Is how cohesive everybody is. I know a lot of the people on this like the Producer
The DP and the Director and the Keys, the Grips the Gaffers seems all worked together a lot on past of things
Even number of probably attended film school together, and it actually shows a lot
We've had some challenges on this production but the Director didn’t lose her cool
And everybody seemed to roll with it and be able to adapt
And really make something out of what could potentially have been nothing
And it's a testament to how professional they all have been
And it helps a lot that the artist is just - other than being obviously a very talented person
His demeanor translates to the rest of the crew. He seems to be having a good time
Seems to be having fun at it
Edward: Here we go. Stand by. Camera ready? Ready
For the rest of my life, I'll be with you
I'll stay by your side, honest and true
Till the end of my time, I'll be loving you, loving you
For the rest of my life, through days and nights
I’ll thank Allah for opening my eyes
I am signed to a record label called Awakening Records
And I met them about three years ago now - three and half years ago
And I signed to them and we decided to make an album
And I'm very grateful for having met them
Because they are great guys and also believing in me
They believe in me, and we share the same vision, like Islamic values
And all what we want to do, but in a clean way, in an artistic way
We're not going to use this shot (cameraman laughs)
Maher: What can this camera do? Can it fly?
Edward: (Laughs) Can it fly? OK, make it fly
Edward: Sorry, everybody back, clear the space for working
All right, let me just say also first of all everybody good morning, welcome back
Today is going to be our best day of all. Let’s try to get this done and have some fun
And here we go..
I’ll thank Allah for opening my eyes
Now and forever I, I'll be there for you
I know it deep in my heart