The Origin of Qatar’s Motifs

By Yousif Al Hamadi

Old Amiri Palace complex, Doha

Introduction

Traditional tools and products in the Arabian Gulf states can be viewed in two ways: one way executed locally by Gulf skilled workers; another way is manufactured outside the Gulf, bearing the characteristics of Islamic art, yet imported from neighboring countries. The tools and products made in Gulf countries carry the simple folk sense, with details of simple motifs and patterns inspired by the Gulf environment, such as sea waves, fish, stars, plants, flowers, palms, and shells used to decorate dresses, traditional jewelry, vessels, surfaces of pottery and architectural forms. These shapes resemble plants, animal ornaments, Arabic calligraphy, geometric patterns, and modern abstract designs with an unorganized composition.

(more…) “The Origin of Qatar’s Motifs”

Zaytuna Mosque

By Yousif Al Hamadi

Introduction

Islamic architecture is distinguished by the style of mosques upholding their own distinctive architectural characteristics. Oleg Grabar said the mosque carries symbolic signs. Some are religious and exist in every mosque, such as the mihrab, or administrative, such as the minbar, or associated with the ruler, such as the maqsura, or official, such as the distribution of aisles in the prayer hall, and some of them change their cause over time, such as the minaret. These elements are variable according to the geographical location of the mosque. They have their own circumstances, and they are constantly evolving, but they do not lose their peculiarity.[1]

(more…) “Zaytuna Mosque”

The Prince of Egypt: between Facts and Fictions

By Yousif Al Hamadi

Prince of Egypt - The Cooper Company

Introduction

Cinema began to play a role in education and became a source of information for many people and many educational institutions. Teachers in their classes often rely on guiding their students to watch a specific film to clarify the idea of ​​the lesson, convey information, or even explain the whole lesson. Screening Films has become an essential educational tool. They are accessible to everyone. Julio Cuevas Romo (2020) presented a study on the intention and practicality of using cinema in educational institutions. He showed that this happens in two ways. First, through producing documentaries with educational goals in an objective and sincere manner. Second, fictional cinema, where films come as reinterpretations of historical periods or as autobiographical. There are films intentionally produced for scientific purposes, such as documentaries, but also fictional films can be used for educational purposes. There are good biographies were produced, such as Lincoln (Spielberg, 2012). Even fictional films can explain and give good information about a specific historical period, even if the story is fantasy, such as Pan’s Labyrinth (del Toro, 2006), which illustrates clear elements of the Spanish civil war (Romo, 2020, pp. 161-162).

Digital Technologies Challenged the Broadcast Model

Media broadcasting started to be recognized in the late nineteenth century as a powerful means to change values and behaviors. After the Second World War, technologies began to be used by people massively, and digital technology started to characterize media broadcasting differently, creating challenges to governments to regulate it. Many harmful and unacceptable information began to appear in public, primarily through the internet, which changed several aspects of how specialists theorize media.

Julian Stodd’s Learning Blog

(more…) “Digital Technologies Challenged the Broadcast Model”

QFA 2020 Jersey

A group of pictures of the new Qatar team’s jersey for the year 2020 has been leaked. A website published an article that shows the shirt with distinct detail and designed by Nike, the sponsor of the QFA uniform since 2010. The association found itself in a position that it has to hurry to launch a promotional campaign for the new kit.

https://www.footyheadlines.com/2020/03/nike-qatar-2020-kit.html

A promotional campaign often accompanies the new outfit. Within this campaign, a one-minute video is produced, expressing the identity and spirit of the new outfit and the purpose of appearing in a new outfit. Accordingly, QFA hired Red Dot Films to the video.

QFA Ramadan 1441

The Qatar Football Association (QFA) hired Red Dot Films to produce an Ad that addresses the religious and societal aspects to be posted during Ramadan on their social media platforms, taking advantage of the football players who influence a large segment of the audience.

QFA Ramadan Film, , net-toxic - CGSociety
The end shot of the Ad

The advertisement focused on three aspects, the aspect of worship, the aspect of work, and the aspect of the family and society, using Al-Moez Ali, Akram Afif and Saad Al-Sheeb as representatives of these aspects, but in a two-dimensional cartoon form.

OnePort

Red Dot films just finished an infographic video as a brief explanation of how is the OnePort app is used and how are maintenance operations carried out.

The idea of the application is to facilitate real-estates’ maintenance activities through a user-friendly platform.

Red Bull – Road to Recovery

Tape Studio hired Red Dot Films last month to produce an infographic video for Red Bull, showing its challenges in the Qatari market and its recovery plan.

Red Bull chose to adopt the theme Road to Recovery for their business plan of 2020 because Qatar has been under blockade since June 5th, 2017. Moreover, Qatar imposed a 100% tax on the energy drinks category since January 1st, 2019.