Production Shoot Day 1

After arriving at the apartment complexes where we planned to shoot, we all sat in the car and began preparing the props, the iconic red heels. Layla brought her shoes, which we painted bright red to bring our vision to life. The paint took quite a while to dry.  

During this waiting period, Layla started doing her makeup to match Cynthia’s character design. She was already dressed in the office attire required for the role. She styled her hair into a messy bun, added glasses, and wore an employee ID card, fully embracing the costume and character.  

Once the heels were dry, we went inside to start filming. We used Khadeeja’s phone, which we mounted on a gimbal I borrowed from my friend Laraib. As the director, I guided Layla on how to act for each scene. Since we didn’t have actual keys to the apartments, I instructed her to mime unlocking the door using a set of keys I provided. This workaround helped us capture the establishing shot successfully, and with that, Production Day 1 officially came to an end.