Day 6:
October 22, 2009 - by Ryan Day 6:It was the final full day or surgery for the team. After this evening three members will be leaving at 4AM on their way back to America. Before their departure we were able to visit the Souk, Morocco's shopping and tourist mecca.
As I mentioned yesterday, this country is mostly Muslim and filming people can often be considered insulting and can be down right dangerous for us. Before we went to the Souk we were warned of the laws against filming there without proper documentation.
Filming in places that have limited access or are even guarded is dangerous to us and to the equipment, especially in foreign countries. However, trying to get those kind of shots are a vital part of documentary films. It is our responsibility to try and capture what cant ordinarily be seen. Today at the Souk our boundaries in terms of filming discretely were most definitely pushed to the limit. First off, going in we knew that we would not be able to use our primary camera due to its cumbrous size. For times like this as well as normal B-Roll or secondary shots, we use a consumer grade HD hand camcorder which is a fraction of the size of the primary camcorder and can be more easily concealed.
We started filming the area with the camera to our side staying within groups trying not to be seen. Within about two minutes we were approached by a policemen who demand to take our camera. At first we pretended that we didn't understand what he was talking about. I didnt want to loose the footage or the camera. I reached in my pocket and handed him 100 Dirham. Dirham is the Moroccan currency. The officer looked at the money, took it and walked away. We got off easy.
Initially walking up to the Souk is a powerful experience. It is a huge square filled with thousands of people. In the center are small movable restaurants that shine bright white from a distance. The smoke from the meals being prepared is vast and hangs over the entire square filling is with the smell of foods like lamb, escargot, and poultry. Scattered amongst the crowd are groups of people gathered watching gypsies, and various street performers. Then there are merchants with goods like tonics, scents, oils, and creams with their product laying out on large rugs. The boarders of the square are lined with shops with everything from clothes, jewelry, live animals, metal wear, and even fossils. Then there are the alley ways that seems to drain to flood of tourists away from the center of the square. The alleys also contains similar merchandise.
As like a lot of Marrakesh, garbage is dumped into the streets for collection rather then into garbage cans. This as you can imagine makes crowded places like the alley extremely dirty.
When walking in the Souk or down the alleys, one needs to be extremely careful of your surroundings. The most dangerous part it the sporadic motorcycles that speed through the crowds.
Though a beautiful and striking aspect of Morocco, the Souk is a crowded place where one needs to have their wits about them. It was a nice place to visit, but not one that I anticipate returning to soon.
