I spent the morning with some cute company. My friend Azam had to drop his wife Zareen at the University where she teaches. They are both talented artists and arts educators. The home is brimming with beautiful art created by the couple and by other artists. I love it. They are like family to me and have made my first and second trip to Multan so warm.So as I was doing some tedious shot breakdown tasks related to “Risalo” on my laptop, the most beautiful little smile kept me company. Little Sherebano hung out with me, doing her daily workout of pushups and smiling. She seems very eager to start crawling, standing and running around. She smiles and my heart just melts. It was great to have her there, helping me with my spreadsheets. After a bit, her brother Shazain came sleepily into the room. He seemed a bit concerned about where his parents were. I reassured him, gave him some water then we all went to the living room, away from the laptop and other things that must be broken.Azam came back, we had some breakfast, watched some cartoons and head to the design college. The puppeteers were in the area and so I went and got them and we sat down in the yard to do some work. I skipped through the two animatics to give them a feel for what we were doing. They got to see what some of the other puppets were like. I took out the four I had and let them inspect them and start trying them out. Talking will only get us so far. These artists need time with the puppets to figure them out in the context of what we’ll be doing with them.So we spent a good four hours figuring things out. Part of it was an audition to see how their skills were and equally to see if we could work together and figure out new things which is what this entire project is going to entail. We had conversation and they got along with each other. I know that sounds like a pretty basic thing, but trust me, it is crucial. They listened, and shared solutions for how we could get a particular movement out of a puppet. It was an exhausting 4 hours of explaining, and all of us collectively thinking and working together, but it was worth it. These puppeteers are fully capable of putting on their traditional performances. The movement is broad and big so that people way in the back can see it just as well as people sitting up in the front of the audience. For my film, we need finesse and subtle movements. That is not what they normally do, but we also have the advantage of being able to do multiple takes, set initial poses on puppets by hand and adjust their setup for a given shot. This is quite a bit like the animation work that I do. That helps in being able to guide the process. Their own experience as puppeteers is vital in figuring out if the strings need to be wrapped around the other side of the hand to get the palms facing in or out and things like how long they need the strings to be.I was very glad to see them take that initiative and with my blessings to adjust the strings and figure out new ideas, they ran with it. We figured out that certain movements will require multiple people to manipulate a single puppet. We also need space, so we will likely raise the puppeteers up on chairs or some kind of sturdy benches, with longer strings so that they can perform together. It will be an interesting challenge to put it all together, but they are certainly more able to handle the puppets than I am, and willing to take direction and work together to create solutions. That is what we need. This just might work.In the end we discussed payment and a timeline and I have to say that I am truly grateful that they were professional about it all. It seems we have created a good space to work together, with everyone’s needs met. We don’t have a master puppeteer who can bring out the most subtle of movements, but we have some puppeteers and it will be my job to help them do their best and take their art to someplace new. Khursheid works as the storyteller and as such does not perform the actual puppets, but he has been crucial in finding the puppeteers and giving me space to work. I’m not going to leave him behind. So he too will join us. Of course I have paid him for all of his help up until now, but part of building these relationships, besides payment is mutual respect and understanding as best as I can, the financial challenges that they face. I’m also under a lot of pressure to somehow pull this thing off before I run out of this shoe string budget.That is why I spend a lot of time and care in making sure that each person I work with feels respected and appreciated, while also knowing what my expectations are and making sure they are down for it. So we realized there will be a need for extra hands in spots. Khurshid will be needed, not only to wrangle the team, but I think he’ll be able to help with background characters as well. I feel like this is great. He won’t be cut out from any of the earnings or the excitement of working on a larger project like this, and he will be a valuable addition to our team. The last puppeteer we will add to the team is currently in Lahore, I was told, so I can see him there. I met several other puppeteers when I last arrived, but the more skilled ones were either too beaten down by life, or manipulative and deceitful. In either case, they would be perfect for performances, but much more challenging to work with on something more experimental.I said goodbye to the puppeteers. They thanked me and I felt a little nervous knowing that so much is on my shoulders, but better that we have the beginnings of a team and workflow after just a few hours of working together. Azam and Zareen took me to the craft market where Shafiq sahib among other artists sell their work. I had been there back in March and knew that I would be back to pick up props for “Risalo” at some point. I needed a number of small clay pots for “Risalo” as well as a few other items I had made a list of. Picking the items was easy. Shafiq sahib helped me out. The only challenge was payment. He would not let me pay for anything. People are so sweet and humble, and these are the very people you want to pay whatever you can to. Azam and Zareen are good friends and supporters. I had come with them and was thus like family. I will figure out a way to pay. I say this because many artists are so loving and generous, but they usually are struggling and have put their hearts and souls and a lifetime into their work. The least society can do is pay them some fair monetary compensation, as people do for all other goods and services in their lives.