The ancient art of felt rug making

(31 Jul 2010) NO ACCESS BBC PERSIA / VOA PERSIAN
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AP Television
Roudsar - Gilan Province - 29.06.2010
1. Wide exterior of felt-carpet-making workplace
2. Close-up of tool applied by the felt-maker to beat the wool fibre and to make the wool ready for felting
3. Mid of man separating wool fibres by constantly hitting his bow-like tool
4. Pan from coloured wool to felt-maker wetting and putting colourful threads in an oval shape as the preliminary felt sketch
5. Close-up of felt-maker's hand using blue threads to form a margin around oval-shaped felt
6. Low-angle of man working
7. Close-up of coloured fibres to be used in making the felt with man working in background
8. Close-up of felt-maker's face
9. High-angle of man working
10. Close-up of flowers sketched over the felt with red and yellow threads
11. Mid of man completing sketching of the felt
12. SOUNDBITE (Farsi) Abdollah Hallaj Rezaie, felt-maker:
"I weave the wool to make threads and colour them here. When sketching of the felt is over, I spread the beaten wool on it which is the foundation of work and we call it the mould. When spreading the wool is done, I pour hot water on it and then roll it."
13. Close-up of felt-maker spreading the beaten wool on the felt sketch laid out on a mat
14. Tilt-down of Abdollah scattering beaten wool over the felt
15. Wide of Abdollah in his workplace
16. Tilt-up from beaten sheep wool to Abdollah spreading them on the felt
17. Close-up of a prepared felt
18. Wide of Abdollah pouring hot water on the wools with a kettle
19. Abdollah rolling the felt
20. Close-up of hand rolling the felt
21. Various of Abdollah rolling the felt in different direction
22. Tilt-down from Abdollah's hand to his feet pushing the rolled felt
23. SOUNDBITE (Farsi) Abdollah Hallaj Rezaie, felt-maker:
"It is not economical anymore. Today young people are not interested in hard work and selling felt is not profitable anymore, because machine woven carpets have taken over the market. These new carpets were not popular before and the felt carpet used to rule the market then."
24. Tilt-up of Abdollah standing on the felt and rolling in backward
25. Mid of felt-maker's feet on rolled felt
26. SOUNDBITE (Farsi) Sarvar Abbaspour, Abdollah Hallaj Rezaie's wife:
"My children managed to get their college degree and find a job through the income we earn from this job and we have no other way to make a living except making felt."
27. Close-up of Sarvar's feet pedalling a machine used for making wool threads
28. Pan from Sarvar speaking with her husband to Abdollah doing the final stages of making the felt
29. Close-up of prepared felt laying on the floor
AP Television
Ramsar - Mazandaran Province - 29.06.2010
30. Wide of market selling felt and other handicrafts
31. Close-up of pieces of felt for sale
32. Mid of woman looking at a felt
33. SOUNDBITE (Farsi) Shah Mohammadi (no first name given), custumer:
"Unfortunately carpets have been substituted felts. For example, a person like me who has a child does not lay out a felt in their room because it has tiny filaments. If people knew the benefits of felts such as they stay dry, are warm and are good for leg pain, and if they knew that how much effort and passion has been spent in making them, they would definitely frame them and put them on their walls."
36. Wide of market
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