Response from a Finnish student:
- "Heh. Not even most of the 'normal' Finns like that either. It's mostly older people's treat ... though mämmi is more Easter related dish, you should be able to buy it year around atleast from bigger stores."
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People say we're living in an international student bubble. My dad says that to get a real Finnish experience, I need to move out and live with Finns. (I actually tried this, but the housing organization said it wouldn't be possible.) This way of thinking, the: "You need to do this, this and this to get a "real," wholesome, cultural experience," sounds a bit narrow minded, implying that the alternative way will give people fake, superficial cultural experiences. I guess many people don't actually believe this, but the rhetoric makes it so. In personal experience, I've learned a lot about other cultures, my own culture and dynamics between cultures from interaction with so many international students. And that's not it. It would be nice to have Finnish friends, to live with Finnish people, but this isn't the only way to get to know Finnish culture. Moreover, forcing relationships based on race or nationality seems awkward and disrespectful. If a friendship happens, great! If it doesn't, fine too.
Anyway, this video was the first that I edited in Finland. I filmed it on my point and shoot camera, and edited it on Youtube Video Editor. I was expecting it to be simple documentation, along with the thousands of photos I take and don't publish. But spur of the moment, I decided to make something of it. On the one hand I feel nostalgic for multimedia production, and on the other I see how a break will open my mind and take me away from this technical, repetitive, rule-following trap that I often fell into.
The reason I didn't edit the video with Final Cut Pro or iMovie is because I'm working on a very old laptop computer. Even iMovie would be a hassle. Youtube Movie Editor was so basic and so simple. I was able to trim and put together a few clips in under an hour.
I found a post in my old blog about my thoughts on multimedia production, and decided update it:
may 9, 2011:
"sequences. tight, medium, wide. tight, medium, wide. don’t panic. get the job done. get a lot of video, but get video relevant to your story. don’t ask yes or no questions to kids. is there anything else you’d like to add? no shaky video unless it’s justified. SEQUENCES. be sympathetic, but don’t get involved. listen. organize your files. be creative, but don’t let that get in the way of someone else’s story. that’s not a rule. there are no written rules. then who cares? your audience, your employer, your future self. i don’t know. do work that makes you happy and proud. no matter what you do. and remember the god damned sequences."
nov 13, 2011:
what kind of message do you want to share? why will people find this interesting? is there a larger question involved? people have short attention spans. it's easy to get caught up in the larger question, but remember the storyline. remember audio. remember to carefully include and play with the threads that make up a seamless story. can you justify your edits? are you satisfied with the way you have portrayed people and situations? is it more important for you to: leave footage unaltered and realistic, or alter the footage to make it more realistic? talk to people, share your honest thoughts, and they will respond similarly. be true to yourself and be appreciative of the ones who are helping you. they do not owe you anything. at the end of the day, what were the things and who were the ones you most enjoyed? concentrate on them, and recognize, without too much weight, everything else. tomorrow is a new day, at least that is an idea that has been pushed into our minds.
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