Soulful soundtrack from last night

Uz, Shiz and I went to Telakka last night for a free event DJ'd by Soul Power. Five hours of grooving, picture taking, meeting people and listening to a diverse playlist of soul music. Here are some of the songs we wrote down (Links included if available):

• Oscar Sulley & The Uhuru Dance Band - Bukom Mashie
• Darondo - I Don't Understand It
• The Gaturs - Cold Beer
• Soul Donkey - Sugarman Three
• Arthur Alexander - Anna (Go to Him)
• Jacky Wilson - Chain Gang
• Jackie Mittoo - Stereo Freeze
• Beginning of the End - Funky Nassau
• The Souljazz Orchestra - Mista President
• Arthur Alexander - Where Have You Been (All My Life)
• The Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band - Express Yourself
• Stevie Wonder - Master Blaster (Jammin')
• Edwin Starr - Twenty Five Miles
• Dub Colossus - Guragigna
• Chocolate Milk - Say Wontcha
• Jamiroquai - Cosmic Girl
• James Brown - Get on the Good Foot
• Spanky Wilson - Sunshine Of Your Love
• Joe Bataan - Mi Nube
• Otis Redding - Hard to Handle
• Jackie Wilson - Higher and Higher
• Arthur Conley - I Can't Stop
• Little Richard - Good Golly Miss Molly
• Blues Brothers: Ray Charles - Twist It (Shake Your Tail Feather)
• Roy Montrell - (Everytime I Hear) That Mellow Saxophone
• The Bar-Kays - Soul Finger
• Gloria Jones - Tainted Love
• Alain Toussaint - Tequila
• Henry Mancini - Pink Panther Theme Song

This youtube playlist includes everything: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLA6B6C649F05936C0

Some pictures from the night (unedited, taken by Uz and I on his camera):



(The DJs played good track after track, occasionally getting up for a beer or to groove.)



(Shiz had a long day, and would occasionally rest her eyes to relax and soak in the music.)



(The music volume didn't overpower meetings and conversations.)



(One Finnish guy came to introduce himself, and we found out that he went to the same university as Shizu about 10 years ago.)



(The dance floor was empty for the first two hours, but the excitement escalated when more people arrived and started dancing.)



(Everybody took to the atmosphere and music differently.)





(This DJ would sometimes drop what he was doing, stand up and dance.)



(I used an iPod touch app to identify the songs we liked.)

On a captivating intro

There are many ways to organize an effective and identifiable story. (Ira Glass, on the building blocks of a good story: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loxJ3FtCJJA.)

An enticing opening is undoubtedly essential.

"Someone said you always have to put the best in the beginning" -Jan Rofekamp

Today, Jan Rofekamp, president of Films Transit International gave a guest lecture about just that. His profession includes looking at documentaries, making a selection and then choosing about 25-ish films to sell to different markets. But as the market is full of films, and not all buyers will watch the entire film through, Rofekamp came up with a course that taught filmmakers how to seduce buyers into being interested. "The idea was not to teach specific techniques, but to inspire people." Specifically, to call attention to the first five to seven minutes of a documentary film.

Rofekamp showed us several openings from the following documentaries:

• The Real Dirt on Farmer John (2005)

• Autumn Gold (2010)

• Imaginary Witness: Hollywood and the Holocaust (2004)

• Celluloid Closet (1995)

• Champagne Spy (2007)

• Naked States (2000)

• Sound of Insects (2010)
  

• Metallica: Some Kind of Monster (2004)

• Janine (2010)

We discussed what made these openings work or not work. Some were light and fun, others layered and intense, some with voice overs, some with title cards. It revealed that many variations can make a captivating intro. Autumn Gold opens with a camera following an elderly man running up stairs. The editing is choppy to create tension and we see the man breathing heavily and even falling once. He soon reaches the 15th level, and walks out onto the balcony, taking in the fresh air. "I make an effort to stay young," he begins, contrasted with his age. In Sound of Insects, the opening shots are long and slow, almost meditative. Narration comes, and we learn that this is the story of a man's detailed journal on how he committed suicide. Champagne Spy offers a more fast, atmospheric, vague, James Bond-esque beginning.

Iikka Vehkalahti, professor and executive producer at YLE, organized this guest lecture, and was very much a counterpart lecturer. He said that openings can be seen as a reading guide for the film. He added that documentaries can hold the viewer's attention by exploring characters, conflict/dilemma (inner dilemma/outer conflict), and a question (what is the real truth?). "If you're a documentary filmmaker, you don't make films for yourself, you make it for audiences... When the journalist is more important than the story, there's a problem."

Vehkalahti showed us the intros to Armadillo (2011) and Reindeer Spotting (2010). With regard to the title cards in Reindeer Spotting, he said they should only be used in building drama or moving the story forward. Just three boring, informational cards can turn the viewer completely off.

He also said that Finnish documentaries tend to use the chronological convention of organization.

I enjoyed the focus of this four-hour lecture on the openings of documentary film. It reminded me that in our culture of instant satisfaction, the intro has to be nailed for people to stick around.

Still, though, when I think back to the documentaries I loved and that have inspired me (Hearts and Minds, Night and Fog, Roger and Me, Salesman, The Fog of War, Standard Operating Procedure, Steam of Life, Taxi to the Dark Side, etc...), I can't actually remember the opening scenes. It's the undertone messages, the questions and the meanings as I interpreted them. And this all comes from solid organization and solid footage.

More music at Telakka and questions about privacy

Uz, Shiz and I just got back from two great performances at Telakka. The music groups: Vidar Skrede Dynamo Band, and Ville Kangas and Puuma.

"Music gives you wings" -Uzair

Since we have been discussing at length issues of piracy and proposed legislation against copyright infringement, we wanted to get the artists' take. What did they think about piracy? Has piracy hurt or benefited them? I thought this would also be a good opportunity to gain insight into Nordic music and folk music as a genre. And it was. I'll post more about that soon.

• Keynote address on the fight against bills like SOPA, WIPO, ACTA and other laws promoting restrictive copyright rules: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKUv_27swF0&feature=player_embedded

It's almost 3 a.m., and I have a four-hour lecture beginning at 10. So I'm going to hit the sheets. But before, I'll have one more cookie...

And post two pictures:



(Kids in Finland look like astronauts during the winter.)



(The sun actually came out for a while!)

Lovely Finland!

Today was very pleasant. The temperature remained under -5 degrees Celsius. In Crime and Criminal Policy, we spoke mostly about private prisons, which look good on paper and in the short term, but are inefficient and costly in the long term.

I was super tired, so I went home as soon as possible to have a nap. In the evening, I went to the apartment sauna. It was dry and a bit too cool for my liking, so I walked out of the room to fill a pot with water. When I returned, I poured the water on the rock stove. Shhhhhhhhhh, was the sound of the liquid touching the rocks and turning into steam. The sauna grew hotter. I could feel a drop of sweat fall from my temple. I felt my arms and my legs beginning to moisten. My head felt relaxed and I moved from a sitting position to laying down. After ten minutes, I went outside for a cold shower. I returned for a second round.

Tampere is beautiful as ever. Sometimes I wonder if my heightened love for it comes because the end is in sight. Whatever the reason, I'm sad to think about leaving, especially when America feels so far away and foreign now.

The cliche term would be bittersweet. I'm equally as excited and eager to return to my home country, to see my friends and family, to explore more of the states, to figure out what my next step will be.

Maybe it's too early to be writing all this mushy stuff... Anyway, some pictures:



(Federiko rides his bike to school in -20 degree weather. In Oregon, classes would be cancelled in this weather.)



(Lovely colors of the evening, seen from Aitoleipa)







(Pictures taken near the university)