This blog has been silent for a while...  but now I thought that I would make an effort to revive it once more.  So...  I'm back!  :-)


Just as a small update of what I have been up to during the last year;

- the development of the 2d pre-school series MILJA is well on the way.  I'm very excited about where this thing is going and can't wait for the production to start!

- I have been visiting my regular workplace at YLE, working on some documentaries for pre-school television   (had almost forgot how fun it is to work with REAL children)  ;-)  These short films are coming up on the world's best finnish-swedish TV channel YLE 5 in 2014.

- During jan-march 2013 I also participated in the pilot for the storytelling / short film production classes at Animaton mentor.  Very good to get a chance to get back working in Maya after having been involved for so long with 2D planning and thinking with the MILJA-project.

Here, below, you can see my 2 character dialouge shot from the first class of this 3 class long effort.  In class 1 we all worked on our individual dialouge shots, while at the same time developing story ideas for the upcoming short film project, which is to be realized during class 2 and 3.  There is still some polishing to be done on this shot, though.

- I was planning to go on directly to to class 2 and 3 of this production pipeline class, but the whole schedule of these classes were moved forward for different reasons, which made it a little tricky for me to actually find the time to participate.  Well, we'll see... maybe I'll join in later, sometime.

- Meanwhile, I heard the rumour about Kenny Roy starting up his COLLABS project, which seemed like a very interesting idea to me.  This would also give me the chance to real pipeline experience, just like the AM courses would, but in a shorter time span than what would have been the case if I had went on with the AM classes...  And we also get to see and learn a little about the BUSINESS behind it all, since the decision processes are transparent to all of us who are taking part in the project.  Such an opportunity to invaluable learning!

So now I can proudly make the statement that I am a member of the very first ever COLLABS project!  Really looking forward to the production which starts may 27th!  Loads of good, experienced people are coming in to aid us through the process, just the other day we also heard the decision on which project we will actually be doing  -  and even if I can't tell you exactly what it is I can tell you that it is EXCITING !

Rock on!

NOT for children

As a producer/director of children's tv shows, working at a public service company and often sitting in either end of the pitching process i.e. giving or recieveing a pitch depending on the situation... I must say I find this clip hilarious.

http://dauid.com/video/qt/barnen.mov

NOTE: you have to understand swedish to get the point. It's mostly dialouge anyway. AND you have to have a good stomach and not be sensitive to adult material, too. :-)

I'm pretty convinced that the guy behind this clip has had his share of experiences trying to sell his ideas to public service companies... (he is actually a accomplished animator!)

The title of the clip is "för barnen" ("for the children" in english)
Don't say I didn't warn ya.

I simply love "Charlie and Lola"

Not much more to add, really. "Charlie and Lola" is a wonderful series!
And it's no wonder to me that it has been such a success. The stories and the art of Lauren Child is fantastic! And the style of the tv-production fascinates me too, it's done in modern digital cutout style, which leaves the viewer plenty of room for his or her own imagination - and those true and well made children voices in the soundtrack also make it really easy to connect with the characters on screen.

Here is an old clip (from 2008) when the production scooped a double-BAFTA win at the EA British Academy Children's Awards. Children's presenter Barney Harwood interviews Lauren Child, Claudia Lloyd and Kitty Taylor backstage to find out the secrets behind their success.





And here you can see an example of the thrilled audience watching the show:

Some pictures from my regular job directing children...

I just wanted to share some pictures with you to show you were I come from, professionally speaking...
These are some photos from the most recent tv-show I have worked on, "BUUS-fredag", it's a kid's magazine about fantasies, dreams, play and stories... The kid's in the show tell their stories and then these stories are acted out in small live action segments. The show is scripted, but the kids have a lot of influence on the content, which is an important point, really. It makes the show come alive..

"Directing a scene... Granny doesn't hear too well anymore. Her grandchildren have already tried to get her to notice them by shouting and waving - witn no success. Now they will try to get her attention making their balloons explode in her face."

"Sometime's you have to double as an actor too. This businessman has had some financial problems lately and has been forced to live in a box for the last two weeks. The dog in the foreground is about to lift his leg and pee on him."

"This is a love scene... the girl on the bench would like to approach the boy in the blue and green shirt and talk to him - but she's shy... :-)"
 
If you are browsing from somewhere in Finland you can watch the latest episodes of the show at http://areena.yle.fi/   , look for "BUUS-fredag" or "BUUklubben". But I'm sorry to say that the videofeed isn't available abroad. Sorry, guys.



Now I'm off on a long vacation to study at Animation Mentor. No television work for 18 months. It's really a shameless luxury I have here, to be able to study full time - and I am going to enjoy it to the fullest.

And it's nice to know that the tv-show is in very good hands with all my trusted and super capable co-workers. I'm so excited to see how they continue developing the show in my abscence. It's going to be great! :-)

Working with kids

This is a photo taken in a very normal day of my life... trying to get 7-year old kids to perform in front of the camera. It's fun but it's challenging. :-)



I have been working with kid's television here in Finland for almost 20 years now... (two more years to go and then I will celebrate!). The last ten years or so I have mainly done different "by children, with children, for children" types of programmes. And I can tell you; You learn a lot about directing, in general, working with children! You see, you REALLY have to work hard on issues as motivating and inspiring your actors as well as finding the simple and clear ways to describe and communicate what you want from them. Good lessons for any director in any type of production!

And of course it's hard sometimes. It's difficult! It's very, very demanding on so many levels... but at the same time it is enormously rewarding too, because you get so much love BACK from your young fellow workers. I love it.


Here is a clip I found on youtube with a little piece from a show called "oppåner å hitådit" that I was involved with a couple of years ago...
(It's in swedish - but I think you know the joke about the two tomatoes going across the street..?)