When you are fully occupied with a production of an event, it is sometimes extremely useful to take a moment or two to reflect things. On Friday and Saturday I attended an academic conference by the Amsterdam-based Institute of Network Cultures on artistic responses to YouTube called Video Vortex. Here's a short summary on the main ideas I came out with:
1. It is not all art: Many of the speakers started by defining YouTube. However I felt at times that there was a tendency to try to interpret the entire YouTube archive within the context of arts and creativity which to me seemed a bit like trying to explain a railway station within the context of galleries. In my own project I want to address this complexity by providing multiple explanations for the videos shown - I mean not only "fruit of one's creativity" but also results of boredom, school assignments and pure fun.
2. It is not all bad: Tilman Baumgärtel spoke well about the impact of piracy in South-East Asia. He explained how the pirate DVDs are in many ways a tool for film fans in the region to get hold of indie productions from other continents and that the pirate distribution is more and more a conscious distribution channel for local independent film makers. The most interesting thing was his research on how the DVDs get to the Philippines. As he pointed out, we are not talking of illegal downloads or professional mafia distribution chains, we are talking of women from mainland China carrying the master copy in their bag or fishermen hiding the mastercopies into the stomachs of tunafish on their boat trips from Malaysia.
Piracy as a distribution chain is something I also saw in Turkey a while back. I was taken to a store with collections of Hal Hartley, Antonioni,von Trier, Bergman and what have you. And as the local people told in Turkey and also according to Baumgärtel in Philippines, they don't really download their films but they trust their local dealer who has good taste.
3. Size does matter: Andreas Treske spoke well about the changes of the viewing experience when we go from not only seeing films in cinemas but also watching TV shows and even films on our iPhones. It was fascinating how he demonstrated how in the cinema the film has our undivided attention but on the iPhone screen the film in a way fights with the background and all the things around us.
His presentation made me think a lot about how online video should be curated. Is it actually good to stay close to the screen size that the films were made for and what do we lose if you blow a YouTube video on a gigantic screen?
Showing posts with label istanbul. Show all posts
Showing posts with label istanbul. Show all posts
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Saturday, January 05, 2008
Priviledges
"Thank you so much. But where are the bridges exactly?"
A discussion with an Italian tourist in the cafe of Topkapi Palace earlier this week was a wake-up call. My holiday in Istanbul consisted of breakfasts, dinners and drinks with local friends. I stayed in the guest room of my friends far away from Sultanahmet's touristic buzz. The discussion with the tourist - smart woman approximately my age - reminded me of the great wonder of having friends all over Europe.
The girl had not left the Golden Horn during the four days she had already spent in Istanbul. I visited the Golden Horn every day but in the evenings returned to the Asian side. Her experience of the Turks was that they all wanted to sell her something, mine was from the amazing hospitality and kindness which seems to characterise people outside the tourist attractions.The locals we asked for help went out of their way to make sure that we make the right bus or find the right address. The mosque experience of the Italian tourist were the men selling souvenirs by the door, mine was an older gentleman proud to show us around his local mosque. Her most intimate discussion with a local was the receptionist of her hotel or a friendly waiter, mine were hour-long discussions over Turkish pop music or funeral traditions in my friends' living room in the middle of the night.
I am a people person. People define my mood and create the highs and lows. My Europe and European cities consist mostly from superb dinners, long breakfasts or cocktails with a view.
A discussion with an Italian tourist in the cafe of Topkapi Palace earlier this week was a wake-up call. My holiday in Istanbul consisted of breakfasts, dinners and drinks with local friends. I stayed in the guest room of my friends far away from Sultanahmet's touristic buzz. The discussion with the tourist - smart woman approximately my age - reminded me of the great wonder of having friends all over Europe.
The girl had not left the Golden Horn during the four days she had already spent in Istanbul. I visited the Golden Horn every day but in the evenings returned to the Asian side. Her experience of the Turks was that they all wanted to sell her something, mine was from the amazing hospitality and kindness which seems to characterise people outside the tourist attractions.The locals we asked for help went out of their way to make sure that we make the right bus or find the right address. The mosque experience of the Italian tourist were the men selling souvenirs by the door, mine was an older gentleman proud to show us around his local mosque. Her most intimate discussion with a local was the receptionist of her hotel or a friendly waiter, mine were hour-long discussions over Turkish pop music or funeral traditions in my friends' living room in the middle of the night.
I am a people person. People define my mood and create the highs and lows. My Europe and European cities consist mostly from superb dinners, long breakfasts or cocktails with a view.
Thursday, January 03, 2008
Shake your bon-bon
Last day of holidays in İstanbul. Before going ınto details on discoveries of a more intellectual nature, here is what Turkey is listenıng now - superstar Tarkan is out with a new album. Not my cup of tea to be honest, but hey, people like it.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Make Me Pure
Once again visiting my favourite city in the world, Istanbul. My colleague Raya and I are here for a network meeting on our video project. Due to cheaper flights we came already yesterday and therefore have spent yesterday evening meeting friends and just spending time together.
I tested a hamam last week in Casablanca and decided to go to one again today. I love it. I must say - apologies for my unpatriotic approach - that I like the hamam much more than a Finnish sauna. In the hamam the temperature is not that high and you sweat much more. In the Turkish ones they have managed to turn it into a service with scrubs and massage and so forth.
The hamam is always gender-divided. On the men's section the atmosphere is a lot of fun. The old men seem to enjoy telling younger - especially tourist - men what they should do and where to go. What I love is that the instructions are never in English. And why should they? The men washing you just tap you on the back when you have turn around and the others point with their finger where to go.
I was a bit intimidated by the stories I have heard about the harsh massage. And the stories were accurate. I heard crunches unfamiliar to me when the middle-aged man was pressing my back. But now, after two hours, I must say that I feel fantastic.
This is what they should do also in the Nordic countries. Make public saunas clean and offer different treatments for a decent price.
I tested a hamam last week in Casablanca and decided to go to one again today. I love it. I must say - apologies for my unpatriotic approach - that I like the hamam much more than a Finnish sauna. In the hamam the temperature is not that high and you sweat much more. In the Turkish ones they have managed to turn it into a service with scrubs and massage and so forth.
The hamam is always gender-divided. On the men's section the atmosphere is a lot of fun. The old men seem to enjoy telling younger - especially tourist - men what they should do and where to go. What I love is that the instructions are never in English. And why should they? The men washing you just tap you on the back when you have turn around and the others point with their finger where to go.
I was a bit intimidated by the stories I have heard about the harsh massage. And the stories were accurate. I heard crunches unfamiliar to me when the middle-aged man was pressing my back. But now, after two hours, I must say that I feel fantastic.
This is what they should do also in the Nordic countries. Make public saunas clean and offer different treatments for a decent price.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Family affairs and other stuff
So a week of work done. Lately I have basically lost the difference between weekends and weekdays due to work-related trips. Tomorrow I am off to Istanbul with a colleague of mine to have a meeting with the public broadcasters that collaborate with us on theoneminutesjr project. Istanbul is my favourite city in the world so I am not complaining.
It has been a relatively good week altogether. I started from London with a visionary discussion on higher education and continued for Tuesday and Wednesday in Helsinki for meetings and a oneminutesjr workshop and on Thursday flew back to Amsterdam.
Our team grew on Thursday as our intern started. She seems great and will definitely help us in daily work as well as in brainstorming.
I think I have written about this before but it does not hurt to say the obvious: I have a great family. I realised it once again when I saw them for two evenings in Helsinki. Apart from being dear to me, they are also humane and good people. Having worked with orphans and people who have lost their families in civil wars, sometimes it is good to remind yourself that these things should not be taken for granted. My homies are fab folks.
My nephew has started walking which is funny to observe. He seems to have a healthy (un-Finnish) self-esteem because he trusts his still slightly wobbly feet a bit too much. You hear a stomp every too minutes but when you turn to see if he hurt himself, he is already on his way to new dangers. Funny dude.
It has been a relatively good week altogether. I started from London with a visionary discussion on higher education and continued for Tuesday and Wednesday in Helsinki for meetings and a oneminutesjr workshop and on Thursday flew back to Amsterdam.
Our team grew on Thursday as our intern started. She seems great and will definitely help us in daily work as well as in brainstorming.
I think I have written about this before but it does not hurt to say the obvious: I have a great family. I realised it once again when I saw them for two evenings in Helsinki. Apart from being dear to me, they are also humane and good people. Having worked with orphans and people who have lost their families in civil wars, sometimes it is good to remind yourself that these things should not be taken for granted. My homies are fab folks.
My nephew has started walking which is funny to observe. He seems to have a healthy (un-Finnish) self-esteem because he trusts his still slightly wobbly feet a bit too much. You hear a stomp every too minutes but when you turn to see if he hurt himself, he is already on his way to new dangers. Funny dude.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Wonderful as itself
I am once again in Istanbul. The governing bodies of my employer are meeting here which is why I was also flown in to present plans for the coming years. I could not be more excited as I have really fallen in love with this city and its people during the last 1,5 years. This time the stay is more or less three days which is wonderful. In a minute I should head out to have dinner with my great Turkish friends.
By coincidence I watched yesterday a reportage my good friend made for the Finnish TV on Istanbul last September when we both took part in a pop culture journalism workshop here. I could not be more proud of how she grasped the city through interviews with two young Istanbullers.
In the interviews they say wonderful things that I think should be shared and commented:
"We don't wake up every morning thinking about the European Union."
- this country is magnificent as itself and filled with people who strive for freedom and equality. The EU accession prospect might have speeded up some things but the modernisation agenda comes from within.
"I have friends all over the world but the Turkish friendships are somehow deeper."
- the way people get close with you here is something even I have not experienced elsewhere. It's real and sincere from the first moment on. And people take the time to share and to listen.
By coincidence I watched yesterday a reportage my good friend made for the Finnish TV on Istanbul last September when we both took part in a pop culture journalism workshop here. I could not be more proud of how she grasped the city through interviews with two young Istanbullers.
In the interviews they say wonderful things that I think should be shared and commented:
"We don't wake up every morning thinking about the European Union."
- this country is magnificent as itself and filled with people who strive for freedom and equality. The EU accession prospect might have speeded up some things but the modernisation agenda comes from within.
"I have friends all over the world but the Turkish friendships are somehow deeper."
- the way people get close with you here is something even I have not experienced elsewhere. It's real and sincere from the first moment on. And people take the time to share and to listen.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
