Today was a big day for Jani's team and the game's future. Today Jani was going to present the team's three ideas to the 'powers that be'. Even though our involvement in the games development is for a very short time, we were just as excited and anxious about this as Jani and his team.
However, before we went to Turku to see Jani give his big presentation, we also visited the famous castle that the project is based on, the Kuusiston Linna. All we knew about the castle was that it was eventually destroyed by the Swedish king, and to be fair I expected it to be nothing more than a few cobbles, but what I saw was absolutely beautiful. Not only for the castle itself but the castle's location, its beautiful view and serenity. My 'happy finger' couldn't stop taking pictures and it makes so much sense to advertise these elements within the game. I'm glad that a piece of Finnish history is going to be explored by the project that Jani's team is working on. Although we didn't do any computer work at all, today was a very enriching and busy day regardless. First, Jani asked everyone to take as many pictures as possible for reference, and we even disccused how each area could be used in various games. He also wanted us to take as many notes as we could, but given the cold and lack of signs explaining the history, I think most of us just took pictures and mental notes, which I believe was enough. The photo opportunities were amazing for me personally, I don't think I've ever took as many photos as I did today. After the castle, we had a quick lunch that consisted of a sandwich, a fruit, and some juice, and then we were on our merry way to Turku. Jani had to present his team's ideas to Nina Loustarinen, the project planner, whose role is to increase tourism by helping bring folklore of the Finnish landmarks to life through what she called "gameification" Her brief presentation and explanantion of the "Light's On" was very informing and I felt that it was a great way to combine history with modern day technology. What impressed me more than that, was Nina being very impressed by Jani's presentation (Jani is a stellar leader to begin with), she herself expected only bare ideas (if any at all) and she was wow'd by how detailed, thought-out and presented the games were, even if it was just concept art. I was pleasantly impressed with how well Jani performed, for someone who's just stepping into this industry, him and his team were very professional, and I think everyone saw it that way. Nina ultimately gave the greenlight to the Visual Novel, something that everyone was hoping would be picked, and everyone was delighted that it was. Nina loved all three ideas, including the puzzle/tetris game. Nina even suggested that all three ideas could be eventually used by the other partners in this project (including from Estonia). After Jani's presentations and a short Q&A session, Nina showed us around the building of the LoGoMo company, which houses and rents offices to various companies. The facility is a reused train depot that was used to maintain and fix trains. It looked gorgeous and was very modern on the inside, compared to the rustic and very old red brick outside (which exudes beauty). Nina treated us to free tea and coffee (and milkshakes for some), where Barry, Jani and Nina discussed the possibility of extending the project to Ireland as well, which could prove to be a very interesting idea. Afterwards, we had a quick lunch at Hesburgers, and then were on our way back to Villila and for the four of us, Pori. For me personally I got to experience a lot of new things today. Jani's presentation and pitching of the idea gave me the insight to understand how games become greenlit, and to see both today and last week's visit to Nopia, it is an amazing opportunity to experience the behind the scenes of both Animation and Gaming and the exciting realities of working in the industry. Last year I found it hard to find a good work experience placement, I'm glad Erasmus+ provided me this opportunity to visit not only a beautiful country, meet amazing people and new friends, but also given me insight into a world that I will hopefully soon call "my career". - Marian Kaczmarek
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My interview with Esko Nummelin, director of Pori Art Museum, Finland, by Adam Egan
Q; Why did you choose to become a curator/director? A; I did not make a decision to be someday a curator or a director for an art museum. Already when I was young, I was interested in philosophy, art – especially art theory, Gestaltpsychologie / Gestalt psychology, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee etc. and their perception of what art is – and also in history. I was and still am strongly focused in research, philosophical and theoretical questions. As a researcher I am specialized in the theory of architecture (iconography) and history (political history, economic history internationally) and of course Art history - history and theory of contemporary art, classical art, including Painting Techniques.I have taught at the University for over 15 years subjects whose name is museology – it is a systematic study of the organization, management, and function of a museum. Q; Name 3 things you do on an average day. A; What is an average day? My job is primarily thinking, creating new ideas, taking care of the administration and economy. Q; What qualifications did you get? A; I have studied in two universities at the same time and at the same time I studied art and art theory and art techniques independently under the leadership of various artists.So I have a researcher training in university in art history, history - and also highest level in ethnology/cultural history. I am Licentiate of philosophy. Q; What do you know now that you wish you knew when you started? A; It is good that a man does not know the future. For me live is, and have been a study trip, which direction I have chosen by my shelves and which challenges give my life the content. Q; What is the basic business plan of the museum? I.e Funding, accounts, dealing with dealers and artists? A; Pori Art Museum is owned and funded mainly by the city of Pori. We had to follow the city's strategy, the annual changing budget decisions and administrative decisions of the city council. During the year we are guided by the cultural board of the city of Pori. All the actions are based on laws and regulations - museum legislation. The Museums Act defines the task of a museum. Museums are granted a Government Grant towards their running expenses. A prerequisite for this grant is that the museum is owned by a municipality or an association of municipalities. "The goal for museums is to maintain and increase awareness of culture, history and environment. Museums shall practice and promote the research, teaching and dissemination of knowledge of the field by documenting, studying, preserving and displaying objects and other material about humans and their environment." The Museum Decree defines the tasks of a provincial museum and a regional art museum. Pori Art Museum is a regional art museum for Satakunta – the south-western part of Finland. The tasks specified by the law are changing in four-year periods and will be negotiated with the Finland's National Board of Antiquities. Art museum is not only about art, artists and art exhibitions - not at all. As I already wrote, museums are memory organizations. They carry out a wide range of tasks and everything is based on scientific research. For museums of contemporary art, theory is also a means of equipping visitors to deal with questions regarding the ontological status and interpretation of works of art, questions like, Why is it art? What does it mean? The development of theoretical concepts applicable to contemporary art may more aptly be described as a “meaning‐making process” - that is, realized through discourse with others, by means of an artwork’s semiotic content, in keeping with individual learning trajectories and anchored in specific cultural situations. Museum/art museum / contemporary art museum as a laboratory of a “meaning‐making process” It is an important task in postmodern, postindustrial society where social practice has differentiated itself into a number of specific types of discourses and related fields of action - dominated by the processes like aestheticization of politics and the public sphere. Q; What is your proudest achievement as a curator/director? A; Pori Art Museums internationally quite highly appreciated profile as a contemporary art museum. With an extremely low number of staff Pori Art Museum is having a visible, high-quality cultural content production which is in many ways comparable to the production of much larger international players and museums. We have developed determinedly our services in different client interfaces - including archives and related services. Pori Art Museums role as a developer of highly sophisticated art pedagogy, especially in contemporary art. For example COLOUR WORKSHOPS FOR BABIES (color bath for babies, a direct translation of the Finnish language) is a totally new method of art pedagogy developed by the Pori Art Museum / Pori Centre for Children´s Culture. In recent years it has been a large success in Finland and is also widely interested foreign actors. Method manuals have been published in Finnish, Swedish and English. Q; Is there anything that you still want to achieve as a curator/director? A; I'm already at an advanced age, but that does not mean that the world would be ready and everything necessary would have be done. Art and culture is today more precarious and endangered than ever. Q; Were you an artist before you became a curator/director? do you still do any art if yes what kind of art? A; As I already said, I have studied art and art theory and art techniques independently under the leadership of various artists. In the 80s I participated in some nationwide exhibitions. I have also worked in an art school as teacher of painting and composition. As a researcher and director of an art museum I cannot act in both roles at the same time. I am still painting infrequently in spare time - it is purely private. Q; What/ Where is you favorite art museum/gallery that you have visited or want to visit? A; They are too numerous to mention. Tonight Barry and I went to the book launch of a guest we met in the Hostel River where we are staying, his name is Simon Haggblom. Him and his colleague Karin Lind were here from Sweden to promote the book of their art project called Floating Trunks.
Floating Trunks is an art project they set up through their art collective Simka, which is a combination of both their names. What it entailed was a group of 21 young artists from three Baltic Sea cities- Umea, Riga and Pori. Their idea was to let floating tree trunks change location between the three cities which have important river mouths where the rivers' fresh water meets the salty sea. They gave a presentation where they told us about the ideas behind the project. I asked where the initial idea came from, Simon told me that it was to highlight, in a subtle way, the idea of migration within the areas of the Baltic and Mediterranean sea and the problems that the people had to endure. They even left some of the rings that the trees were floating on empty to represent the poor people who did not make it all the way through the migration. They used sculptures and brightly decorated trees to represent the people and the idea of migration, but they did not want to be obvious about the ideas behind their project they did not want it to be depressing or for it to be a political statement. The project started in 2012 and was carried out in 2014 and I think the idea is so prominent and real because of the current migration issues that the world is currently facing. It was an incredibly interesting talk and they even gave Barry and I a signed copy of their book. by Adam Egan This morning, we met with Nopia Oy in central Pori. They are a company that produce some impressive animations and hold a very dear place in my heart, because before I was placed in Villila Studios, I was 'hoping' to get placed there, but unfortunately this did not develop, but I’m not sore about it at all… really…
Anyway, we arrived there and were greeted by Felicia, an American girl and voice-actor/secretary and then, a few moments later, by Teemu, “The King” as he is referred to by the rest of the group! I inform him that we have actually been in contact via email and he says he remembers me, because he doesn’t get back to many people, usually! (I’m truly flattered by his rejection.) We were brought upstairs by Felicia, and introduced to a few of the team that were present. This included two coders and another voice-actor. From here we were shown the game they are currently working on, which is a CPR training concept. The character shown on screen is choking and you must try to react quickly enough and perform the right tasks in the correct order, to save him. We got a few pictures and ask a few questions. The guys here are very accommodating and friendly, answering all our questions and explaining how they do things. The setup here is comfortable, but tight. There are eight staff, including one intern, and there is little room for any more. It’s actually quite impressive when you look at the level of quality they’ve reached and what they’ve managed to produce in the small space of about 4 years. And even more so, having started with just two people. The animators arrived just as we were finishing our Q&A. They work together to create the animations and hail from India, originally. Nopia seems to be made up of a few blow-ins like ourselves, and they’re a very enthusiastic and friendly group. Again, they’re are really happy to offer any answers to our questions, and even critiqued of our work! We watched some of their own animations, first, one of which is a music video currently being considered for a Nordic Music Video Awards. Questions and answers abound. None of us thought to ask for an internship, sadly, but Barry felt brave enough, and received a critique of his, now famous, Conor McGregor animation! We even get to hear where, how and what some the staff studied to get here and some wise tips for future endeavours. Just as we thought the tour was coming to an end, Felicia mentions that she and a few of the guys are going for lunch nearby and would love us to join! As ifbwe hadnt learned enough already... We follow along and end up in a delightful little Nepalese restaurant where we also decide to go to the hockey match this evening, joined, of course, by Felicia and some of the others! If I wasn’t sore about not getting into Nopia before, I certainly am now! The group assembled is such a lovely group, the spoken language in the office is English and the quality of work they produce is honestly outstanding. Maybe someday, we can make it back, or even become the Irish branch! Until then, we leave with an enlightened perspective into the workings of an animation company. However, this is not the end of our dealings with Nopia, no no. Seemingly, yet again, as always, our reputation precedes us and we have arranged to meet again later in the week for some good ole’ fashioned pints! You can take the man out of Galway, but don’t take his beer! Hello to all! I have to say the longer that I stay in this country the more I like the land and its people. Much like the culture and beauty we have at home in Ireland. Its nice to be a part of an epic game development team. The teachers here have given my fellow students and I many ideas about what we could do at home.
To give all of you an idea of what we are doing here, this is just a glimpse into our project: There is a castle here in Finland that is a ruin. In its day it was a formidable fortress surrounded by water and connected by only one point to the main land. It had many wooden pillars embedded into the water as a sea defence from attacks by boats and longships. It was ruled by a tyrannical Bishop. That fact by itself gives rise to many other stories of high drama and intrigue. Our aim is to try and convey this in our game. The final aim is to have a tutorial and interactive game aimed at tourists who might want to come to this castle or who are already visiting. In this way, this informative game can make this castle extra special and have it highlighted among tourists as the one to visit. It may also encourage funding to help restore the castle to its former glory. After becoming aware of the Bishops story and his historical links to the castle, and now incorporating this into the game development, I thought to myself that there must be and are many more castles abandoned in Ireland with equally interesting pasts. What a great way it could be for other like minded students with the skills and knowledge that we have learned in GTI to be able to put flesh and blood on these real life characters of the past, that had once walked those castles steeped in medieval folklore. A history that has heavily influenced the present by the footprints of castles that have yet to reveal their full secrets. With interactive game developments, we can bring that past once again into the present. It has also been really beneficial to be working on this project for ‘real’ clients. This has given us added pressures to produce quality work that meets their needs but has also allowed us to be more aware of the real working conditions involved in game design and development, and how important it is to have good communication within the team. Overall we are really looking forward to developing the designs further and seeing what we can produce in the time we have remaining... Barry We had a shorter day today as we went to visit a game company called TACTIC. They're a game company who mainly produced board games (40 thousand in their warehouse to be exact) but are now branching into App Store games for Phones and Computers. Teemu greeted us all at the entrance then showed us around to where he work with his colleague. They showed us what they were working on at that moment which was a game like Molkky that already existed physically but thought of the idea to make it available virtually. They mentioned how when they were kids they would play board games but that kids now a days only play on tablets and other electronic devices so they thought it would be great to join the two. Its also smart since it ties in what their game company is already know for. We were then led around the whole company and I must say it was very impressive, and Vast! it had everything you need to make a board game start to finish. Conference room to pitch ideas to each other, Design rooms and then a huge open space full of machines to create the ideas and store these bored games to be shipped off to other countries. ~ Eric Hi to all, Barry here reporting live from Pori, Finland. I have to say that this trip and opportunity is without a doubt the best thing that has happened to me. The country is beautiful, as are the people. The real world experience of working in a studio and with real clients is exciting and exhilarating. Not alone have I got the chance to collaborate on the development of a game with the finnish team in studio, but I also get to experience the journey into the world of animation and gaming with my classmates Patrick, Marish, Eric and Adam. I couldn't have met a nicer, more helpful group of lads. Loving the learning experience and i'm grateful to all those that helped to make it possible, both Erasmus and the Galway Technical Institute. I would highly recommend students to sign up for the Erasmus project, it's a life changing experience. It's Day 5 of 15 (or 22 if you count weekends), and so far the journey has been amazing.
Unlike the other four days, we weren't in the main Villala building, but instead we went to the more art and graphic oriented building where we met Meena, who works at the art department there. We were given a quick tour of the facility, which included a stunning art room, computer labs (one for PC and one for Macs), which are used for the graphic design. We also saw facilities such as a weaving room, and also some amazing equipment, which included something that was used some time ago to boil a moose's head for the purpose of art!! The weaving room had some very pretty work, including carpets and table clothes. If I had room to spare in my luggage I'd probably buy one. However, part of the facility was under renovation due to some of the water damage done during a recent snow storm so some areas of the facility were not accessible. We then spent a few hours in the art room, where we discussed the various projects that the team are working on. They were doing some final preparations for their 1st of March presentation. The team produced several game stills to show off the essence of their ideas. Our Pori group stayed in the Art Room and worked on various tasks, as it was a relatively calm and relaxed day. I did some journal work while Patrick and Eric fleshed out some of the leftover things they had to do, including Eric's storyboard for Jani, the team leader. After the work day was done, Jani was more than kind enough and invited us over and gave us a beautiful peek at the private Finnish life, a privilege that I don't think many people on this Erasmus+ project get to see. We first went for a pizza, I had mozarella, pineapple and pepperoni pizza. Others I believe had little bit of reindeer meat, had I known that, I'd probably would've tried it, but even with Jani's ingredient translations it's hard to remember what all the ingridients are. After the pizza we all had a quick snack shopping spree as Jani invited us for an overnight stay at his parent's house. We met his parents, Kari and Marja, as well as two of the most adorable dogs I've seen in a long time. For the most part we stayed at his house and chatted. Adam joined us since he would've otherwise been all by himself in the hostel. Jani showed us how amazing a sauna can be. All of us had the most amazing experience, all thanks to Jani, who showed us that after we heat up in the sauna, there's nothing more energising and invigorating than to get out of the sauna and jump into the snow. It really is something that can't be described with words and must be experienced physically. I even managed to spend 5/10 minutes outside with none of my winter gear and just my swimming trunks. It was one of the best experiences in my life and something I won't forget for a very long time. Jani then showed us a very intersting rock bar that was close to his house, which I believe was called "End of the World". It had a pretty cool vibe, and was a lot like an Irish pub. We stayed there until closing night upon which we headed back to Jani's house. It had been a long but fun day. Upon waking up, Kari and Marja served us the best breakfast, which included delicious salmon, as well as some cheese, tea with honey, ham and rye bread that the Finnish often eat. Eventually we had to get back to the hostel. Jani gave us a lift back home where Patrick gave him one of his gifts. His genorosity and warm welcome for us was just the sweetest thing. Jani is a wonderful host and also showed an interest in going to Galway in the winter, which I hope he does. Our first week in Pori was truly something special and I can't wait to explore what other experiences and learning Finland has in store for us. Marian. To say our trip to Pori has been great so far is a huge understatement. The scenery and personalities here are so different to what we're used to back home. There are so many differences about this place worth a mention. Around here it's a little bit more icy than I'd like, but that wasn't going to stop me throwing snowballs! Finland has various different ways to deal with the weather. Cars, in particular, need to have the correct tyres to be allowed on the road and the speed limits are low by comparison to home. Roads and footpaths are kept gritted, but because it's so cold, it's not uncommon for people to stay indoors, most of the time. The first night we drove through Pori, it looked like a scene from the Walking Dead. There was nobody on the streets at all. It seems that the preference is to take part in indoor hobbies, particularly sport. The gym and pool in town come highly recommended and, apparently, saunas are a common thing to have in a Finnish house. This winter wonderland also provides some truly gorgeous views. Earlier this week, after work, we were brought out to the coast, where the sight of the sea, frozen solid, heard us all say, "wow". It was even thick enough for us to walk on. Talk about a shortcut!
To make a long story short, Finland and Ireland couldn't be more different, which makes it the most perfect place for us to undertake our work experience. The state of the art facilities make it easy to spend extra time working, so much so that today was actually the first day we saw the town in the sunlight (and that's only because we missed the early bus to get there)! Villala Studios is where we are all working (bar Adam) for the duration of the trip. The building used to be a barn filled with cattle and other animals, then it was completely done up and now its a very modern establishment with wide open hallways, a seating area to eat with a canteen beside it. Many rooms line the sides of the hall set up with HP computers & Macs and other equipment that people use daily. The upstairs is a huge open space where the film group work, with a disposable stage a large blue screen and loads of props to use when necessary they're set when that want to make any quality movies.
Today we started at 8:00 O,Clock the sky was bright and Suvi our team leader brought us into the studio in her car. We all had jobs to do so we went straight to work. We each were given tasks on a project the Finnish group had started on this ancient Finnish castle. There were three options to choose from but they choose the idea with the most story to it, which we agreed was the best of the three. We then finished up around 3:30 and Suvi brought us on a lovely tour around Pori showing us wooden houses that are very popular here and the coast and its beautiful snow covered beach where people swim in the summer time. We also seen and walked on a frozen lake where fisher men where at work. Suvi dropped us back to the hostel and Patrick make dinner to end the day. - Eric Smyth |
Art+Animation 2016Barry Clifford Map of Pori |