International Week Workshop: Interactive Cinema by Chris Hales

Cause and Effect show in Tampere 2007

Chris Hales will be back again in Tampere to run a self-contained workshop about the 'interactive moving image' - involving the design and actual production of a prototype in which interactivity and video imagery are combined.

Chris has run many successful workshops around Europe, including several at TAMK Art and Media which have resulted in memorable results. Interactive films involving sauna culture, the streets and pubs of Tampere, a murder mystery, and even Santa Claus, have emerged from Chris's workshops, which often take inspiration from the unique location of Tampere.

The workshop commences with lectures and case-studies in order to provide background about the ways in which moving images have been, and could be, made interactive - and why. Interactive television, mobile phones, iPods, DVDs, computers, websites, ‘live’ performance and cinematic display will all be mentioned as possible means of showing interactive moving imagery. Different types of content such as fiction, advertising, music-related, artistic, educational and documentary will be considered.

Students will be expected to present a concept for an interactive film in response to the techniques and ideas shown, and several of these will actually be produced as functional prototypes. Depending on the class size it will be possible to work as an individual or in small groups. Video cameras will be used to create footage which will be digitised and prepared and subsequently combined with interactivity. Adobe Director will be recommended, demonstrated and fully supported as a suitable authoring tool, although students are welcome to use other software such as Flash, DVD Studio Pro or Quartz Composer. Interaction technology might involve audio input, sensors/Arduino, keyboard, fiducial markers, or video imaging.

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The results of the workshop will be shown at Tampere Art Factory.

The author has visited TAMK School of Art and Media annually since 2001 with his Interactive Cinema workshop. Chris Hales has also frequently visited Tampere Film Festival, MindTrek and Tampere Art Factory performing the Interactive Cinema show "Cause and Effect" together with Teijo Pellinen. Cause and Effect has been shown on numerous Film and Media Festivals around Europe.

GUEST POST: What ever you have done before, has brought you here

Written by Albert van der Kooij

My first trip to Finland included a visit to Mindtrek, the Nordic digital media and business conference, focusing on social media & Web 2.0.

I met Cai Melakoski, head of the Media Programme of TAMK and involved in the organisation of Mindtrek. He invited me to come to the International Week and TAF. And so I did… on one condition: I wanted to take some students with me. Internationalisation is not only for international officers, but especially for the students and their future perspective.

TAF and the international week were great. Besides enjoying the visit to Finland and – climax – the authentic smoke sauna, I’ve met several partners from TAMK. The result: some of them are now appreciated partners of the Academy of Popculture. For instance:  Chris Hales came to our School to do a workshop with students of three universities in Leeuwarden.
Last year we’ve visited Liepaja University and did a project with students of the media & art department: ‘What ever you have done before, has brought you here’.

We even met colleagues from the School of Arts from Utrecht/The Netherlands :)
Now we have a warm relationship with them.

The VJ/Audioworkshop and presentation at TAF with our students and students of TAMK was a great success:
Video 1 
Video 2

So successfully that we went to Tampere again in 2009. Students from TAMK came to Leeuwarden last year November for a workshop and presentation at our open day, called Brick by Brick.

What started as a one-to-one conversation, is now one of the basics of our internationalisation strategy: looking for people who are open minded, are willing to share connections and knowledge and realising a natural growing, open source network.

This year we’ll be back at the international week. With again enthusiastic students and lecturers.

See you and your students in May 2010

Albert van der Kooij
Director Academy of Pop Culture
Leeuwarden/the Netherlands
The Academy of Popculture is a department of Academy of Fine Arts, Design & Pop Culture MINERVA from the Hanze University Groningen of Applied Sciences

Photo: Arriving at the International Week smoke sauna evening 2009: Albert's colleague Adri Schokker, Albert van der Kooij, Interactive Cinema Doctor Chris Hales, lecturer Sohvi Sirkesalo and Head of Film and Television Programme Leena Mäkelä, TAMK

Academy of Popculture and Academy Minerva to join International Week and TAF

School of Art and Media heads of degree programmes Leena Mäkelä and Cai Melakoski meet colleagues from five partner schools in Netherlands this week. One of the topics of the talks is our International Week and TAF. Academy of Popculture and Academy Minerva will give International Week workshops.
Read the report from our ArtMedia Blog

TTVOn koulutuspäälliköt Leena Mäkelä ja Cai Melakoski tapaavat viiden partnerikoulun edustajia Alankomaissa tällä viikolla. Yhtenä keskustelujen aiheena on toukokuun kansainvälinen viikko ja TAF. Popkulttuuriakatemia ja Minerva-akatemia tarjoavat kv-viikolla omat workshoppinsa.
Lue raportti TTVO:n blogista.

Pictured Leena Mäkelä (TAMK), Pawel Pokutycki (Akademie Minerva) and Willem Jan Stienstra, Adri Schokker, Albert van der Kooj (Akademie voor Popkultuur).

TAF Films at Tampere Film Festival

Tampere Film Festival has every year a special show for new TTVO (=School of Art and Media) films. You will see most of the films also at Tampere Art Factory.

Tampereen elokuvajuhlilla on vuosittain erikoisnäytäntö "TTVO uutuudet". Useimmat elokuvat nähdään myös Tampere Art Factoryn ohjelmistossa.

The new TTVO films 2010 TTVO uutuudet 2010:

• Adaption, D: Henna Inkinen
• Asepussi/Gunbag, D:Jukka Hautajärvi
• Esso, D: Petri Uusitalo
• Helvetin hyvää työtä/Whistle while you work, D: Ville Hakonen/Jussi Sandhu
• HERA D: Sanni Rajapolvi
• Herääminen/The Awakening, D: Miro Laiho
• Jackpot D: Petri Uusitalo
• Kahvia ja tupakkaa/Coffee and Cigarettes, D: Tomi Pietilä
• Korpin laulu/Raven's song, D: Aino Suni
• Limppu/The Loaf, D: Pauli Kopu
• Niin paljon sinua halusin/All that I wanted, D: Aino Suni
• Oman onnensa leipuri/Lucky Baker, D: Markus Aaltonen
• Perhepotretti/Family Portrait, D: Minna Korhonen
• Pitkän päivän aamu/Finding Frank, D: Joona Sarisalmi
• Toivon murusia/Crumbs of Hope, D: Emmi-Sofia Markkanen

The films will be presented later in this blog.
Elokuvat esitellään myöhemmin tässä blogissa.

TTVO  New Student Films at Tullikamari, Thu March 11 4pm.
Tampere International Short Film Festival March 10-14 2010

Elokuvajuhlien TTVO uutuudet -näytös Tullikamarilla to 11.3. klo 16
Tampereen Elokuvajuhlat 10.-14.3.2010



Photo/Kuva: Kahvia ja tupakkaa/Coffee and Cigarettes