In order to celebrate the opening of the new Moomin museum and the mother of Moomins Tove Jansson’s birthday Tampere’s Philharmonic Orchestra collaborated with vocalists, a dancer, two narrators and the Pirkanpojat Boy’s choir. They performed an unforgettable spectacle featuring a vivid soundscape and immersive storytelling of the unique atmosphere in the Moomin books. The show was sold out which tells a lot about the love we share for Moomins.

TAMK in collaboration with Nokia Technologies was in charge of capturing the performance in a 360 video using four professional OZO 360- cameras positioned around the stage. This makes the production probably the largest of its kind done in Finland with this high tech equipment. Three TAMK students, Mark Malyshev (audio), Juhana Sarkki (video) and Jousia Lappi (video and audio), were involved in the making of this video that will be released by Tampere-hall as a three to four minute video clip and used, also by Moomin.com and Tampere Philharmony etc. The idea was to make an immersive experience taking advantage of 360 video. There were also TAMK alumni and lecturers involved in the production.


The collaboration between Media and Arts and Nokia Technologies has been going on for one and a half years already. This team has worked with for example, RSO, HKO, Lost in Music, Steve ‘n’ Seagulls (360 live) and 69 Eyes to produce different kinds of experimental virtual reality contents.

The TAMK students got involved into the collaboration with Nokia last year. Mark was chosen for the audio side and Juhana for the video side. Both Mark and Juhana were ready to face a new challenge and work as pioneers with something that had not been done much before. Having TAMK's teachers Janne Tauriainen and Tipi Tuovinen present at the Moomin concert all the time supporting in production preparations and later post production played also significant role in TAMK's teams work.


First day was spent setting up the cameras and figuring out the positions so that they would not obstruct the view of the audience or any of the performers. During the philharmonic orchestra’s rehearsal, they made sure that the cameras are in the right place for the end product and later made the required adjustments. One of the main focuses was also to make sure that all devices were running smoothly and that there were no problems with capturing the feed from the cameras. Each camera has its own audio and video perspective giving more variation to choose from.


The first camera was positioned in front of the conductor, Santtu-Matias Rouvali. The other three are located around the stage in order to cover as much ground as possible regarding the audio and the video. As the performance has many parts, it was essential to make sure all of them were captured properly. There was a lot to take into consideration when figuring out where the cameras will be put. One more challenge for the positioning was the simultaneous multi camera video production (with 6 cameras) done by Tampere-hall. Luckily all went well and collaboration with director Timo Suomi was easy and professional.


As these guys have already worked with the OZOs and virtual reality shooting before they have already given up the most wild ideas such as remote controlled drones and hanging the cameras from the ceiling. There is always room for exploration with these kinds of projects but our team of professionals know their way around the field and know what can and cannot be done. The technology is also still new and constantly improving and they have fortunately been able to move past some issues they had before, such as the cameras using up their batteries too quickly or losing the signal. The fact that they were using four cameras and that there were many points of interest made this production different from the ones before it.

The room for monitoring the cameras was located right next to the stage where as the mixing was done in another room. This part of the setting up required taping the cables to the floor and other objects to prevent anyone from tripping on them or anything becoming unplugged. This was also done on stage with the camera and microphone cables.


The second rehearsal day mostly consisted of more fine-tuning with the cameras and mics. As always with these large scale productions there are compromises that have to be made. For example, one of the cameras was moved because it was in the way of the dancer. It was later found that she had adjusted her choreography so that now the new placement was in the way and the camera had to be moved back to its original position. In addition, one of the cameras was in front of the stage on the left side where as the narrator was on the right side. It was still decided in the end that the camera should be left where it was.


Originally, there were 21 microphones and later many more were added, for example a 7.0 mic array was set up done by Tipi Tuovinen. 7 ambience mics were used to capture Dolby Atmos sound for the first time in Finland. Mic placement was done by Jussi Tervo and assisted by Tipi and Janne. Marc also participated in the planning. He has previous experience with gigs and concerts and shows great talent when it comes to spatial mixing. Two of the additional mics were hanging from the ceiling and the others situated amongst the orchestra. Also, OZOs capture sound from 8 integrated mics so there was a lot of audio information recorded from the concert in order to get different viewpoints covered.


Talking to the people after the event I found out more about the whole process concerning the video and post production. For Juhana the biggest problem seemed to be that the rendering took a long time. He was also hoping to render the whole hour and a half long concert but for the time being they were focusing on producing the video clip. In addition, as the technology is new so are the programs and they still seem to have some bugs and compatibility issues and it takes time to learn how to use them. For Mark everything went quite smoothly, later just the placing of the sound sources with a flat screen proved somewhat more challenging than originally thought.


Both of the guys would definitely recommend putting yourself out there and not being afraid to try new things. They have enjoyed the experience of collaborating with Nokia and TAMK. Looking back at the projects they have worked with they feel like they have grown as professionals. There are some things they might have done differently but now they know better and can try out something new. Both of them feel it is important to have a good team. The communication between the members and producers has been easy which in turn shows in their work. Each production differs from another but you learn how to get around in the sets and organize who is doing what and when.



According to Timo Kivikangas (Head of DP in Media and Arts) it has been an uplifting experience to see how well TAMK’s present students, alumni and staff have handled their demanding tasks in this unique production with Nokia Technologies, Tampere-hall and Tampere Philharmonic. Kivikangas also wanted to thank all these partners involved in this special case and being able to connect TAMK and the best professionals of each company’s field. This is the way we can learn up-to-date competences needed in a rapidly changing media sector and has provided us skills to be utilized in future with other VR/AR/MR/XR-productions.

At least for me the whole experience of following behind the stage how people worked and in this case listening to the rehearsals was an amazing experience. People working together to solve any issues that arose and supporting each other is always an inspiring sight to see. Not to mention the music that was performed, it actually send chills down my spine and I got goose bumps occasionally since it was so breath taking. As a Finn who grew up with Moomins I can definitely say all of these people working on different parts of the show did justice to Tove Jansson and the Moomins.

Written by Tiia Rintakoski

You can watch a collage of the piece here on Youtube at this address:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5tW00CikH8

First year interactive media students were tasked to concept an idea based on “24 hours in Tampere.” The idea was to inform potential students who aim to study here in Tampere, on what do in Tampere for 24 hours. The students focused on benchmarking, interviews and concepting to come up with their ideas in groups. The blog post should contain informative text related to the chosen topic, as well as pictures and a user created map. I was impressed most with the maps which the students had created as they stood out the most. It was clear a lot of time and effort was put into them. They then presented their ideas in a presentation which was presented in front of the class. Included are extracts of each blog.

5 groups were formed, choosing from a range of topics which were:
• Tampere on a budget
• Culture and arts
• Nature of Tampere
• Tampere in a day
• 24h in Tampere - Music

TAMPERE ON A BUDGET
By: Venla, Annika, Eetu and Veera

This was an interesting blog which gave out a wide variety of information to the reader on what to do in Tampere. They gave you price ranges on food, cafes, sights, museums, shopping, nightlife and hotels. The collective information is well spread out and easy for the reader to locate specific information. Here is a sample of the blog post as well as the map they have designed.

LAURA VANZO, VISIT TAMPERE OY PHOTOBANK

"It’s a good idea to visit Tampere before you move in."

FINLAYSON AREA, MiKKO VARES, VISIT TAMPERE OY PHOTOBANK

MAP OF CENTRAL TAMPERE, VENLA KÄHKÖNEN, INTERACTIVE MEDIA

This blog focused more on the culture side of Tampere and where to go. This blog was quite linear and was very easy to follow. The blog follows an actual 24-hour day in Tampere which ranges from museums and restaurants, specifically Finnish foods. The art work stands out most in this blog. They created an interesting map to go along with the information which works well with the style. Here is an extract from their blog.

The beautiful nature of Finland is a topic which comes up a lot when discussing this country. The blog focuses on what to see here in Tampere based on a nature outlook. The blog presents two different routes, one for biking and one for walking (although other means of transport is included.) The map has been thoroughly thought out for the reader with the graphics and cheeky little mascot. Here is an extract of the blog.

The Tampere in a day blog does exactly what it says in the title, with the inclusion of a guide to the Mediapolis campus itself. The team wanted to include a route to the campus with the guidance on how to take the bus, as well as getting a bus card. Included is some history about our field as well as several handy embed google maps. Included is an extract from their blog.

This blog focuses on the music aspect of the city whilst incorporating a schedule on what to do throughout the day. This blog appeals to potential new students who are interested in the cultural side of Tampere in terms of music, gigs and cultural events. Also included are bars and cafés for the visitors. The map is very graphical and interesting to look at. Here is an extract from the blog.

Service design is a new course which has been set up as part of the UX minor. The class is situated in the main campus building with both Media and Arts students and International Business students collaborating. The class is co-operating with the company, Futurice lead by Mirkka Länsisalo. Mirkka is a lead service designer and offers key insights into service design and how to use their Lean Service Creation process. There are around 50 students in this collaboration working in 13 very different projects, working with real clients and companies in Tampere. The idea is to design new services and experiences for the consumers and new business opportunities for the clients.

So far in the classes, all teams have been working within their groups doing activities related to their project. They have presented their projects to the class and have begun working on different canvases to help develop their ideas. Each team must have a felicitator who manages the discussion and time of each activity. Using post-it notes, the idea is to fill each canvas with ideas and answers to relatable problems and questions. Completing these canvases helps the groups tackle certain problems related to their projects, and helping the teams realise what the consumer may want from their product.

I am currently involved with this course and I am working on a project for Visit Tampere. It is our task to digitalize their service for tourists and make their website more appealing and accessible. We must find out user wants and needs when it comes to tourism in the city. For our project, we will be doing consumer research and benchmarking and then developing a concept for Visit Tampere which could be picked up and turned into a functioning demo. The service design class helps us develop our ideas in a fast and interesting way and being around a lot of business minded students helps as well!

 

Johannes Naukkarinen is a former student of Tampere University of Applied Sciences. He studied in the Music Production study path under Media and Arts degree. Nowadays Naukkarinen works as a freelance producer providing the whole package of creating music. He does music for different artists and works in collaboration with record companies. He also works under his own stage name KIRO as a touring DJ playing mostly club and house music. One of his achievements is the song Profeetat – Eyo that is the best-known song from his production. He has also worked with Nelli Matula and several other artists.

Naukkarinen’s family has always been musical, his father playing in a band and mother singing the choir, and he got his first guitar when he was 8 years old. When Naukkarinen turned 12, he bought his first own guitar and has played in a few bands during his teenage years. After turning 18 and being able to go out to the clubs and listen to the music played there Naukkarinen realized that he wanted to start producing music himself. He just wanted to see where this path would take him and started to work as a producer challenging himself.

“The balance between your contacts and your skills and what you can offer is crucial.”

For Naukkarinen music is everything, it is his life. If he is not working on a project from a client, he does his own music. Sometimes he can just sit at home and create music, even write three or four new songs within a week. Then there are times that he does not do anything music related for a week. One of the best things about working as a freelancer is the freedom, you work when you want to. Naukkarinen might have gigs from two to ten in a month and at least one client.

“The fact is that the jump from a student into a professional starts from yourself.”

Most of his clients come through his connection to Rähinä Records. Naukkarinen got his chance when they needed a producer and he had the confidence to say that he could do it. For the past two years, he has gotten good contacts and widened his client base. The circles are quite small in Finland so knowing a couple of the main people helps in the long run to get to know others as well. It starts to work out once you get to show what you are made of and have the right people notice it.

For Naukkarinen TAMK has offered a good and supportive community to help him in his career. According to him, the professional and qualified teachers together with the likeminded fellow students taught him a lot. The feedback you get from people that surround you is important when you are still honing your skills. With the teachers experience and knowledge and new ideas from other students you already have a good environment to grow as a professional. There are also many good opportunities offered by the university for the students to get out there and experience different things and collaborate with new people. In addition, the mandatory practical training is a good chance to gain contacts. By showing interest and being driven in the work that you are doing you can reach the next step in your career.

“I ended up coming to TAMK because it was the only place that offered also a creative side to music production, not just the technical side.”

Video works of TAMK´s first year fine art students took part in Speculum Artium / DigitalBigScreen- video festival in Slovenia 14.-16.9.  - Barbara Jazbec´s video Mind´s eye won the 2. prize!

Speculum Artium is one of the biggest art and science festivals in Slovenia. The 9th festival is held in Delavski Dom Trbovlje which is the central cultural institution in the municipality of Trbovlje, Slovenia.  Inside Speculum Artium there is an International video festival called DIGITALBIGSCREEN. The DigitalBigScreen festival enables video screening on a big, cinematographic screen, offering a completely different context to the usual ones at projections of artistic videos (room projectors, TV-screens).
Thirty-five authors from around the globe responded to the international call by sending in 42 video works. The expert board consisting of Marko Glavač M.F.A., Zoran Poznič M.F.A., Andrej Uduč and Špela Pavli M.A., have chosen seventeen authors who had qualified into the competitive selection. 

The video works from TAMK were created during the courses of Moving Image study module.

“The story of Skábma is based on the Sámi mythology of The Celestial Hunt. The Celestial Bull Reindeer, Sarvvis, has been hunted through the ages by the Sons of Kalla from the constellation of Orion. If the hunters succeed in killing Sarvvis, the world will die. In the game, a young Sámi child, Áilu, gets mixed up with this endless hunt and accidentally initiates the end of the world.“

Alisa Komendova, a third year Interactive Media student at TAMK, originally from Czech Republic moved to Finland back in 2005. Nowadays she already has marketing and PR/communication experience thanks to her Bachelor degree in International business. She has also been working as a freelance photographer since 2007 and has just started branching out into the world of video production.

It was the combination of all these skills and interests that led to the internship.

Komendova did her internship at Dreamloop Games, a video game development company located in Tampere, Finland. She joined the team at the position of a marketing assistant / media content creator. The company wanted to reach its audience with a series of behind-the-scenes videos and introduce the team, creating a relaxed and friendly relationship with the customers.

Komendova met the CEO and CMO of Dreamloop Games at one of the monthly IGDA meetings in Tampere. Mutual friends introduced them and after a brief chat with them it turned out that, she had all the skills they were looking for. As Komendova already had a bachelor degree in business, she was familiar with the business side and did not need much introduction into that part. The second side of her role was a cinematographer and an editor that she was just starting to focus on study- and profession-wise. Komendova was with Dreamloop Games for almost a year.

My internship at Dreamloop Games was a perfect opportunity to refresh some older knowledge and practice some new skills.

IGDA is short for International Game Developers Association and they have headquarters in multiple countries, including in Finland. The chapter of this association that is located in Finland was founded in 2002 in order to support the game industry on a national level. Many game companies located all over Finland are a part of this society and take part in the events held by IGDA. The local activities brought to us by IGDA Finland Hubs are independent parts of IGDA. Their aim is to work with the local game developers and help them collaborate, connect and create a sensible environment for them to work in. The Hubs that are located in the bigger cities of Finland are committed to hold free gatherings monthly or so that anyone who is interested can attend including students looking for internships or connections.

Komendova has worked in the media field since 2006, as a freelance journalist and later a freelance photographer, so the Interactive Media degree was quite interesting for her. However, she was first accepted to the International Business degree. During the first year there, she considered re-applying for the Media degree, but later came to a decision to continue her business studies as she found value in the knowledge and skills. After graduating in 2013, Komendova applied for the new Fine Art study path, but didn’t feel like it was her place already during the entrance exams. The following year, she applied for Interactive Media and was accepted. Now she can combine her business knowledge with her media skills and experience to shape her professional future to suit her best.

I think it really teaches you to work independently, to continuously develop your skills and to grow professionally, to search for new professional connections.

The best part of any TAMK degree must be the mandatory practical training. It really makes you consider what it is that you would like to do in the future, what skills you have to offer. Komendova’s internship at Dreamloop Games helped her to build a solid body of work for her video portfolio bringing in other cinematography and editing jobs. It introduced her to a completely new business segment - video game development. In addition, you can shape your studies to your needs, to focus on your talents and your strengths.

Moreover, as I still have the second half of my practical training ahead, it will bring even more experience and networks to my professional life.

There is a large and well established technology industry in Finland and they are all at each other’s throats to hire the brightest people. They offer competitive salaries, great working spaces and offices with stocked pantries, free breakfast and coffee. Not to mention all the passive perks that come with the job -- meet great people, learn and share your own experience. The best of all is that you get a kick out of putting a value to your own knowledge. Also, it helps with staving off any kind of self-doubt and depression.

Tamás Kertész is now a third year Interactive Media student at TAMK originally from Romania. He has previous experience with web and web development from before being accepted to TAMK. According to Kertész he had never considered it as a legitimate career opportunity until he applied for TAMK and got accepted. That motivated him to work harder and keep at it with a “can do” - attitude and lots of coffee. As the competition for these positions is also brutal Kertész was, according to himself, fortunate enough to grasp the bare minimal skills in order to land an entry level sub-junior role at such a place. He’s been employed since March on a freelance salary in a company called Anders Innovations and have been working his way up since while continuing with his studies.

What allowed me to be employed in the first place is my long time interest in web and web development which I started working on 10 years ago.

However, not everything happened instantly. Before Kertész even dreamed of applying to TAMK, he needed to have a portfolio and work experience under his belt. After completing a handful of projects he could have something to show, to point to and say that yes he can do that. He’s also been fortunate enough to be picked no less than three times for Demola projects of varying scope after being accepted as a student in TAMK.

I had to reach small milestones; I had to have the cake before I could eat it.

Demola is an open innovation platform that works in collaboration with universities and companies in order to offer especially to university students a unique opportunity to add some real-life twist into their studies as professionals. At Demola, you will work in a project with a multidisciplinary team solving real-life cases together with partner companies. It’s part of your degree program and you can gain credits towards your studies by being a part of a team. The application periods are held four times a year with a large variation of different projects and collaborations that students can apply for based on their talent and interests.

Demola offered Kertész the chance to gain rough real world application and put him in situations where he had to rely on his skills to sell ideas and products. His Demola projects were always done in sync with his studies at TAMK. Kertész applied the theory taught at TAMK and came out at the end of the Demola cycles with more working knowledge than he could hope for if he had to rely on self-discipline alone.

That last thought lends to the reason why he studies at TAMK. Real experience is worth more in the real world than theoretical knowledge in his opinion. Kertész has done enough theory based studies to know that for him it is not engaging, not directly applicable in professional life, and most of all not creatively satisfying. In his opinion the best part of TAMK is that you have access to a lot of useful equipment, information and opportunities that you would probably normally have a hard time finding.

It would be a waste of time not to make use of the equipment and it goes the same for ignoring the many talented instructors available at an email’s distance ready to help you with any creative endeavour that you might have.