Boutani

Authenticity & Nation branding: #fail

2011-12-07T06:56:00.000-08:00

This text is currently only avaliable in Swedish. I'll just to give you a quick summary. Sweden and Norway are working intensly with nation branding and spreading the word about them selves as nations of peace and environmentally friendly/progressive etc. But looking at the facts another ugly face appears... Norway is one of the top oil-nations in the world, Sweden the biggest exporter of arms IN THE WORLD (per capita) . Looking at how corporate branding has been developing since 1990 it is easy to see that nation branding is lacking in authenticity. The question I ask is when the Nordic countries (and other nations) will start walking the authentic path in terms of communication and leadership. I hope that consultants like Niel Crofts will get some nation branding gigs soon.

(an interesting comparison is how the British Council is spreading the word about Creative Industry, Culture and Creativity in the world but reports from GB tell a story of radical cuts in arts and culture.)

Hurra för fredsnationen Sverige! 300 år av fred inom landets gränser, men Kriget går på export... Dags att vi alla inser faktum: Vi exporterar mest vapen i världen! Samtidigt berättar vi för världen om hur fredsälskande vi är som nation.

Läs artikeln i DN om Sveriges sorgliga världsrekord.

Och Norge som delar ut fredspris i dagarna är inte mycket bättre. För olje-nationen Norge är det tydligt att ser lika dant ut på miljöområdet - höga hästar i ord - slingrande ormar i handling.

Om det är sant som det sägs att "nation branding" är det nya heta så är dags för oss i Norden att gå en kurs i autentisk kommunikation... och då förhoppningsvis inte ändra kommunikationen utan börja leva upp till vad vi säger. (Här är ett konsult-tips: http://www.neilcrofts.com/)

Om de stora varumärkena klarade det vid senaste millenieskiftet så borde vi också i alla fall göra ett försök.

Sk8 Flick: Burn Ignite Ride

2010-08-24T07:17:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's an add. But OMG it's cool.

Burn Ignite :: Ride :: feat Steve Berra (OFFICIAL HD) from Burn Ignite on Vimeo.

Dan Pink on Motivation

2010-06-08T03:08:00.000-07:00

This lively RSA Animate, adapted from Dan Pink's talk at the RSA, illustrates the hidden truths behind what really motivates us at home and in the workplace.

Turn To The Crowd - Live from Subtopia

2010-04-23T00:02:00.000-07:00

TEDxBotkyrka LIVE!

2010-04-22T11:38:00.001-07:00

Beautiful loser

2010-03-17T08:39:00.000-07:00

The Beautiful Losers film ... in their own words:

"Beautiful Losers celebrates the spirit behind one of the most influential cultural movements of a generation. In the early 1990's a loose-knit group of likeminded outsiders found common ground at a little NYC storefront gallery. Rooted in the DIY (do-it-yourself) subcultures of skateboarding, surf, punk, hip hop & graffiti, they made art that reflected the lifestyles they led. Developing their craft with almost no influence from the "establishment" art world, this group, and the subcultures they sprang from, have now become a movement that has been transforming pop culture. Starring a selection of artists who are considered leaders within this culture, Beautiful Losers focuses on the telling of personal stories...speaking to themes of what happens when the outside becomes "in" as it explores the creative ethos connecting these artists and today's youth."

Beautiful Losers film trailer from beautifullosersfilm on Vimeo.

Anders Sjöman on Crowdsourcing in filmmaking

2010-02-24T04:09:00.000-08:00

Below are the slides from Anders Sjöman's (springtime/The Pact Project) presentation on Crowdsourcing in film making.

Anders Sjöman On Crowdsourcing In Film Making At Stockholm Filmfestival

View more presentations from SpringtimePR.

New video from Kakkmaddafakka

2010-02-20T00:46:00.000-08:00

Jo just posted this video from Kakkmaddafakka, a bunch of his friends. It's directed by Pål Rønnevik, and it's really brilliant.

Sidechild: Review

2010-01-26T07:47:00.000-08:00

Brilliant review of the album "Music for Children" by Sidechild.

Release party comming up...

Reel bad arabs

2009-12-21T01:05:00.000-08:00

It was a long time ago I first posted Planet of the arabs to the blog - a short trailer-like presentation of how arabs are presented in hollywood films. When I met the guy who made it in Beirut I didn't know that it was based on a book called "Reel bad arabs"by Dr. Jack Shaheen. The title of the book is also the title of a documentary.

Merkurius brinner

2009-12-11T13:55:00.000-08:00

Pop art that pops!

2009-12-11T13:49:00.000-08:00

A long time ago I found this art event called Monster draw. It was super.
Today I found this. It was even better.

Stockholm Film Festival

2009-11-10T06:34:00.000-08:00

Some really great films comming up at the Stockholm film festival, and we might get some of the filmmakers to come to Subtopia.

"Le Donk & Scor-zay-zee"
by Shane Meadows and producer Mark Herbert(interview1, interview2) is a Mockumentary about a "dude" and the rapper he is trying to promote.

"Frontier Blues"
by Babak Jalali is a documentary filmed in the borderlands of Turkmenistan and Iran.

New video from Maceo Frost

2009-10-23T05:54:00.000-07:00

Ok, so the dude who made this is Maceo Frost. He is a genious. First time I saw his stuff was the video he made for Supahumans and it was brilliant. This time he is back with Pato and Adam Tensta. Seriously, he is 19 yrs old... So remember the name.

...and now his sister is going to the filmschool here at Subtopia. So remember the Frost siblings...

Welcome to Southwestern

2009-10-22T04:49:00.000-07:00

First it was Sthlm-Istanbul then Istanbul-Beirut, Beirut-Istanbul, Istanbul-Stockholm, Stockholm-Munich, Munich-Krakow Krakow-Frankfurt, Frankfurt-Stockholm. And none of those flights were anything like this. When is Southwestern going to offer their services here in Europe?

Wall projection: Hamburg

2009-10-22T02:59:00.000-07:00

555 KUBIK | facade projection | from urbanscreen on Vimeo.

No Homo

2009-10-21T05:08:00.000-07:00

New Experimental Film: Artificial paradise Inc

2009-09-23T09:23:00.000-07:00

Artificial Paradise, Inc is an experimental film anticipating a future where a major corporation has developed an unique software, based on organic virtual reality (?), which holds all the lost memories of humankind.

Sounds strange, looks cool though.

ARTIFICIAL PARADISE,INC. from Jp Frenay on Vimeo.

New book.

2009-09-22T05:47:00.001-07:00

Today Fredrik Strage releases his new book, a compilation of his articles. He is a brilliant writer and here is rapper Ken Ring reading an exerpt from the book.

The book and the clip is only avaliable in swedish... so far.

I am soo gonna read this

http://www.neurosonicsaudiomedical.com/

2009-09-17T08:15:00.000-07:00

This is like a strong 12 on a 1-10 scale of coolness.

Clap if you like and Click here if you wanna see the whole thing.

100 years of Special Effects

2009-09-07T14:10:00.000-07:00

A few days ago Jay Vasquez showed me the site Video Copilot. Video Copilot is a company offering a bunch of cool stuff in the video and visual effects field, but the coolest thing is that they post tutorial videos teaching you to do all the cool visual effects you can dream of. Just go to the site to get inspired or watch the clip below. It's a cool montage of some of the most iconic visual effects from the last 100 years.

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Threads of Destiny - Behind the Scenes

2009-08-24T16:43:00.000-07:00

Here is a short "Behind the Scenes" about Threads of Destiny that are one of the partners behind Gatekeeper, the Multi Talent Cooperation that is based at Subtopia.

Little Dragon - Live 28/8

2009-08-21T03:36:00.001-07:00

So, Nudie got some help from Abbas and I Made This to create this webstreamed live events. So weather you're in Stockholm or not you can see LITTLE DRAGON play on 28th AUGUST. Check it out

Street Art ver 2.0 - Animation

2009-08-11T09:42:00.000-07:00

Zombie game

2009-06-25T04:17:00.000-07:00

I dunno if the game is so cool but I really like the controls.

Star Wars: Retold (by someone who hasn't seen it)

2009-06-22T08:53:00.000-07:00

More Star Wars stuff... this is really funny.

Star Wars: Retold (by someone who hasn't seen it) from Joe Nicolosi on Vimeo.

Spaceinvation of Skansen

2009-06-08T09:14:00.000-07:00

Every year the Swedish Clowns Without Borders do their big event and fundraiser Clownnäsans Dag (Red Nose Day). This year the event was hosted by Skansen, the huge outdoor museum in Stockholm established to create and manifest our Swedish national identity... When Subtopia was invited to join forces with the clowns we decided to bring some of our new friends...

Production company ver 2.0

2009-06-02T10:06:00.000-07:00

TurnHere is a film production company with a businessmodel for the new age. Film makers apply to work with them online to get tasks online and produce film that is distributed online. Through this they have become really huge. Basically what they do is to gather gigs and outsource them - to free lance film makers.

A similar concept for design is logo tournament but their concept is based around a competition. Where companies submit tasks with a fixed sum that will be won by the best suggestion. The designers then submit logos, the companies vote for their favourites and in the end everybody is happy. Not least the owners of logotournament who get percentage of all the price money submitted through the site. F***in brilliant.

Gatekeeper - slides

2009-06-01T02:48:00.000-07:00

Here is a bunch of slides and pictures from/about the production of Gatekeeper, the Sci-Fi fan film that is based at Subtopia.

The project is constantly growing and I am soo looking forward to the release of the first trailer...

TEH meeting #67 - Stanica, Slovakia

2009-05-28T09:20:00.000-07:00

At the begining of may me, Cattis and Ella went to Slovakia to represent Subtopia at the 67th meeting of Trans Europe Halles - a network consisting of 50 independent culture centres spread out in Europe. It was my third meeting and really great to meet everybody again.

The venue was crazy... as Stanica (the centre were the meeting was held) had no venue that could take all the participants Marek and his crew had built a new meeting hall built entirely from beer crates and hay. Tootally crazy... (click here for more pics of the construction..)

Planet B-boy

2009-05-18T08:10:00.000-07:00

We have just closed a deal with Tempo Documentary Film Festival to do film screenings for schools at Subtopia. Together with them we will screen "Planet B-Boy".

Today Camilo, the Subtopia in-house B-Boy showed me the trailer for "The Freshest Kids". Seems really cool too. Maybe we should screen it too...

Release: Star Trek & Star Wreck

2009-05-05T08:58:00.000-07:00

Star Wreck, the funny finish fan-made Star Trek tribute was released on DVD yesterday along with their new uk website.

...this is of course in sync with the release of the new official Star Trek film that is due Thursday.

I watch the slow development of the gigantic Holywood filmindustry. They seem to slowly develop their marketing strategies to a world where the border between fans, users and producers are being blured.

Rockers (1978)

2009-04-08T09:32:00.001-07:00

I'm right now planing a number of screenings in our movie theatre.

I'm thinking to present "Rockers" from 1978.

Ideas for more flicks for a theme are welcome...

98% Of Babies Manic-Depressive

2009-04-08T08:54:00.000-07:00

Latest news from the Onion...

NEW YORK—A new study published in The Journal Of Pediatric Medicine found that a shocking 98 percent of all infants suffer from bipolar disorder. "The majority of our subjects, regardless of size, sex, or race, exhibited extreme mood swings, often crying one minute and then giggling playfully the next," the study's author Dr. Steven Gregory told reporters. "Additionally we found that most babies had trouble concentrating during the day, often struggled to sleep at night, and could not be counted on to take care of themselves—all classic symptoms of manic depression." Gregory added that nearly 100 percent of infants appear to suffer from the poor motor skills and impaired speech associated with Parkinson's disease.

King of Kong - Video game documentary

2009-03-24T09:56:00.000-07:00

Tonight I'll be going to Doc Lounge to have a beer and watch King of Kong.

Bambuser

2009-03-20T12:41:00.000-07:00

Here Måns tells the Swedish people about Bambuser, an application and website that enables live narrow- and broadcasting from your cellphone. (only in Swedish)

Good stuff Måns.

R Kelly: Trapped in the closet part 1 - ?

2009-03-19T03:54:00.000-07:00

Here is the first episode of R Kelly's "Trapped in the closet". As of today there are 22 episodes (plus a trailer for episode 23). R Kelly has announced the next set of chapters for release in the Summer of 2009. According to (MTV). the new DVD is due July.
Needles to say I am soo stoked.

Ebbe the movie

2009-03-11T03:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, on my way to Doc Lounge, I was on the phone with Chelsea in San Francisco. I told her I was on my way to see a documentary about Ebbe Carlsson. In the 80s his name spread like a rash all over the media. Ebbe caused the biggest scandal in modern swedish history. But it is totally weird to try to explain to someone who is not from here... and the fact that I hadn't had my tenth birthday when the whole thing happened doesn't make it easier... I told Chelsea he was chief of police or commisioner or something (as I remembered he was involved with the search for the person who murdered Olof Palme)... but the scandal was in fact that he wasn't. He was a book publisher with very good connections. This is like the best documentary I have seen in a really long time...sadly this trailer is only avaliable in swedish.

Total Eclipse of the heart... and this time it's TOTAL.

2009-02-23T01:59:00.000-08:00

...and here they go totally crazy.

Documentation

2009-02-19T09:26:00.000-08:00

'you ever thought about documenting your work-process?

This is amazing.

Science Machine from Chad Pugh on Vimeo.

Subtopia - the old presentation film...

2009-02-19T08:57:00.000-08:00

It is time to produce a new film about Subtopia.

I am thinking it would be good to make the new one in english.

...in the meanwhile I am trying to gather comments about the old one... so here we go... (in swedish)

Betnér on Volvo

2009-02-16T07:15:00.000-08:00

So this guy, Betnér is brilliant, here he delivers a good albeit painfull analysis of Volvo and government subsidis to the auto industry.

Sony Releases New Stupid Piece Of Shit That Doesn't Fucking Work

2009-02-11T12:45:00.000-08:00

...hmm if the player below doesn't work click this link instead.

...hmm if the player above doesn't work click this link instead.

Super 16 -

2009-02-10T02:12:00.000-08:00

Super 16 is the shit. So looking forward to see their new stuff in october...

Congrats to Sirqus Alfon

2009-02-09T05:58:00.000-08:00

Big congrats to Sirqus Alfon who just received the prize for best show att the biggest culture/artist festival in Germany.

Here is some background on Sirqus Alfon.

Technology will change us

2009-02-08T06:27:00.000-08:00

This is a speech that gives an idea of what kind of technological reality that will surround us in 20 years. One of the many questions that it raises is... if this is true, what should we teach at our schools?

New videos from Studio Barbarella (part 2)

2009-02-03T10:20:00.000-08:00

"My Love", the new song by Danjah has been on repeat on The Voice for a while now and today ADE tells me he and Oliver have released the video.

Damn they work fast!

Feels it, sings it, releases it, and breaks. -
It's the beat of Barbarella...

shame & scandal in the family

2009-01-30T15:57:00.001-08:00

The Origin... of The Origin of love

2009-01-29T23:49:00.000-08:00

I really like the film Hedwig and the angry inch. One of my main reasons was the beautiful lyrics and animated sequence that illustrated the song "The origin of love". Today I found out it is actually a speech by Aristophanes!

This week end I look forward to:

Meeting up with as many as possible from Störningsjouren to yack memories from last week end. (Boys and girls, that gymparty was f'in AMAZING.)

Helping my new neighbours... Asynja&Tilde to move and furnish their video-game-room.

hanging out with the rest of the crowd at Bastard, my (fave gallery in Stockholm)to hear and see the work of Tobias Bernstrup. The three songs he just released are great.

Joshua Allen Harris' Inflatable Bag Monsters

2009-01-27T08:35:00.000-08:00

I.O.U.S.A.

2009-01-27T08:19:00.000-08:00

So, what is up with US ecconomy? The documentary I.O.U.S.A. is a good atempt at explaining.

"To the U.S. economy what 'An Inconvenient Truth' was to the environment." – Reuters

Band Aid - Pulpstyle

2009-01-21T08:08:00.000-08:00

One song, one microphone and a bunch of celebs... or, in this case a bunch of impersonators.

Pulp - Bad Cover Version
Uploaded by beautifulcynic

INSANIQUARIUM

2009-01-19T05:46:00.000-08:00

THIS IS THE BEST GAME EVER

...from CNN

2009-01-19T02:02:00.000-08:00

Trailer for Inside out

2009-01-16T05:29:00.000-08:00

Cirkus Cirkör's latest show "Inside out" is playing at Dansens hus. The trailer was made by Jonas Åkerlund and... yup, it's pretty cool.

Right now I am trying to find a director to do something similar for a Canadian circus company. Got really impressed by the stuff Martin de Thurah has made. But please tell me if you have any ideas...

Dead snow

2009-01-12T05:16:00.000-08:00

There is a new norwegian zombie flick out. A group of people go out into the wild to hang out in a small cottage, ride snow scooters and chill. This does not please the sleeping undead nazis scattered around the small cottage...

Fishmen in Nador

2008-12-22T06:02:00.000-08:00

So Frank and Nicolai decided to go to africa with only 50 Euros. They made a film of it. Saw some clips of it months (if not even a year) ago and I'm really stoked to see it next week. The idea, as I understood it, was not to make a budget travel, road-trip guide but a study of hospitality and a search for an answer to the question "Do we live in a good world?".

Maskinen has done it again...

2008-12-21T13:15:00.000-08:00

...and if you for some reason don't know what I mean by again...

MUTO by BluBlu (Buenos Aries)

2008-12-18T05:38:00.000-08:00

Just have to post this one again.

Soo good.

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

The Food Chain

2008-12-17T02:55:00.000-08:00

For you dads

2008-11-28T17:34:00.000-08:00

For Pär, K-A, Zoran, Johan G, Hansa, Johan L, Kristofer O, Arvid, Jonas A, Tommy all you dads out there.
You rock.

Slussen - Måns Stylee

2008-11-27T03:48:00.001-08:00

My friend Måns has made one of the suggestions for the remake of Slussen in central Stockholm. It's really cool.

New Tralier from Fanzingo

2008-11-21T10:29:00.001-08:00

- A film trailer?

- Nope, theatre...

Jackie Chan... wtf!

2008-11-21T05:19:00.000-08:00

Ok,I've seen like one or two Jackie Chan flicks but some how I didn't realize... This man is absoluteley crazy. I'm so proud to know Martin Zetterlund who actually have been working on his team. In total Martin has made eight(8!)films in Hong-Kong in addition to all the Swedish stuff. Next year he will join the Gatekeeper project - a fan-based Sci-Fi flick that Thomas Dahl is producing.

ok, enough about Martin and Subtopia and just check out the guru...

New videos from Studio Barbarella

2008-11-21T01:10:00.000-08:00

For a number of years now Adde, Tobbe and Ella have been the dynamic trio behind Studio Barbarella. The studio was founded by a group of "elders" from the Botkyrka hip-hop community. The idea was to create a space for young people and free zone through music... Well, that used to be all, but a couple of days ago I got to see the first two videos to come out of the Studio. Adde Hagos is the man behind it and this time it doesn't only sound dope, it looks hot too. See for your selves...

Dan Jah - Kool Me Fiyah

...and here a true "Bootywood" production.

Da Griot - Cyclone

......................
Video från Barbarella?
Bara ringa å beställa.
:)

...computers. I'm gonna get those bastards

2008-11-12T03:24:00.000-08:00

Decorations

2008-10-28T14:53:00.000-07:00

I just got home and it was really dark and cold. Then it struck me... it is really time to start working on christmas decorations both at home and at work. This is what I am aiming for.

Division of Laura Lee (part II)

2008-10-11T14:04:00.000-07:00

Friday night Abbas showed me the documentary he made for the centralpark video. Division of Laura Lee are cool so don't miss out on the videos being published one by one on their site leading up to the release of their new album.

Division Of Laura Lee - "Time Before Violence" from I Made This on Vimeo.

Barackula

2008-10-11T13:55:00.000-07:00

Barackula from mark mannschreck on Vimeo.

A swarm of angels

2008-10-03T01:40:00.001-07:00

Started reading Charlie Leadbeaters "We-think" where the network-based, opensource, pro-am filmmaking team "A Swarm of angels" is mentioned. They are currently working on two films "Glitch" and "The Unfold". The unfold is a contemporary sci-fi thriller:

The Unfold
A disaffected Musician receives a phone call from his Mother, who everyone believed died a decade ago, triggering a search to rescue her inside ‘The Fold’. He sets off on a journey where he must confront family secrets, a shadowy organisation, Cell Division, and a strange dimensional force that threatens to destroy the world.

The first film trailer called "World’s Will Shatter" sets the scene...

Worlds Will Shatter - The Unfold trailer from Nine Orders on Vimeo.

A swarm of angels are also working on the film "Glitch":

Glitch
A videogame artist recreates his childhood love as an idoru. A voyeuristic cable installer meddles in his customers lives. A neglected housewife finds evidence of an affair on a lost phone. In a world of the wireless, the powerless, and the loveless, it is time they all made a connection.

Zombie v.s. Shark

2008-09-29T01:07:00.000-07:00

Polish low-tech reactable

2008-09-28T10:24:00.000-07:00

This is a low tech version of the reactable. Imagine having it at a bar... soo good.

Crowd sourcing... and more

2008-09-23T08:45:00.000-07:00

Just read an article by Lance Weiler in Filmmaker magazine. The article is about crowd sourcing in the filmindustry and is called "WHEN THE AUDIENCE TAKES CONTROL" The article focuses on building an audience and lists 6 good tools for doing just that.

Interesting, yes but I believe there is something much bigger than free web-based communication tools to think about here.

...fan-based productions in the sci-fi genre is generally frowned upon and the people involved are treated badly...

- by the filmindustry (Lucasfilm seem more worried about the copyright infringement than about supporting their fans.)
- by the filmfestivals (as they can't charge an entry fee they won't show fan-productions)
- by the filmschools (who don't even mention them)
- by the critics and media (who rarely mention them)

...well, some of the fan-productions are really crap but, proffessional soccerplayers don't treat amateurs like crap and neither should the pro's in film. Based on the same idea I think the government should start investigating how to support amateur filmmakers. What I am talking about here is of course pro-ams.

Download and read the full report on Pro-ams from Demos: The pro-am revolution - How enthusiasts are changing our economy and society by Charles Leadbeater and Paul Miller.

The-eXperience: Stockholm (Round2)

2008-09-08T09:27:00.000-07:00

For a while I've been talking to Jens at Roskilde eSport to bring The eXperience to Stockholm. I had seen pictures from last years' event, this year they had an awesome trailer and the event was a success. Would be soo cool to bring them to Botkyrka.

The question is: Can Scandinavian esport get to where it is in South Korea?

www.thefinalcollective.com

2008-09-05T08:25:00.000-07:00

Just found this futuristic appocalyptic marketing campaign for... eh?

Someone, please tell me what this is.

DIY-Vampires

2008-09-05T02:45:00.000-07:00

Ok, I admit. I am totally hooked on these films and filmmakers that keep finding alternative ways to finance, produce and distribute their work. Here is the teaser for the swedish film "Vampyrer" by Peter Pontikis that was made without support from the Swedish Film Institute.

Intelligent job advertisment (swedish only... sorry)

2008-09-04T05:56:00.000-07:00

Today I went out to buy myself a pair of shoes and met Johanna in the shoe store. She had her office in the back room and I got some good perk while she checked her e-mails. In her inbox she had one of the better Wanted/Job Ads I've read in a long time. The booking agency (and label?) Monstera managed to skip all the standard clichés and instead gave the add a tone that people-like-us can relate too...

Hej.

Monstera ska tillsätta ytterligare en bokare/agent-tjänst. Tjänsten är under provanställning/inskolning(om det behövs) 60-80% med fast ingångslön och efter förlängning tänkt som en 100%are.

Vi söker dig som: framför allt har några av nedan nämnda egenskaper, eller känner igen någon av situationerna

kör en framgångsrik pop/dans-klubb och sett hur man arrangerar fester och hur turnélivet kan te sig för ett band/djs och vill kunna sluta på ditt extrakneg

skriver spaltmeter om innovativa remixar av artister från Lautzenhausen för någon nördig webbsida och surar över journlisttjänsten du blivit utlasad från

sitter på något bokningsbolag/produktionsbolag men ledsnat på att jobba med ointressanta gamla rockband, kanske är trött på dina arbetskamrater eller helt enkelt inte tjänar tillräckligt med pengar motsvarande din fantastiska kreativitet

jobbat på något skivbolag och känner till alla intressanta internationella och svenska artister inom dans & elektropop-scenen. Men blivit nedskuren och fått kicken eftersom du inte är över 40 och blev anställd innan mp3-filen dök upp

drivit ditt eget lilla bokningsbolag som vi inte känner till för att vi blivit insnöade och arroganta, men du vill komma vidare och kunna tjäna riktiga pengar

Sedan måste du vara avslappnad, lite av en arbetsnarkoman, inte vara rädd för att ringa främmande folk hela dagarna och vara skön att hänga med. Gilla att gå ut på klubb och kika på dina artister och gilla att resa runt i världen på möten, töntiga branschmässor och softa festivaler med jämna mellanrum. Vi sitter i Stockholm, och det gör du med om du jobbar här.

Hör av dig till: info@monstera.se

Vi ses!
monstera

Not only did I manage to find this great ad to pass onto my friends but I also found a good pair of shoes.

...and the job?

- Well sure, I like music but... It ain't me babe.

Pro-ams & Gatekeeper development

2008-08-31T13:48:00.000-07:00

The coverage of Star Wars Revelations on MSNBC Live gives a good idea of what a fan-based project can be today and how it works.

There are many terms used for the growing group of people that in an economic sense are amateurs but pursue something to a professional standard, be it programming, filmmaking or city planing. In the book "The pro-am revolution" published by DEMOS, Charles Leadbeater and Paul Miller describes the term "pro-am":

Pro-Ams - people pursuing amateur activities to professional standards - are an increasingly important part of our society and economy. For Pro-Ams, leisure is not passive consumerism but active and participatory, it involves the deployment of publicly accredited knowledge and skills, often built up over a long career, which has involved sacrifices and frustrations. The 20th century witnessed the rise of professionals in medicine, science, education, and politics. In one field after another, amateurs and their ramshackle organizations were driven out by people who knew what they were doing and had certificates to prove it. The Pro-Am Revolution argues this historic shift is reversing. We're witnessing the flowering of Pro-Am, bottom-up self-organisation and the crude, all or nothing, categories of professional or amateur will need to be rethought. Based on in-depth interviews with a diverse range of Pro-Ams and containing new data about the extent of Pro-Am activity in the UK, this report proposes new policies to support and encourage valuable Pro-Am activity.

The latest partner joining forces in the Scandinavian Sci-Fi mega-project "Gatekeeper" is the crew behind the pro-am production "Star Wars: Threads of Destiny". Thomas Dahl from the 4Fathers has made their new poster.

In "The Making of Star wars: Threads of Destiny" you get a feeling of how the global collaboration works. The clip features many of the 3D-artists who have now agreed to join the Scandinavian Sci-Fi mega-project Gatekeeper - The Nexus.

Star Trek: Phase II (aka "New Voyages"), the biggest Fanbased Star Trek production with a large number of professional actors in supporting roles has agreed to supply the gatekeeperproject with actors.

Iron Sky: Latest News from the production...

2008-08-25T04:35:00.000-07:00

The team working with the film Iron Sky has a great way to involve their fans. Every now and then they release a video where they inform the world about the project.

In the second issue of Iron Sky news Mariel, Timo and Samuli gives the latest news:
- Wanted: a production designer
- Casting has started
- Remixpack of the teaser is released (can be downloaded from www.ironsky.net)
- A challenge for fans
...and the field report.

It is absoluteley brilliant how they go to all the events where their fans are - gaming and computer festivals, film festivals and roleplaying events. I am sure it will pay off. They are really connecting with their subculture to create and distribute, this is exactly what books like "The long tail" and "The pro-am revolution" is about.

I really believe in their way of making films and will definently invite them to lecture on alternative production, alternative financing and eventually alternative distribution.

Life, self organization and feedback

2008-08-16T04:17:00.000-07:00

I am currently exploring the field of feedback. What it is and how it is done in a good way. Along the way I have met with a large number of definitions and method discussions.

First I was a bit bored with all the technical descriptions of feedback such as this one:

In writing it would be expressed like this:

Feedback is a process whereby some proportion of the output signal of a system is passed (fed back) to the input. This is often used to control the dynamic behavior of the system. Examples of feedback can be found in most complex systems, such as engineering, architecture, economics, thermodynamics, and biology.

A really interesting discovery is that feedback in engineering (such as a video feedback loop)renders fractal patterns very similar to fractal patterns in biology.

Feedback is at the core of all dynamic systems, that is systems that can deal with both change and growth. I have been very inspired by the work of Margaret Wheatley and her study of life and living systems as an ideal for how people can organize.

I have not been able to express the link between life and feedback but when I saw the fractal patterns on the videos that were generated through feedback loops, and recognized them from the fractals in nature (and Meg Wheatleys books)I felt I was on to something. Eventually, after reading a bunch of wikipedia entries I found a cybernetic definition of life focusing on feedback.

A definition of life (a living individual) in cybernetic terms is proposed. In this formulation, life (a living individual) is defined as a network of inferior negative feedbacks (regulatory mechanisms) subordinated to (being at service of) a superior positive feedback (potential of expansion).

and eventually I was spot on...

Leary argues that feedback (i.e., self-reference) in cybernetic organization leads to "fractal forms." What is a fractal form? The term "fractal" (coined by chaos mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot) is used to describe "a shape whose details resemble the whole thing.

This link between Life, living systems, self organization and feedback is a great discovery for me which I intend to explore further.

Ush Ghrab

2008-08-15T17:31:00.000-07:00

It is a long time since I last saw George. Today I got a video where he is interviewed about Ush Ghrab - a place outside Beit Sahour which was deserted by the Israeli military.

Meez Me

2008-08-10T06:48:00.000-07:00

I'm at the Cision office and felt a bit bored before I logged on to meez. Totaly hooked on the small puzzle games on the site and decided to make myself an avatar.

Here I am.

Surplus = Dem gone

2008-08-07T15:17:00.000-07:00

I just watched Gentleman's "Dem Gone". It so reminded me of scenes from the ship recycling site in Surplus by Atmo. So here two clips for you: Gentleman & Surplus.

Gentlemen first...

If you wanna compare the actual scenes from the ship recycling site in India to se the simialrity with the music video check clip 8 from the middle forward...

Dexter's Lab

2008-08-01T01:49:00.000-07:00

Dexter's lab is one of my fave cartoons. Here he really reminds me of my friend Linus Larsson who right now is snoopin' around in StPetersburg.

Dr Dragan Dabic by Banksy

2008-07-31T14:21:00.000-07:00

Dr. Dabic eats locally produced organic, unprocessed natural food. He loves brown rice, legumes, almonds, walnuts, raisins, dried figs and water. He takes brisk two-hour daily walks in the city's parks, or in nature. /www.dragandabic.com

Four fathers

2008-07-29T03:35:00.000-07:00

The team behind the fan-based sci-fi production is soon comming to visit. They call them selves "The four fathers" but two are actualy women. Their names are Thomas Dahl, Martin Eskdale Moen, Irene Brustad and Bobbie Adams.

Adams is best known through the “Trekkies” documentaries and the Whitewater Trial associated with U.S. Pres. Bill Clinton’s administration. She is a regular encyclopedia of Star Trek knowledge, and is in charge of research and continuity. Adams is a professional printer and part of Federation Alliance in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Just to show you how serious they are about their stuff. Here is a clip from YouTube about Bobbie Adams...

Potty training - japan style

2008-07-29T02:00:00.000-07:00

1968 Olympics

2008-07-21T23:53:00.000-07:00

An interview with Tommie Smith and John Carlos was shown yesterday on Swedish national television.

Sports in general and the olympics has always been used as a political tool or platform.

...today the editorial of swedish tabloid Aftonbladet asks "Who has the courage 2008?". Yes, who and how? Maybe like Mohammed Abou Trieka after he scored Egypt’s second goal against Sudan in the African Nations Cup.

Abou Trieka pulled up his jersey over his head to reveal a message written on a T-shirt that read in English and Arabic: ‘Sympathize with Gaza’. Referee Codjia Coffi showed Aboutreika a yellow card.

Lilja 4-ever

2008-07-21T23:05:00.000-07:00

I just found Lilja 4-ever on google video.

Snabba Cast

2008-07-17T16:40:00.000-07:00

Har just läst klart "Snabba Cash". Sjukt bra, svår att lägga ifrån sig och ruggigt gutsy att ge sig på att göra film av den. Det är ett tungt jobb att ge rättvisa åt karraktärerna och språket, speciellt med över 300'000 sålda böcker.

Folk verkar sjukt engagerade så jag surfade runt lite och kollade vilka folk föreslår som skådisar. Listar förslagen utan att kommentera...

JW: Eric Ericsson (STORM), Jesper Sahlén (Ondskan, Kådisbellan), A/G Skarsgård, Filip Berg
Mrado:Goran Marjanovic, Dejan Cukic, Slavko Labovic
Jorge:Martin Aliaga, Francisco Sobrado, :Dogge, Jonathan Rodriguez
Jet-Set Carl: Oscar Durling, A/G Skarsgård,
Sofie: Maria Lindström
Nenad: Thorsten Flinck

...hmm ja det finns många namn.. men den största enigheten verkar ligga i att folk vill ha nya förmågor till rollerna.

Gatekeepers and Iron Skies

2008-06-27T06:16:00.000-07:00

Some Trekkies and Star Wars fans have asked us if they can collaborate with us and shoot the studio scenes of their next 90 minute sci-fi flick at Subtopia. The working title is "Gatekeeper - The Nexus" and I must say it sounds like a great project. It is a pro-am project with amateurs working along side professionals all doing the project in their spare time - including five original cast members from Star Wars and Star Trek.

The group is collaborating and getting tech back-up from the team behind Iron Sky - another pro-am project with great artwork. ...and please note the "snakes on a plane"-style tag line at the end. Brilliant, just brilliant.

The finnish team behind Iron Sky became well known in the trekie universe when they produced Star Wreck. Since then availiable technology and their skills have taken huge steps forward but still... it's Star Trek in finnish. ;)

As they seem to create great results with very small resources... I figure we should do our best to hook them up with some big ass warehouses, volunteers and some circus people to do their stunts.

So, if you are keen to get involved, have questions or just want to say something about it... please click on the comments-link below or send me an e-mail at work... "jonas ät subtopia dot se"

11th hour

2008-06-25T05:43:00.000-07:00

Beirut

2008-06-25T03:06:00.000-07:00

Mammas-grav-jag-svär-det-är-han! (sorry swedish only)

2008-06-10T08:53:00.000-07:00

Idag när jag gick mellan Alby station och jobbet satt det ett gäng kids och hängde på ett staket. Hade solglasögon på mig för att slippa solen och dölja min mest uppenbara sömnbrist. De satt och snackade rätt högt med varandra så när en ropade "hej!" fattade jag först inte att det var till mig. Tillslut ropade dom allihop. Jag vände mig halvt om och sa "TJA". Då utspelade sig följande dialog:

Kille1- Ey, han tror att du sjunger dendär låten. (pekade på kille2)
Jag - He, nä jag har bara coola solglasögon.
Kille1 - Jaha.
Tjej1 - Men varför har du hörlurar?
Jag - För att jag lyssnar på musik. (börjar gå)
Kille2 - Jag svär han var lik.

Asså jag vet inte men min dag sken upp, dels för att Alby-kidsen tyckte jag såg rock-star ut och dels för att jag inte kunde låta bli att tänka på...

- Ey, e re du som rappar "snubben"?
- Ja, det är jag.
- Ljug inte! Gå! Som en tönt.
-
- Visa vad du kan. Visa som en tönt.

... heh
-

Iron Sky

2008-06-05T14:09:00.000-07:00

These guys are making pro-am sci-fi, ho-ray!

Blandbandsmjukis (swedish only)

2008-05-30T06:06:00.000-07:00

Jag lyssnar på kärlekslåtar till frukost middag och sent på natten. Dom ligger på det bästa blandband jag någonsin fått. Bandet har suttit i min bandare i månader.

Blir mjuk och funderar på när jag sist ville någon.

På riktigt. Sitter på jobbet och Ella R spelar Boyacioglu:

Testa stan tjej, det funka inte.
Testa landet tjej, det funka inte.
Testa både och å, runka lite, det funka inte.
Måste ha förortstjej för att det ska dunka lite.

The origin of love

2008-05-26T07:23:00.000-07:00

Preparing a screening of the rock-flick "Hedwing and the angry inch" in our small movie theatre at Subtopia as a warm-up to the stage-version directed by Farnaz Arbabi. More info to come...

In the meantime check out this clip from the film.

Pangea Day

2008-05-12T05:39:00.000-07:00

Housing and Communitybuilding in Stockholm, Botkyrka and SödertälYEAH!

2008-05-06T02:52:00.000-07:00

This post was initiated by a question from my great new friend Anaïs from Paris who is working at Artfactories. She is organising a seminar on community building in november and asked me about some housing companies that I told her about when we met in Brussels.

What I told her is that some housing companies have started working in a different way as a result of seing them selves in a new way. What they seem to have realized is that they are not merely the builders and maintainers of housing but are actually community builders. Here are a few examples in the Stockholm region...

BotkyrkaByggen has started working with community theatre.

And AP fastigheter who are creating an international centre for scandinavian design at Telefonplan

Telge Fastigheter has a youth project called Hovsjösommar have started creating projects to give summerjobs to kids in a suburb of Stockholm.

Södertälje is interesting and has received alot of attention lately.

The last few months Södertälje has been invaded by international journalists because the town receives more Iraqi immigrants than the whole of North America put together. Södertälje welcomed 1,268 refugees last year of which 95% were from Iraq, a figure that is expecting to rise to 2,400 this year. Here it is appropriate to mention that Sweden took in over 9,000 Iraqi asylym-seekers, or almost 50% of all Iraqis coming to Europe. The USA in comparison took 202.

The block quote has been copy/pasted from another blog. Here is the great blogpost on Södertälje by Anna.

And Anaïs if you want some other interesting organizations for your seminar I strongly recomend you to get in touch with MIKU (one of the top youth oriented think&do tanks in Sweden)and jagvillhabostad.nu (a network for solving the housing problem in Sweden)

If you have more questions Anaïs, please feel free to call me.

/Obi-Wan Canole

Star Craft

2008-04-22T12:55:00.000-07:00

This is a small documentary about Star Craft and the culture around it in Korea. I just can't believe the crowds at the final in the middle of the clip. Crazy!