Week 3

My trip to the glass shop went great. I think I got some pretty decent footage, although when I look at what I shoot I'm always annoyed with myself and wondering, "what was I thinking?" Shooting a guy flinging around molten glass at about 1000 degrees was challenging and a bit scary at times, but the guy was very nice and protective of me and gave me great access. The couple that ran the glass shop were wonderful and insisted on giving me all these glass animals that Gunne made. I'm going to do somethings special with them for the film.

After I left the Nybro glass district I drove to Kalmar on the coast and spent the weekend there, all by myself, and had a great time. There were some lonely moments but only because I wished I could share all that I was seeing. Saturday morning I went to Kalmar castle and the local modern art museum. Great exhibit on Munch. Then in the afternoon I drove over to a barrier island on the Baltic sea. I found one of the widest beaches in Sweden and went for a run. It felt great.

Driving back from the coast was fun on Sunday. I got used to the traffic circles quickly. But when I got to the gas pump I realized I had no idea how to use it. A nice lady helped me.

I had some trouble with the PAL settings in FCP, but today I finally figured it out and got about half of my footage in the computer. I can't wait to start cutting.

Week 2

Things are going very well. I've figured out Adobe Premiere much easier than I'd expected, but I'm still glad I have my laptop and final cut pro. My documentary shoot is now finalized for Friday. I'll be renting a car and driving for the first time in Europe. I'm a little nervous, but I figure if I take it slow I'll be ok. There's not much traffic in Sweden because there's not a very big population.

This week my teacher host went on maternity leave so I'm all by myself with the students. I think they're a bit afraid of their serious American teacher. I'm trying to smile more. I adore the students from Bangladesh. They are so very respectful. It's very sweet. The class spent today finishing the edit on their short documentaries. Tomorrow they present them in class. Next week we begin our TV studio production that will include the documentaries. It will be like a magazine show with mini docs inside it.

I'm very excited about my trip to the Glass Blowing studio in Southeast Sweden. Turns out I may not be shooting female artisans after all, which is a shame. But the guy they have lined up for me is apparently world famous and very nice. We'll see. After my shoot I intend to drive a bit further east to the coast for a day or so. I need to get out of the house here in Jonkoping because Josefina went into labor tonight. They will probably have a new baby here by Thursday. At the end of the weekend I'll be moving to someone else's apartment.

More later, now that my laptop is back up and running. I had a problem with the Swedish=American power adaptor but I bought a new one and it's working great.

Chilly Day

It's back in the forties here and the sun barely came out today. I don't mind, though, because the change in the weather is nice and I know I'm going back to the heat. I didn't sleep too well today but I got a lot of work done today. I've connected with a female glass blower in a town about two hours south of her famous for "Swedish glass." I want to revisit Bert Haanstra's "Glas" film from 1958, but this time I want to shoot all female glass blowers. Sara is trying to arrange it for me. I'm sure it will be a challenging shoot but I think it would be fun. I would like to partner with a musician to compose the music but I know I don't want piano. I'd like something expressive, though, and perhaps experimental.

First Class

Today I taught a class on mass media systems. I began the class with a group activity in which students had to invent a prime time program that would fit the paradigm of the media system within their country of origin. We then had a class discussion and I observed the same phenomenon among students as I experienced here three years ago. Whether they were from Germany, Mexico, Czech Republic or Bangladesh, all felt the public/commercial hybrid media systems in their countries were far superior to that of the United States' commercial system. Yet when I asked each of them what their favorite programs were, guess what they named? You guessed it... American Idol, The Office, The Sopranos, etc. etc. When I asked them if they would like to see the commercial channels taken off the air in their countries they emphatically said NO.

When I showed them UCF students' newscast they were not impressed, nor were they impressed by any of my students' documentaries. A German student found all of it "annoying." At least he didn't call it "American crap!" like a Czech student did last time I was here.

In a classroom setting, International Students are tough. But, when you get them in the studio they know very, very little about camera work, editing, etc. They loosen up a bit when they are doing more hands-on work and they discover it's not easy to make any television program look good.

Back in Sweden

It feels great to be back here. This really does feel like a second home here I am so comfortable with the school, my friends, even the geography of little Jonkoping. My flight was great... the best ever overseas, maybe because I had a window seat. I flew into Stockholm, took a train from the airport to the central bus station, then took a 3 hour bus ride from Stockholm to Jonkoping.

Today was my first day at the HLK and I hung out with Josefina in the studio. It's actually good to be back in a TV studio. I noticed as I was helping her with equipment that I've become much more confident in handling mics, tripods, etc.... even lights up in the grid. Tomorrow I give my first lecture on television news in the U.S. That oughtta be good. Ha.

I love the fact that people here do not live to work, they work to live. The work days are shorter and everyone takes a break caled "fika" at 9:30 and 2:30 each day. They gather in a common area of the school and have coffee. The coffee (or latte or cappuccino if you prefer) is FREE, along with all the crackers and biscuits you want. Educators are really respected over here and nobody is worried about the economy. "Education is never a victim" I was told, matter-of-factly by a fellow HLK faculty member.

I saw my friend Ebba and cannot wait to hang out with her. She and I are only one week apart in age. It was funny when we first saw each other... we sort of looked each other up and down and then smiled and said, "you look exactly the same!" I guess this is the sort of thing women do once they get up to this age... they celebrate staying the same as long as possible... before age starts to really show. Maybe it already does but we each choose not to see it. Anyway, she is going to help me set up my shoot at the glass factories south of here. She will come along and shoot stills while I shoot video. It should be fun. I'm really looking forward to it.

I don't think I'll be going away as much as I did last time. I just like hanging here in Jonkoping and I don't feel like I have as much energy. I just want to chill. I just watched the sun set over Lake Vattern and now all the lights are on across the lake on the hill. It's beautiful.

End of the term

I haven't written in quite a while because I've been so busy and I honestly haven't wanted to share some of the thoughts I've been having. It's not that they're negative or super secret or private. I guess I've just been a bit lazy.

The last few weeks of the term were very gratifying in terms of watching students' films come to life. There are some very talented and deep students at UCF and I'm proud to be allowed to teach them what I know and what I can find out. The turnout at the student film screenings was terrific and I'm feeling very satisfied here at the end of the term. Tim and I have edited about 1/3 of the Young Composers Challenge documentary. It has come together fairly easily but one challenge is the sheer volume of material. You really second-guess yourself on structure, what to use now, what to save for later, and wondering if it will all make sense in the end.

As soon as I got my grades turned in, meetings finished and graduation attended I flew away to Sweden. More on that in my next post.