As the Offline as it Happens story comes to its conclusion we want to take this opportunity to thank to everyone who participated over the past few months. We have had a great time with all the amazing videos, film shoots and giveaways (especially with Sally the Bride!) and hope you guys feel the same! One person who we know has enjoyed it is competition winner Edan Cohen. Edan, not only won an N900, but was also lucky enough to see his script come to life in Australia. We thought what better way to wrap up proceedings then to get his thoughts on the whole process. So here is Edan Cohen, with the final word on offline as it happens:
I recently had the good fortune to win Nokia’s “Offline As It Happens” competition. I entered because I wanted to win the N900, but what I received from Nokia turned out to be a much grander prize than just the phone.
I was sitting in the waiting room of my daughter’s paediatrician when I received a call from an unknown European number. The caller was Philip Hickey, a member of Nokia’s marketing team. He gave me the good news that I had won the N900. I immediately ran outside so I could freak out. I was prepared to hang up and do a victory lap around the waiting room when Phil informed me that my idea was already in pre-production to become a commercial. Then he invited me to the shoot… in Australia! The cherry on top was the date of the shoot, December 9th, my birthday. I looked at my wife and started jumping up and down, she had no idea why I was so happy but she started jumping up and down in solidarity. I was going to Australia and I had just won an N900, I couldn’t decide which was more exciting.
I need to write a few words about how incredibly supportive my wife was about all of this. We have twin girls who are almost two years old. They are crazy, little people who never stop moving. Watching over them is tough for us when we’re together, but she watched them by herself for a whole week while also going to her job as a teacher. So thanks, Dina – you deserve a week away too. =)
The flight to Oz was LONG! After traveling for 26 hours I was exhausted when I finally arrived in Brisbane. I’ve always fantasized about being picked up at an airport by a driver holding my name – and now I know how it feels… it feels cool!
Heather, the driver, dropped me at the hotel. And as I quickly learned, Nokia travels in style; the hotel was gorgeous. When describing the hotel to friends, I mention that the pool on the roof was filled with salt water and I don’t need to say much else. Once I was checked in, I received a call from Phil inviting me to lunch to talk about my commercial.
Let me stop for a moment and let you know that my day job involves media production. I went to film school and have worked on a fair number of films since graduating. I tell you all this because I am well aware that what is initially written by the scriptwriter is rarely what makes it on-screen. Shooting a film or commercial involves many pragmatic decisions about locations, lighting, actors, etc. The script is usually treated as the foundation or a basic roadmap.
The main theme of my idea was that John, being offline, is unaware that a movie is being shot outside of his apartment. He mistakes the chaos happening in the film scene as reality and hilarity ensues. My idea was kept intact, but some of the details were changed, mostly to take advantage of the location (Australian beach) and the weather (perfect summer days). All of the changes Phil described made sense and also made for a funnier commercial. For example, in my version I imagined an alien but in the new version the alien was now a crocodile, in keeping with the Australia theme. Nokia had rented a giant, robotic croc for the shoot. Honestly, once I heard that I didn’t even think about my alien again. There is something about the words, “giant, robotic, and croc” that really make me happy.
On the shoot day we left Brisbane for Gold Coast at 4AM. As we drove through the darkness toward the sunrise, I tried to take everything in and really remember the feeling. Here I was in a van, south of the equator, listening to people speaking Finnish while the Australian version of suburban America whizzed passed the windows – it was the very definition of surreal (in the best way), and a testament to the wonderful craziness of modern life.
I love watching a film shoot being born, it reminds me of a mad scientist who has just thrown the switch on a monster he’s cobbled together from various parts. Those first few steps are tentative, the balance is off, but soon enough all the parts start to mesh and, in time, the monster can run. The same is true for a film shoot, there is the set up and the initial shots and suddenly the crew gels and you can feel the energy level and excitement skyrocket.
I have always shot the scripts I’ve written so it was a treat watching a bunch of strangers work on something I wrote. The director, Osmo Walden, and I never spoke about camera angles. In fact, he had already storyboarded the commercial by the time we started shooting. As I watched the footage through the playback monitors, I was amazed at how close some of the shots were to those I imagined. The high-point of the shoot was when Osmo asked me to play the part of the director of photography (DP) in the reveal shot. I actually had to run over to the costume tent to be outfitted as a DP. It was fun going through all the clothes and pretending I was an actor.
I can’t talk about the shoot without mentioning the star, Atilla aka John. This poor guy flew from Budapest to Australia on the night before the shoot. He had about 5 hours of sleep after a 30 hour plane ride and then had to act all day in the hot sun. And then he flew straight back to Budapest the next day. Let it be known that every time the director called action, Atilla gave a great performance. He is an actor warrior!
So what about the Nokia N900… the reason I was in Australia in the first place. Well, I knew I was in love from the moment I held its little, chubby form in my hands. For me, this is a near-perfect device. Let me explain how I used the N900 while in Australia:
* wake up with the alarm clock
* check emails
* IM with friends
* check RSS feeds and websites
* take photos
* call my wife on skype
* watch an episode of a television show I’m addicted to
* listen to music
* upload stuff to evernote that I wanted to remember for later
My favorite app is MaStory. I kept a private blog for friends and family to read about my days in Oz. In the late afternoon I would go up to the hotel pool, open MaStory, and blog about the day’s events. This little app performed perfectly – even letting me resize the photos I had taken with the N900. Previously, I would’ve needed a laptop and a camera to do all of this.
The N900 has already replaced my phone, portable media player, and laptop. I wish I could say it was flawless, but the N900 still needs some tweaks. The battery life needs to be optimized, as does the accelerometer’s sensitivity, and Ovi Maps needs to quickly catch up with its Symbian counterpart. On the whole though, the N900 is a revolutionary device that one needs to experience to fully understand the genius of the Maemo Team.
I enjoyed every moment in Australia, it was an experience I’ll truly never forget. The Nokia staff were great and made sure I had a great experience. I’m lucky that every time I click open my N900 I am reminded of that week.
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