ELO-C5522 - Worldbuilding, Luento-opetus, 3.5.2022-27.5.2022
This course space end date is set to 27.05.2022 Search Courses: ELO-C5522
Topic outline
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WORLDBUILDING 2022
Course content
Worldbuilding course is a cross-disciplinary collaborational experiment on how to build an imaginary (populated) world, that can act as an inspiration and source for different narratives.The focus is on how to communicate during the process to create consistent concept of this world and how to present it to an outside audience with visual, audial, textual or other means. The teams will start with pre-defined loose frame, and work within this frame to create the world(s). The course duration is four weeks. Course content consists of lectures by visitors, excursions, group discussions and independent hands-on work. Visiting lecturers provide unique viewpoints to worldbuilding from their respective fields of expertise. Existing cases of imaginary worlds of literature, performing arts, cinema and gaming are also explored and analyzed during the course.
Learning outcomes
The art and craft of worldbuilding has many useful applications for writers and designers. This course gives inspiration on how to experiment on developing and combining ideas to create a consistent imaginary world, and how to present this world via visual, auditory, and other examples.During the course students are encouraged to learn new ways of collaboration that can break traditional boundaries between disciplines.
Schedule
Monday 2.5. (remote)
9:30-10:30 Welcome to Worldbuilding!
Course program presentation & warm-up task assignment in Teams:
11:00-17:00
Dedicated to making the warm-up assignment
Tuesday 3.5. (Otaniemi)
9:30-12:00
Guest: Vilja Autiokyrö
Improvisation as a worldbuilding tool
http://catalogue.ses.fi/directors/vilja-autiokyro/
Vilja Autiokyrö (b. 1983) is Helsinki based screenwriter and a director. She has studied screenwriting and directing in Aalto University, ELO Film School Finland. In 2018 she was part of a screenwriting group writing episodes for a new drama tv-series (YLE and Zodiak Finland). She recently directed also another short documentary film called 1,5 Meters Space (16 min, Aamu Film Company, 2018). Before she has written and directed several independent short films and music videos and has mainly worked as a script consultant. She’s a huge fan of chase scenes in films especially when there are cars involved.
13:00-17:00
warm-up assignment presentation & discussion
forming of workgroups & course task assignment
Wednesday 4.5. (Otaniemi)
9:30-12:00
Jyrki Pylväs: Experiments and experiences in worldbuilding
13:00-17:00
Afternoon task in groups
Presentations & discussion
Thursday 5.5. (Excursion day: Tampere)
Afternoon (precise time TBA)
Guests: Tiina Puumalainen & Teppo Järvinen
Artistic process in staging August Strindberg's Dödsdansen as a modern dance piece.
Tiina Puumalainen is a Finnish theatre director and a playwright. Her career (so far in 2018) adds up to 30 years of experience in the theatre business, directing for all kinds of companies, from monologues to the biggest stage productions. Tiina has also written an opera libretto, some plays and jukebox-musicals and several stage adaptations for Finnish theatres.
Tiina loves visual & choreographical theatre. Her way of bringing classics like Carmen, The Wolf's Bride and The Blood Wedding to the stage often combines dance to the drama.
Teppo Järvinen is a Finnish designer for stage and television and also known for exhibition architecture and graphic design. He has degrees both in architecture (1999) and set design (1997) from Aalto University. His designs for stage include modern and classical drama, opera, musical theatre and many premieres of new Finnish drama. He has also made around 100 designs for television, a variety of sets from game shows and comedy panels to talk shows and election studios.
19:00-21:15
Kuolemantanssi
https://ttt-teatteri.fi/program/kuolemantanssi/
After the performance a short discussion with Tiina Puumalainen & Teppo Järvinen.
Last trains to Helsinki: 22:00 & 22:35
Friday 6.5.
Independent groupwork on course task assignment.
Monday 9.5. (Otaniemi)
9:30-17:00
Guest: J.Pekka Mäkelä
Building a world you need, not the world you want
+ afternoon task
J.Pekka Mäkelä is a novelist, scriptwriter, English-to-Finnish literary translator. Also worked as a photographer, layout designer and made music for (e.g.) theatre. Specialties: Published seven novels during the last 15 years. Translated about 50 titles during the last 20 years, including Sci-Fi, mainstream novels, musical biographies, science etc. His novel ”Hunan” was shortlisted for Finlandia literary award for the best novel of 2018.
https://www.yrttimaa.net/books.html
https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Pekka_M%C3%A4kel%C3%A4 (in Finnish)
Tuesday 11.5. (Otaniemi)
9:30-17:00
Guest: Maria Oiva
Experiential performance
+ afternoon task
Maria Oiva is Helsinki based performance artist, a theatre director and an educator, working mainly with a new performatic forms and new drama area. Her works are often questioning the nature of spectatorship and many of them also operate with the bodily experience of the audience. Since 2017, she's been focusing on a digital art area with #digiteatteri -concept, researching possibilities of different digital stages in relation to performing arts. She received TINFO -award from Theatre Info Finland 2019.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-oiva-1542a573/
Wednesday 11.5.
Independent groupwork on course task assignment.
Thursday 12.5.
Independent groupwork on course task assignment.
Friday 13.5.
Quick excursions!
(more information closer to date)
Monday 16.5. (Otaniemi)
10:00-13:00
Guest: Janne Laine
Creating soundworlds
Janne Laine is an award-winning sound designer and composer.
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0481845/
14:00-17:00
Checkpoint 1
Tuesday 17.5.
Independent groupwork on course task assignment.
Wednesday 18.5.
Independent groupwork on course task assignment.
Thursday 19.5.
Independent groupwork on course task assignment.
Friday 20.5. (online)
Checkpoint 2
Monday 23.5.
Independent groupwork on course task assignment.
Tuesday 24.5. (Otaniemi)
Course work presentations
Wednesday 25.5. (Otaniemi)
Course conclusion discussion and feedback
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Quick introduction to the course program & schedule. A warm-up task for the course is also assigned during this session.Please note! Since I'm traveling during the day on 2.5., I have only this small window of time to join the session. Please be on time, and if you already know you won't be able to make it to this session, send me e-mail to jpylvas@gmail.com. (I read my aalto.fi mail only occasionally).See you on Monday 2.5.!J.
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Worldbuilding:
Warmup task Monday 2.5.2022
These tasks are completed individually at your own pace.
Morning:
Search and choose three details that come to your mind about the term "19th Century"*.
The details can be objects (such as tools, clothes, vehicles etc.), media artefacts (such as photographs, newspaper clippings, music etc.) or described atmospheres (such as smells, sounds etc.). If you choose a described atmosphere, do your research! (Example: what does the smoke from a steam engine smell – depending on fuel?)
The details are used on the afternoon task on Tuesday 3.5.
* time between 1800-1900
Afternoon:
We are going to see the performance "Kuolemantanssi" in TTT-theatre, Tampere on Thursday 5.5.
The performance is based on August Strindberg's play Dödsdansen (the Dance of Death):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dance_of_Death_(Strindberg_play)
The afternoon task is to read or listen the play. The text is difficult to find in Finnish at the moment, but can easily be found online in English and Swedish.
English:
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/45375/45375-h/45375-h.htm
Swedish:
Listen in English:
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/dance-of-death-the-by-august-strindberg-1849-1912/id673501372
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Worldbuilding
COURSE WORK ASSIGNMENT
Make a presentation of a fictional world. The world must be a premise, not just a background for a story!
Prepare the basic idea for the world and tell what it is like. Choose a starting point or ”what if?” type of question and start building your world around it.
Is the world hermetic, mimetic or a hybrid of both?
What is the theme or subtext of the world? Why does it exist? What is the dilemma or problem that is embodied in the world?
What is the ecology, history, culture, technology etc. in your world like? How do these interact with each other? How do these affect the inhabitants of your world?
Find places or situations inside your world that can be used as starting points for stories. Is there a condition or force in your world that can drive stories forward?
Use verbal and audiovisual means to present your world to others. Use both original content produced by yourself and source material available. Present also the facts or theories you're basing your world on.
Each group will have two checkpoint sessions, where your idea and progress is discussed with the teacher. The checkpoint sessions will take place 16.5. and 20.5.
The works will be presented for the whole group, teachers and possible guests 24.5. and 25.5. The presentations are followed by discussion and a small daily task for everyone present. The full duration for presentation, discussion & task is about 2,5 to 3 hours.
Send short description of your idea (not more than 100 words) by email:
Deadline for idea descriptions is Friday 6.5. by 22:00.
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J. Pekka Mäkelä's slides
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J. Pekka Mäkelä's lecture (expires 7.8.2022)
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Maria Oiva's lecture. Expires in August.