Abraham’s Feast DVD
Jukka Linkola's Opera on Record
Video DVD Production
Project Overview
Following the highly successful opera production of Abraham’s Feast (Abrahamin pidot) composed by Jukka Linkola and performed in Liminka in 2017, I was commissioned to produce a DVD release. The purpose was to create a keepsake for the performers and an archival copy for the municipality.
Services Involved
Jukka Linkola
Composer
In 2017, a new Finnish opera, Abraham’s Feast, premiered in Liminka. I am the composer of the opera and closely followed the entire event and its preparation period. In 2018, the production was brought to the Helsinki Music Centre, where it was performed twice. A significant change in the production was the transition from a beautiful outdoor theater to a dark indoor venue. This required major and inventive efforts in terms of visualization. In particular, the use of video as a set element in Helsinki was something entirely new.
Eero Karvonen played an exceptionally diverse role in these performances: as an event producer, graphic designer, video creator and editor, as well as the developer of the orchestral backing track used in rehearsals.
This virtual orchestra production was built by Eero from the composition’s Sibelius files. He mixed and designed the backing track, carefully selecting high-quality samples for each instrument. The resulting orchestration sounded remarkably rich and colorful. This was an immense help in staging the work, especially in rehearsing Jouni Prittinen’s impressive choreography. Practicing a dance choreography with only piano accompaniment is not particularly rewarding, and since there was no orchestral recording of the premiere production, having a well-crafted orchestral track was crucial for structuring the stage movement and its proper rhythm.
Eero’s versatile expertise and comprehensive understanding of a newly rehearsed production benefited all participants throughout the entire working process. His approach is calm, cooperative, and constructive, which greatly facilitated adapting the production – originally designed for the cultural park in Liminka – to a completely different venue, the massive Helsinki Music Centre.
Karvonen’s talent encompasses professional ingenuity and an exceptionally broad artistic sensibility. These were essential factors in the success of both performances of my opera. His contribution as a single individual was invaluable!
I wholeheartedly recommend Eero Karvonen’s work in all its aspects.
Helena Tornberg
Author & Director
Creative Entrepreneur
Eero approaches challenges with enthusiasm and dedication. He understands collaboration as a whole while also creatively solving unexpected details.
My Role & Contributions
The video material, recorded with a single video camera by Esajuha Posti, consisted of footage from three separate performances, each filmed from a different angle.
I meticulously synchronized the video footage to the audio track from the best performance, aligning it beat by beat. Then I performed color correction to ensure a cohesive look across all the video angles, carefully edited the footage to select the optimal shots for each scene, mastered the audio, and added subtitles to enhance the viewing experience.
Additionally, I incorporated subtle special effects to highlight key moments in the story while maintaining a restrained and tasteful approach.
The final product was released as a limited, non-public edition on physical DVDs.
The trailer for the Helsinki production featured video footage from the original Liminka performance © Eero Karvonen, Esajuha Posti (original footage)
This trailer showcases select footage directly from the DVD release, while the full-length DVD wasn’t released in public.
Reception
The result was praised for its quality, with many remarking on how seamlessly the three performances were blended together, and virtually no one even noticed they were filmed on different days.
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