The making of Rogaland
The birth of this video came in the early 90's when after the passing of my Uncle Leo Skugstad I became a property owner in my city of birth, Stavanger. Having new property and some remodeling to do my partner Susan Jacobson and I would spend our off time exploring the greater Stavanger area as well as the surrounding area of Rogaland. During the War with Germany my mother Eli and I spent time away from Stavanger in Kvaloy located on the Vindafjord. After driving there again and passing through spectacular countryside it made us both wonder why Rogaland and the city of Stavanger gets so overlooked by the tourists. Grant you there are those who spend time here and know what we mean. But next to Bergen, Oslo, Trondheim and further North we felt Rogaland did get overlooked. Having produced several Civil War videos and having our own professional video studio we had a plan. The plan was to create a video that showed not only the obvious highlights of the Rogaland area but also the out of the way places even most of the natives forget about. We spent four years travelling the area and finding what we thought would be interesting footage. As well we have friends in Stavanger who graciously advised us on nice trips we could take. As we travelled the quaint narrow roads of Rogaland we also took smaller roads that would lead us to spectacular places. The one big observation that struck us both was the meticulous care taken with every dwelling and farm. Even the raw land seemed to be manicured and it was hard to distinguish where man's property ended and nature took over. A good example of this in the video is the filming of the Helland garden. I found it hard to travel a constant mile without stopping to film. Surely Rogaland was a jewel well hidden in this beautiful country of Norway. We found Stavanger a thriving city but still full of old world charm. From the main dock you find yourself just meters from shops and restaurants huddled in cobblestone streets. Gamle Stavanger where old timber houses dating back to the 1800's where seamen lived is just meters from the main dock. The hardest thing to capture of course was the people. That is best left to experience for yourself. I can say however that the nature of Rogaland reflects the fierce pride these people have in their country. Maybe the people of Rogaland have the right idea. Maybe they guard their jewel as we would our own. The one thing we did not want to do was to give the video a travel guide feel. My desire was to create a visual spell much the same as the one we found ourselves in while filming. Then add to this the traditional and contemporary music of Norway, performed by some of Norway's best recording artists. We added some original music by our friend and music arranger Mike Lynch of Edmonds who along with his wife Collene went with us to Norway one summer and also fell under its magic spell. All in all we feel we have accomplished what we set out to do. The one thing that can not be captured on video is the smell of the mountains and sea and the great food. That you will have to experience for yourself. I sincerely hope this video will inspire you to do so.
WebDesign camelot@camelotmedia.com
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