Two beers with Helge Mathisen: "Samfunnet, UKA and NMBU's filmdude no. 1"
Two beers with Helge Mathisen: "Samfunnet, UKA and NMBU's filmdude no. 1"
Chances are you´ve seen him before. Probably with a camera in his hand. Walking, sometimes nearly dancing, while he captures small and large moments on tape. And you have most certainly seen the movie clips he has produced. These clips really make up most of the films from Samfunnet and UKA, and a lot of the filmed content from NMBU. But who is this man behind the camera, behind the films? Who is Helge Mathisen?
Journalist: Sofie Bergset Janols
Photographer: Margreta Brunborg
Translator: Celine Våga
Margreta the photographer and I meet Helge at Samfunnet. Trough the office wing, past a quiet bodega, into an empty Aud.Max., and up a way to steep stone staircase, we eventually find the editing room. When we enter, we find Helge sitting and working on one of his many projects. The sensation that Helge has an incredible control over his work comes instantly. I can really understand now how well the things Tord (TT-Editor-in-chief) had told me beforehand fits the man; “Helge is Samfunnet, UKA and NMBU´s filmdude nr.1”.
Film fanatic at four years old
When I ask where the interest in film comes from, Helge can tell me that its somewhat always been there. Some of the first things he can remember is his four-year-old self finding a screwdriver, using it to open av VHS-player and peeking inside. His father working as a cinema engineer might have had some influence, but the world of film and movies had fascinated him from the very first moments. In the living room of their family home at Espa, Star Wars and Jurassic Park where playing on repeat. When he, as most other children under 10 years, didn´t understand the English lines, it was easy to make up ones own. He tells how he entered his own world as “director of my own movies”.
The years at Ås
There would still pass some years before interest became work. A teacher once told Helge that “The things you enjoy doing on your spare time, is not something you should make into a career”. An advice he for a long time listened to. When Helge first came to Ås in 2013 after completing the first-time military service, he started a bachelor in renewable energy. This study was the following year replaced by city- and regional planning studies, where he is currently on his fourth year. He has also taken a break from the studies. From 2017 to 2019 he worked at VitenSkolen as a part of Vitenparken (a science and learning center, where play, fun and learning for children are combined) where he worked with coordination, marketing and implementation of fun activities for children.
First meeting with Samfunnet
The study offers were not what got Helge to choose NMBU. Not the beautiful campus or the convenient and accessible location of the school. When he as a 7-year old, on a school trip, had his very first meeting with Ås, it was Samfunnet who impressed him. The teachers who had arranged the field trip, had themselves studied at Ås, and wanted to bring the class inside Samfunnet. Aud.Max was huge compared to what Helge was used to at home. And the bodega gave promises of nights filled with interesting conversations, “you imagine all the world problems you could solve in there”.
The environment here has shown to be a great fit for Helge. When I ask him what he likes the most about Ås, he mentions the words “open, free, safe and good”. The coolest thing is to just be whoever you are. If you´re weird, its cool. And even though it´s a cliché to say, he admits how liberating it felt to leave a quite closed and small community and move to a bigger place like Ås.
Helge’s favourites:
Camera: Sony A7S III (Not tested yet)
Film: IMDb Top 250 (Impossible to choose)
Director: Dennis Villeneuve
Filmphotographer: Roger Deakins
Movie composer: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
From film enthusiast to film producer
It was after UKA 2016 that Helge started to further explore and work on his interest in film and movies, and also worked during UKA 2016 as a film-volunteer. A short time after his experiences from UKA he quit his job at JULA, and applied to a student position at the learning center instead. It was here he started making films for NMBU. The advice he had received from his teacher those many years ago no longer made sense. He now realized that working with and making a living from an interest one loves actually was a good idea. “The energy you use on something that you´re passionate about, will be more properly canalized”.
When mini UKA and UKA 2018 came, Helge took a position of greater responsibility. He now suddenly worked every single day during UKA 2018. In return of his increased workload, he got “an amazing opportunity to try all sorts of things”. For instance, he got the chance to experiment with “earth-zoom-tools” on the film from the opening weekend. More time to play with editing gave him an even more increased appetite for films and the proses around it: “It´s like you´re always on a voyage of discovery, that is when you get addicted”.
Thus, he applied to the Film- and photography committee in 2019, where he currently works as a NK (next in command). He refers to his position as a his “creative playground”, where he both gets to test out new ideas and “show how good Samfunnet at Ås is”. In January 2020 he started the project to introduce podcasts to Samfunnet. What gradually started as Tuesday-refills on Soundcloud has now become Agarmetropodden on Spotify. Helge himself is not pod-responsible but has during January been the temporary substitute as pod-chief.
Productive during the pandemic
It becomes more and more clear to me that Helge is a person with a lot of projects going on. 2020 was not an exception. On the contrary. It actually became the most productive year Helge has had when it comes to the production of films. It all reached a climax in august, where his summer job consisted of making digital tours of NMBU. Then he had the responsibility of making and producing a digital matriculation. He also made UKA´s music video and put together the digital “grass course”. He stood behind a great amount of the filmed content of the digital “grass course”, like the promotional film for the CRE8-conference, NITO, foresters´ association, the Film- and photography and Samfunnet. He was furthermore the chief of the film committee during UKA 2020, and also produced films here. Including the film from the opening weekend. I was not over exaggerating when I guaranteed that you most likely have seen one the films that Helge has made.
Helge produced all together over 100 films and movies in 2020. Much of the reason for this great productivity comes from him increasing the efficiency of the system for input of raw material to film. It is clean, organized and fast. In this way the “recap” from the Dagny-concert could actually have been made in five minutes. But the key behind the productivity, I believe, must be the choice of lifestyle.
“Success breeds success”
Helge meditates 10-15 minutes both morning and evening. And he is also an early riser. Not the usual early riser, but wakes up for the day between five and six in the morning (/night). “It´s important to feel like you´re the first one out”, Helge tells me. An early start to the day, followed by a great consumption of water and a workout. He lives by the motto:
You have to start the day with success to be able to breed success”. His motto is his own but inspired by the saying “success breeds success”.
In times where there is a lot to do and the days are long, Helge furthermore swears to powernaps. A powernap of “minimum 5 minutes” is important. I wonder if I have heard correctly, and surely, I have. Helge responds that he takes really effective powernaps. I´m most impressed. It´s clearly not just the film system he has improved, but also his bodys ability to fall asleep and recharge.
A balance
Powernap or not; Helge underlines that “everything can be done in periods”. It is important with a balance. If one worked intensely, one must also counter with equal amounts relaxation. And you have to have fun with the people around you, with your support system. He remembers back to the pre-corona-parties with the Film-and photography committee, before he concluded that not everything is professional and work. That it´s important to also loosen the grip sometimes. He admits that there is truth in the saying “work hard, play hard”, even though it´s a cliché.
But movies and cliché´s belong together. In the same way as Helge Mathisen and film production. Something that we actually kind of already knew from the start. Towards the end of the interview, I´ve started to form an image of the man behind the films: A meditating early bird with many projects going on, and complete control of all of them. Furthermore, I am left with the feeling that Helge Mathisen, more than we are aware of, truly is an essential force which sculpts our impression of Samfunnet, UKA and NMBU.
Greetings to Helge
Helge is a wonderful person and a true friend. He was one of the first people I met when I moved from New York City to a little town called Ås. He is always there for you when you need help, including the time I needed to be driven to the økonomi building to deliver 13 cooked turkeys during a desperate American Thanksgiving emergency. And he’s always the life of the party, pumping the music loud or getting people to dance. Despite attempting to be good at cooking, I would NOT leave him alone with your grill- RIP our balcony in Palisaden 2015! But no matter the occasion Helge makes the best of things, from road trips to long talks about your dreams, he’s the best person to talk about your troubles with. He’s equal parts dorky and cool, and you’ll always see him with a camera, making moments and shooting memories. So skål to Helge who has shared many more than 2 beers with me ;)
Love Caroline & Martin XOXO
