This week I’ve been recording the scenes of Seppo Parkkinen‘s awesome adaptation of Mihail Shishkin‘s novel Sinun kirjeesi (Pismovnik) with sound designer Tiina Luoma and actors at Radio Fiction Studios of YLE Finnish Broadcasting Company. Next week I’m editing the text with Tiina and the week after that we bring in the sounds and music. Making radio fiction is very hectic nowadays, you’ve got only three weeks to finish a 50 minute play, particularly in my arduous way of directing. Side effect is stress and very little sleep but I love it. Radio fiction is always fun and inspiring. For one thing you get to meet actors you might not otherwise have a chance to work with. You can basically ask anyone and YLE pays. This time I asked actors Ulla Reinikainen, Laura Rämä, Jukka Peltola, Eeva-Maija Haukinen, Tapio Liinoja and Eedit Patrakka to join in.

Ulla Reinikainen (Aleksandra vanhempi) in publicity photo shoot.

How to make love making not embarrassing in radio? Laura Rämä (Aleksandra nuorempi) and Jukka Peltola (Vladimir) invented a physical method for it.

For the feeling of stroking someone’s hair you sometimes need a real head to make it sound right. My friend and colleague Jonna Wikström visited the recording session and I asked her to act as the head.

Sometimes lying on the floor does the trick.

Sound designer Tiina Luoma pointing out her vision to Jukka Peltola.

It’s fun!