Andyax, Tommi, and Christopher Westerholm, the kings of cinematic Nokia videos
The year is 2012, and everyone is talking about the new cool kid on the block that is the Nokia 808 PureView. It is a phone that turned a lot of heads but convinced no one to buy it. Android phone is the one to have, and if you have tons of cash, there’s no other choice than going iOS.
The announcement made by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Nokia CEO Stephen Elop a year prior about Nokia exclusively using Windows Phone as its primary operating system also did not help the Symbian-powered flagship. And while a lot of people avoided the Nokia 808 PureView like we avoid other people during the pandemic, for me, it was the phone to have.
I only have one problem and it was a major one — I was a broke high schooler. Instead, I would spend countless hours browsing through YouTube about the device like I could afford to buy one. That’s the closest I could get to the Nokia 808 PureView. It also did not help that I was an aspiring filmmaker, and so you could bet that I would always search for queries like “Nokia 808 PureView cinematic” — because who doesn’t want a phone that could take amazing cinematic videos? And for that, I only trust a few YouTube channels. One I remember the most were Andyax, Tommi Vainionpää (I forgot if this is his original channel name), and Christopher Westerholm.
If I remember correctly, Andyax is based in Norway while Christopher is based in Sweden. As for Tommi, I just assumed he is a Finnish. That said, I did not care how many times I played their videos. I just want to watch them over and over again. That said, years later after its release, I got myself, not the 808 PureView (still expensive, if not rare) but the Lumia 920 because I like the contrasty less compressed cinematic video it makes and it was dirt cheap at that time.
Christopher made some amazing cinematic videos with Nokia 808 PureView, and later with Nokia Lumia 920. Whilst Andyax, consisting of Anders and his best friend, Eskild (who has since passed away), reviewed both devices and compared them to each other. Andyax even made a music video using the Lumia 920, and a short film with Lumia 1020 and it was super cool! Tommi, on the other hand, has some of the best Lumia 1020 footage at the time.
Today, for some reason, I stared at my shattered (but working) Lumia 920 on the shelf, and wonder about its capability. Was the camera as good as I remember it? With all the camera features we have on our modern smartphones today, it is easy to think that older phones are no longer capable of the things it was good at when it was first released. Then I remember Andyax, Tommi, and Christopher. The people, whose videos, I used to consult for questions like this.
https://youtu.be/ceUBkUVxn8https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ceUBkUVxn8s&feature=youtu.be
Like the 15-year-old I was about a decade ago, I looked up every single video they made around that time and it not only made me realize that the Lumia 920 I have is still capable enough, but it also reminded me of the simpler days when things are less miserable. Of course, I have since learned that life is more than wishing for a Nokia (you bet, I still do). The videos, however, are exactly as I remember them. Still absolutely stunning.
As you could tell, this isn’t a planned article and we don’t usually publish late-night musings. I just feel the need to write something about it and say thanks to the people (I’ve almost forgotten about) behind these videos for how special these were for me and to other people.
Andyax, a professional filmmaker, together with his other friends, is still making videos to this day. As for Christopher, his last upload was 4 years ago, and it was a cinematic video using the Nokia 8 Sirocco. Worry not though because he is still pretty much active. He even replied to one of my recent comments on his Lumia 920 cinematic video. Tommi’s last upload was over 3 years ago, and I can’t find any way to connect with him on socials. But all his other contents are still active.
Also, 2012 doesn’t feel that long ago, except it was 10 years ago. Yeah, I feel old.
For Eskild.
February 2023
