This adventurous film student’s groovy personality and slick style helped him find a raft of creative opportunities throughout Atlanta’s arts community.
PERCHED ATOP A SKATEBOARD, Riki Prosper Kujanpaa cradled a $25,000 digital cinema camera suspended in a stabilizer rig as he glided across Turner Field’s main entrance. Rolling over the bricks, he passed the statues of Ty Cobb and Hank Aaron to pan the front gates of the stadium, capturing a shot the university would use over and over again as it campaigned to acquire the property and transform it into Georgia State Stadium. This was his first week on the job.
Riki, a film and media major who graduates this December, has spent the last two and a half years interning with the university’s division of Public Relations & Marketing Communications (PRMC), where he helps create some absurdly groovy videos. “I get to do some really fun stuff here,” he said.
If shooting a $25,000 RED cinema camera while skateboarding through a stadium doesn’t sound like a typical student internship, Riki isn’t a typical student.
“When he first came to interview for the job, my first thought was, ‘He’s got really cool hair,’” said Basil Iskandrian, director of video and photography at PRMC. “That’s a plus.”
It didn’t take long for Iskandrian to start surrendering projects to Riki whose hip editing style and knack for music makes Georgia State’s campus life and culture come alive in fast-paced, high-definition sizzle reels and time-lapse photography. (To see Riki’s editing style, watch the 2017 Homecoming Hype video.
The first member of his family to be born in the U.S., Riki grew up speaking three languages in a home that included a Finnish father and French Canadian mother. His dad’s work in the paper industry not only brought the Kujanpaas to the U.S. but also took them abroad to Brazil for several years, where Riki added Portuguese to his repertoire. He’s since picked up some Spanish.
After finishing high school as a member of the Georgia Governor’s Honors Program, Riki first studied art and design at Piedmont College where he played lacrosse. By his sophomore year, though, he was wanting to make his pictures move, and the seniors in his program were routinely asking for his help on their video projects.
“I knew I could do so much more if I had the opportunity,” he said.
So he transferred to Georgia State and moved to Atlanta where he found opportunities in spades.
While growing up in Marietta, Riki had always loved visiting Atlanta, and he fit right in when he moved to the city’s Summerhill neighborhood.
“I really enjoy the exposure of living in the city,” he said. “You meet so many people who share your interests. You find a lot of weirdos — like me.”
Within months, he started connecting with Atlanta’s arts community and racking up gigs, including albums covers, music videos, documentaries and much more.
“He's got great gumption,” Iskandrian said. “He's got his ear to the pavement. He's plugged in. He's a creative thinker and a creative problem solver.”
He’s even collaborated with LoveRenaissance, the Atlanta-based creative agency and record label behind artists such as Raury, DRAM and 6lack, and shot the Raurfest 2016 music festival.
"I've always had a big passion for music and finding ways to express it visually,” he said. “Since I'm not good at playing music, the next thing I can do is give it a bigger impact — make people feel it more — by giving them something to look at.”
With his degree in hand, the young artist plans to work in video, photography and design, but he’s also considering travel options as he wants to see more of the world.
“In this industry, personality can be just as important as skill,” Iskandrian said. “Riki has the relaxed, laidback temperament we were looking for, but he also understands what it means to put in the time and make sacrifices to perfect the craft.
“I mean, I'm going to try to hire him.”
Best of luck, Riki.
To see more of Riki’s video and design work, check out his Flickr, Instagram, Facebook page and YouTube channel @rikiprosper.
Written by Benjamin Hodges
Photo by Steven Thackston
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