Força

"Força" (Portuguese for "strength") is a pop folk song written by Canadian singer Nelly Furtado, and Gerald Eaton and Brian West for Furtado's second studio album, Folklore. It is sung mainly in English, with the chorus completely in the Portuguese language. It was produced by Track & Field and received a positive reception from music critics. Released in June 2004, the song was chosen as the official anthem of the 2004 European Football Championship held in Portugal.

Background and writing

Furtado said about the song: "When I was touring in Portugal, people would frequently say goodbye to me by saying "Força", which is Portuguese slang. It translates as "Keep going", or "Kick ass". It's also associated with sports, especially football. I put a feminine twist on the idea of how you feel when you’re watching your favorite team. When you tie that into nationality, it becomes pretty intense. So this is a happy song, a burst of energy. Plus, we have [banjoist] Béla Fleck playing on the song. His contribution here is amazing.".

FOR-A

FOR-A is a brand name for professional broadcast video and audio equipment. Founded more than 41 years ago and based in Japan, FOR-A has spread globally, with subsidiaries in America, Canada, Korea, Italy, and the United Kingdom.

FOR-A manufactures 4K variable-rate, slow-motion digital video cameras, digital video switchers, signal processing equipment, broadcast graphics products (such as virtual processors and studios), multi viewers, frame synchronizers and time base correctors, HD/SD converters, and video stabilizers.

History

FOR-A was established on October 21, 1971, by Keizo Kiyohara in Tokyo, Japan. Its first product was the VTG-32, a worldwide video timer – the success of which allowed for the opening of a FOR-A Corporation of America, established in California. In 1977, after producing the FVW-900 (a video writer), the company went on to manufacture the FA-410P, a time-based corrector that was universally recognized as the strongest in the market. From there, FOR-A went on to open locations in Canada, England, Italy, China, and Korea. By the 1990s, FOR-A was a leading developer of DVE manipulation units, character generators, Time Base Correctors and Frame Rate Converters. In 1994, their character generator (the VWS-100) was chosen for official production display use at the Nagano Olympic Games. FOR-A recently also developed the instant replay/mark entry used by the international skating union at all major figure skating events, including the Olympics.