Inspiration and Ideas for Project 3

For Project 3 we have been prompted to appropriate videos from Youtube under the creative commons licence, and craft our own video out of clips to convey a meaning that changes the message.  For mine I had the idea come to me when I saw that there was video game footage under the creative commons category on Youtube.  I like video games but I have been thinking about how many games these days are shooter-based.  Usually first-person, the purpose of these games is to shoot and defeat enemies.  I like the idea of playing off of this by taking away all of the game-play footage EXCEPT for the moments when the guns are firing, making a continuous barrage sequence.  In the background I would play "Blow a Kiss Fire a Gun" by Major Lazer.

I am going to see if I can find video clips of real people shooting for target practice; training, focused, and serious, and have them interspersed throughout the video.  Then I think it would show a new angle on guns.  I am thinking of how most young men (and many women) these days play an extensive amount of shooter video games, but how many actually train with the real thing, get a gun permit, and know how to defend themselves and their families?  Regardless if they ever end up needing it, this is surely a more useful skill than knowing how to shoot lasers in a video game.  I don't want this video to bash video games either, I think video games are really fun and play them myself, rather, it would be a suggestion of something else people could be doing with their lives if they aren't,  myself included.  Those are my ideas and inspiration thus far.

And the Projects were Many

So I thought I would make this blog post an update about the projects I'm working on.

Project 2 "Tactical Media" is in the filming process.  I have done some filming, and plan on at least one more day of filming before editing.   As a reminder I am gathering footage of various bad and confusing construction around the Tri-Cities, whether it be signage, dysfunctional roadways, or quality of driving experience, and am doing this in order to comment on this issue and provoke awareness.  This process takes a little while because to get those shots I am literally driving from one location to another, sometimes more than once to get extra footage.  To pull this off, I enlisted the help of my Mom for last shoot, who I convinced to drive two non-stop figure eights through one of the figure eight roundabouts!  Thanks Mom!  :)  

Project 3 "Appropriation" is coming along, though I will save the details for my next post "Inspiration and Ideas for Project 3".  Over the past few days I have perused the cache of Youtube videos and downloaded much footage.  I have begun editing too, and am continuing to think about concepts I can incorporate to improve the project.

Reading Response Lessig Pages 7-30

Reading Lessing’s Free Culture book pages 7-30 has introduced me to some interesting conclusions about internet, creativity, copyright laws, and how they affect each other.  Lessig observes that in advent of the internet “free” creativity has been stymied to some degree because of the laws that now apply to online artistry.  “Yet the law’s response to the Internet, when tied to changes in the technology of the Internet itself, has massively increased the effective regulation of creativity in America. To build upon or critique the culture around us one must ask, Oliver Twist–like, for permission first” (Lessig, pg 10).  The dynamic of internet culture really has changed.  I found it neat that later on, on page 17, Lessig quotes Lord Mansfield when he says “A person may use the copy by playing it, but he has no right to rob the author of the profit, by multiplying copies and disposing of them for his own use”.  I find this quote particularly relevant since I said very much the same thing in my last blog post.  This reading is making me think critically about the relationship between the law and art online, and how it relates to our project of appropriating art.  Thankfully I don’t think we will have any legal issues because we (presumably) will not be selling our projects on the black market.  :P

Thoughts On Appropriating Art

When using someone else's artwork and the lines seem blurry, I believe common sense applies .  You can use appropriated art for your use, but you can't sell it or anything.  When you use any element of art that was at any point someone else's work, you should be at the liberty of the original artist.  If you ask for permission that totally works; it respects the original artist, pushes aside legal confusion, and no one can accuse you of "stealing" art because someone was sharing it with you willingly.  So I wonder why Richard Prince didn't just ask for permission from the original creators of those Instagram photos?  If they refused I don't think it would have been that big of a deal since there are, you know, millions of Instagram users out there, and many would leap at the chance to be in a piece by Richard Prince, I'm sure.  Also, if Instagram "owns" the actual posts, Prince should have asked them as well.  Really, it seems very simple to me.  I get the impression Prince wanted the extra  attention of that "I am stealing artwork but (maybe) not!" shock factor to make his piece famous, perhaps.  I am not certain on this one but I think it could be possible.

Reading Response Chapter 10

While reading chapter 10 of Sturken and Cartwright's Practices of Looking, I found the section on satellites bringing us a totally different perspective on weather in regards to objectivity and subjectivity quite interesting.  These perspectives on looking are sometimes challenging to differentiate sometimes, but I see the point being made.  Weather patterns always seem a little less ambiguous when we are informed about them, and with today's satellite technology it is all made so much easier.  On page 394 the authors make a interesting point: "...the aerial satellite perspective also affords us a stronger sense of the subjective experience of living down inside the conditions we observe from above", which got me thinking; I don't usually watch the news or view satellite images when storms roll around, unless it is said to be a particularly dangerous storm.  Otherwise, I just enjoy the rain and the experience as per usual.  Maybe it's because I am not a news buff, but I find the weather imagery uninteresting unless it is near me, and when it is I don't feel like my perspective is changed much by the above view they speak of, but that's just me.  I still feel like I view storms from "below" as opposed to "above".  Sure, I know what they look like from above in general, but each one is wild and different, and I feel minuscule and awed in comparison. I thought these were interesting things to think about.

My Inspiration for Project 2

I wanted to have my tactical media project make a statement about the dangerous and confusing signage and construction in the Tri-Cities, because it seems like there are an increasing number of them recently, as well as complaints about roundabouts, bumpy neglected roads, etc.  My idea is to take videos of these questionable roadways and string them all together into a video that will help bring awareness to, and maybe inspire action concerning these issues  Since I will be filming already existing signs, roadway lines, traffic lights, etc, I think this will definitely address the idea of essentially using existing media tactically to make a controversial point.

     The video will be informative, concise, perhaps satirical to add interest, and should be at home on the news feed of someone's Facebook, YouTube, or Twitter feed, for example.  The kinds of videos that inspired me to use this approach are Buzzfeed videos, which are [usually] viral videos that creatively satirize or emphasize truths from daily life.  The aesthetic of these videos is a little different from what I will be using because they have a clean, bright, professional style, and I am thinking mine will look a little more casual and be shot from a first-person view, and maybe even add some shakiness to indicate confusion or fright.  Those are my ideas and I am excited to begin filming.