Watch the first two videos of the "Everything is a Remix" episodes below. Leave at least two responses (one per episode that you watch). See if you can draw connections between chapters 1 and 2 of Steal Like An Artist and the videos.
Then please leave feedback to two other students' responses.
Part 1 - music
Part 2 - film
Two take aways:
ReplyDelete1. Most movies are based on something else that has been already created
2. Everything is a remix - I've never thought of it like that. I thought it was interesting.
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DeleteWhile watching the part about Star Wars I was kind of mind blown at how much they had taken from other movies and even multiple things from one movie.
DeleteThe majority of movies produced today are the inspiration of some kind.
DeleteNow that we have watched these videos and realized that people do take things from other videos. I do not think it is still originality if you are stealing other ideas to make your own.
DeleteI agree that creation requires influence, but it doesn't mean that things aren't original. Theoretically then phones aren't original because all of the components already existed: metal, controlling electricity, sand to make glass, etc.
ReplyDeleteIs the first movie not original then?
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DeleteDo you think the "fist" movie - if investigated further - would prove to be a "mash up" of other films or influenced by other stories?
DeleteI agree that it is probably a mash up of a story or something, but although the story itself may not be original, the concept and execution of a movie is original; it's never been done.
DeleteI'm sure the first movie isn't original. It's based on ideas and concepts and events that have previously occurred.
DeleteI agree. There has to be a point of origin. Somewhere at some time there had to be an original idea. But, I think there became a point in time where everything from there on has become a mixture of copies.
DeleteGood point. Everything put together is just a thread of everyone working together to come up with a final project.
DeleteI highly doubt that the first movie ever made was only created to be a film. Most likely, it was based on a story written by someone other than the director. That author would have been inspired by other writers before him, and they were inspired by other writers before them, and so on. So no, I don't believe the first movie ever made would have been "original."
DeleteYou could even go further to say that Eadweard Muybridge, inventor of motion pictures, was inspired by other inventors before him. Advancements on film after that would all eventually lead back to his work.
We are inspired and influenced by everything around us so nothing is truly "original."
Part 1: Cover & knock offs, both are within the legal limits of copying someone's work. People will use covers or knockoffs to use someone else's work and then provide their own version of it, usually without taking the credit for it.
ReplyDeletePart 2: Creation requires remix. This applies to Austin Kleon's chapter that nothing is original. Not that nothing is original, but the essence that we take something and remix it to something new.
I agree with your comment on part 2. The film clearly shows just how much we take an original and remix it to something even better. We raise the bar with each remix. Eventually the remix of the original is copied and remixed again. By doing this we create better and better things each time.
DeleteI agree with your second part. People remix everything. We are still using other peoples ideas but we are outting our own twist to it to make it somewhat original.
Delete- They both talk about how nothing is original, and how they take ideas from other movies and songs and put them in their own. Like how there are a dozen songs with the same base line just their own twist on each.
ReplyDelete- Also they talk about not just stealing from one person but stealing from a bunch of people. In the star wars movie they had multiple movies with multipart parts taken from them just again they added their own twist.
I read an article about the baselines of songs about how there are a limited amount of beats that are just used over and over again for different sections of songs.
DeleteThere is always talk about being original, but where did it start? Was the first idea about something in general considered "original," or where did they get the first idea about something?
DeleteIts really interesting how many songs have the same baseline or a similar tune. Many audiences never notice it.
DeleteYou prove a good point, is it considered stealing if it's from various people and places to create something new?
DeleteI thought it was really interesting how they talked about music and how it is basically always just a different version of someone else's music. I can relate this to the book with how the author states that originality is just undetected plagiarism. Often musicians call it "original" but they have really just stolen tunes and different lyrics from multiple songs.
ReplyDeleteI've never really thought about it, but now that I do, I have realized that many movies have very similar plot lines with just different characters. I believe that film makers pay attention to what kind of movie the audience likes best and than make a film almost just like it. I can relate it to the book by saying most films are just a mashup of different ideas from different films.
I think artists call it original because they add changes to it. They steal something from someone but will change it just a little. In a song they might say things just a little differently or speed up the beat. This lets them get away with undetected plagiarism.
DeleteIt reminds me of the new disney channel shows. If you ever just watch some while babysitting, it's basically the same thing. I find it interesting that producers can't come up with new plots, or that they would make money on shows that have the same plot line as others.
DeleteYour second take back fits well with Steven Johnson's book Everything Bad is Good For You. It might be that by having so many copied films that are then remixed is how our television is so much more advanced. Each time we reuse an older film we change it to make more complex movies and that might be why we have so much multiple threads in today's television.
DeleteEverything is original because people tae different things from different people to make something new.
Delete74/100 of top 100 movies in the last year have either been sequels, films recreated from previous films, or films based on comic books or books. Really, the basic idea that these videos iterates is the vast majority of all movies are a compilation of basic ideas or elements from previous works such as movies, books, comic books, etc.
ReplyDeleteWithout the movies that came about prior to Star Wars, Star Wars would not be a movie. This goes back to what I wrote on the board "Steal other's ideas and make them your own through minor changes."
When I think about how 74/100 movies have been sequels, based on books, etc. I just try and think about the other 26 and how did they come up with the ideas. They had to have had some inspiration some how.
DeleteEven in Star Wars, he didn't even change some things. He straight up took them from other movies and threw them in there.
DeleteGoing on about what Emily said, how did the last 26 come to be? According to "Steal Like An Artist", everything has already been said. I bet they could be compared to different similar movies, books, comic books, etc.
DeleteI agree with your star wars comment. If they weren't able to "steal" ideas, then we wouldn't be able to make and do awesome things like star wars.
DeleteWhen you say "Without the movies that came about prior to Star Wars, Star Wars would not be a movie." I get what you're saying, but this isn't necessarily true. George Lucas surely could have made this film without any prior exposure to these films, and by that I mean it is not impossible just extremely improbable.
Delete1.) Movies all take things from one another; not just ideas, but whole scenes at times. Just like in "Steal Like An Artist" he states that nothing is really original, but it is taken from somebody else.
ReplyDelete2.) In "Steal Like An Artist" one concept in there is that you need to 'fake it until you make it' just like many musicians do.
Movies definitely take other concepts from all sorts of works. I just googled "Tarantino" and ironically one of the awards he received was the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Basically, Tarantino is so good at taking other people's ideas and remixing them he got an award for it.
Delete1. The videos back up what Kleon says, nothing is original. People copy everything. They make them their own through minor changes. Consider a song. You can change the melody by slowing it down, speeding it up, or add just another instrument. This makes the melody different, but it is still not original.
ReplyDelete2. The video explains how Star Wars is just a bunch of copied scenes from other movies. Steal Like An Artist explains that we come up with things through a collection of ideas that we steal from other people. We make it our own by doing this.
I totally agree with your second comment. By taking multiple peoples ideas, then you become original.
DeleteSo the key question is, something must be the true FIRSTm right? Is that not original?
ReplyDeleteWhen I saw Pulp Fiction for the first time, I thought that was the most original film I had ever seen. Until I saw Reservoir Dogs and realized how Tarantino was so heavily influenced by Asian films (such as Audition and Old Boy).
Some of the best pieces of media of our time (e.g. Star Wars, Stairway to Heaven, or Kill Bill) take some of the best parts of other media to create. Star Wars ripped off dozens of films’ best moments to make one of the best movies ever created. This is similar to Steal Like an Artist, where the author explains all media takes the best parts of previous works.
ReplyDeleteIf one looks far enough into the past, one will find similarities with modern film. This resembles Steal Like an Artist idea that everything originates from previous works. Personally, I find that this idea absurd. Every idea must have a genesis somewhere and thus originality must exist at that time. It follows that since originality existed at that time, it must also be possible for originality to exist in the present.
I agree with the idea that it is possible to be original still (since you wrote it down after I said it out loud). There are few things remaining to be original about though, so the amount of original innovation will be drastically reduced.
DeleteAlong with media, I think that books also do the same thing. They take previous elements and, to some degree, parts of plot lines and make them their own through minor changes.
DeleteHe says how everything is a remix and in steal like an artist he says that originality is unnoticed plagiarism. They both kind of mean the same thing. In the video there is example of a beat that ends up being in a ton of songs after. Both Ausin Cleon's and the video have the same opinion.
ReplyDeleteThe second video reminds me of Cleon's comment "Emulate, not imitate." When the video analyzes Star Wars it is clear how much copying went on during the making. There were countless examples of imitation from previous films. But what Star Wars did was Emulated. Star Wars changed those imitations and made them their own. Star Wars is a very successful movie and it shows that some of the greatest things are copied.
"Originality is unnoticed plagiarism" is a powerful quote because every idea is brought up to make one big one. A majority of each idea we get is taken from something else but the fact that we combine them to make our own makes it okay to call it "Original".
Delete1. Everything is a remix. Directors often take scenes from other movies to incorporate in their own. This is similar to what Austin Kleon discussed. When you steal from multiple people, you make something original.
ReplyDelete2. An original movie would have to be traced back extremely far to figure it out. I have never thought of it like that before.
I agree with your first point - you are inspired and influenced by everything around you. If that's the case, then nothing you create is truly "original." However, it is as close to original as it gets.
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ReplyDelete1. Stealing others ideas is a huge part in production, but we are all just feeding off each other. Nothing is completely unoriginal.
ReplyDelete2. Remix gives a sense of originality to something that has already been made. In the Star Wars movie, ideas were taken. But there was a different style projected to each influenced scene.
I agree. If no one were to steal others ideas, we wouldn't advance in anything.
DeleteAccording to this guy, every great piece of media is a remix of other media. He says that everything has an influence on its creation, and also influences other creations. For example, when creating Star Wars, George Lucas pulled different aspects of many films to make one of the greatest film series of all time. This in turn, influenced things like the Star Wars episode of Family Guy.
ReplyDeleteI’m not sure if this is entirely true. Everything has an origin, and if things can be new in the past, things can be new in the present.
1. Covers and knockoffs aren't the same. Covers aren't modified very much and give the credit to the owner. Knockoffs are modified enough to legally call them their own.
ReplyDelete2. I thought it was weird how Star Wars isn't as original as you would think. All it is is a huge mashup of several other cool movie scenes, making one awesome movie.
I never realized until watching the video that knock-offs and covers aren't the same. It is interesting how they are a little different.
DeleteI wonder what other songs are knockoffs of older (and probably better) songs. If Led Zeppelin was copying artists the whole time and making big money. Then who knows what other famous songs aren't original.
ReplyDeleteWhich comes back to movies too. The Star Wars movies are one of my favorite movies of all time. It's kind of weird to find out that the whole movie is somewhat of a remake of a bunch of other movies. That's how nobody really noticed it. Austin Kleon says that taking ideas from more than one person is acceptable and is not technically plagiarism.
1. Everything is a remix. This is so true. Directors take scenes and other things from movies to create their own. When you steal small things from someone to create your own you are creating something original.
ReplyDelete2. Star Wars would not even be a movie without other movies. They took many things from other movies just to make the many Star War films.
Austin Kleon states that nothing is original. When you first glance at George Lucas’ film, Star Wars, you would think Kleon is crazy. Nothing is more original than a space-age adventure! But that isn’t completely true. For example, there is Star Trek, Alien, or A Space Odyssey. And these are only a few of the many space-adventure films! The setting is not the only thing that Lucas stole, however. He was inspired by many different movies, ranging from western to sci-fi, and he combined them all into the Star Wars Saga. So in a way, Kleon is right. There may be a few original ideas in Star Wars, but the movie itself is based mostly on other people’s work.
ReplyDeleteThe band, Led Zepplin, has been called out for copying other works of artists. They took full melodies and lyrics from other works and used it in their own music, without giving credit. Even though their music is some of the greatest of all time, they still get crap for “copying.” Kleon believes that it’s ok to do that. He says that many bands start out doing covers, but at some point they need make their own music. Led Zepplin simply stopped imitating other works, and started emulating instead. The melody or the lyrics may be the same, but in the end it’s Led Zepplin’s music that topped the charts, not those whom they emulated.
I agree that Star Wars was based upon many films and other people's wok but Lucas made the scenes into his own. He put them together in different ways making the better.
Delete1. I never realized that all things are mashups of things done previously, like movies and music. In “Steal Like an Artist” he points this out saying nothing is original and it is just copying that no one has caught.
ReplyDelete2. The movies Star Wars and Kill Bill, the directors took scenes from other movies to make their movies better. They took parts from multiple movies, not just one and they made multiple changes making in their own.
1. I have to wonder whether or not some of the examples brought up in this video were completely intentional. I think some of the time people try way too hard making these connections to random things even when the creator might not have even noticed it him/herself.
ReplyDelete2. It is interesting how there is a fine line as to what is considered stealing/plagiarism and what isn't. You can take ideas from other places with no one noticing as long as you don't make it obvious.