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Remarkable Remixes
The winners of Total Recut’s ‘What is Remix Challenge 2008’ competition are in, with many outstanding examples each showing strengths technical, political or just plain entertaining. For me, though, those that most directly engaged with the politics and practice of remix were the most inspirational; from the top ten, my favourite three were …
In second place in the competition, right on the boundary between the still and moving image, is “Composition” by Jata Haan:
Two things stood out for me with this video: firstly, that all the images, and music, Haan used were licensed under Creative Commons (more that 100 images); and secondly, that, quite literally, this remix showed that digital tools and creativity can bring previously static material to life! Also, as odd as it is, I quite like the Sydney Opera House.
A lot shorter, and in fifth place in the competition, is “Remix Culture” by Sylvia Koopman:
Koopman’s remix is short, pithy and directly to the point. It also highlights the joys and perils of fair use, when the the ratio of remix to credits is about 3:1! It’s worth noting that Koopman is still in high school and posts a lot her other remix work on YouTube. I think she must be one of those digital natives we keep hearing about! 😉
The last clip I want to mention is Ricardo Carrion’s ‘Remix Culture II’:
Carrion’s piece is probably the most useful in really “explaining” remix culture and certainly has some fun with older science footage and science fiction. As with many in the competition, though, I would have preferred more detailed credits on Coopman’s work. One of the missed opportunities with these remixes was the chance to have ready-to-click credits so that others could easily take a look at the source material and take a whirl at creatively remixing it themselves. I should add that DJ Le Clown’s ‘Xmas in New York City’ which won overall was certainly showed a lot of talent and is technically impressive; it’s just not in my favourites because the actual content remixed is largely unexciting to me (no, not a Sinatra fan, I’m afraid)! If you’re inspired to make your own remixes, take a look at the resources that Total Cut highlighted for entrants to this competition. Everything you need to get inspired, and started, is either above or right there! 🙂
Annotated Links of Interest: September 14th 2008
Links of interest for September 12th 2008 through September 14th 2008:
- YouTube bans terrorism training videos [SMH] – “Terrorist training videos will be banned from appearing on YouTube, under revised new guidelines being implemented by the popular video-sharing site. The Google-owned portal will ban footage that advertises terrorism or extremist causes and supporters of the change hope it will blunt al-Qaeda’s strong media online campaign.” [Via] I wonder what definition of ‘terrorism’ YouTube and Google will be using to enforce this rule?!
- Video Game Snapshots [Gamasutra – Persuasive Games] – Ian Bogost review the emerging design-your-own-videogame tools and suggests they might best be considered tools for personal and social communication rather than meaningful game design platforms. This is not so much a criticism as a look at computer games through the eyes (and rhetoric) of Web 2.0: “There is simply no magic box we can put in front of the world which, when a button is pressed, turns what it sees into a video game. … There are lots of things one can do with web-based game making services. One of them is to try to create hit games that generate ad revenue and earn public renown. Another is to create art games meant to characterize the human condition,… But perhaps the most interesting uses of these tools are the informal ones that so closely resemble snapshots in spirit and function.”
- Photoshop for Democracy Revisited: The Sarah Palin File [Confessions of an Aca/Fan] – Henry Jenkins takes a closer look at the various photoshopped versions of Sarah Palin making their way into US political discourse in the lead-up to the election. Some are flattering, some satirical, but all are participatory!
- Large Hadron Rap [YouTube] – Kate McAlpine’s outstanding rap explaining what the hell CERN’s Large Hadron Collider is actually supposed to be doing! Lyrics and downloadable version here.
You Should Be Reading: Art of the Title Sequence
Since I tend to post as many links as I do write more substantial posts these days, I thought I’d meet myself half way and start making posts about blogs I find useful and enjoyable and that you might like, too. For the first of these ‘you should be reading’ posts, I’d like to draw your attention to the Art of the Title Sequence. This blog is very focused, looking exclusively at the opening sequences of films and, occasionally, of television shows. Opening titles can often be very boring, but when done well they can be amazing works combining graphics, sound, symbolism and energy. Sure, the Bond films have made a cgi-artform out of their attempts to one-up the previous entry in the franchise (and I love the vector graphic cards from Casino Royale) but so many films have wonderful but woefully underappreciated title sequences, well worth examination on their own right. I know one of my favourite bits of my doctoral thesis was a look at the title sequences of the first two Spider-Man films. So, the Art of the Title Sequence brings a focused critical eye on the best (and primarily on the best; it’s too easy to pick apart weak titles) opening sequences out there. As a sample, here’s an excerpt from a recent post on The Mummy 3 (of which the titles are far and away the best bit):
What immediately comes to mind upon viewing these end titles as a stand alone consideration, is that there is great discipline in the master calligrapher’s graceful yet contrasting Chinese brush strokes. His magic carpet ride reminds one of Masaki Kobayashi’s “Hoichi the Earless”; only here the Chinese characters -and Kanji, respectively- become life-taking daggers rather than a life-saving shield. Too, I am reminded of splattered ink at the point of impact and the panning flight of a classic aircraft -both seen in the aforeposted “El Don,” in addition to owing an incalculable debt to the “3OO” end titles and, in a true sense, to Frank Miller.
Fairfax Vs PerthNorg … sort of, anyway!
As Axel and Mark have noted, Brisbane will get its turn to debate the The Future of Journalism this Saturday at a one-day symposium bringing journos, media makers, academics, students and more together to debate the issues. If only it wasn’t 3,500kms away … I’d love to be there, and I doubt the Future of Journalism roadshow will be stopping in Perth any time soon. That said, I’m delighted that Perth citizen journalist and citizen media advocate Bronwen Clune will be presenting on Saturday, bring a little perspective from the West coast. In anticipation of that even, I thought it worth pointing out that earlier this month, in the wake of the news Fairfax was axing more than 500 of their staff, Bronwen (who is the creator of PerthNorg) wrote a provocative post entitled ‘A Letter to Love-Stricken Fairfax Journalists’ which asked whether Fairfax was actually the best place for committed journalists today:
If you are one of the journalists standing in a picket line outside The Age and SMH, I have to ask – do you realise how pathetic you look? … David Kirk has made you an offer and is calling for volunteers before compulsory redundancies. Your relationship is clearly strained and here he is giving you a dignified out and you choose to beg him to take you back? Where is your backbone, your fire, your passion for news? Has Fairfax got you so wrapped around its finger that you think the only way you can be a good journalist is to stay with it? Guess what – people produce good news outside of news corporations everyday. And you can too. Take the divorce settlement and learn to stand on your own feet again. You are better off investing in a relationship with your audience – you’ll find it infinitely more rewarding.
Clearly Bronwen wasn’t pulling her punches, and in the heated discussion which ensued the full spectrum of opinions were heard, from those in total agreement to those who completely disagree (with the oft-heard but fair question: where is the business model for citizen journalism?). However, for my money, the most interesting thread was when Fairfax journalist Nick Miller joined in. Miller, also originally from Perth, didn’t bring a knee-jerk reaction, but instead pointed out that journalists are well aware of what’s happening in the industry, but they still need jobs! An excerpt from Nick’s argument:
I get it. You’re on the forefront of digital journalism. You reckon everyone else should be here. Um… they’re not. Yet. And we’re yet to see any proof that this medium can financially support the extent of investigative journalism that mainstream media currently supports. … I challenge you to go through Perthnorg and remove every link to, and every reference to, a story that originated or was sourced in a Fairfax or WAN or News Ltd report (or wire story, which are paid for by mainstream media). Then see what you’ve got left. A lot of gossip, sure. And gossip is often the start of a news story. But it’s not news.
And:
I am passionate for news. And at Fairfax I have found an organisation that backs my quest for good investigative journalism with all the resources that that requires. Time, money, opportunity, logistical support, etc. The luxury of being able to say ”I didn’t file a thing today, but you should see what I’m working on”. I don’t see any online organisation in Australia that will support that kind of journalism – beyond simply giving it a place to be published. Therefore, I think it is the right thing to fight Fairfax in its attempt to reduce that support. I suggest the Norg concept is just as likely to be an online evolutionary dead end as Fairfax’s. We file for The Age online, too, after all. … The medium isn’t the issue. It’s the search for commercial support for the often highly uncommercial occupation of journalism.
While I agree that a lot of what appears on PerthNorg is more like a Digg-style take on other news sources, there is some original content in there (probably around the 10-15% mark, I’d estimate) but Nick does beg the big question of how any citizen journalism portal can support journalists financially (sure, there’s embedded advertising, but that’s more likely to pay the hosting bills and give a modest income to the site’s creator rather than anyone else creating content). Also noteworthy was the point made by another commentator that people employed by Fairfax Digital are not subject to the rights and conditions afforded even normal Fairfax Journalists, suggesting that even the digital portals for big media companies are becoming the cyber-sweatshops of the twenty-first century. There are, of course, a lot more issues at hand so I’m looking forward to hearing reports from the The Future of Journalism in Brisbane … I hope there are some optimistic answers about citizen journalism and mainstream media working together … and at least some people getting paid!
Presidential Presentation Zen
Those who’ve heard my thoughts on presentations in general (most are bad … including most of mine), you’ll also know I think Garr Reynolds’ Presentation Zen (the blog and the book) is the most insightful guide to contemporary presentation design currently available. Thus, I was fascinated by Garr’s take on the differences between Barack Obama and John McCain’s national convention speeches and the graphic elements which accompanied them. The short version: Obama presents like a deity, while McCain bombed in visual terms. In terms of teaching presentation, though, Garr did mock-ups of how McCain’s talk would have looked in different styles which really get you thinking. Here’s the difference between an MBA and Steve Jobs presenting so you can see what I mean (and why this would be useful when trying to get others to think through presentation in visual terms):
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