re wrote creativity essay

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Creativity
Emily Haynes
Re – written

‘Digital technology turns media consumers into media producers in your own experience, how has your creativity developed through using digital technology to complete your coursework productions’? 25 marks 30 mins

‘The making of the new and the re arranging of the old’ this is a quote from Benteley 1997, creativity is over coming problems, I feel I have taken my interest in media, films, advertising and art (a consumers role) and created something of my own (being a producer.) This opportunity has been given to me through technology; a perfect example is Photoshop, which I used mainly in A2 to produce a magazine advert and a CD digipak. I gathered ideas from my natural creativity, knowledge of Photoshop, and inspiration from excising products, which links to Benteley’s quote.

My first media task in As was a prelim, where we had to film somebody walking through a door. I used my skills from photography, and previous experience to create a short clip which involved a wide variety of different shots such as pan, long shot and a upwards shot by using a cam-corder and a tripod. I edited my shots on a Mac, where I added different transitions such as fades to add a creative slant to an other wise boring clip. The Mac’s enabled me to edit each shot to the length I wanted, and add sound effects for tension.

The main As task I created a film opening, based on skins. This again relates to Benteley’s quote, I took something excising, which I was a consumer of and became a producer by creating my own version. I again used a tripod and camera, this time I was more experience and therefore more creative. The very opening was photographs very quickly edited flashing on the screen and then it went into the filming, which involved different scenes and many more camera angles. I again edited this on a Mac which meant I could create a film opening which involved a variety of transitions, different paced editing, and credits involving the filming in the letters.

For my A2 coursework I used my knowledge from As to create a stop motion music video, to ‘The Fear’ by Lily Allen, I used a acoustic version which I found on You Tube and downloaded the MP3 song using a website then adapted it, by fading it using Adobe Premier, a windows media editing program, (consumer to a producer, taking something old and making it new, Benteley.) I also used this program to edit my stop motion. I created it by using a camera positioned in exactly the same place with a tripod. This was a difficulty because I had the tripod at such an angle to create a point of view shot on a piece of paper, it was falling over so I had to tape it my floor. My stop motion idea was to use Lily Allen’s ‘The Fear’ video as a bases and create my own version as a piece of art, gradually being created. I had to take over 900 photos of each stage of my art work to create this effect. Adobe Premier, meant I could edited each photograph to the specific time, which I decided on from using the words and beats of the song, which I got off a lyrics website, this saved time from writing out the words from listening to the song, and therefore meant I had more time to edited my stop motion animation.

I used Barthes symbolic code and culture code, which are the only conventions I applied, as I wanted my music video to be different and post modern. The colours and items in my work are symbolic of Lily Allen’s style and music videos, also the massive difference is there is no ‘Lily Allen’ in the video, which I didn’t want because the idea is to show that the key aspect is that its about the music not her. And the cultural code fits in because Lily Allen is British, I feel these aspects may help audiences understand the context of the text but they don’t confuse audiences who don’t. It can be enjoyed on two levels, a post modern aspect.

For my research and inspiration for my art work as a stop motion I mainly used You Tube. I found animations which inspired me, chopped them to the specific aspect I liked on Tube Chop then using the embedding code uploaded them to blog, for me to write about, others to look at and to evaluate whether or not to use this idea. This use of digital technology helped me have all my inspirations in one place, to help me form more ideas and pick out the best bits. I took inspirations from the internet and created something of my own, digital technology turns media consumers into media producers.
This is something that happens constantly with digital technology for example consumers take something (i.e. a photo or video) off someone’s blog, flickr, You Tube or facebook adapt it by downloading, saving, editing it on Photoshop, paint, Mac, windows movie maker or another editing programme then re-upload it. This is post modern and is made possible by digital technology. This is continually happening, and evolving, people are adding there own touch on everything, and this links to, Jones’s 1993 idea that ‘A process needed for problem solving … not a special gift enjoyed by a few but a common ability possessed by most people.’ I feel technology has made this statement true.

In conclusion, I believe I have taken my interest in media (being a consumer) and created versions of my own (being a producer.) This has been made possible though digital technology and my natural creativity. So I believe that it is a mixture, yes digital technology has made me more creative because without the technology I would not have been able to create a stop motion animation music video.

24 Hour Party People

In what ways is 24 Hour Party People a postmodern text?

24 Hour Party people, about the 70’s rave music movement considering the life Tony Wilson’s but mainly about what was going on around him musically, historically and personally in Manchester (Madchester!) The title of the film is the name of Happy Monday’s first album name, so this would attract a different audience, and could be considered postmodern.
Tony Wilson set up a record company first called ‘Factory,’ which had to main bands Joy Division and New Order. Then later Happy Mondays with Sean Rider who Wilson refers to as a legend, directly to the audience by breaking the 4th wall, which is a postmodern aspect, as it changes the feel of the text it makes you feel very involved and as if they are talking to you. The film includes many references to historical events and people such as the creation of the wheel, titanic, Nazi’s, Beatles and Andy Warhol which today’s audience can still relate to even though the film is set 30 years ago. Tony Wilson makes reference to Icarus, a fictional character which also involves audiences who know about the story, but doesn’t affect audiences who do not, I find this postmodern as it involves audiences on two different levels. Also Tony Wilson attempt to create a new mythology whilst referring to ancient myths which makes him sound interesting and gives you an insight into what he was like. (This could relate to Baudrillard, what is the reality?) But then audiences may doubt the truth of what is being told, is this a trust worthy version of what happen? I think that the fact that the film asks questions and makes us doubt are self adds to postmodern elements in the film. Because of all of the reasons above the film may appear humorous or ironic to certain audiences. I feel this brings in Barthes codes; the film is definitely for a British audience as the whole film is bases on the cultural code. Tony Wilson’s seems very ironic, but I feel this was just his personality, but some audiences may find this comical or annoying which creates a different view for each individual viewer, which makes the film postmodern.
Tony Wilson loved Manchester and wanted to make Manchester a ‘cool’ place over London. Near the beginning of the film the Sex Pistols (London, punk) gigged at The Free Trade Hall in 1976, Manchester, only 42 people attended and most of them ended up involved in the Manchester 70’s movement. This is shown to the viewer by a recreation but also band footage of the actual gig. Which is postmodern as it blends reality and a recreation so closely and makes the film so real and interesting. Because of this amount of reality it sometimes feels like a documentary, Tony Wilson was a news reporter and at the very beginning of the film its blends the real news report and a recreation of Tony Wilson hand gliding. This is a switch in time, for example when Wilson tells the audience he had a kid and got married when the child is about 4, this also shows that the film is not about him its about what was going on around him, and makes the film non linear as well as linear, this is postmodern as it chops and changes and doesn’t stick to one straight line
Some of the characters are played by themselves, in the film and there are also a lot of famous northern actors which reflects Wilson’s love and support for Manchester. There is also loads of intertexuality included in the film, as Tony Wilson makes many quotes about popular culture at the time. This can involve audiences who know about this information but still doesn’t exclude other audiences which relates back to a point I have already mentioned, that it can be watched on to levels which I find postmodern.
24 Hour Party People, is 100% a postmodern text, particularly because of the 4th wall being broken by Tony Wilson and the ironic humor to his and others lives. I believe that the text is postmodern; the film is about a postmodern movement in music so the style of the film fits to the context and is an interesting yet enjoyable postmodern British film.

Todays lesson - creativity

In todays lesson, I have been thinking about creativity and the freedom you do or do not have, todays task was to randomly create a CD cover, by using the name or the band and album title from the random search engine on flickr. Then going onto flickr and using the thrid image on this weeks uploaded images. Above is my result, it would look better if the picture wasnt so pixelated.

post modern music - kramer

Media Theorist Jonathan Kramer says "the idea that postmodernism is less a surface style or historical period than an attitude. Kramer goes on to say 16 "characteristics of postmodern music, by which I mean music that is understood in a postmodern manner, or that calls forth postmodern listening strategies, or that provides postmodern listening experiences, or that exhibits postmodern compositional practices."
According to Kramer (Kramer 2002, 16–17), postmodern music":
1. is not simply a repudiation of modernism or its continuation, but has aspects of both a break and an extension
2. is, on some level and in some way, ironic
3. does not respect boundaries between sonorities and procedures of the past and of the present
4. challenges barriers between 'high' and 'low' styles
5. shows disdain for the often unquestioned value of structural unity
6. questions the mutual exclusivity of elitist and populist values
7. avoids totalizing forms (e.g., does not want entire pieces to be tonal or serial or cast in a prescribed formal mold)
8. considers music not as autonomous but as relevant to cultural, social, and political contexts
9. includes quotations of or references to music of many traditions and cultures
10. considers technology not only as a way to preserve and transmit music but also as deeply implicated in the production and essence of music
11. embraces contradictions
12. distrusts binary oppositions
13. includes fragmentations and discontinuities
14. encompasses pluralism and eclecticism
15. presents multiple meanings and multiple temporalities
16. locates meaning and even structure in listeners, more than in scores, performances, or composers

Applying texts to the above theories



Tmiberland, Missy Elliot, Step Up 2 orginal mix

Point 1 - There is repution and continuation but it is also broken up, mixed around and changed, taking and adding certain sections to create a different sound.
Point 2 - Could may be ironic of normal hip hop music its in the same genre but at the same time is completely different, could be mocking hip hop artists which don't break any conventions and who are not postmodern.
Point 4 - High = classical, Low = r&b, pop, rock, hip hop etc. Postmodern music ignores these barries and deffinetly challenges them in every which way
Point 5 - This song is 4.41 which is slightly longer than the averge pop song but isnt particularly long. The structure of the song is mixed up little talking, changes randomly but not awarkwardly
Point 6 - deffinetly questions the fact that all styles of music are separate and breaks down these rules and does the opposite, this song doesnt so much the genres are all closley linked, rap, hip hop, pop, dance etc so yeh it does atcully!
Point 7 - deffinelty there is a constant chopping and changing of similar sounds the song is not a perfect similar tonal piece to form a mold. The song takes different parts of songs from Missy Elliot and other sources which new sounds to create one.
Point 8 - The music is deffinelty meant for now, the words, let your ass have the hicups, and other sentences, is not meant it a way to moral affend but as a dance move. These words in a different context or a different period of time would deffinetly mean something different.
Point 9 - intexuality??
Point 10 - deffinelty this song uses technology to create sounds for the song for example the hicup sound sounds like a voice been edited and many other aspects in the song.
Point 11 - Mixes different genres of music answered above
Point 12 - Binary oppisites are ingnored, not so much in this song as I feel the genres of music included are different but not binary opposites
Point 13 - Some of the transisions are not perfect but not uncomfortable the fragmentations and discontinuities add to the song and blend well which the song
Point 15 - this song was created for a movie and a dance, there for it is very in touch with the time and styles of movies and dancing and therfore music are around at this time
Point 16 - This track can be enjoyed personally but also collectivally (like a dance)



Stockhausen
helicopter string quartet

Point 1 - Yes, has a few aspects of repution, often hard to understand and hear because of the background noise which is the helicopter repetative sound which is part of the song. the beat.
Point 2 - ironic because its mocking everything that classical muisc stands for ie the name classic-al
Point 4 - Deffinetly challanges clasical music but doesnt really resemble any other genres of music
Point 5 - very long compared to normal song lengths but then again it is not excatly a normal ... not a song. And its completely mixed up.
Point 6 - deffinelty challenges classical music
Point 7 - its not tonal or atall a form, its to diverse to still a piece which you can listen to without having a headheache, which to me is not a song!
Point 8 - Music is a modern take on classical music and therfore breaks nearly all the classical music conventions, so this links to cultural, social and political contexts, constantly changing and developing.
Point 9 - it includes references to music traditions such as they are playing tradional instruments, intertexuality
Point 10 - it uses technolgy as a communication devise for each of the for string quartet players, and the helicopter flight technogoly to present this
Point 11 - it deffinetly embraces contradictions in the sense that it mixes up the idea of what is musically exceptable but to me it is not.
Point 12 - the helicopter and the four musicians is a binary opposite to normal classical music, a collection of many musicans in 1 room
Point 13 - deffinetly includes fragmentations and discontinuities, theres no perfect transisons which makes the music painful as there is no flow
Point 14 - thier are four so yes
Point 15 - it does present multiple meanings
Point 16 - personal to certain indiviuals, different meanings to different people



Alvin Lucier
'I am sitting in a room'

Point 1 - deffinelty applys word for word
Point 2 - ironic, because it starts of a speech and develops into music
Point 4 - no because it doesnt involve high or low styles it is in its own context, a new thing
Point 5 - Its 8.15 so its much longer than a average song, does not have a verse, just the same speech repeated again and again until its a new sound
Point 6 - no doesnt apply
Point 7 - the tone is constantly changing even though it is the same thing
Point 8 - ? it is a new idea which reflects culture of today
Point 9 - no, its its own thing
Point 10 - yes, it has been created from simple technology,completely
Point 11 - no
Point 12 - not really
Point 13 - fragmentations yes, gaps between the tape player
Point 14 - Its one thing so no
Point 15 - the meanings of the words are distorted to create a sound that could or could not be classed as music
Point 16 - personal because people can take different meanings and things from it



Prodigy, poison

Point 1 - yes, certain sounds are repeated and others are not in a random sounding mix
Point 4 - I sopose you could say, that the backing sound in the beging section is slightly classical with a heavy beat and lyrics over the top
Point 5 - 4 mins slighlty longer than the average track, does have different sections which are repated but because of the sounds created it sounds mixed up but it a funky enjoyable way!
Point 7 - breaks preconceptions of a mold of a song in a way because of the different tonal aspects and sounds incorporated
Point 8 - progidy do create modern sounds even there old stuff sounds fresh, so deffinelty the song is consinderting social and cultural needs of now
Point 9 - intertexuality - yes, basey sounds, regge sounds, electronic, dance, rap style singing, all sorts of styles mixed into one
Point 10 - a lot of the sounds in the song sound like technology made sounds
Point 11 - mix of styles, as stated above
Point 13 - sometimes not perfect transions which adds to the sound of the song, and gaps to add sespense of whats coming next
Point 14 - deffinetly more than one thing going on to create a great collective sound
Point 15 - yes cultural subject
Point 16 - can be personally but also collectivally



Black Label Society
fire it up

Point 1 - deffinely reputition, backing sound all the way through, thats the chourus, there are breaks and changes though
Point 2 - Could be ironic in the sense that its sexy rock, not also the case!
Point 5 - 5 mins slighlty longer that the average track, verse is the singing and chorus is the music, different
Point 7 - is tonal but does have slight but noicable changes
Point 8 - is relvant to cultural, social and political contexts, different take on rock its smoother, which is maybe what more people want to hear, as rock it now popular ie the rock/punk style is in!
Point 9 - inertexuality, the singing is more popie compared to most rock songs, and it has a electronic and even dancy feel
Point 10 - the electronic opening and sounds all the way through sound like they were produced through technology.
Point 11 - slighlty as its a softer rock
Point 14 - mixes different styles to create a different sound
Point 16 - both

post modern music

Karlheiz Stockhausen -composer
'helicopter string quartet'
each helicopter has four musicians played recorded in the air.
This is a very different way of presenting music, 1 man in each helicopter.

- attaching sound
- like the helicopter
- noise not music
- technology - headphones to other string Corette man.
- video - see it helps it make sense
- was the helicopter apart of the noise/music
- piece of music with helicopter = noise
- metronomic, repeated helicopter sound
- ironic different classical thing, 4 people simple idea, helicopter difficult
- challenges stereotypes of presentation of classical music

'Gruppen'

- fragmentation's and discontinuities - awful parts
- some sounds come together ok
- painful
- Beatles sound
- breaks conventions to classical music
- unexpected
- unpredictable
- electicismn loads of different music instruments
- intense no relaxing

Alvin Lucier
'I am Sitting in a Room'

- not music at the beginning but develops into a sound you could hear on a electronic track
- a speech

Busy Signal
pon di edge

- interesting
- girls objects, sexual things - moral and social issues
- technology effect robotic
- very exspliated meaning

A question to ask about the above texts is how do you define the difference between music and sound?

Fight club essay

Postmodern media

I have decided to focus on Fight Club and Pulp Fiction as postmodern texts to explain. This is because I feel these are iconic postmodern texts which I also enjoyed.

Fight Club; A Davis Fincher film created in 1999 based on the 1996 novel by Chuck Palahniuk. Fight Club stars Edward Norton, Brad Pitt and Helena Bonham Carter. Edward Norton’s character, unnamed plays an ‘everyman,’ a typical office job American in today’s society. He forms a ‘fight club’ with soap salesman, Tyler Durden, played by Brad Pitt who has a sexual relationship with Marla Singer, played by Carter. The film is about ‘the postmodern dilemma of manhood and postmodernism and violence.’ The way men are different from previous generations, they have become more feminine and Fight Club portrays this. The film is a ‘metaphor for the conflict between a generation of young people and the value system of advertising.’ IE that everyone has become obsessed with ‘stuff,’ material goods and forgot about other things. It’s a critique of modern life and modern masculinity for example men use to fight in wars, but now they don’t have a demand to be ‘hard’ the fight club in Fight Club is a rebellion to all of this and a way of them regaining there strength as men, by fighting.

The director used techniques to make the audience feel uncomfortable and keep them from anticipating the twist ending, this is a postmodern idea. This is with the question of identity of the character Tyler Durden but also Norton’s character. What is the identity of the characters which is a question viewers may be thinking at certain points in the film where the director sends hints to the audience about what the ending may be, but then throws us right of track again.

The music is also postmodern; the sound was composed by the Dust Brothers, who created a different style for the film compared to there usual which is also a postmodern aspect to music. Artists who change and evolve and create different sounds from different sources.

The film was not as big as excepted and was only created a cult film once it released on DVD, it was named the most controversial and talked-about films of 1999. ‘The Guardian saw it as an omen for change in American political life, and described its visual style as ground-breaking.’

Fight club, is a dimensional film, it can be watched on face value and be appreciated, but it is also extremely deep and with an amazing amount of detail which captures different audiences. For example I watched this film when I was young and didn’t understand the ending but appreciated the film and enjoyed it although I didn’t understand it. Then I watched it a few years later and understood the ending watched it time and time again, noticing different aspects of the film and appreciating it in different ways this links to Pulp Fiction. This film I believe is definitely postmodern because of all the points above and the fact that it takes an idea which is a issue for men in today’s society (I believe) and creates a fantastic film which is entertaining even if you don’t agree with the meaning. Females still enjoy the film as much as males even though the only two females in the female are used for sex or are referring to sex. This is probable because of Brad Pitt and his amazing body! But also the identity issues can be something both males and females can relate to.


Pulp fiction; is a perfect example of a post modern text because it’s non conventional, for example the way the film pulps time, mixes it around, which is unrealistic. Most of the clocks in pulp fiction are set to 4.20 which is known particularly in America for being cannabis time, this originated from the time the ‘naughty’ kids got out of detention, and they would all meet and smoke cannabis. This is one of the many cultural references in Pulp Fiction. If the audience didn’t no this information then they would not put the connection together of all the clocks being set to the time 4.20, but if you do realise and no the meaning it makes you feel more involved in text, this brings in one of Roland Barthes five codes, the cultural code.
Most of the ‘gangster’ events happen in the morning, and the other time is not covered this adds to the fact the Pulp Fiction plays with the audience because there is absolutely no linear.
The time period settings is also confusing it jumps from styles from 1990's, 1970's. 1950's to the 1940's. For example when Butch is in the taxi on his way back to his hotel room after his fight, the back drop from the car is unrealistic; it’s black and white and looks like a scene out of a 1950's film. Another example is Mia's house has an old 1960's stereo and they are wearing what looks like fashion from the 90's. The viewer can either get that Tarantio has done it for audience effect and for his own meanings or just feel confused, personal the first time I watched it I was slightly puzzled by this aspect unparticular but on other viewings you understand that it is for effect. And I feel that this is this film allover, it’s the added detail which makes the audience feel involved and when you get it you feel almost closer to the text because you understand and can relate to it. I agree with the statement, it has an ideal construction which does not bare any relation to reality this is very post modern.

The plot explains the no sense in time as Vincent gets shot in the second situation but then is in the third. This film was extremely successful as it breaks every convention and sense of time, which is a fantastic achievement for moving media, because often audiences don’t understand and feel confused. I believe that one reason for the success of the film is that it stars John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Tim Roth, Amanda Plummer,
Eric Stoltz, Bruce Willis and Ving Rhames, this all star cast widens audiences as people who like a certain actor may watch the film, also it will give audience a sense of ‘this must be a good film with them in it.’
The plot includes many intertextual aspects for example; Jules quoting from the Bible is reminiscent of Robert Mitchum's character quoting from the Bible in Night Of The Hunter (1955 Charles Laughton,) Mia's haircut styled after Louise Brooks in Pandora's Box (1928 G.W. Pabst.) Also the moment where Butch is waiting at a crossroads in his car has his path crossed by Marcellus Wallace is a direct reference to the moment in Psycho (1960 Alfred Hitchcock) when Marion Crane sees her boss walk in front of her car after fleeing from him, having stolen $40,000. The way that one of the reastraunt waitress, when Vincent takes Mia out for dinner is dressed as Marilyn Monroe's and she does the famous blowing white dress action, when the skirt flies up over a subway grating from the film The Seven Year Itch (1955 Billy Wilder.) There are many more but lastly when Butch chooses his weapon to save Marcellus, all the weapons are from much older films, the Hammer—The Toolbox Murders (1978,) Baseball bat—Walking Tall (1973) and The Untouchables (1987,) the Chainsaw—The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) and The Evil Dead II (1987,) the Katana (samurai sword,) Seven Samurai (1954); and The Yakuza (1975) and Shogun Assassin (1980.)
These references have been included into Pulp Fiction so film lovers can pick out there own bits and understand and relate to the text personally but also for Tarantino’s own amusement and satisfaction of a deeper, meaningful text.
All the references above don’t matter to the importance of understanding of the film, so you can watch it on face value and still enjoy Pulp Fiction, this attracts mainstreamers. Although if you notice the hidden factors of film, references and time for example it makes you feel involved which attracts aspirers. Tarantio has extremely successful created a complex post modern text which can be viewed on two levels which pleases different audiences.
Media which breaks preconceived ideas of how media ‘should’ be, a piece of text which is realistic. Fincher breaks this in Fight Club and Tarantino breaks this in Pulp Fiction, which means there are both postmodern.

Ethnographic model

Using the ethnographic model (try and separate it into the three areas highlighted) evaluate your own text. Have you inadvertently prevented certain 'audiences' from accessing your text? Write your reponse ....

My text is effected by 'stress 1' the fact that anyone who doesn't have the internet will not beable to view my text as it is a viral music animation. But at the same time this breaks the stress because it can be watched at any time so there no limit to what type of person watches it because of there lifestyle. Although my animation would have to be seeked out even if the viewer has seen the CD which means I have a smaller audience but a more interested one.

My text also fits into second 'stress,' genre that has gender appeal, my music video is deffinetly a mostly female audience. This is because of the content of the text. There is no eye appeal for males, such as no females half naked, the male gaze. Also Lily Allen is a femist pop artist writing songs for females to relate to, this is the most widly distributed genre of music. This adds to the publisty of my music video because Lily Allen fans will be introduced to stop motion.

The third stress, is complicated to my text, because the music is for a female audience, but the stop motion aspect, in this model would be suggested to be male as males apparently have a better understanding of complex technogoly. There is also the divide of infomation rich and infomation poor. My text is for the ricj infomation audiences because mine is on the internet and infomation poor would