Film Genres NGDA: Mash-Up Creative Project

Using visual art (including film), music, literature, or other areas of artistic expression, create a piece that draws from and appropriates existing works. An example could be your own video mash-up, or you could create an original collage that parodies or comments on a figure or entity (celebrity, politician, organization, band, film, etc). Or there are lots of other ways that you could go. You MUST appropriate at least two existing works (can do more),  but you must also make sure your work meets the Fair Use factors (remember, the more you meet the more you have a case for fair use).

You will need to explain your intentions, how it differs from the referenced work (and fits Fair Use arguments), how and why you used the previous work, and how your experience was in creating the work.

Your project should be posted in your blog and will be shared in class.

Due March 2nd

The example I shared from last year's class was from Kathryn and can be found here.

Here again is how Fair Use is outlined in Copyright Law:

One of the rights accorded to the owner of copyright is the right to reproduce or to authorize others to reproduce the work in copies or phonorecords. This right is subject to certain limitations found in sections 107 through 118 of the copyright law (title 17, U. S. Code). One of the more important limitations is the doctrine of “fair use.” The doctrine of fair use has developed through a substantial number of court decisions over the years and has been codified in section 107 of the copyright law.

Section 107 contains a list of the various purposes for which the reproduction of a particular work may be considered fair, such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Section 107 also sets out four factors to be considered in determining whether or not a particular use is fair.

1. The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes
2. The nature of the copyrighted work
3. The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole
4. The effect of the use upon the potential market for, or value of, the copyrighted work

The distinction between what is fair use and what is infringement in a particular case will not always be clear or easily defined. There is no specific number of words, lines, or notes that may safely be taken without permission. Acknowledging the source of the copyrighted material does not substitute for obtaining permission.

The 1961 Report of the Register of Copyrights on the General Revision of the U.S. Copyright Law cites examples of activities that courts have regarded as fair use: “quotation of excerpts in a review or criticism for purposes of illustration or comment; quotation of short passages in a scholarly or technical work, for illustration or clarification of the author’s observations; use in a parody of some of the content of the work parodied; summary of an address or article, with brief quotations, in a news report; reproduction by a library of a portion of a work to replace part of a damaged copy; reproduction by a teacher or student of a small part of a work to illustrate a lesson; reproduction of a work in legislative or judicial proceedings or reports; incidental and fortuitous reproduction, in a newsreel or broadcast, of a work located in the scene of an event being reported.”

Copyright protects the particular way authors have expressed themselves. It does not extend to any ideas, systems, or factual information conveyed in a work.

Film Genres - Borrowing vs Stealing

For your first blog post please reflect on the first two reading assignments and assigned documentary. These can be informal, I am interested in your thoughts on the points that each writer makes, but would like you to be sure to reflect on the specific questions below. The readings and film are on our Haiku page, and are linked below. Blog post is due by noon on Wednesday, Jan 28th.

Good Copy Bad Copy documentary

Something Borrowed

Copywrong

Do you agree that many artists borrow as a fundamental part of the artistic/creative process? Should artists have the freedom to do so?

The authors make a distinction between borrowing that is derivative versus borrowing that is transformative. Is one wrong and the other right? How can we tell the difference and who ultimately determines that?

What other examples of appropriation can you think of?

How would you feel if another artist appropriated your work?

In what ways have you been influenced or appropriated another work?

In the current remix culture, when anyone can create something using digital technology, how is authorship being redefined? Consider the ideas of the "instrument" (piano vs turntable or computer, paintbrush vs camera) as well as the "process."

Film History - You Name The Era

We've looked at several "Eras" in American cinema:

The Silent Era (thus dubbed because of films being with synchronized sound)
The Hollywood Studio Years - 1930-1965
The Hollywood Renaissance - 1965-1975
Hollywood's Return to Myth - 1975-1990

Some argue that the 90s brought a new era with the rise of Independent filmmaking and festivals such as Sundance. Some argue that we've never really gotten out of the Hollywood's Era of the Blockbuster and Return to Myth (and point to the most recent blockbusters and franchises as proof).

But where are we today in American Cinema?

According to the authors, Mast and Kawin, of A Short History Of the Movies “three criteria have traditionally marked the transition from one…film era to another, although the three may not operate with equal force or absolute congruence in every period of film history.”  These three are:

1)    Structure of the film business – some kind of shift in the business of making (and distributing) movies

2)    Film technology – a major advance (or advances) in the way movies are made, which has effect on the majority of films made (becomes a norm)

3)    Content reflects cultural values – a shift in the dominant cultural value of the country which is then mirrored in the films being made

After completing our final readings and considering our film screening - you decide: what new era is American cinema in today? Feel free to come up with your own name, and also please explain what defines this era. How is it different from previous eras (or perhaps how is it the same?)? What are those changes in criteria (biz, technology, culture) and how have they affected the art form? Are we in the middle of a transition, and if so what might be in store for the future?

Please post up your thoughts in no less than 300 words, and be ready to discuss on Friday, Dec 19th.

"I STEAL FROM EVERY SINGLE MOVIE EVER MADE. I love it - if my work has anything it's that I'm taking this from this and that from that and mixing them together. If people don't like that, then tough titty, don't go and see it, alright? I steal from everything. Great artists steal; they don't do homages.”          -Quentin Tarantino 

Film History - French New Wave in Breathless - Extra Credit

Write a blog post exploring how Breathless exemplifies the stylistic aspects of the French New Wave. If you need a reminder about the formal elements seen in French New Wave check out the prezi here or read this resource or this one.

Make sure that you are specific with your points and fully explain any examples from the film. You are not required to do any further research but certainly can - if you do, again be sure to cite accordingly and list your sources at the bottom of your post. You may also want to include a brief synopsis to the film as part of your introduction. Visual images or any kind of extra media that will help to illustrate your points and make your blog post more visually interesting are welcome but not required, though you certainly should be sure to make your blog visually easy to read and understand.

This is an extra credit blog post.

Film History - Italian Neorealism in Bicycle Thieves - Extra Credit

Write a blog post exploring how The Bicycle Thief (aka Bicycle Thieves) exemplifies Italian Neorealism in its content and aesthetic (cinematic style). If you need a reminder about the principles of Neorealism you can find the Prezi Here, or check out this resource.

Make sure that you are specific with your points and fully explain any examples from the film. You are not required to do any further research but certainly can - if you do, again be sure to cite accordingly and list your sources at the bottom of your post. You may also want to include a brief synopsis to the film as part of your introduction. Visual images or any kind of extra media that will help to illustrate your points and make your blog post more visually interesting are welcome but not required, though you certainly should be sure to make your blog visually easy to read and understand.

This is an extra credit blog post.

Film History: Hollywood Studio Years - Domination and Transition

After reading the two handouts about this period in Hollywood reflect on these two questions in your own blog post:

1) Why did the American movie audience change so much over this era,

and what effects did that have on the artform?  The business?

2) How was America’s cultural identity reflected or affected by Hollywood?

Blog post is DUE BEFORE CLASSTIME on Tuesday, October 28th!

Film Aesthetics - Mise-En-Scene in The Queen

Please read the linked pieces first, this one on costume designer Consolata Boyle, and this one from the visual effects house Framestore which worked on the film.

After you have read both pick at least one element of mise-en-scene (setting, costume and make-up, lighting or staging/acting) and write a brief post exploring how that element is functioning in relation to story, character and/or theme. Please be sure to have some specific examples from the film, and as always it's helpful to have a specific thesis to prove. You can also use these two resources to help your argument - be sure to cite appropriately. Your post is due Wed, Oct 22 - no responses on others posts required.

The real Tony Blair vs Michael Sheen

The Queen vs Hellen Mirren

The Queen giving the real address about Princess Diana