Watch
Download hi-res MKV of Part 1 (with subtitles) Subtitles can be added and edited here.
Download hi-res MKV of Part 2 (with subtitles) Subtitles can be added and edited here.
Download hi-res MKV of Part 3 (with subtitles) Subtitles can be added and edited here.
Download hi-res MKV of Part 4 (with subtitles) Subtitles can be added and edited here.
Twitter
Facebook
Vimeo
Newsletter
GooglePlus
great and very informative too im doing an assignment on remixing for uni and you have given me lots of information!
so ya writing about remixing, remixing info from a remixing video
Yo dawg…
lolol
Inceptionnnnnn, mind fuck
this definitely just made the paper i’m writing easier
I wrote about the GUI, Xerox, and Apple for my history research paper last year. This definitely would have helped me as well!
Does anyone know the song in the second video that starts around 6:30? The violin piece?
Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 in A Major Op 92. Allegretto
That music was also used in the Fall (2006), The King’s Speech (2010) and remixed for The Ghosts of Oxford Street (1991). I thought he was going to mention that!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8sQPpC5sJo
And also ”Irreversible”(2002)…and a lot of documentals
Don’t forget “Zardoz”, as much as Sean Connery might like you to…
Also in the film `Knowing’
In the samples section it says it’s “Knife” by Grizzly Bear, but it sure doesn’t seem so.
Have you ever watched the timewave zero theroy? Im not a 2012 person, but maybe it will help explain your remix findings.
You are misusing the word, “explain”, there. What you meant to say is that this video about the relationship between creativity and reuse has some vague relationship to a numerological idea about creativity developed while its originator was on drugs.
Timewave zero does not “explain” anything, it simply has a thematic similarity to Everything Is a Remix.
I love this. I’m completing my thesis on remix and I will be presenting you in my defense!!! Can’t wait for part 2.
Absolutely great video, can’t wait for the next episodes!!
Very good and interesting! I embeded your work in my swedish blog, because the isue is very important.
I hope it will spred a little in my country.
Man…. I sure hope epidose 2 is on the way! I have been anticipating it for some time.
Should be out this month!
Excellent to hear. Thanks for the reply.
you didnt mention that avatar is basically a mad-lib of pokahantus
And Alien
and furgully(sp)
Nope more like Dances with Smurfs.
Hi Kirby, I’m the editor of the online film magazine, Short of the Week. I’m interested in putting together a feature article on Everything is a Remix. Could you contact me? I have a few questions I’d like to ask you. Thanks!
Kirby, keep up the fantastic work!
Thanks Derek!
Great film, I’ve got one more from star wars for you, the scene where you first see sand people (the slow pan up to the hills as there watching his land speeder) is lifted from one of John Wane’s first movies, Stagecoach
Greetings from Norway
Just stumbled over this series now and had to leave a little message.
Great work, really well done! Looking forward to the next part(s)
I like this a lot. Nice work. I got one for you. Yojimbo which leads to Fist Full of Dollars which becomes Last Man Standing. Thanks again
The link to part 2 is broken. It has a prefix of “permalink:” before the http: , which confuses Firefox.
Otherwise, great work!
Have you tried accessing the link with IE or Chrome? If it works fine with those browsers, then it isn’t the link that is at fault, it is Firefox.
What a great series!
Looking forward to to future installments!
Just a thought about remixing texts:
remixing text has a very long-lasting tradition in science (starting with the philosophical works of greek phiolosophers about 300 b.c.). Today, my own daily work as a researcher (social science) consists of about 40-50% of remixing scientific texts of other researchers in order to construct new meaning and to get across my own point of view…
And: very nice!
Lol thats called references and you cannot make a scientific paper without one.
hello. i liked a lot of your video and in some point what you say of everything is a remix can be taken as true, but, when you use the words in a dictionary and you make a book, you inspired yourself in the words that exist to tell a story that is something new, just put in a new order. As i said, i liked the videos, but i would like for you to consider the making of a video with what is not a remix. thank for your attention and kip up with the good work.
Awesome work, Mr. Ferguson. Can’t wait to see the whole thing. Damned fine stuff!
OK my honest opinion.
I like the film, I think it’s well done and you’ve done a good job of editing and narrating it.
However, two parts in and honestly there’s nothing here that is news, for sure some titbits and a few reference that I didn’t know or simply had previously connected together, but so far, so ho hum.
Is it going anywhere? Are you going to explore or posit any reasons you think this remixing of culture is happening and where it might be going in the future? I don’t have any background in studying modern media but I have my own ideas, so it’ll be really good if the later parts are planning to tackle this.
I’ve got to agree with Ian to an extent.
The videos are good fun and I’ll definitely watch the next one but it seems a lot of effort to tell us something we already really know. It reminds me of the web conspiracy theory videos you see but aimed at media and there’s no conspiracy.
But the editing is great! And I must admit, a long time ago I searched for “Kill Bill references” on YouTube hoping for a video exactly like the one you made and it wasn’t there then, it is now!
I also agree and i will also watch the other videos but it is basically the idea of originality and what actually is a novel idea.
We all all pull tidbits from our influences and hopefully provide nuances that evolve our art form. But i think we all knew this to some extent
I really enjoyed these first two parts. You’ve done a great job putting these videos together.
The only thing I would have to say in contrast to the point you’re making is that sometimes two people can have the same idea.
There is no doubt that some of the examples you provided were perfect graphic matches of multiple shots that make up a scene; clearly “remixed” from previous films or inspirations. However in some circumstances (specifically in shots that are meant to be very dramatic) the director really only has a few options in terms of the composition of the shot. For example, in The Triumph of the Will shot you showed displays a few people walking through a very large crowd. In order to show that magnitude of the crowd, a long shot is preferred (almost required), which leaves only a few options for still clearly showing the subject of the shot: you could do a straight up birds view, or you could do a high angle shot like the one you showed. Any off angle or panned shots would most likely lose the subject in the crowd (which may be the desired effect in some shots).
My only point is that sometimes, scenes that look almost identical can still be original. Sure, sometimes it’s been done before, but that doesn’t necessarily take away from the creativity or originality of the director.
Overall, great film series so far, I’ll definitely be looking forward to the next one.
I liked the videos. They’re well made.
I think your premise is a little flawed. Yes, it’s true most original works and inventions, even breakthroughs, are derivative of previous works and inventions. But I think individuals can still be credited with breakthroughs.
What you’re missing is the step in which parts are combined but something original is added. In fact, merely combining different components in a unique, first-time-ever configuration is a form of creation — producing something that DID NOT exist before. To dismiss the originality that goes into creating something radically new is a huge mistake. In fact, it seems you think there are no radically new ideas. Apple’s decisions to add those extra functions (and Xerox’s to create a windowed GUI) were inventions, in and of themselves. Perhaps 95% of any one invention or advance is reappropriated knowledge, but I would argue the other 5% is genuine invention. Moreover, their decision to create a personal computer for mass-market consumption was an innovation in and of itself; without that important idea, the computer landscape would not look the way it does today.
Also, read more books. James Joyce, William Faulkner, Jorge Luis Borges — these are artists who perhaps reappropriated the medium of the book and narrative structure, but wrote novels that were nothing like what came before; science and art are not analogous, as art is much more easy to experiment with successfully.
I think you guys make good points, but I don’t think they are actually in opposition to the video. What you’re saying is actually part of what the films are trying to get across. Yes, there really is invention and innovation. The video doesn’t deny that. What the video attempts to do is redefine these things, change how we think about originality. Some understand how derivative new things are, but there are many who have misconceptions. Some people are too quick to call something a ripoff or decry someone’s work because it has an obvious influence. This sentiment is what this series is taking aim at.
I’m studying my Masters in Music Sociology and I can tell you that its simple why everything is a remix.
There are two reasons.
Firstly, no human is capable of divine thought. We are a product of our environment. To put that simply; humans are very complex computers, but every action a computer makes is just processing what is around it, therefore to output anything new, a man must take an input first. We can’t actually think of anything, new, instead we gather ideas from around us and reprocess them.
Second is much more voluntary and heavily influences pop culture and so on. Familiarity. People’s likes and dislikes rely on cognitive responses directly linked to memory. Making a song similar to a hit record from the 70s is much more likely to make you a hit record. Doubly so because in the 70s a lot of people were toddlers having that music subconsciously recorded into their minds as they played with their moms and took in their first and most important sights and sounds. This actually has a reinforcing effect on itself, when you find you like the new hit record, you go and seek out other songs not realising that the ones you like actually only relate to maybe 20 songs that you heard often through your early years and popular culture distilled then diluted into 100,000 other songs. Listen to Axis of Awesome – Four Chord Song on youtube for a great example, make sure to find the one with song names as well.
Hope that helped Ian. And Kirby, sorry I can’t donate right now, I’m in a hell of a lot of money troubles but i will look to as soon as I get my summer job confirmed! Very good stuff!
muito bom mesmo. meus parabéns, um ótimo trabalho. (nada se cria. tudo se copia)
nice job!
maybe you can look in “classical” music too. John Williams remix a lot of thing from Prokofiev.
ex: in Jaws when the shark attack it’s the beginning of Alexandre Nevski (battle on the ice)
ET & Indiana Jones: The tale of the Stone Flower
Imperial march from starwars: The love for the three oranges
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlwYfMU-kkM)
“I never met anybody who said when they were a kid, I wanna grow up and be a critic.”
-Richard Pryor
be nonsense.
Nonsense!!. All!!
Great work keep it up!, greetings from Japan!.
Great work, I would support.. if the Donate section accepted euros
Please indicate a way to, well, help you.
‘Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination…And don’t bother concealing your thievery?celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: It’s not where you take things from it’s where you take them to.” – Jim Jarmusch
Great quote from a great filmmaker. I’ll copy, not transform, but combine it with facebook.
Kirby,
Do you mean to tell me that Led Zeppelin stole riffs from blues recordings and rap artists borrow beats from one another? Shocking! Star Wars was influenced by Joseph Campbell and Kurosawa? No!!!
IN OTHER SHOCKING REVELATIONS: Water is wet! Peanut butter and jelly go well together!
You’re just regurgitating statements that have been published 100s of times (is your video a remix?). When you got to the part about Star Wars and its foundation in the works of Joseph Campbell I literally rolled my eyes (I’ve read that fact over 50 times). It’s like your trying to say “by the way the sky is blue” as some sort of profound statement. I’m not trying to sound like an elitist but you’re basically just taking what you learned in media history 101 and “remixing” it into a video.
I wouldn’t have so much of a problem with it if you weren’t asking for money. It actually pissed me off that you have the nerve to ask for donations to complete your video essay on “remixing” (stealing or borrowing ideas) yet your video provided absolutely no original information or insight. Why would you need donations to complete a video that is essentially an edited composite of copy written material (which can be done on a $40 piece of software)? ALL of your examples and facts have been published multiple times in other forms. It’s so ironic that it seems like some kind of “meta” joke.
Kirby,
Do you mean to tell me that Led Zeppelin stole riffs from blues recordings and rap artists borrow beats from one another? Shocking! Star Wars was influenced by Joseph Campbell and Kurosawa? No!!!
IN OTHER SHOCKING REVELATIONS: Water is wet! Peanut butter and jelly go well together!
You’re just regurgitating statements that have been published 100s of times (is your video a remix?). When you got to the part about Star Wars and its foundation in the works of Joseph Campbell I literally rolled my eyes (I’ve read that fact over 50 times). It’s like your trying to say “by the way the sky is blue” as some sort of profound statement. I’m not trying to sound like an elitist but you’re basically just taking what you learned in media history 101 and “remixing” it into a video.
I wouldn’t have so much of a problem with it if you weren’t asking for money. It actually pissed me off that you have the nerve to ask for donations to complete your video essay on “remixing” (stealing or borrowing ideas) yet your video provided absolutely no original information or insight. Why would you need donations to complete a video that is essentially an edited composite of copy written material (which can be done on a $40 piece of software)? ALL of your examples and facts have been published multiple times in other forms. It’s so ironic that it seems like some kind of “meta” joke.
Cool video man. I dig it.
@ Dr. Strangepork-Jeez dude, maybe your blood sugar is low? Keep in mind that the rest of the world might not be as brilliant, well read, and incredibly informed as you are and perhaps some of this info, and even these concepts, are in fact, new to some viewers.
Or you could just flame the guy to death.
Whatever makes the most sense.
Thumbs up Jace!
btw, I think I’ve become far too accustomed to using facebook.
The evidence? 1) As I read this thread I find myself repeatedly “reaching” for a like button (eesh!), and 2) I began that earlier sentence with the acronym, “btw” (aaarghhhh!) God help me!
I agree with Jace. Not everyone who comes across this video will be as versed as you. I can see a video like this being just as interesting and fascinating to the “average Joe”. People who like these contemporary movies but would never know in a million years about their origins.
As far as filmmakers and more media savvy folk, there are still tidbits of value. I knew Lucas and Tarantino remixed heavilly, but 1) it was nice to see the specific scenes next to one another, and 2) there were some specifics of Kill Bill I didn’t know. Also, I like that fact that everything is in one video. Who cares if it’s a summary of his Media History 101. Most of us don’t want to take Media History 101 to learn this stuff, nor have the time to go out into the world wide web and read about it all. I love the fact that he’s taken it all and put it into one compact video. (You have heard of “Readers Digest” right?)
Not to to be mean-spirited, but your comment sounds much more “elitest” than Kirby’s video. Just my opinion.
Kirby’s work concisely presents the argument in a medium best fitted to a modern audience. Before I started the video, I thought, “It’s more than three minutes? It’d better be good.”
Restating others’ arguments and building on them is the foundation of academic research. Kirby’s videos do provide original insight in that he collects his examples (especially the specific clips and samples) and presents them in a new way. It’s a good thing, and shouldn’t you be happy that more people are being exposed to this knowledge? I’ll gladly donate a few bucks to help a guy like Kirby promote knowledge and information.
I’m gonna have to agree with Dr. Strange Pork. Although I do think the videos are very well done.
Joey your comment nails my semtiments exactly. It is a bit of a cheek asking for donations for re-hashing existing (and well known) information but the format is done in an entertaining manner and while this should be viewed only as some individual’s pet project it is definitely not of enough quality to warrant sophisticated pan-handling!
You are clearly missing the point here…
*Everything is a Remix*
Of course this information exists out there, somewhere, in some form (perhaps your Media 101 class).
It has now been remixed into a newly enjoyable and informative form.
Great work, Kirby — looking forward to the rest.
Dr. Strangepork,
I assume you know a lot of “stuff”. I admire that. But, i would like to point out that maybe Kirby is just trying to make things a little more accessible to those of us that don’t know as much as you. Don’t criticize someone until you know their intentions. Maybe, just maybe, Kirby was trying to make an informational video that gets a point across while being entertaining. If that was the case, then it worked. I was entertained and I learned some things that i didn’t know before.
Jonathan
Contrary to what Strangepork might say, Star Wars is heavily influenced by Kurosawa. I’m not saying that Kurosawa himself was a huge pioneer of this, but I do know for a fact he brought along the template of “collecting heroes to defeat a common good” to the cinema world. Lucas himself even stated that Kurosawa’s “The Hidden Fortress” and “The Seven Samurai” were influences at the very least.
Other than Kurosawa, I know nothing of the film world and I think that these documentaries are very well put together and informative.
Good Job Kirby
So Robin Hood’s Merry Men don’t predate Kurosawa on the silver screen? Dorothy didn’t collect a scarecrow, lion and automaton? I think you’re wrong in that.
Awesome. You see though Dr Strangepork, people are lazy and stupid, they are school smart, get jobs as gatekeepers and they are the one you hear about when, let’s say, your listening to adam corrolla talk about making a pilot for cbs, and how the people that work there are simple conservatives, adam listens to them, tell him, what’s funny, they have never been on a stage, never done comedy, however, they puked by numbers for “uni” and got a piece of toilet paper to give to a company to indicate (not personally express) just indicate that they know a “driill” for some specialized aspect of yes/no career function cog in larger cog crap, so…these folks think that they could give comedy a “go”, needless to say, adam listens, no show, this little thing this fellow kirby is doing is functioning as a cliff’s notes for the future cogs to recognize that, there is nothing new under the sun, just ask the atlanteans. it a regurgatative job and people should always have to do it, behold the ken burns of cmd v
Dr. Strangepork…
u mad?
@ Dr Strangepork – I totally agree with the point you make, but the way you make it blows bro. I think someone else already even made the same point you did.
Everything in the life is remixed, copied or reproduced.
This highlights some of the little “simplicity” or exploitability of the human brain. There are obvious piece of information that are physically detected my our senses and attract our attention, form memories (sometimes significant/longer lasting ones) and create conscious and unconscious pathways in our malleable neurocircuitry. If the right neural pathways are stimulated the right way then an unconscious/conscious preference can form or even an addiction.
In music’s case, I am sure there are certain notes, tones, sections of music, and etc. that is pleasurable to many. The same goes for music writers, they likely did hear a similar beat before and are actually unconsciously remixing it.
On the legal matter of the issue you NEED to give credit to all your sources. Just like when you are publishing scientific papers, you need to cite your sources very accurately. But if someone heard about how vinegar and baking soda when mixed creates a chemical reaction when they were 5, then you do not have to recall an almost impossible source to cite.
@Everything is a Remix – Cool video, but I think the benefits of “remixes” hugely outweighs the legislative mess that would be created if we stiffen the laws on this issue. Remixes…well remix. They build on things, they make things better, which is what people naturally do in life. People are pretty creative…but we get almost all our intuition from conscious or unconscious thought that is guided by our past exposure to various experience.
Peace
Ummm… I think that the “meta-joke” was the intent. Also, he may be regurgitating other peoples findings that YOU have already seen elsewhere, but it is necessary for people to reiterate these ideas. I, for one, didn’t hear of some of these until now. For me, he filled in a few gaps in my knowledge about this kind of stuff. I actually did not know that Xerox made the first graphical OS, and now I know. Sure, I could have found out about it elsewhere, but I didn’t. It took this video to inform me. It’s like reporting the news. You have many people say the same information over and over again in slightly different formats because that is the ONLY WAY to inform the most amount of people about a topic. He’s doing his part to spread knowledge, even if it is simple regurgitation. Stop criticizing him like he made an entire video about how there was once a man named Hitler that did some bad stuff. This topic hasn’t been over saturated to the point of everyone knowing about it and not needing further info. Hell, now that I think about it, my girlfriend doesn’t know anything about WWII, so even there, the info hasn’t spread enough.
I think i heard Kirby narrate that every factoid in his presentation was already on the record – so – yes – this video presentation is not a revolution in facts –
what it is – is a very well put together presentation – it flows nicely – it has a good rhythm to the editing and Kirby has i nice voice that is very easy to take in.
so – just take it for what it is – a video remix on the art of taking other peoples ideas and adding your own slant on it
Easy solution to your issues here Dr. : Skip the videos and don’t donate money.
So if you are complaining that it is well know information and he is asking for money before do you also think that dictionary should get ride of words that you know and should be free?
Profound statement? With all due respect, Dr. Strangepork, it seems quite obvious to me that in the production of this series, Kirby is not engaged in an exercise of mass enlightenment. In my humble opinion, the intent is not to open our eyes with his “insight,” as you put it, nor to be particularly revelatory or “profound,” but rather, simply to entertain and perhaps stimulate a little thought in the process.
To that end, I think he’s done a great job.
I’m just curious as to how many rewrites YOUR insightful-if-not-profound observations required before you were able to feel confident enough to copy and paste it here — twice.
Good show Kirby, cheers to you!
Some people sit and do stuff, others yell about it.
Woah dude, CHILL OUT.
I didn’t know that stuff that he said. Kirby has put it into a very constructive and well thought out way. The imagery is great. He has a talent. If you didn’t like it, fair enough but seriously man CALM DOWN. I’ve learnt something from this. You just sound like a bit of a dick to be honest.
comment posted twice…sorry
Yes, once was once too many as it was.
Ha ha!
+1
Oh, I thot the second was remix of first and tried to read that one again
hey kibrey
nice works man
More Star Wars design ‘inspiration’ I assembled- http://www.box.net/shared/static/545zucdes9.jpg But the most startling is an EXACT Chewbacca ripoff I came across.
Nice collection of influences, though your last example of inspiration is the actual location used when Star Wars was filmed in Tunisia.
good job, now that is some excavating, i wish i used google to search for star wars once in my life, i am going to look into silent running and rr martin, never knew, never cared, though now i do, cause of you.
Very, very, very interesting and educational. Great work!
You should have completed it fully before publishing. I may not see part 3-4 and forget my donation.
do i have your attention? hope so…. i really think you should mention Inception in your next episode, that movie is simply fake, just full of previously used material and tricks.
love the video. it shows human greatness at its best. building on top of previous greatness is what humans are good at. this is why open source software is exploding exponentially, its a voracious cycle of building on top of others genius and adding your own bits. OSS also is an open invitation to remix, begging actually!
now the questions to ponder with regards to remixing human knowledge. rearrange the years significant people were born. swap Einstein with DaVinci or Newton. how would they build on top of the intellect of that day as opposed to when they were actually born? how would the remix differ?
again, great video and ill be donating to help get part 3 out the door!
Hmm, I won’t listen to my old Led Zep’ the same way… Merci, oops, I mean Thanks !
Phil
Hi,
Congratulations for your work. I wanna do some screening in our free culture festival Te Pica La Barba if there are not problem.
One thing… I miss a copyleft or creative commons license, according with the discourse.
king redgars and thanks for your work.
Hey there. Sure, please be the guest and screen it.
No CC license on this. I believe you need to own a video entirely in order to give it a license. Much of the content in these videos is not mine.
One of George Lucas’ greatest “steals” was the fabulous battle scene on a frozen lake in Sergei Eisenstein’s “Alexander Nevsky”. The black and white mix of combatants shows up constantly in Star Wars battles, and the helmets for Darth and his boys are straight from those of the Teutonic Knights Alexander is protecting Mother Russia from. Check it out.
Interesting! I’ll check it out.
Kirby,
Fantastic work here. I commend you on putting this entire production together. I have a very positive feeling about your future in film making. Keep it up.
As far as the posting critics are concerned… it’s a lot easier to write a paragraph than it is to produce a documentary. The fact that some of the information has already been revealed in other sources is entirely irrelevant. Pop tarts!
I loved the films and the topic it covers.
Some points I would like to add.
When you said Led Zeppelin never sued anyone, I think they sued Little Roger and the Goosebumps for thier version of Stairway to Heaven with the Gilligan’s Island theme Song.
I would point to one of my favorite references on this, Negativland’s CD and Book- Fair Use: The Story of the Letter U and the Numeral 2
Cheers- And really looking forward to the next installment(s)
Yep, you are right about Zeppelin. I hope to update the video and fix that at some point.
I have Negativland’s book and gotta read it.
And also, Robert Plant was known to be extremely pissed off when Rolf Harris (somebody generally only Australians and Brits would recognize) did his “wobbleboard” version of Stairway to Heaven. I don’t think it came to legal action though. Several versions of it on YT.
Also, there were some legal roblems with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoke_Some_Kill#.22Signifying_Rapper.22 (Kashmir).
I think the “amen break” is worth to mention here, reused over and over. There is already a kind of documentation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SaFTm2bcac
Looking forward to the upcoming parts
Thanks Harald! The Amen Break is actually on the References page.
Thanks for this interesting Videos! I suppose you´ve been busy with this topic, but I want to recommend you an essay from Walter Benjamin written in 1936.
watch out here: http://tinyurl.com/6yrjocv
and here:
http://tinyurl.com/3ybebu
Thanks again an good luck with your project.
I read this, that is definetly a remarkable look into his future and our past and present, as Kirby is proving it.
Nice story telling and gathering of information. Excellent work, keep the standard up to this level!
Great stuff, Kirby. Use it in my high school classes with my students. Couple of comments: How about Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust” as a bassline resample? Second, Zeppelin does credit Willie Dixon on some of the tunes — don’t they?
Thanks Karl!
“Another One” was very strongly influenced by “Good Times” but it’s also distinctly different.
Yes, Zep did some Dixon covers, but for the two examples I mentioned, the credits were added after the lawsuits.
You can’t argue with Queen’s “Under Pressure” and Vanilla’s “Ice Ice Baby.” In defense of musicians and bass drum lines, there is an almost infinite number of ways to put together a beat; however, a basic rock beat is kick drum on counts 1 and 3 and snare on 2 and 4. This is how people are taught to begin drumming. It just sounds right to the human population in general. You can add more kick on the “and” beats or anywhere you like, but you almost have to backbeat on the 2 and 4. That’s why so many beats sound the same. If a song has a beat you like you can copy it, but change it just a little with an extra kick hit somewhere. Punk is really just sped up polka beats etc. In the end you kind of run out of options for making beats that still come across as a rock beat so I think that is why so many sound the same. That just goes for beats though. When a melody is stolen that’s a different story. Such as “Ice Ice” stolen from Queen.
Great clips really impressed with the content and the execution, Keep it up
Just remarkable! (and I’m sure someone else said that already)
Definitely thought provoking. Great job!
U know that u look like Sam Winchester? Thank you for your work and we are waiting for 3rd and 4th chapters.
I had to Google him
I wish I looked like that guy!
I love this. It’s like you’re simultaneously deconstructing culture and showing how creativity begets creativity while adding to the significance of the “remixed” work. Sure, others have undertaken a similar project as you, but in creating your video series, you’re demonstrating the premise of your argument. Excellently edited, nicely paced, and very enjoyable. Looking forward to parts 3 and 4 and possibly future installments (the Kill Bill video was great, and more film-specific examples like that would be awesome).
Thanks Matthew! (You might just get your wish.)
Wow, what an exciting video. The editing is flawless and fun in itself to watch.
at this stage in media’s history of course there will be this overlapping of concepts and ideas. it has always been that way in all realms of arts.
The ability to record light and sound is easier/cheaper with technology today. So the ability to draw influences from previous artists is vast.
Is it stealing / bad?
influences are fine, but straightup rip offs are lame as hell. If you sample led zepplin, it will sound good cause it’s led zepplin.
Kill Bill was homage to old movies, not direct copies. But a “remix” none the less.
Nicely done, Kirby. I just encountered these videos tonight (thanks Stumble!) and I’m already looking forward to the next ones!
Incredible video bro, nice, compact and to the point, flawless editing.
One detail i didn’t agree with though was in Avatar, its almost an Exact copy (or Remix) of Pocahontas, just thought you would indicate that more, that aside, in the words of two adventure seeking fellas, This video is “money”.
that´s why we will finally (I hope so ) win the oscar this year for best documentary . And the winner is :
WASTELAND FROM BRAZIL
Thank you for making this series. Really interesting stuff.
pretty rad
Definitely agree and realize a lot of what you’re saying, and kind of put things in perspective. I guess I just wonder what the whole purpose behind it is? Are you trying to just create awareness, attack the lack of creativity, call for a influx of “new” instead of repackaged? I know that’s not really the point, its more about the spread of a belief and creating that sense of awareness and self-judgment, just curious as to the “point” I guess.
All in all, though, definitely well put together, very informational as well as entertaining, and a real thinker. Keep it up, I wish I could donate but as a student, not so feasible, but still know you got my support and love the determination. More power to you.
I can’t help but ask the same question, what is the “point” of this series? I mean… I hope you’re not trying to directly criticize the “lack of creativity” found in “popular movie culture” these days; but then again, even if you aren’t, simply “informing” people of the fact alludes to the same conclusion. Unless your next few installments cover the other side of the subject (which I hope is your plan anyway), the conclusion you seem to be drawing will be a complete and utter logical fallacy…
Just wanted to thank you for putting these videos together. I’m a teacher, and have been using the videos as a way of starting a discussion with my high school students about remixing and plagiarism.
Nice one, Kirby.
Your work is so tremendous & i’m sure that you’ll take it to a higher level someday (i mean something really serious, you know).
Thank you very much.
Kirby,
This film is good, but i think you should try to look deeper into the issue. For all i know that is the goal of the next episodes. I would try to address pure originality and how ideas are really made. I’m kinda tired writing this so maybe that is affecting me, but it seems that true originality is impossible. Although “The Rite of Spring” seems completely original i find it hard to believe that Stravinsky was not influeced in some way to write such an influencial piece. Does previous experience make an idea original? Maybe one episode could try to find the science behind the creation of original thoughts, and where originality comes from. If nothing else try showing some ideas that are original, and not just those that aren’t. Lack of creativity is an issue, but does remixing necessarily destroy creativity? if i take previously used elements and remix them in a way that has never been done before does that cheapen it? Did the editing styles you have seen throughout your life not impact your decision to edit this film in the way you did? is the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel any less amazing because it is based on stories and images from the bible? I think this is a great start to a potentially amazing series, but there seems to be no real purpose to the whole thing other than to provide examples of remixing in the past. Maybe giving the documentary a clearer focus will give it more power. Whatever you decide to do though, best of luck. You have a great talent for film making.
u just gave me a whole new view about all of this…thank u..its quite inspiring actually
Y’all might also be interested in Jon Leidecker’s amazing series on audio collages from the beginning of the 20th century to (in the six hour-long episodes posted so far) the mid-1990s. He presents a ton of lengthy excerpts from recorded examples of great work.
They’re the podcasts titled Variations here: http://rwm.macba.cat/en/curatorial/
Although these programs were produced for the Museum of Contemporary Art in Barcelona, Leidecker’s narration is in English.
Fantastic Herb! Thanks for sharing!
Avatar is actually a remix of Pocahontas and follows the storyline almost point for point.
My real question is if everything is a remix, then where did the originals come from. Even if you can reduce all stories down to 3, 4 maybe more archetypes, it means someone had to invent each one of those at some point. Its just a matter of time, but trace it back far enough and there has to be original material. I’m sure the Epic of Gilgamesh wasn’t stolen from anyone, although I guess it could have been a folk legend passed by word of mouth.
It really just seems to be that we are unconsciously influenced by things we hear everyday, and certain people do sample or even rip-off from other artists on purpose, but I am sure some have done it simply by accident because they thought they made it up, when really, their memory was playing a trick on them. I would assume that someone who was completely unconnected with society or even with humanity would be able to create something original, but then again, how would they communicate it.
As I see it, remixing definitely does exist prominently, but it seems to be a good thing. Creativity is perpetually growing and becoming bigger in a way, as more ideas are created. People will remix things, sure, but every time they do, they add a little more to it from themselves, and that continues on and on until something amazing is built. Could it be that every story ever can be stripped down and reduced to the single, prime ordeal story? Who knows for sure.
But in any case, nice video, keep up the good work. I enjoyed it.
this is really great. i think you could make the difference between someone who rips off content and someone who reinterprets and adapts content (led zeplin and Spielberg) because that line is whats really interesting in this remix scenariot.
The research you’ve put into this is mind-blowing. The presentation really makes it incredible and the actual comparisons you make are amazing. kudos sir. ku-*DOS. Thank you for this
Great videos! thats all i can say
High production quality, high information quality, overall a great series. The issue of remixing and the blurred line between stealing ideas and utilizing influences is one that I’ve been taking a great interest in over the past few years, and I will definitely add these videos to my store of resources. Looking forward to the next installment.
I absolutely LOVE these videos!
But Avatar was based on Pocahontas. It wasn’t an “original genre film”.
I loved this videos!
keep it up man
Great work Kirby!
Can’t wait for the next couple of installments. Donation coming your way.
Cheers from Australia
Awesome job
awesome dude. all the way around fully thought out and realized idea…great product you got here.
You can actually argue that movies like Star Wars date all the way back to The Legend of King Arthur
Great videos Kerby…I really respect your viewpoint; it’s so true and interesting how humans unconsciously continue to enjoy the same things, over and over again…myself included…thank you again and im waiting for the other vids to come out soon!!
Great stuff. I really enjoyed this and look forward to next two installments.
very interesting and well made documentary. Even though so many of the things you cover might be obvious to some and covered before, its how you have presented it that makes it stand on its own. Good work.
kick-ass…,neato…more please…
Nonsense.. absolutely pointless.. and missing the point entirely.
And you can really go and sit on your thumb if you think i’m gonna give you money.. nothing original or hard to do/afford in these extremely short albeit well presented videos.
know your place
Stumbled here, and will check back for more. It’s always fun to see how far it can be taken.
So… in the end this means copyright will kill inspiration ?
Your videos are great:] I can’t wait for 3 and 4!
I love the quirky facts in this series and the ability they have to alter our perception of unique. A society free to borrow and build on the ideas of the past is culturally richer and, in my opinion, more decadent. Those who examine these trends are the natural philosophers of our time, musing upon what has become the habitat of our senses.
So amazing! Keep ‘em coming!
keep it up… great work just cut the crap of you at the end
Thanks and no.
Yaaaaayyyyyyyyy!
It’s a shame you had to choose Zeppelin in your first video. There is quite afew well known artists who have done much worse than that.
Zeppelin are pure legends, riffs have been borrowed and lent, but it’s what you make of a song from start to finish that counts.
This is a wonderful series I hope part 3 will be out soon.
To say that that everything is a remix is to say that nothing has original origin, to say that is to say that nothing has a beginning.
it’s untrue. the original creative act is in a completely different category than the brand of common “Creativity” which does nothing more than combine and recombine pieces of existing original content. That isn’t real creativity, it’s sloppy combinatorics. it’s stylistic apishness.
it would be really nice it recombination were creativity wouldn’t it? then everyone could call himself creative, but that’s not the real world.
If it is actually so hard for anyone to imagine the process of creating something original that it’s easier to believe that origins are a sort of myth, well that’s fine but try to be honest with yourself.
it really is just a belief.
Wonderfully edited work. Looking forward to the future episodes!
this is moronic. Yes, there are a lot of adaptations done and parts remixed all the time, but you’re bringing it down to a level that’s saying every close up was plagiarized by the original close up. Every humanoid robot is stolen from the first movie with robots mixed with the first movie ever with humans. Any character that wheres yellow is short hand for Bruce Lee. You need to find some more validating examples
he gives very specific examples. he never said every robot is taken from the first robot movie, he never said everyone that wears yellow is bruce lee. look at the context of the scene in kill bill. the whole setup is very similar, not just the clothes worn. quit trying to be a critic unless you actually say something worthwhile and thoroughly examine the work.
you sound like a simple minded troll.
Yes Kill Bill is similar to a lot of movies, but if you put anything up to 20 different things of the same type there are going to be similarities. He blows the whole thing out of proportion and its very bias.
For a comment that looks like it took 1/000th of 1% of the mental energy and time the creator of the film spent, you use some pretty harsh rhetoric. Phrases such as, “this is moronic”.
I suppose that since you’re such an intellectual superior, you can flippantly critique something which took months of the creators time and devotion, that you probably “stumbled upon” in between bong rips, and invalidate it with your all but bullet proof logic, such as this beauty here:
Every humanoid robot is stolen from the first movie with robots mixed with the first movie ever with humans.
- superbly laid out for us in fragmented sentences, and spelling mistakes that would make even a third grade student cringe.
Hence, the only thing moronic, is your comment, and the likes of you. Keep you simple minded opinions to yourself.
P.S. It’s not in my nature to confront you, nor am I pretentious, but regardless of my opinion on the subject, I thought the work represented tremendous effort and talent, and your comment represents neither. It is disgraceful.
P.P.S. To the creator – excellent work! Cheers mate.
you just go to show that these so called musicians cant write music for themselves and can use a rhyming dictionary to write(cover) just sample
I loved the shot from Citizen Kane at the end of Part 1. Assuming you know about cinematography, you’ll know that an example of almost every film technique can be found. Great work Kirby!
You say Avatar was the biggest movie of the decade . . . I say it’s the biggest ripoff of the century. Ursula K. LeGuin did it first years ago. James Cameron is a flunky.
Awesome.
Dear Kirby,
I love your series, but in the 2nd film I must criticize the fact that Triumph des Willens by Leni Riefenstahl is only cited in passing in a .25 second clip in reference to star wars. Triumph of the Will, being the most influential and prominent propaganda film of the last century, was definitely in the heart and mind of Lucas as he was making Star Wars, especially since every aspect of the Imperial fleet was modeled after aspects of Nazi Germany. I do not intend to glorify Nazi Propaganda, but I do seek to give credit where credit is due. For those not familiar with Nazi propaganda films, some of the best include: Triumph des Willens, Hitlerjugend Quex, and Ich Klage An. I hope that those who choose to seek out these films can find a version with English subtitles and see how influential they were in throughout the world of film after WWII.
I suppose the videos are somewhat interesting but asking for money to make this like your ideas are really that original is absurd. Of course not everything that is produced in the entertainment industry is completely original; or in any aspect of society for that matter. Its called evolution. Its what has driven humanity to the point we are at right now. If we didn’t learn from others mistakes or built upon their achievements then we’d still be sitting in the dark. Rather than focusing on the artist’s creativity, you’re labeling their inspiration as stealing. Inspiration exists for every project; whether that inspiration is published or not. You list several scenes from Kill Bill as coming directly from other films and question its originality. What you’re failing to acknowledge is that Tarentino’s originality lies in combining others’ ideas, along with a few of his own. You also list several of Led Zeppelin’s hits as uncredited rip-offs. There’s a reason people know who Led Zeppelin is and while many do not recognize the artists they “stole” from. They took what others were doing and made it louder, bigger, and better. They are the ones who have inspired many of today’s great artists and by calling their songs “remixes” you’ve completely missed the point of art.
Firs off:
“…but asking for money to make this like your ideas are really that original is absurd. ”
This comment is absurd. All movies need funding. Every movie you see starts with a guy or group making pleas for money, either from individuals or production companies.
I think this comment and many others here are misunderstanding this series as some kind of finger-pointing or expose of the media industry. I’m not getting the impression he’s labeling anything as stealing outright; and even if he is, you shouldn’t take it in a negative way; if he followed every comparison with pandering to the artists added originality, it would undermine the theme of this video series and make it much less interesting to watch.
“Bad artists copy. Great artists steal.”
~Pablo Picaso
Everything is a remix except nothing … nothing inspired everything.
This whole thing is stupid. so what if people are inspired and use some techniques in order to make there movie. If anything its respect. Also any can pull aside a movie then compare it to 20 other movies. Film and music have been going on far to long for something not being a little like something else. your blowing the whole entire thing out of proportion.
Matt, if your purpose was to prove you possess limited intellect and/or poor education, then you have achieved your goal perfectly. The only thing that is “stupid” here is your unimaginative glib comment: riddled with grammatical errors as it is.
Before you start pretending to be able to converse with the grown-ups, you need to be able to talk like one. Some word research and a spellchecker would help cure your chronic lack of basic communication skills. Only then, if you add some intelligent criticism to it, your point might carry some credibilty. – a big I ask I realise.
Matt, since this is “Be Helpful To The Mentally Challenged Week” let me give you a few pointers…
“This whole thing is stupid.” << You being the expert on that subject?
"so what if people…" Sentences start with a capital letter (thats the BIG ones eg. "S").
"…in order to make there movie." << their movie (possesive adjective).
"If anything its respect…" << it's (contraction of it is). 'Homage' would be a good word to use here.
"Also any can pull aside a movie then compare it to 20 other movies." < Huh ?!?! A badly fractured sentence; incorrectly starting with a conjuction but also missing one in the link of two phrases. Nonsense talk.
"Film and music have been going on far to long…" << too (adverb)
"your blowing the whole entire thing out of proportion." << You're (contraction of you are – also missing capitalisation). "Whole" and "entire" mean the same thing (synonym) therefore redundant.
See, it's not THAT hard to sound like you know what you are talking about. Now you try.
You thought about the words he used instead of listening to what he said.Also, there is a point in what he is saying. Stop being so judgemental. It is true that people copy information from others without intending to, just because they didn’t check out everything about their theme and there aren’t too many ideas in the world that are unique and original in the first place. Why don’t you try thinking of something that no other man has thought of? Hard right? And if people copy other’s ideas then they do it with respect to their intelect because they weren’t capable of thinking of it and in short of inspiration. Also you can’t reinvent the wheel right? For everything that you do you use something that other people invented so stop being condescending in lack of intelect.
This series is awesome, and you are super adorable/smart/funny.
I love watching Kill Bill and figuring out all the spaghetti westerns and old kung fu movies referenced therein.
The magnificent Seven/ The Seven Samurai
I love movies, though… mashups are unavoidable and fun to pick out.
Very nice videos ! I think the topic of “sampling” and, more generaly of influences is very interesting. We are all influenced by music, movies, artpieces, people,… and we all use these influences when we create something. Sometimes it’s unconscious, sometimes it’s made to build something new from the old, sometimes it’s only copying.
For instance I am a big fan of rap and by going deeper into the samples used in rap songs I discovered new artists and genre (soul, funk, rock,…). thus I see the “sampling” art as a gap between different cultures, generations and communities and that’s what I love about that.
You should talk about religion in one of your next shorts. How each religion coincides and takes ideas from other religions.
Awesome video, there is so much to dig into! Keep it up. As a remix artist myself (WAAAAY underground) this is a super interesting subject. I think this would do well on TV. Another topic that coincides with this would be how different cultures have influenced each other. (English music before and after America, African music vs the music of Black Americans.) Such an interesting topic that “everything is a remix”. Looking forward to more.
Some of the samples and things used as examples in this video, yes are blatant copies/remixes/covers. But a lot of the examples are so simplistic in their nature that I wouldn’t really consider another band using it as steeling it, they could have come up with it them selves and not even realized. For example, the drumlins to Zeppelin’s “When the levy breaks” that is suck a basic drum line its no wonder other bands have used it. To me this is music conspiracy theory.
I remixed a remix and I somehow put it back to normal…
remixed from Mitch Hedberg.
Hello there! Great series! I was thinking if you wanted to go even further back through the history of “remixing” you could even reference the collage works of Surrealists such as Max Ernst or Andre Breton. There is actually a section in the first Surrealist manifesto in which Breton takes clips from various newspapers and assembles them into a “poem” of sorts. The process is nearly identical to the one performed by Burroughs and was published in 1924 (a truly “early” form of remixing). Just a thought.
Great work dude! Keep it up!
Is there such a thing as an original idea?…or are our thoughts only comprised of what we’ve seen and subliminally been forced to see out whole lives? This series is fantastic, and I will look forward to 3 & 4
Can I remix your film??
Of course.
i really enjoyed watching this keep making more its interesting!
A lot of the part 2 is directly copied from James Rolfe, or the Angry Video Game Nerd. It’s not a bad thing, but I think it’s hilarious that he’s showing how everything from Star Wars is copied, when in fact that exact same analysis was copied from right here:
http://cinemassacre.com/2009/02/28/star-wars-movie-review-part-1/
I actually hadn’t seen that until after Part 2 came out. Most of my examples came from the Star Wars Origins site: http://moongadget.com/origins/index.html
But just to be perfectly clear: everything is a remix, including this series and including James’ video.
Kirby speaks wise words of wisdom…and…wiseness…
anyone know the name of the classical song at ~6:00 (in part 2) ?
hey kirby when is chapter 3 released?!
CONGRATS, YOUR WORK ITS JUST AWESOME.
“The hardest thing about being a musician is hiding who influenced you”- Paul McCartney
You neglected to mention the fact that many older blues-men came to Led Zeppelin’s defense. Blues has always had a history of ‘wandering arrangements.’ Howlin Wolf ripped of Robert Johnson, Lighting Hopkins ripped off Mississippi John Hurt.
Also, everything isn’t a remix. Just because someone inspires you and you do something different but oddly the same doesn’t make it a remix. and then you have the acts of sheer coincidence, where two people just happen to write very nearly the same thing.
A remix consists of using the exact same materials to produce something altogether different to annoy people on youtube.
I know I’m being pretty anal here but you’re using the term remix VERY loosely. And the only reason I’m being this bitchy about it is because it the BASIS of these videos.
(Which are VERY well done btw, fabulous editing)
I mean to make a point, I could make a video called, ‘Every Murder is a Partial Genocide,’ and I’d be technically correct. But….. not really.
u mad?
Hey, Great videos… I never realized how much is ripped or sampled.
One problem though, the link at the end of your 2nd video doesn’t work.. “http://goo.gl/gtarc”
… Never mind, it needed a capitol ‘A’… works fine LOL http://goo.gl/gtArc
you are wrong about avatar
http://forum.yesbutnobutyes.com/assets_c/2010/01/avatar_cam-10649.html
You are so right about the remixing…I do the same thing when I create art projects and recipes.
we are all remixes .. of our parents…. too much time on his hands..
There is an entire book on the origins of the phrase “on the shoulders of giants.” (That is the title as well.) It was written by Robert K. Merton. It is so dense, it has sat under my bed table for 20 years, holding up more readable books.
Thanks for the series. Really enjoyed it.
Could someone please tell me what the name of the song used during the credits of the second film was?
All the songs are on the Samples page: http://www.everythingisaremix.info/samples/
Absolutely phenomenal. Enough said, Keep up the good work Kirbs!!
Will do Zach!
Yaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
Awesome work. You know it.
Anyone else aware of some kind of force behind the apparent mask?
Yes, there is some kind of force behind the apparent mask! I’m wondering why no one else recognized this.
I think we’re all aware of some kind of force or something behind that apparent mask.
DAVE!
Very well done piece. You took something that would have been a little boring to read and made it easily digestible. If you could only “remix” thermodynamics for me.
As an aside. I long thought that The Fast and the Furious (2001) is to fast cars as Point Break (Keanu Reeves 1991) was to surfing. Cop goes undercover to befriend a group with a certain hobby similar to the wanted robbers, only to find out they ARE the robbers. All the scenes play out exactly the same way. Hilarious!
Kirby – I love it – but why the FUCK do you put so much content after the credits? That whole quentin bit belonged as part of the main video, why was it after the credits? People are probably missing it.
I think you should find a better example than Daft Punk in the first video. I saw that as picking at slim hairs to attempt to massage the scalp of the modern.
you don’t like it, do it better yourself, hoe.
I wasn’t thinking in those particular terms, but if Daft Punk did indeed sample Good Times, they changed it sufficiently to have different notes.
Oh my, my friend is a Led Zeppelin fan, I’m afraid of showing him this video…, but besides that! This is probably the best thing (on the internet) I’ve seen this year. Very Original? haha, I’ll toss a few dollars down the donation bucket.
YAY FOR DONATIONS!
goddanmit, im from brazil and your work really rocks!
dont stop this! keep going!
Whats are the names of the songs in video part 2…
Specially the first hip hop one
Great film that speaks of a true movie lover. I hope your film will become a feature one time and screen at festivals around the world. Just used it as an example in my class on media practices. All the best for you and the project.
Is this supposed to be critical? I honestly have no idea; is he saying this a bad or good thing, or just the way its done? Because he’s really setting it up as if we’re supposed to be surprised by all of this information, which honestly, if you are, you’re really in the dark.
you should check out Disney’s Atlantis. Somethings aren’t just remixes- they’re flat out copies and that is a prime example. They took it from a Japanese film- and claimed it was “a Disney original.”
Okay, I said “thank you” in the most important way, by making a modest contribution. I love what you’re doing and I think it supports are creative processes, and also our enjoyment. “Star Wars” always felt mythical, but now watching it will evoke so many more connections in my head.
And now my gripe! What is it with you and False Endings. There are FOUR is the first part, and I missed two of them on the first viewing. I’m amazed that only one other person in the comment stream complained. I guess that’s supposed to be an inside joke, but it’s hard not to feel a little cheated! Don’t trick me into missing stuff…
And another thing… copying Monty Python and The Holy Grail is no excuse.
And a friend of mine has written a book called the The 7 Levels of Change and Level 5 is copying. Not something you need to read, but an important connection. His name is Rolf Smith and he teaches innovation.
“There’s nothing new under the sun.” is an insight probably borrowed from somewhere by someone over time. Calling the latest insight vector from an accumulation of impressions “Remix” is eccentric and distracting from the way cultural character is formed. I suppose that the contexts of music and movies include the paradigm “Remix” so this is your (perhaps narrow) thesis, it could have a wider context being called “Influences”. Am I wrong?
I believe the future of music as we know it, will only be original due to it’s fundamental change in how we produce it. Frequency manipulation will be the only original way we will discover new sounds. All Scales, Notes, Bars, Tempos ,and Rhythms have already been explored and used. So now we are left with “Frequency”. Enjoy the Future.
http://tinyurl.com/29ee3ky
I truly LOVE Led Zeppelin’s music and I believe each one of them were the most talented…
BUT
Kirby, you did an AMAZING job…
it shows that you did the proper research, and looked for a lot of references.. plus, it is so well put together.
It really shook me how you understood the speed of our generation in your editing.
but well… Im just a girl, and this is just my opinion.
This is really dumb but what song it used during the end credits of part two?
why do you call yourself a creator? you are remixin too
I totally agree with you, thats hypocritical as hell!
he never said he was one. he says everything is a remix, even this vid, hoes.
I remixed a remix, it was back to normal. – Mitch Hedberg
Ecclesiates 1:9
SO VERY TRUE. What will be will be again. There is nothing new under the sun.
I’ll remix your comment by expanding it to Ecc 1:8-11 and then pasting the text to show JUST how apropos it is.
8 All things are wearisome,
more than one can say.
The eye never has enough of seeing,
nor the ear its fill of hearing.
9 What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there anything of which one can say,
“Look! This is something new”?
It was here already, long ago;
it was here before our time.
11 No one remembers the former generations,
and even those yet to come
will not be remembered
by those who follow them.
wow! i really think you did a great job! or you can put it as: TOTALLY AWESOME!!!
Hey man, good that you aware ppl that much stuff in the music industry is just copied.
But I don’t agree with the ‘when the levee breaks’ part. Of course the drumbeats of all those following songs are almost the same, but that drum beat is just a standard!
It’s just a very suitable beat for a good song, thats why everyone uses is. I think that wasnt a good example, but good job though!
I listen very much led zeppelin, it changed my view!
respect on the rza reference on pt 2
Great stuff! I recently took a class that touched on this. It’s nice to see it fleshed out in such an informative (and awesome) way. Keep up the great work! Any plans on incorporating videogames into the future episodes? I think they could be an excellent examples of creation through remix (First person camera views in recent movies like Doom, from 1st person shooters in general [and I guess Doom], which were preceded by movies like Lady in the Lake)
Amazing! Truly amazing, I love the way that you look at the movies and songs so far. Keep up the good work!
Ohh another song that rips on the drum line from When the Levee Breaks is Army of Me by Björk. (says I)
Triumph of The Will inspiring a scene in Star Wars… my inner nerd is giddy.
Everything Is A Remix, Part 1 (targeting Led Zeppelin) is itself a remix. Ten years ago I stumbled on this exhaustive article by Will Shade entitled The Thieving Magpies:
http://www.furious.com/perfect/jimmypage.html
It is much more thoroughly researched and I couldn’t find any credits to Mr. Shade. (Apologies to Kirby if that’s your nom de plume).
It’s not where you take things from, it’s where you take them to.
-Jim Jarmusch
Where’d you copy/paste that profundity from?
It wasn’t Jim Jarmusch who said that, it was Jean-Luc Godard who actually said that and Jarmusch just quotes him a lot. If you know who Godard is, then you’re a lot smarter than I thought, but if you don’t… you’re about as smart as I expected, which isn’t very.
Max just called you dumb. You gonna take that?
u mad?
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ot0fNddgm9g/TaOVLtiF5OI/AAAAAAAACeo/aRSGGaCAyGo/s640/Banksy-Stealing.jpg
Excellent. I’ve argued this thesis before in passing to my friends, but not nearly as eloquently as you are able to with this medium. Not only do I think you’re right, but I think in this generalized sense, remixing is at the very heart of culture!
I don’t know if anyone mentioned this yet, but Avatar is very much a remake:
http://forum.yesbutnobutyes.com/assets_c/2010/01/avatar_cam-10649.html
Scratch that, already been mentioned further up, glad someone covered it.
You should get an Oscar for this, or maybe you don’t want too!
Greetings from Holland
trust me if this was not amazing I wouldn’t have given up my time to write this message, now let me knwo when you make a new one
After watching this, I kind of want to know: Where did he get all this from, if everything is a remix?
Although I understand and see your point, you really are looking at the entire film industry very shallowly. For instance, if you think Horror has ONLY four “sub genres”, then clearly you have no idea what horror is or means and you are just ignorant.
There is a distinction that needs to be made here, and it’s between “remixing” something, and “referencing” something. While “remixing” can be most of what you described, if the people or persons are creating the art that your criticizing actively used something from someone else they listened to, it could be as an homage or satire or a number of other INTERPRETATIONS people can have on art.
You should really broaden your horizons outside of your laptop for half a day and actually try and understand art from the artists perspective.
What an interesting subject for a web-documentary. Well done, and I am eagerly awaiting the next part.
MultipleNerdgasm.com
loving every minute of it. keep it coming. communications major and wondering if i should keep this one to myself fall semester!!!
P
Great stuff! Bo.lt just invented a tool to “remix the web” – if you haven’t seen it, it is pretty radical. Clone any web page, change it and share it. Its at http://bo.lt So, Kirby, right in line with what you’re saying, creative material benefits from sharing, remixing, and spreading. And now that technology enables the general public to take content and modify / customize it and send it back out into the universe, what are companies (for example) who own that content going to do? (embrace it or fight it?)
There is no creativity only reinvented memory.
If you’ve taken any theatre or literature classes it’s impossible to deny.
I see that Max firmly believes in the Barthes/Kant school of naming what has gone before ….. you can call it appropriation , if you want, currently ‘remix’ is far more apt and accurate.
Everything is a remix is everything I should be being taught along with memetics , and not some dry text from dead authors. .. and horror genre’s… lets think about the five main plot devices anything uses, and reuses,and remixes!!
you’re an arse Max
Newton was paraphrasing: mind = blown.
oh my gosh, this is sick!
kind of completely changed the way i view pop culture.
i’m excited for parts three and four (:
This is really, really not true in the sense it’s been taken out of context. No, sorry to tell you things are a little bit more complex, should not be segmented out through simplistic example, or made to dance according to limited opinion and a backwards interpretation that only acts as a projection, from the future to the past, as an interpretation of an interpretation of an interpretation.
Kirby,
This rocks!Stumbled through and got here and thank remix I did! Definitely did not appreciate how much stuff is taken from stuff that is taken from stuff that makes stuff! Thanks and can’t wait for part three and four!
We studied Star Wars in a Comparative Mythology class looking for those exact things! Also, did you call Edward “hot”?!?! Really?
Ok I understand how you see the connections to the other movies referring to star wars but to take it to that extent of it not being original at all seems a little pretentious to me. People are influenced by work they see and ideas that they like but the star wars movies are awesome and a lot of thought went through creating each character as an individual along with the planets and entire series.
Thing is, remixing is the art of selling.
Great video dude ! original idea
Love this project. Find it very interesting. Happened upon this video (maybe you’ve seen this or not but in any case) and thought it would provide a very interesting insight on the matter of whether or not artists endorse the appropriation of regurgitation of their work. In this particular case it seems F.F. Cappola does (and so did Balzac). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ggkfd7AqXIg&feature=related
hey! I just stumbled on this two videos and were… veeery illuminating… i’m really looking forward for the 3rd part, i think you’re descriving something that is often too ignored… you did a very nice job! keep up with this thing, is very nice
Great films, Kirby- I really enjoyed watching tham.
One correction though. Rapper’s Delight doesn’t sample the beat and bassline from Good Times; it’s replayed. Nile Rodgers has mentioned this in several interviews.
Congrats!
Very nice work!
why dr house is a remix? what is your reference? i dont know that…T_T
I have to say I LOVE what your doing here. I get in this argument with poeple all the time about originality and you’ve outlined my stance on it beautifully. I am a creative atrtist myself. Musician, Producer, Poet, Writer, and Craftsman. There IS only one story and everything we create comes from and is built upon everything that came before. To quote Tyler Durden… ‘You are not a beautiful and unique snowflake.’
this sucks. bro, work on your stuff, yeah you got A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. artist in but, it just wasn’t what I expected it to be.
This is really interesting stuff. I really enjoyed listening to the videos.
Not to mention kill bill is on again… Yeww!
avatar is not original whatsoever.if u look at the storyline of pocahontas,replace a few details with futuristic properties.you have got yourself avatar
Great stuff that you made in here.
It is interesting how your mind is go around the remix world.
Remixing started allready with mozart and beethoven, going on to the early swamp blues. It is an essential part in music books and films. Without remixing there is no new art. it is not copying it is the use of an influence that you make your own, what can be very original. Nothing wrong with this.
If the killer nurse scene in “Kill Bill” is a spin off of “Twisted Nerve,” then that whole concept of a whistling killer is taken from Fritz Lang’s “M,” where Peter Lorre whistles “In the Hall of the Mountain King” before he murders a child… Which is also evidently reproduced in the new “Hanna” film by Joe Wright through the character played by Tom Hollander.
Hey Kirby, I am an experienced musician who just got into DJ’ing and sampling things and I have always had mindset on writing original music which i now see is slightly off from what you have shown me. I would like to chat over the internet sometime just to hear more of your opinions. Write me back if you have the time.
P.S. Can’t wait for the third movie.
Thanks,
Eric Turner
This is so true. I mean, the first poetry, music, etc, would STILL have been a “remix,” considering it would have been based upon something that aready existed. (nature, other people, etc)
Interesting.
Is it fair to point out that Avatar and the short story “Call Me Joe” by Poul Anderson share elements? Specifically, “a paraplegic … who telepathically connects with an artificially created life form in order to explore a harsh planet … and gradually goes native as he spends more time connected to his artificial body.”
Source: http://io9.com/5390226/did-james-cameron-rip-off-poul-andersons-novella
Keep up the nice work.
This was pretty cool stuff. As for part 1, I feel like people need to understand that there’s a difference between sampling, remixing, and just plain stealing.
Part two was great too. But it’s not really a surprise that even back then it was impossible to create something that is 100% original.
you guys are guys are geeks, but at the very best meaning of the word, absolutely brilliant work, can’t wait for the part 3. you’re geniuses;):)
Your so cute!
Some of the facts provided are truly very interesting.
Very thoroughly conducted research, resulting in a very professional documentary the credibility of which is beyond doubt. Well done, I am greatly anticipating for part 3 and 4.
i cant help but disagree with a lot of what you post. you say everything is a remix yet you can only go back to 1961 when entertainment didnt even take off. and i love that fact that you only pick and choose what you use to “prove” that everything is a remix. you want to prove a point in this matter yet 4,5 min. video mash-ups is not even going to get you started so just stop while youre “ahead”
I cant help but disagree with a lot of what you posted, Noah. You think that 1961 is a time when entertainment didn’t even take off, clearly believing that entertainment must have started in the sixties, that the radio, movies, and television did not exist before this time, nor did music, sporting events, boardgames, etc. Entertainment is a vague word, amiright?. I love the fact that you only pick and choose what you use to “prove” that Mr. Kirby has created something useless. You want to prove a point in this matter, yet a 90 or so word post is not even going to get you started on arguing this matter, so just stop while youre “ahead”.
Hey, nice vids.
I only not seeing why i should send you money for it.
insain much of vids like this on youtube who not ask money so the can do it for free you can do it also for free
Err… Wasn’t Heavy Metal coined in a George Thorngood song that was talking about motorcycles??
Remixing is what people do. Even scientists, even here at Cern. I see it every day at work. Thanks for this amazing video.
You’ve hit the nail on its head, in creditably impressed I am… can’t wait for the 4th video.
Incredible video and storytelling. Great production quality. Thank you!
Dear Kirby,
I watched your first 2 videos and am in the process of downloading the 3rd. I am an artist from New Zealand currently living in France where I’m painting and working with collage. I started a PhD in visual anthropology (image sematics) but have put it on hold for a few years. I’m currently getting into the VJ practise and will be projecting all different types of images for my shows in the near future. I agree fundamentally with much of what you say even though I would like the text and commentry to be a little more academic. The discourse sounds like DJ Spooky’s texts. Anyway.
I have a question I would like to ask relating to cultural “borrowing”. In our world, an ideal one, all information and images are free to air and anyone can appropriate them to whatever end.
In New Zealand, the indiginous people, the Maori, are very protective of all references to Maori iconography for example. This can be understood as, as a people they have been largely raped of their cultural identity even though, thanks to “multiculturalism” they are again able to have a certain pride in this relatively unique identity. Many believe that that which is left should be safeguarded. Can this model “everything is a remix” be applied cross culturally or is it specific to the Modern Western world where myths of innovation, progress, inspiration, creativity etc. are especially prevalent? Is it intrinsic to our imperalist and colonialist culture?
Thanks for your time yet time is not money, for artists it is communication.
Hello Sam –
I am not the filmmaker – Kirby. But as a north american person of color, I wanted to share some thoughts…hope you don’t mind. I don’t know what Kirby would say, however after watching the first three videos it appears that according to “Everything Is A Remix”s philosophy, the magic of true inspiration and creativity are not acknowleged as real. As I understand it, they are considered repetitions of previous actions that worked in the past. The “mystical” aspects of creation are discarded as “having been done before” and/ or man’s re-invention or “re-mix”…more of “Imperialist and colonialist culture”: that denies the validity of Maori mysticism and iconography. In other words one more tool of rape. Good luck to you.
Verrrrly entereskink !!
….. but I’ve seen this all before.
Congratulations on making an awesome web series! Incredibly enlightening. You’ve done your research and it shows. It’s very well put together and planned out. Flows very nicely.
Coming from a long line of Musician/Composers – Actually “remixing” is remixing, and “composing is composing”. “Collecting material” involves taking the “music written by other people” and using it for your own purpose, which is not an original concept, but a secondary thought. Please understand, am not tryin’ to dis’ anybody, but the musical vibe is already created – a tremendous amount of work has already been done – if you start a remix with stevie’s “Superstition”, VS Bonnie’s “You can’t make me love you”, depending on which you choose you’re gonna end up with a very different song. That music is what makes the remix magical and it must be acknowledged. Composing is also different in that there is often an element of actual creation – that of actually “Birthing” a song or melody that didn’t exist before. Not “collecting”, not “combining”, not “transforming” but creating. That’s why there is only one Mozart, only one Miles Davis, only one Muddy Waters, only one Ravel. If it were just a matter of “Copying” then the world would have 3 or 4 Picasso’s and 5 or 6 Monet’s. It’s amusing how it’s always the Science guys that have to “prove” that nothing is magical… creation doesn’t exist, one just has to connect the dots. God forbid there should be something bigger, more magical than one man’s intellect? I would humbly suggest that you spend some serious time in a fine Art museum…don’t come out until you FEEL the colors – get lost in the movement. Sometimes a person can spend too much time in the film lab – making up a hypothesis and then finding stuff in the world to prove it. Listen – with your soul & get lost – in the greats of classical, jazz, reggae, funk, hip-hop, any genre you wish. All areas of study have their learning stage and then with baby steps, move forward searching for that spark of genius. That spark is the reason we’re all here. All I know is there is magic in Chopin and I’ll pray that one day you will hear it too…you will be a richer man for it.
Hey Kirby! I loved your videos!
I am a law student and I believe that copyleft and open source maximizes the scope of access to knowledge and promotes creativity and innovation. Your video explains the same thing.
I was just reading a book by a law professor, Lawrence lessig called ‘Free Culture: The Nature and Future of Creativity.’ Your video and this book talk about the same thing but with different content.
Eagerly waiting for the 4th one.
Wish I could donate
Great work, Kirby!
There are so many layers to this contribution.
This will lead to great opportunities, I’m sure it has already.
I wish you well and much success.
You are incredible! Your work is so accurate; many thanks. It’s so impressive how a simple side effect (copying) became a major act of creation in modernity.
Will you wrap your videos in one film someday?
Also, that’s funny, because you finish your videos by a “One last thing” part, words that are so often attributed to Steve Jobs in the end of most of his keynotes. However with the lost of great actor Peter Falk, I suddenly remember that Columbo always use this phrase to blast his suspect with a killer question.
History plays tag I presume!
Hi Kirby,
I would like to translate subtitles of your great series to Polish. Would you be ok with that?
Hey Jakub, that would be much appreciated. You can do it here: http://www.universalsubtitles.org/en/videos/DAAPo8OJkdip/
I enjoy these, the only problem I have (so far) is the fact that you said Avatar isn’t a remake or based on anything, when it is clearly a new sci-fi redux of Pocahontas.
Love the vids, though!
Nevermind. I’m tripping. You said colonialism. I was just a little trigger happy. I fail. LOL.
This video isn’t original. Everyone knows that everything comes from a pre-existing idea or inspirational source; Philosophers in the 17th century were talking about this.
Zeppelin’s sound was so original, it can’t be hated on. A well-made video, but i can’t dig it.
I hope the first paragraph of this comment is a joke.
I’m surprised #2 has no mention of walt disney, the master of taking age old stories and making them into blockbusters
You made a mistake. Edward is not ‘hot’. Nor a vampire. He is a sparking stalker. I think you should fix that. Other than that, great job!
In my opinion you must present both evidence for and evidence against your assertion that ‘everthing is a remix’.
Choosing particular examples which support your assertion simply provides interesting information, it does not prove your assertion by itself.
Fantastic. I really enjoyed it.
I definitely believe in Collective Unconscious! Many years ago while discussing a story idea I was writing, I described to my friend about ‘living trees’ and an ancient battle they fought against humans. That was the first time I had heard of the Ents from Lord Of The Rings. Embarrassingly enough, that was also when I was informed that The Hobbit led into LOTR.
Someone here mentioned the 3M engineer who failed at making strong glue but turned in into the post it note, I believe that’s called the serendipity effect. That’s how Corn Flakes and penicillin came to be. You can add post its the list!
Thanks Kirby for creating a series that doesn’t applaud or condemn the ‘genius’ that we know. Makes me appreciate the very small list of people who transformed and combined other ideas into truly great discoveries.
Me and fish in the ocean… we are also the remix of the same particles and what’s the POINT?
It would be great to see a treatment of how art rps off art throughout history. Also, there is a cognitive basis for remix: mirror neurons compel us to copy one another, and this is not just limited to people. Birds also do it!
This is a great synthesis of information which I find funny considering a synthesis is essentially a remix. I’m glad you mentioned the Joseph Campbell book because I actually took an entire college course on that book and how everything fits into that basic hero cycle.
I am a huge advocate of being yourself and original but i am the first to admit that this is a difficult task in a world filled with so many brilliant people. I am an advocate of the remix but I find it difficult to find where to draw the line. Star Wars ripping off the hero cycle isn’t a copyright issue just as Led Zeppelin ripping off some basic musical sequences isn’t one as well (although I might change my mind at times). Especially considering that lately I have found plenty of popular artists aka Jason Derulo with many songs or Lupe Fiasco with Modest Mouse’s Float On that are just so blatant i can’t help but yelling at the radio when they come on.
You have been great at being unbiased so far but i am interested in seeing where you take this documentary. I have to commend you most of all on picking one hell of a relevant subject.
i love your stuff man. great work
This was great but I disagree with your statement that Lucas was the most movie saturated filmmaker of his era. I think that title easily goes to Scorsese.
I recently watched akira kurosawa’s Seven Samurai, and it hit me that it was the plot of a bugs life, indeed it was the central plot to many movies and here I had just thought it was remade into only The Magnificent 7
Another example on music:
Led Zepellin’s “When The Levee Breaks” and Sisters of Mercy’s “Never Land”.
Honestly,I’m so glad I watched this. I really appreciate the effort you put in to making this series. Great Work
A lot of your examples are a stretch of your imagination.
I left a similar comment before, but you obviously only allow those comments that are positive to you get through – thus you’re a remix yourself.
I did a before an after screen shot of my comment appearing then disappearing on my blog to prove my point.
This is a very broad and general subject. The creator is making an obvious and subconscious point conscious and attempting to be artistic by doing so. Of course everything uses things previously used. It’s what conditions the creators. Take the beat mentioned by Zeppelin and used in other songs. That is a simple beat and is attained by music structure – the structure that all music is made of. Of course it has been used many times. This is due to its simplicity. The statement “Everything is a Remix” is like saying “Everything is made of Matter” or “Every song uses beat counts.” It’s a broad infallible claim that is simply being brought out of subconsciousness and into consciousness, so please do not try to claim this as a groundbreaking research topic or something new, because it’s not. In fact to make that claim would be hypocritical. And I’m not saying that claim has been made or that I’m trying to refute a claim like this, I’m just saying Do Not make that claim. This project just seems like a waste of money/time to me due to its simplicity and inflated weight, but so are video games and I love those.
Relax, I didn’t delete your comment. I’m deleting your reply because it’s the exact same as this.
Awesome site, awesome videos, awesome insight.
Just wanted to give you my deepest of gratitude for such wonderful insight that was lingering around that no one has yet (until you) portrayed so perfectly. Excuse my rambling and fragment sentences; this is just that great.
Thanks!
Thanks a lot.
could not find a torrent of your videos. Wouldn’t it be bandwidth-saving for the website?
another aspect: if there is a non–subtitles–version, it would be easy to remix and make separate subtitles.
The torrent’s a good idea. I don’t serve much video on the site, so bandwidth isn’t an issue right now.
The subtitles are separate — they can be displayed or not. What do you mean?
I’ll be posting additional versions without voice-over and without music which will be particularly well-suited to remixing.
dude, where did you find brazilian gabriel o pensador?
im from brazil
I was to lazy to read all comments but avatar was a remix of a book (search slashfilms archive).
You may also want to mention that the soundtrack from Star Wars is completely sampled from The Planets Suite by composer Gustav Holst. John Williams directly ‘samples’ many of the themes and other themes are basically taken directly from Holst’s original work.
Hi Kirby – Great videos, just heard about them today. I haven’t read all of the comments here so don’t know if it’s been mentioned, but I encourage you to check out a guy on YouTube called Kutiman, who does great remixes (essentially new compositions) using samples from existing YouTube videos. (Search “Kutiman-Thru-you – 01 – Mother of All Funk Chords” first, and there’s many more to find from there.) Anyway, I’m going to talk to my NPO peeps about making a donation…
I work on producing documentaries and I love this! Why is there no thumbnail when I post it to FB? Grrr
Dunno!
Whats are the names of the songs in video part 2…
Specially the first hip hop one
Everything’s on the Samples page: http://www.everythingisaremix.info/samples/
Part 3 makes you think about genetic evolution in the sense that the basis for genetic evolution is also ‘copy, transform and combine’.
Of course this is also nothing new, Richard Dawkins proposed that culture itself is evolving alongside/with genes and dubbed the term ‘meme’ in 1974 to refer to units of cultural evolution.
Here’s an article positing a possible memetics of music for anyone interested.
http://cfpm.org/jom-emit/2000/vol4/jan_s.html
Reminds me of what Jean-Luc Godard once said, “It’s not where you take things from- it’s where you take them to.”
I see that this question may have already been asked, as I am not using a good portion of my day reading the massive amount of comments on your fantastic series, but i just have to ask it. What, out of all the films you have viewed, has been the most unique and original? I understand that literally every “innovation” has obvious influence from other works, but i would like to know what film you think is just… something new.
By the way, you have inspired me to write a song about this theme. I will not credit you at all if it becomes popular
. Well, I might lol.
in the last part of part three you explained trends…thats cool. you should do somethin bout fashion? maybe? no just kidding your not making anymore…sssiiiiigggghhhh
to nitpick, sugarhill gang didn’t sample chic. the sugarhill records house band were recorded playing it in the sugarhill studio. the sugarhill gang also “took” grandmaster caz’s rhyme book as some of the lyrics for rapper’s delight. some might call this theft. for joe and sylvia robinson, this was business as usual.
Amazing piece of documentary. It’s almost as if nobody owns any music; everything comes from a sample of some sort. So then I suppose one can make an argument that no music is original.
I feel like I’ve seen this documentary before.
have only watched the first one so far … and haven’t read all the comments yet … but am curious about the cultural appropriation piece.
something I think about lots when I’m mixing and spinning.
i agree that in ways everything is a remix… but I’m always left a little confused about where we cross lines into appropriation … ie. lots of examples of white western performers/companies etc using material from the global south etc in a way that isn’t credited, or is comodified in a way it wasn’t meant to etc…
don’t have clear thots on it .. just curious if you’ll touch on it in yr next part … (perhaps I just need to watch the rest of them
thnx for making them tho … look good
Great, great job! Inspiring and have given me some ideas. Congrats!
What is the song in Part 3 that starts around 6:00? I heard it and immediately recognized it….but I don’t know what from…another movie perhaps?
Nevermind…found your sample information. “Virgin Suicides”…well played!
Great videos, I’m looking forward to part 4.
Thought I would point out that part 3 reminded me a lot of James Burke’s “Connections” series and “The Day the Universe Changed.”
Very good programs that I highly recommend to anyone that is interested in more of the idea of assembling existing inventions in an innovative way at the right time in history. Printing press, steam engine, and Ford assembly all great examples that are dissected and presented in historical context.
Great series! I am really looking forward to Part 4, as I have been doing a lot of thinking and informal research on copyright and intellectual property law in the modern era. Please keep up the good work!
This is really good! What’s your project??? Is it a documentary about this/related to this? I hope it is.
Absolutely great video, can’t wait for the next episodes!!
Showed parts 1-3 to my 11 year old son in an attempt to counteract his belief that a person has to be a genius to create something original — (an idea he picked up from *school*).
StumbleUpon leads me to something great again…
I’m not gonna lie, I was going to rush to Zeppelin’s defense, but there’s no way to argue the points you’ve made. I think I’m going to do my senior paper on a topic similar to this and as my closing statement I will tell how my entire paper is just a remix of your presentation. I think it will be quite a twist. Thanks for the information and inspiration!
A really interesting video and really well told. I think the only problems with “remixing” have come about recently with concepts like copyright.
It’s still interesting to me that in China, they can copy whole shops ( there’s a fake Apple shop), or products and not see what they are doing as any way wrong.
What an impressive project you have put together – many thanks!
I have donated $10 in the hope that it contributes to the continuation of the project.
Can you tell me what the wonderful and very moving piece of classical music is that runs through the introduction / background of the 3rd part, thanks so much!
Simon
London
wonderful work. Thanks
one man’s originality is another’s remix
there is no absolute originality unless you can define what that means and compare the contender with every piece of music that has been created!
if i play any piece of music to a well ‘listened’ musicophile, they will probably be able to draw a comparison with something else
on the other hand, if i play it to a primitive tribe who are isolated from anything other than their own music, it would probably appear original (unless it happened to be influenced by an ‘escape’ of their music into the outside world…………………
so originality is in the ‘ear’ of the beholder!
as to the definition of originality, how many tunes start with the same 2 notes, 3 notes, 4 notes etc – how many notes before a different one constitutes originality?
Excellent! Looking forward to the next part.
Daft Punk’s – Around the world bass line is not a remix of the ‘good times’ riff!!!
awesome. love the notion of the inevitability of innovation. along the lines of a sci fi idea that alien civilizations would develop somewhat like we have simply because of the physics involved. that discovery and innovation (of say, computers and nukes) is almost deterministic given intelligent beings.
DOWNLOADER BEWARE: the MKVs simply won’t play, either on my laptop’s DivX Player nor on my DivX certified blu-ray player.
2 hours of precious bandwidth totally wasted.
MKV is not DIVX. These videos are H264.
And just tell me videos don’t work for you. There’s no need for a tantrum, you entitled brat.
Hey Kirby, awesome series… what’s your stance/opinion on true genius? Creating something from basically nothing (not just jumping from A to D but jumping from 0 to 3)? And can you think of any examples?
Hey Eddy. Nope! In my opinion that does not exist.
What about “guys like” Leonardo da Vinci?
The videos, though, are nothing short of BRILLIANT:
This is a wonderful, eye-opening series. Can’t wait to see part 4. Keep up the amazing work!
fantastic work. I find the series indispensable when I teach the research paper. I don’t expect my students to come up with anything new, but I do expect them to remix and credit their sources of inspiration. I made a donation today as my way of saying “thanks!!!” from me and my high school seniors.
I was recently informed of the concept of Patent Trolls: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patent_troll
Companies that exist only to buy patents cheep and sue anyone who invents (or remixes) something simular. Any chance this will be addressed in the final episode?
Really enjoy the series (started and finished watching today), great work.
Fantastic work this series is amazing.
Fantastic work here Kirby! You have done a ton of work here and it shows. Certainly you must know the writer Lawrence Weschler? Hear him speak if you get a chance or contact him about your project. FInd the book, “Everything That Rises – A Book of Convergences.” But , I assume you know him already. Cheers!
Hah, awesome. I quite like it. You’re a tvtroper, aren’t you?
(I’d be amused to make a subtitled version of #2 where, instead of translating anything, I just linked everything you said to a tvtropes node. I’m pretty sure I could, but it sounds like effort, and I’m lazy.)
P.S. I’d never noticed any similarities between anything Star Wars and Holst, other than in broad musical style, but I did know about this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AokqzpdA3M
As far as i know printing press was re discovered. First printing press was made by Chinese in 9th century AD.
Um, yeah this is kind of amazing. Awesome job, dude.
This isn’t really any discovery tho its a good, enjoyable documental.
What’s a documental? Did you discover that word?
This is really informative, and well thought out, but as a bit of an artist myself it has me a bit worried. Do you really believe that there is nothing new? Because for me, I believe (and it may just be a wish) that just because something new hasn’t popped up for an extremely long time does not mean it won’t happen. It just means no one has thought something up yet.To say nothing will ever be new again… well for me I just don’t believe it.
You are seriously my inspiration thus far in my years. Lately I’ve had this beckoning noise that has not left my side for weeks. Topic being how to be original. Full, completely, unattached to anything, clearly original. I’ve hit a few leads but come have come up short. I’ve started by creating short stories and graphic novels. But in themselves are unoriginal just because of the template as you mentioned. My question to you is, Is it truly possible to have broken the grid enough times and fought the system hard enough to become original. Yes King Solomon stated no new thing discovered under the sun. I believe he was referring to emotions. I had this thought that our thoughts have built on top of others thoughts like you mentioned but who built their thoughts. It keeps going back to the being of who built what first.
PEROGULLO
The world needs more quality work like this. You are truly talented. Can’t wait for part four!
You look like a Remix of Philip Seymour Hoffman, great video anyway.
You should check out the history behind the discovery of relativity by Henri Poincare later “remixed” by Albert Einstein (without giving any credit to Poincare). Check out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relativity_priority_dispute
and on a funny yet accurate note:
http://www.cracked.com/article_16072_5-famous-inventors-who-stole-their-big-idea.html
Amazing
Now I don’t have to kill myself for not coming up with ORIGINAL ideas
Glad to be watching this while I was making congee for my sick girlfriend.
Great work Kirby!
hmmm pretty cynical view on creativity. I get the point that many things are re-mixed and revised continuously, but to say few have an original thought s very negative.
Amazing work my friend! Keep it up! This greatly proves the fact that there is nothing new under the sun!
Hey, this is a good summary of an idea that I have never heard of. Thanks for the enlightenment.
One thing I don’t like about the structure of the videos is, that there is a lot of content after the credits. Normally, the credits is the very end of the content, like “end of transmission, go back to the real world now”. In Part 1, I had to go back to after the credits. I went to review it on Stumbleupon, then watched Part 2, noticed the “ONE LAST THING”, and then had to hop back to Part 1 to see if it used the same structure.
SU reviews are here, btw. http://www.stumbleupon.com/url.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everythingisaremix.info%2Fwatch-the-series%2F
This was very eye opening. I can’t wait for the 4th and I would donate if I could. You should really think about turning this into a documentary or something for tv or the movies.
Very interesting. I like you.
Wow Great Blog!
I love this series! I can’t wait to see the next ones; I hope literature and visual arts are on the menu!!
It’s not very often that my cold, dead heart actually laughs out loud at something I see on the internet, but I lost it for like 3 minutes at the sub-genre “Sorry About Colonialism”. Good stuff! Also, very informative series for DJ’s such as myself, I have learned much about my own craft from your videos – Thank you!
GREAT video series!
nice imagery, but nothing really new, i think…
Surely the first computer was (or at least was inspired by) The Bombe? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombe
I’m really enjoying this web series, thoughtful, well put together… the only flaw? VIMEO SUCKS!!!!! the player is choppy and crappy… I guess that’s because the interent and streaming video is so new (cough) – thanks for making your video’s downloadable – only way I could watch them decently.
Looking forwad to part 4 – thanks!
Just discovered this today. Great stuff. An optimistic and positive view of collective human progress.
Looking forward to part 4.
I look at the videos posted here and think how amazing it is that we as a race have come so far, building upon each other. And then I go and look in the comments section and see people arguing over a typo, then make it an issue of nationality. Seriously? So we’ve developed the technology to communicate with anyone, anywhere in the world, but still can’t get over our own egos. Nice.
Creation requires influence…that about sums it all up. It just depends on how you use that influence in a way that is the most original idea that it can become.
gooooooooood work.
Excellent series! THANK YOU!
awesome
One of the most informative online series I’ve seen in a while.
Great series! Very informative and eye opening. I’ll definitely be linking some people to this and donating as well.
Very cool series Kirby!
Just skipped uni classes cause this looked more interesting and I haven’t regretted it, this was way more fun
I agree with alot, and I think the videos are very well done… However, whats the point? I really dont think you have proved much by saying “everything is a remix.” I completely understand where you’re coming from but I dont understand what you mean by it- that those who have come up with innovations are NOT geniuses?
Yes, if Darwin did not exist Wallace would have pushed us forward with evolution. However, this does not discredit Darwin…I think its silly that we can consider any significant figure as COPYING to achieve their goals- the only way to learn is to copy others yes, and so I dont see the point there…
Overall, you have explained alot- its only information really. And without a real point to the videos I am left somewhat disappointed with the series. Perhaps thats what Im waiting for in Part 4.
A wonderful series. The production values are first rate.
As a long time Xerox employee I know another part of the story that you missed – it certainly was never well published.
In the late 70s Xerox developed a graphic printing language based on the Forth computer language called InterPress. Poor InterPress floundered and died because Xerox made it proprietary to their top end laser printers. A certain couple of individuals started a company called Adobe and produced a product called PostScript that was a subset of InterPress.
Apple then licensed PostScript for use under the hood and (at a time when IBM computers could not draw a circle on screen without it being egg shaped) embedded a PostScript interpreter in the LaserWriter and the era of Desk Top Publishing began.
the last one messed up at the end for me idk if it s juss me but i thought i d let ya know
I would like some money for posting this comment. Like maybe a buck.
I’m not panning you, Kirby, I’m trying to distract attention away from you to me; the sort of attention that comes from self-absorbed complainers that name themselves after porcine Spock/Dr. Zarkov pastiche in a muppet show parody of Star Trek with a name ripped off from Mel Brooks.
My point is, to all detractors because “oh my god he asked for money”–
1) he’s not just using knowledge from com101, he’s also using knowledge from his video editing class, etc. Unoriginal TV abounds. It makes a lot more from commercial airtime sales than I’m site this guy is getting, and you have no choice about it if you buy any of the products or services advertised or pay your cable bill.
2) people ask for money all the time. Some want money just because they’re unwed mothers, or because they can’t get a job because they stupidly tattooed their faces without considering the societal implications, or because they spent all their money on wild Irish Rose, or because they can juggle, or because they cut themselves, or because they majored in philosophy, or because they plan to give some of it to people in Africa, or…
I mean, really… At least he made something more than a bitchfest, with higher craftsmanship than found in 60% of PBS shows. Which also ask for money.
STFU Dr. Strangepork or How I Learned To Stop Bitching And Love The Pastiche.
awesome! I really enjoyed this!
nice nice nice!!…I wish I had the money to help you!! great wrokt the one that you’re doing…greetings from México.
Hehe Avatar is a remix… Ever washed Pocahontas(disney)? The exact same story.
whats the name of the song at the end of the last vid????
Ever heard the notion of intertextuality?
Excelentes videos, sorprendentes a la vez que muy informativos, realmente me emocionaron muchisimo, sobre todo por las secciones relacionadas al cine.
great series i really enjoyed it and can’t wait for the 4th episode. but when i was watching episode 2, you said that avatar isn’t a remake or adaptation, I’ve heard many people calling it a rip-off of Pocahontas and there are similarities there. However there was a book written in 1957 named “Call Me Joe” that is to similar to ignore. here is a link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Call_Me_Joe
So what are these video a remix of?
Amazing work, congratulations from Poland.
Fantastic work! Thanks for taking the time to put all of this information together. On a matter of fact I would love to see all parts together in the shape of a long documentary.
Everyday we hear the news talking about big companies patenting the most absurd things like mouse movements and website designs. Is about time that we all start thinking on a post-copyright era, where knowledge must be shared not owned.
Very interesting and informative videos, but is there a point you guys are trying to make besides everything is a remix? It seems like your tossing in more examples of everything being a remix, which is informative but you already have three videos full of it. Is there anything else you are trying to say?
yea i dont get it…i feel like people are just trying to find something to complain about and get money for
Here’s a video remix i did: Rebecca Black’s Classic Album.
Hope you get a laugh out of it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkDLRaCnWC4
Love it! Congratulations – really nice job and I’m looking forward to part 4!
Ian
I don’t know if a “point” is necessary or even healthy for an expositional piece like this, but if there’s any editorialism I think it’s saying that you shouldn’t be discouraged that you can’t create another star wars because even the original was dependent upon the films before it. And that while mainstream culture is wildly over-rated it’s “curators” took substance from actual culture, which itself is amalgamatory. This isn’t a story of heroes and villains, that’s kinda cliche.
someone pleaseeee tell me what the name of the song is playing at the end (before the credits) on part 3? It sounds so familiar and is driving me crazy!
Excellent video series! I’m not unfamiliar with the idea that creativity is largely an evolutionary process that builds on previous designs, but the way you presented it is nothing short of creative genius. It does raise the question of the nature of creativity because it’s often assumed that creativity is making something from nothing.
Nice work.
To me most interesting at this point, and after watching all 4 episodes, would be an answer to the question: Where does “influence in making something new” turns into “copying from something old”.
Where and how can one define the boundaries betwwen the two and judge a movie as original or not? Is this entirely subjective or not…?
The Fall is here, exactly when will episode 4 come out?
any info about upcoming part4? 10q
obsolutli amayzing!! solo agregare un detalle . la pelicula EL BUENO, EL MALO Y EL FEO tambien esta inspirada en su totalidad en LOS 7 SAMURIS. bay!!
Who was the person opposite Alanis Morrissette in Part 1?
Hello from India Kirby !!
Amazing work. eagerly waiting for Episode 4.
cheers..
Dude! I don’t know about a donation, because currently I’m tight on money, but dude, definitely I’m sharing this in every network I use, so there’s a chance for you to get some dough… Either way, thank you, this work is outstanding
Your work is really outstanding! Keep on doing! It happily becomes one of the references of my MA thesis!
Ok, but culture has produced so much in so many different countries, different gestures and languages that I would like you show more examples but american productions.
iT is a great influence that woukd inspire people to adventure in that path we are not talking about individuals but about humans , but if there isn’t individual why are we still divinising them ?
Part 3 makes me worry that a ton of science and art history education needs to be rethought to benefit (and to some degree bring about) my desired future culture sans intellectual monopoly legislation.
Nice idea, cute remix! There is something that most of you has to know before comment against Kirby. “We live in Postmodernism” Everything is a clue of this and everybody is gonna die.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postmodernism
Sooooo, I was kinda promised part 4 in the fall of 2011. I do believe it is now December 2nd.
I love these videos. Good production and information!
How much longer until part 4!?!?
Can’t wait :/
asdas
asdas
I love your stuff. You are so well researched.
How did you produce it though? What software?
Great series. I can’t wait for part 4!
Ok, the Fall will be over on Dec. 22, 2011. Soooooo, when will part 4 be ready?
The whole point of this series seems to be to attack a straw man: No one has made any cultural work from scratch.
DUH! So what? No one is has ever made such an argument. No one would ever make such an argument because it’s absurd.
No one has invented an alphabet, and then subsequently a language to write a novel.
I think the author of this series wants the ultimate point to be that collage is an important cultural contribution.
But look Mr. Author, aside from the blink-of-an-eye brief bit on sampling, you haven’t even addressed collage. I’m starting to fear you don’t even know the difference between collage and imitation. You seem to be conflating the two. Please correct me if I’m wrong.
Please, address collage, and make a point regarding collage, because so far your little series is saying almost nothing.
A remix, in the way you’ve defined it, is a collage. But you’ve spent the majority of this series discussing imitation.
I think I detected fragments of Naqoyqatsi and Baraka near the end of the video. Am I right?
Just love what you’re doing. I’m a composer ant that’s one of the things i first learned in composition class. That’s how Mozart, Beethoven, and the great composers of all times learned how to write their own music. It’s definitely not about creating, but about combining what you already know. And there goes the saying… “Creativity is 10% inspiration, 90% perspiration”
Hey great video I suspected what you were saying all along but you confirmed what I thought thanks, is the song in the beggining of the third video a remix of an aphex twin song?
Brilliant work Kirby, Im really impressed.
Have you read David Shields’ Reality Hunger? Argues a similar point, though with less chutzpah!
It’s really a cool and useful piece of information. I am happy that you shared this helpful info with us. Please stay us informed like this. Thanks for sharing.
religion is remixed too
This should be made compulsory viewing in schools
i don’t think part 4 is ever coming…
No part 4??
I agree with some of what’s been said in the comments; as much as it is great and very informative (definetely a complusory view, specially in art schools), instead of repeating the formula with more examples part after part, if it can’t contribute something new to the criticism speech it should be concluded, instead of adding more trivia that anyone really interested in the matter could find out there the same way the authors of this do.
I’m happy that you took time away from Part Four to help campaign against PIPA. But I am very, very much looking forward to the conclusion of this series!
Coming next month!
February 1, 2012???
Next month is here, the video is not available. Is there anything we can do to speed up the process?
I said February, not February 1st.
It’s almost finished, just hang tight.
Ok. Thanks. But I want you to know I’m salivating over here waiting for the last episode.
M.J.
Awesome work! Thank you for your time, talent, and dedication.
Would you consider starting a Kickstater campaign for your next video project?
I look forward to seeing more of your work.
Keep up the amazing job and thank you again.
(ps: the comments and exchanges in the blog are hilarious, you may have some material here for a short comedy)
Lion King is a remake of Kimba the White Lion:
http://www.kimbawlion.com/rant2.htm
I am glad I JUST watched all the episodes and now don’t have to long for part 4 like everyone else. HA! Very informative and a good piece of filmmaking. Bravo Kirby and you can be my wingman anytime…
Correction: and now don’t have to long to wait…for part, blah blah blah
This is exceptionally well made and informative; its really impressive.
Great work man,must have taken you alot of time to gather all the information.Really appreciate it.Looking forward for the final episode!!!
this reminds me quote from Jim Jarmusch:
Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is nonexistent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery. celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: “It’s not where you take things from – it’s where you take them to.”
-Jim Jarmusch
I just found this story about the “true” relationship between Xerox and Apple. It’s said to be different to the common believe of Apple just copying. In fact, they supposedly did a unique remix.
What do you think?
http://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&story=On_Xerox,_Apple_and_Progress.txt
I can’t watch the video… I don’t know if it’s temporary or not, the 3 first parts are working. I’m in France.
Thank you, brilliant. But I must note with reference to Episode 2, that “AVATAR” IS an ADAPTATION of Harry Harrison’s “Deathworld”.
Very insightful and ironic seeing as these videos are themselves remixes of many different things.
Really like the films, no new memes to me but the presentation was very good.
I would have liked to see what you think the solution is and just where remixing ends and plagiarism begins.
Absolutely incredible work and transformative ideas, looking for to your next project.
What is the name of the song in part 4 at 1:40!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is a Masterpiece.
This kind of stuff is hard work, Kirby! You have pulled some really great examples together and I can only guess how long this must have taken! PLUS – I am a copywriter and so am fully aware of the process. ‘Nothing is new’. Congratulations..
wow, this series is totally amazing! It should be on TV! Kudos!
Very, very powerful. Just wanted to say thanks!
The first three films could be shortened and combined into one, as they all state essentially the same thing, although great work overall. The fourth is amazing, it should be shown to kids in school (well actually it should be shown to governments, but i don’t think these people care, since they are bought by the industry).
Just awesome! I liked the las part very much, especially the sample troll example. But one of the most infamous cases is that of the sample used on The Verve’s Bittersweet Symphony, for using a sample too much according to its label in the UK.
Its a cool era comeback…just missed the beepers and gaga pets!
Great work Kirby. I notice Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust” wasn’t mentioned in rip offs of Chic’s Good Times bass line.
This documentary is the best meme I witnessed in nearly 15 years of internet travel. Thank you.
Products of random chance making moral judgments on what is right or wrong . . . with opinions about what we “need” to do . . . doesn’t make much sense to me.
its always about what we need to do, in theory in a democratic society laws and regulations can be changed… because those tell us what we supposed to do or not, there for a discussion on any subject could lead to the change of those laws and regulations … for example to possibility of putting a time limit on copyrights and patents, or even completely get rid of them … witch out discussion there would be no change if necessarily
LOVED this! I’m out of work so don’t have much to spare, but have kicked in 10 bucks to your next project. Keep up the great work!
The first video I watched was part four because I had gotten a Facebook notification that caught my interest.
Within just the first three minutes I found myself laughing at an irony I wasn’t sure you were aware of.
The way you break it down with the three steps showing how ideas develop and evolution occurs is a novel concept only insofar as you’ve changed the original words.
Hegel used the terms Thesis, Anti-thesis and Synthesis to demonstrate how ideas evolve. It’s refreshing to have that concept expressed in the vernacular of today.
You did an exemplary job in the film editing, the narration, and the content, which was overall, superb. I did take issue with a couple of things, but that’s to be expected. Excellent, excellent work. I like the way you think.
Kudos and I hope you succeed in whatever your hands and mind find to do.
I wish I had taken the time to proofread the confusing collection of words, I just posted. For want of a couple of commas. I could better have expressed myself as follows. Your breakdown of how ideas evolve in three steps is novel, only in that it’s also a remix of Hegel’s ideas, who got them from King Solomon in the book of Ecclesiastes, I’d wager. There is nothing new, under the sun. I hate posting on my own posts. I hope you found this interesting.
Fantastic! I love this series! I am now a BIG Kirby fan! I work as a magician, with a background in fine art. These considerations are considerably volatile in the magic community as it is necessary to have secrecy, but also necessary to use and build on others ideas. Keep up the great work Kirby!
This was really good but too damn short. I think there is people like me who would love to see more of this stuff.
“If I have seen a little further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants…”
Thanks a lot! Amazing Videos you’ve made!
This series is a informative masterpiece that should, if enough people listen, change the world as we know it.
I don’t think you spend enough time explaining what is currently wrong with the current state of copyright law. You show examples of individuals suing other companies over copyright infringement but you don’t get into the details of why they can claim this and more importantly and why they can win. Intellectual copyright must definitely change to reflect the realities of the digital age. We need more emphasis placed upon a sharing economy and copyright fits into this paradigm. But you could use even more relevant examples in your presentation to showcase what is wrong with current copyright law today. I think YouTube is an excellent example of existing copyright laws that frankly need to be changed given the amount of remixing that goes on with so much of the video content. You can’t keep criminalizing human behavior. At some point, the mashup or the remix must be part of the intellectual copyright domain and in this case, you can do that with the creative commons, which I presume you will delve into in your presentation on this topic.
You might want to define what you mean by “sharing economy”. As it currently stands, if someone uses part of your creation (eg. melodies or lyrics) in a new work, you share in the proceeds. Neil Rodgers made a fortune out of “Rapper’s Delight” (too much in my opinion, as he was subsequently granted a whacking 100% of the writing credit – but this was the early days of sampling). The term “sharing economy” is often used in the context of “taking economy”. A remixer takes something without enabling sharing. If you have another view of how this might work, let me know.
You ought to consider re-editing the four parts as a single documentary and selling it to say, PBS, and/or Netflix to raise more funds for your next projects.
Brilliant video. I am an amateur photographer, and watching these videos gives me confidence in my work. So far a lot of what I do is a direct emulation of others’ work, and everything else is a is a transformation. I hope to get to the combine phase of my photography eventually.
I’d also like to be able to show these videos in my school (I am a teacher as well). Do you have any issues with me broadcasting to a small class?
Really, profoundly good. Thanks so much for your work and contribution.
Excellent! Thank you! Social evolution still is at its dawn. Please look at the “Piracy is good” movie – loved it also.
Thank you again for doing this!
Really enjoyed the series! Learnt a lot of new things. Thanks for making them
great.
i’d love to see remix news, art, fashion, media, literature, ….
thanks.
This got me thinking about what is creativity itself, what is new. In terms of what we generally call creativity, as you say, nothing is new but borrowed and combined. Krishnamurti is very interesting on this point, talking about a freedom from the known for creation to take place. For example:
“Most man-made creativity, as we call it, takes place from the known. The great musicians, Beethoven, Bach and others, acted from the known. The writers and philosophers have read and accumulated; although they developed their own style they were always moving, acting or writing, from that which they had accumulated – the known. And this we generally call creativity.
Is that really creative? Or is there a different kind of creativity which is born out of the freedom from the known? Because when we paint, write, or create a marvellous structure out of stone, it is based on the accumulated knowledge carried from the past to the present. Now, is there a creativity totally different from the activity that we generally call creativity?”
Great job with the documentaries! Yes, some of them might state the “obvious”, but still worth a watch. Too bad that they’re not longer.
Would have loved some mention about Old/baroque/classical music and Shakespeare’s plays.
Eagerly awaiting the mkv of part four.
Thank you for making this Video Series. I can’t imagine how much work and time you spent putting together this project. You did an amazing job.
Thanks a Lot for your time and all the production involved in such a great Project. It’s a great source of knowledge and inspiration. Thanks again!
As stated before, very good job with this “series”. You have managed to say pretty much all there is to say about this subject in this compendium. I believe that shortness (but regarded as conciseness) is a key point in keeping people’s attention focused and for that matter getting a better result. It is up to the people now to comprehend the significance of your work. In my opinion putting all four parts together with all subtitles avaliable (maybe in an mkv, asap as it is fresh) will have the best impact, otherwise the risk is to lose them between episodes and because the fourth is the key, that would be a great loss. I’m sorry that I can’t contribute with money to your work right now because I’m not so wealthy (I live in a country that is sucked by bigger ones – Romania), but I thought I could participate by making the translations so I did it (parts 2-4) because in my country there are still many people that don’t speak english so well and your speed require some help. Anyway thank’s so much for clarifiyng the problem of invention-innovation-remix for lots of people. Maybe now this issue will be looked at from a different angle.
And good luck with your new project! Looking forward to that. Maybe you’ll check out this guy on the internet – John Perkins – for your new project. He has a lot to say about foreign policy !
Why can’t I download the MKV versions with ‘wget’?
————————————–
~$ wget http://www.everythingisaremix.info/video/everything_is_a_remix_3.mkv
–2012-03-01 08:40:49– http://www.everythingisaremix.info/video/everything_is_a_remix_3.mkv
Resolving http://www.everythingisaremix.info... 173.236.132.127
Connecting to http://www.everythingisaremix.info|173.236.132.127|:80… connected.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response… 403 Forbidden
2012-03-01 08:40:50 ERROR 403: Forbidden.
I don’t know. Browser’s work.
The user agent header wget sends by default is obviously not accepted, if you call wget with -U firefox it works:
wget -U firefox http://www.everythingisaremix.info/video/everything_is_a_remix_3.mkv
Great series! It’d be nice to show this to the fat cats that run the RIAA and MPAA.
I just forwarded your remix videos to our Head of Upper School. Hopefully, they book you to come speak. I think the students would benefit greatly.
Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant!
Donation … already done!
Thank you Kirby
Being in medicine and also having bases in science, I am aware how far we got in developing tools to assist people to get better, but also the road we have to go. I always regret seeing patients suffering in hospitals, and always think that better drugs, treatment, procedures could be invented. Though for this to happen we need free rain given to exchange ideas on internet. Not interfere with ACTA SOPA. The patents for sure should not be kept indefinably. This series is a beautiful one and pleasure to watch, I shared it on social network so hopefully more people see it. Cheers Kirby.
Excellent work, Kirby. I think you will male a very popular doumentary producer, if you’re not already. Thanks for doing something to make the world a better place.
Very good!
Another well known remix is from “In My Time of Dying”, which in fact has been remixed since the 1920s.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_My_Time_of_Dying
Great artists like Bob Dylan and Led Zeppelin have done covers of the song, and even Johnny Cash sampled lyrics in his son “Ain’t no Grave”
absolutely loved your documentation.
you could make a 5th part focusing on another big frightening step of copyright: patenting genes as monsanto already introduced. patenting food genes patenting animals. maybe one day the patent of life. the patent of being the way we are.
-
all this “copying and remixing” is a part of our nature. its part of evolution. but our brains created a shortcut to evolution. we create things in a faster fashion than ever. science and technology is progressing at high speed. our world is speeding up exponentially. inventions are made almost every day.
maybe all this “protecting intellectual property” is an “evolved version” of “greed”. it is the natural counterpart of creativity. maybe it is a part of the equation. maybe it was inevitable. which would mean that one day these forces will zero each other out and we’re back where we started. (i could imagine what happened to past great civilisations like the mayas). i believe we’re currently heading towards a big reduction of our civilisation. hopefully we destroy ourselves faster than we destroy the rock we’re living on. if not, hopefully a giant meteor will come to help and decimate mankind back to a more managable 10 million. where people once again grow their own food and be happy with the things they have. and everything will start over again and again. and we can make our mistakes again and again.
as great minds already said: know history and you will know the future.
hopefully some people will remember our great mistakes and will once again write a book… create 10 commandments to not get in each others hair… 7 deadly sins of bad character attributes to not making the same mistakes again. then we will have some time and people will get lazy of following rules again and the cycle continues…
… until eventually something will happen. since evolution is a mighty force of “better design wins”, maybe one day evolution decides that greed is a flaw and will change our way of thinking. just like some of our bodyparts our ancestors passed on to us vanished over the last million years. maybe our character flaws will vanish too one day…
since evolution takes its good sweet time to “remodel” us we have to make the best out of it…
and for f**ks sake keep the planet spinning or we wont have a second chance, or third, or fourth, or fifth, or sixth,…….
Jack
I visited your article totaly accidentaly, was lookong for some SEO content, but i found quite interesting blog. Thanks for you work.
Led Zeppelin did copy alot of other peoples work, but they most definitely made it better.
slick as fcuk %).
Interesting . . . creation, change & innovation . . . the digital world of today accelerates the process while
the intellectual property movement now directs flow to control and slow it down with a byproduct of hypocritical ethic morality.
You aren’t supposed to get a patent, supposedly, if your invention is an obvious derivative of ‘prior art’. However, if the reviewer is not familiar with the prior art, approvals can slip through that shouldn’t. Hence the litigations.
God I love when people use good music appropriately in things, and man did you nail it. From Beethoven, to the Gorillaz, to Air in the Virgin Suicides soundtrack, nice. The editing and research for this was astounding too. Changed my perception of media today, that’s for sure. Congrats on the kick-starter, I plan to check that out as well.
I was really impressed with the first three videos, but I was frankly a bit shocked when I got to the fourth one. All your arguments are that legislation has gotten out of hand, but you go out of your way to excuse government actors and blame ‘the market economy’….? Really? I think you should look into the public choice literature,you would probably find it quite interesting, and it might just clear up your thinking about this one gap in your logic. Otherwise, a great series; I much enjoyed. Thanks!
I truly appreciated your videos. Thank you for the time you put into them.
Very interesting! Did you know James Joyce was cutting and pasting words and phases to produce the second half of Ulysses forty years before William S Burroughs?
This is absolutely fantastic. I had always felt that nothing was truly original, but had never found a way to put it into words until now. As an aspiring writer, I’ll make sure to watch these videos multiple times in the pursuit of great ideas for stories.
Loved it. But ‘begs the question’ is misused near the end. Cringed.
Dzięki, przydało się.
People like me who works with creation got to spread this ideal! I gonna make my part here in Brazil!
Is this a joke? Seriously? It’s been called palimpsest-ous. Why would I listen to a fat wannabe hipster who’s regurgitating bullshit and packaging for idiots in this “remix” bullshit? ..Post-modernist watered down crap. Geez,what year is it?
Not every think is a remix. The author’s point is disproven by his footage… He even proves : “you don’t need talent”.
[12-04-04 7:46:02 PM] Alec B.: Very nihilistic and collectivistic. Quoting H Ford does it. I love the non-idea that ideas are not property. Very appropriately contradictory.
He does not consider the fundamentals of property and uses definitions without appeal to essentials. To him, a man is an animal with a thumb. He fails to understand HOW ideas come and TO WHOM. Any of the arguments he makes about ideas, if transposed to any other physical property or thought, would amount to you losing your house justifiably because your only justification is only that you were there first… He also ascribes CONSEQUENCES to CAUSES. For instance, the general outlook for the public that people had during this era CAUSES the increase in wealth.
Yes ideas are influenced by backround premises, but there is a single mind or a series of single minds that makes the compilations and drive innovation
The goal of the patent and copyright system was NOT to ensure a public domain, but to ensure that individuals maintained rights to their property and the fruits of their individual labour.
The core belief of the age of Reason was NOT a belief in the common good. Anything but. The era with that mystically corrupt belief was the middle Ages and the early 1900s unto now. The core political belief of the age of Reason was that each INDIVIDUAL had a right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of happiness. It was thus in each individuals interest to be interested in others, RESULTING in the century’s transformation of man.
Loss aversion is NOT a human quirk. Every social animal is loss averse…
The alleged corruption of patents and copyright by Disney necessitated which institutions to allow the corruption? The fact that one asks some one else for a dispension does not make one corrupt if some one else accords it. It necessarily makes some one else corrupt.
The broader interpretations of the laws are completely dissociated with capitalism and completely associated with the ambiguous application of clear laws, all corrupted by agents OUTSIDE the market.
George Harrison was wrong and R Mack was right…
You can copy gospel because it is public domain. So Ray Charles was right.
The agreements he cites are all highly interpretable and ambiguously worded consensus agreements enacted to protect agents OUTSIDE of the market.
US Style protection is an anti-euphimism. Its only real meaning can be, objective and clear language of law. Somehow, this is bad. Further more, the exact opposite is being propagated. Unclarity, whimsical, arbitrary. This is neither an american nor a Canadian attribute. All the Louis were such. All the Romanovs. The Qing dynasty.
The only point that he validly poses is the one about the software patent application. But, the geniuses behind that INNOVATION looked at the definition of ideas in the same manner as the author does. Only they came up with an equally whimsical reevaluation of what constitutes patentable property.
He assumes that the wealth loss is evaporation. The reality is that it is wealth reallocation. It is a zero-sum game.
CONCLUSION: Ideas are property. Not all whims and plagiarisms are ideas. The costs associated with arbitrary would disappear if the laws were based on definitions which distinguished the essential features of whims and plagiarisms from ideas. For these laws to change, for the judges to set precedent law, a great majority of individuals must uproot its thinking on social parameters and see themselves as empowered with reason necessitating property. Whatever this author means by Social evolution can only be regarded as a massive threat to reasonable individuals.
While it seems you took a very long time to craft your rebuttal and you seem like you are very fired up about this topic, it doesn’t help what you are saying make any sense. Quite frankly I don’t think you made a single point backed up by logic in your entire essay. I especially enjoyed your “original thoughts” when you regurgitated the Gordon Gekko a-la Wall Street quote about the zero-sum game. I think the only problem here is that as a conservative thinker, you are angered by the idea that these “liberal” scientific truths about the way our society functions go against everything you were raised on.
Also, I’m SORRY to SAY that your REPETITIVE use of ALL CAPS to try and make your opinions MORE RIGHT is JUVENILE. That behavior belongs in the comments section of a Yahoo! article.
Goodness evening! News describing my have a job is indeed completed, proceed to withdraw implementation.
What about Kashmir? It was remixed by pdiddy
Beautiful, thank you.
excellent work ! springsteen recently came clean about what he stole from, lots of artists coming clean lately possibly worried about what new tech will emerge to analyze their music. there’s definitely some paranoia emerging on the part of the artists (what does artist even mean) hacks!
Why has this series not been circulating…I came across is a year and a half ago and favorited it after the first 2 parts on this old comp. was just looking through my old links and found it…I’m taking it to facebook/twitter/g+…this needs to get out
And when the system conflicts with the reality… the system starts to fail…
That’s the bottom line. Thank you.
Hey there, You have done an incredible job. I will definitely digg it and personally suggest to my friends. I’m confident they’ll be benefited from this web site.
Hey,
I discovered your series in the context of the ongoing German copyright discussion (with the Pirates’ Party).
I especially love your second film with movies, because with movies combining so many artistic elements (picture, sound, story, …) it is impressive to see where people get their inspirations.
Thanks for that great job!
Phil
I have been surfing online more than 2 hours today,
yet I never found any interesting article like yours.
It’s pretty worth enough for me. In my opinion, if all website owners and bloggers made good content as you did, the web will be much more useful than ever before.
This is an incredibly enlightening video – this needs to go viral and soon!