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RIP: A Remix Manifesto

A Remix is a term used for altering media, whether a song, a video, a film or literature and combining them into a new form to replace the original.

I had the pleasure to view an open source documentary - RIP Remix Manifesto put together by Brett Gaylor, a web activist and Greg Gillis, a remix musician, where I learnt about the legal issues and moral rights that challenge copyright.

The manifesto addresses 4 theories:

-Culture always builds up in the past.
-The past tries to control the future.
-Our future is becoming less free.
-To create free societies you must limit the influences of the past.

Take look at this collaborative remix of many who have helped put together an open source website.

Video (a remix manifesto trailer)

Check this video out. Lawrence Lessig, a political activist, who supports the use of open source software, expresses his thoughts on the remix culture.

Also check out this Video: Remix Culture Fair use is our friend video on Fair Culture. Lessig’s work based on free use within copyright law, allows us to interact and put forward our own ideas and concepts, creating a remix of ideas as an open source.

In addition, Gregg Michael Gillis ('Girl Talk') creates a mash up of over 10 songs taking parts of the songs to formulate a new mix. You can download these for free.

I have also shared the recognisable code of “fair use” - a protection against the infringement of copyright.

See the guidelines that state what ‘fair use’ requires by pressing on the logo.

For further reading on Copyright, check out the link below:

Creating my own Remix

Having learnt about the Remix Culture, for further experimentation, I wanted to create a Remix that focuses on the key figures who question authorship and those that I will discuss in my essay. I chose to look at interviews, talks and lectures that demonstrate my understanding of the The Post- Structuralist Author. Based on my findings, I will create a mash up, which demonstrates the content and produce a Remix that shows and illustrates the strengths and weaknesses of the concept of Authorship.

First I started by brainstorming and produced drawings of spider diagrams to refresh the concept of Author, Authorship and the Remix culture to show my understanding of this topic:

Next I researched the following youtube videos- all who speak about “The Death of The Author and the Birth of the reader”(Roland Barthes & Michel Foucault) and how this concept has affected design.

1. Ellen Lupton-Book writer and designer.

2. Bruce Mau- Designer.

3. Marty Neumeier- writer and business advisor.

From watching these videos, I liked the content and wanted to create my own Remix on Final Cut Pro, to change and manipulate the videos using existing material and combine them into a new form.

Final Cut Pro is a non-linear video editing software developed by Macromedia Inc. and then Apple Inc. This software allows users to control the format of videos on a timeline, as well as edit them using special effects and audio. I chose to use this software, as I could edit my chosen videos and cut them to combine the elements of footage, that I would like to use for my video remix.

Press on this logo to see the manual for Final Cut Pro

Below are screenshots of my process on final cut pro, showing the videos being cut and arranged. I also added typography and introduced music from the following link:

My Timeline on Final Cut Pro

Adding typography to my Timeline

Adding audio and finalising my Remix

Levels of Authorship in producing my remix

I do not own or did not create any of the youtube videos, so I am not the author or the originator of this work. However, I did change, cut, edit and manipulate the structure of the videos, but edited the material in ways that show and illustrate the strengths and weaknesses of the concept of Authorship. Therefore, I am the author of the changes I made in producing my own Remix.