To experiment the theme of remixing, we used Barbara Krugers work to create our own video ‘remixes’.
As a group, we chose three different photos by the artist and removed the original words from her work and added three self chosen quotes. Then we published our work on Instagram with further mediums such as GIFs and music to create more engaging pieces.
I chose Kruger’s untitled piece ‘It’s a small world, but not if you have to clean it’ for the project. It is a bold piece with a strong image, so I believed it would go perfectly with my chosen quotes.
When choosing the GIFs and music, the quotes had to be considered in order to create a relevance between them.
My quotes were …
No pressure, no diamonds
Thomas Carlyle
Prove them wrong
Arnold Schwarzenegger
She believed she could, so she did
R.S. Grey
When choosing the music I considered the quotes and the background image. For instance, with the ‘Prove them wrong’ quote, I added the music ‘Believer’ by Imagine Dragons because it is a punchy, inspiring song which can inspire the viewer.
Another example ‘She believed she could, so she did’ I added the song ‘Changes’ by Faul & Wad Ad because it is an upbeat positive song which has an energetic rhythm which will interest the viewer. In the background I put GIFS, with the words hope and take heart, to further express positivity towards acting towards your dreams as shown in the quote.
The third image has the quote ‘ No pressure, no diamonds’. As a backing track, I used the theme tune to Jaws, creating a build up of pressure. A diamond GIF on the woman’s eye expresses the need for intensity in order to get good results.
After creating the pieces, we posted the videos on instagram which were viewed by my followers.
It has been an interesting task working alongside people who weren’t able to use technology easily, because I was able to teach what I have taught myself over the years on social media. Working in this team has opened my eyes to discover more about promoting my work, and making stories on instagram look as clean and eye-catching as possible. Nowadays, people look for simple and shocking visuals which they can interact with. Learning how to choose the most impactful quotes, images and GIFS has been a worthwhile exercise.
Extra Activity
Pieces of paper with 30 drawn circles were handed out to the class. We were instructed to draw a face inside each of the circles, and then pass the paper onto the next person. After each rotation of paper, we added different features. So by the time we passed the paper on four times, we has a sheet full of eclectic looking faces. We were then named them, gave them a job and then created a story as a group with a given story board.
This entertaining exercise showed how incorporating different ideas by ‘remixing’ gives an unexpected outcome. Seeing how others reacted to the challenge was intriguing as many couldn’t cope with the time limit and simplicity of the exercise. I find enjoyment in working with other ideas, so this challenge was rewarding.
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