Watch: ‘Everything is a Remix’ 2023 Edition Video by Kirby Ferguson
by Alex Billington
March 30, 2023
Source: YouTube
“Remixing can empower you to be more creative.” Remix the planet! We’re all copying, pirating, remixing when we create anything new. Filmmaker Jim Jarmusch has a famous quote in which he says: “Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination.” Filmmaking is also based around taking and building upon cinematic ideas and art from before to make something new. This 60-minute video essay / YouTube documentary about remixing starts by discussing memes & music, then jumps into movies – covering superhero movies and much more. One of the best examples referenced in this is Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, the masterpiece animated movie from 2018 that completely changed animation and storytelling. It’s a good one to reference, but also an obvious pick because it’s so good yet also purposefully connected to the comics and everything that came before – from a multiverse storytelling angle as well. The video eventually gets into video games and tech and the big finale – artificial intelligence. Enjoy.
Thanks to Kottke for the tip on this video. “Just like you use words you know to understand the words you don’t know, you use old stories to understand new stories.” Everything is a Remix (Complete Updated 2023 Edition) is a thought-provoking video essay created by Kirby Ferguson – a professional video creator / producer also known for his documentary film This is Not a Conspiracy Theory, released as a series from 2012 to 2020. You can follow his YT channel @KirbyFerguson or follow him directly on IG @kirbyferguson. He poignantly reminds us in this video: “Remixing allows us to make music without playing instruments, to create software without coding, to create bigger and more complex ideas out of smaller and simpler ideas. You don’t need expensive tools to remix, you don’t need a distributor, you don’t even need skills or… good judgment. Everybody can remix and everybody does.” Intriguing thought. I don’t think this is a final answer to A.I. art yet – there’s still many problems with it. To find more video essays, click here. What do you think?
