VidReview: "Everything is a Remix"

Who?

Kirby Ferguson

What?

Everything is a Remix

Where?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coGpmA4saEk

or

http://everythingisaremix.info/watch-the-series/

When?

Published on youtube on June 25, 2012

The Gist

The video "Everything is a Remix" is an eye-opening video showing numerous examples of how everything is derived from everything else.  The main parts of the video are titled "Song Remains the Same", "Remix Inc.", "The Elements of Creativity", and "System Failure", and the major point that gets repeated throughout the video is that progress is made through copying, transforming, and then combining.

The Good

1. I really liked the number of examples that are given in this video.  They make it hard to argue against the points of the video.
2. The video is only a few years old and the information is still very relevant today.  Problems stated are still around today.
3. The video is segmented into parts quite well and is consistently interesting.  I especially liked the portion about the hypocrisy of people acting towards copied work.

The Bad

1. Although this gives a lot of objective information, it doesn't really provide any concrete solutions or changes that could be made to better benefit everyone.
2. Jumped around to cover a lot of information
3. At the end of the video, he tells the audience "it's up to us" but I'm not 100% clear on exactly what or how he wants us to change things.

The Questions

1. What is arguably the most popular remix of all time?  What is the heaviest lawsuit against a remix?
2. How can we both protect unique ideas and allow people to profit off of their creativity, but still encourage people to copy off of original ideas.
3. How can we prevent companies or people from amassing wealth simply by bullying innovators with copyright lawsuits.

My Review

I enjoyed this video.  It was not too long and yet it covered a lot of ground.  The video was very well put together and I like that every point was supported by tons of relevant examples.  I did find the video very objective, which isn't bad, but it made me seriously question how we can find solutions for the problems in this world of remixes.  Overall, the video was both enlightening and thought provoking.

8/10