Video/Reflection

http://www.youtube.com/user/kimdaigle1?feature=mhum  (For some reason, I can’t make the video embed)

I think that I really took a turn from my initial direction, but I certainly do not regret it. As I tried to relate tattoos to underground music, I realized that they aren’t necessarily married. To say that tattoos are a required entity in The Underground would be going against underground aesthetics. I would also have narrowed my possibilities quite a bit, because I think that most of my friends who really appreciate the bands in basements vibe work hard to pay rent and can’t afford a sleeve full of tattoos.

In terms of what I wanted to do, I think I started out wanting to expose a subculture, and turned out actually pitching it to my viewers. I think I zeroed in on a question of inquiry because I am able to now ask viewers how underground music surmounts its stereotypes. I think I went from wanting the scene to look rough and tumble/fun/crazy/wild, to understanding the reasoning behind partaking in such rough and tumble shows.

I was surprised in putting my project together because I managed to do the film without taking much footage from the Internet. Aside from the police lights and the EKG flat-line, all footage was my own. I was also surprised to see how much better my work looked when I used the fancy camera. Friday night I was able to film from my friend’s expensive work camera, and the quality was entirely different. Although I wish I could have used it all along, it would have been unrealistic to do the whole film with someone else’s equipment. If I had more time, I would have loved to schedule times with him to use it though.

If I had more time, I would also liked to continue taking interviews, and maybe ask more successful musicians how their outlooks on The Underground changed with their success rates. I would like to set up interviews with professionals to see the other side of the playing field and understand what it’s like to be a rockstar so to speak.

I think that from making this video I definitely feel more like a filmmaker. In the first video I felt I had no audience, but with the interviews I’ve put together I think there are certainly people who would be interested. I can see viewers agreeing, but also disagreeing with what was said, which I think makes for a successful film. As a filmmaker I think I was able to think carefully about whom to interview in order to obtain desirable answers. When I did my interviews I wanted the subject to answer candidly so that the responses were genuine rather than staged. As a filmmaker my job was to explore a subculture that I’m involved in, but to showcase the deeper aspect of The Underground. As a documentary I think the film is successful, and I certainly think the world today is documented often by our filmmakers.

In making the film I was reminded a lot of the DIY world that was discussed in my group’s symposium. With the readings I encountered I certainly found a large divide between the professional and the public, and I began wondering about some of the same interrelated topics. I think that for most DIY channels, the intention is to be recognized, but not necessarily sell-out. For underground artists it is the same idea, and while fame could be nice the lack of recognition is never resented. I do, however, think that the YouTube DIY stars are resentful of Hollywood stars because of the Oprah uproar. While underground bands certainly idolize more successful bands and maybe learn from them, DIY YouTubers have shown the world their evil sides in the Oprah situation.

I can see this work becoming part of a social networking process since I have showcased some of my friends who have networked across the country during tours and recording projects. I also think it speaks volumes about participatory culture because it is a rehashing of music and footage about bands that have material out there. It is sort of a group effort between me, the bands, and the rest of the music scene who may (or may not) take interest.

Post 21

Annotated Bibliography

Faris, Marc. “That Chicago Sound: Playing with (local) Identity in Underground Rock.”

Popular Music and Society 27.4 (2004): 429-450. Ebsco. Web. 1 May 2011.

The main argument of this article is that self-production and musical success can be birthed by the band itself, and yields a more emotional output when done the hard way. The article follows Steve Albini, the mastermind behind the 80’s punk band “Big Black.” His style of music and music production reflects the purpose of “Chicago Noise,” and his attitude is purely punk. The band is marked as a local pride band, and Albini and his boys were DIY (do it yourself) masters. Perhaps the most powerful quote in this passage comes from fellow musician John Chandler, who was “not interested in making a living,” but concentrated on “making [himself] available to a broader spectrum of people…as part of a community of people” (431). The family feel of this article was refreshing, and it also contained information about musical production. I was able to use the article to inform my inquiry and help think of questions for my interviews. Many of the people I interviewed seemed to feel the same way as Chandler, which helped me find a common thread to zero in on.

Cohendet, Patrick, David Grandadam, and Laurent Simon. “Economics and the Ecology of Creativity: Evidence from the Popular Music Industry.” International Review of Applied Economics 23.6 (2009): 709-722. Ebsco. Web. 1 May 2011.

The main argument of this article is that creativity is not a product of a few people, but relies on a larger scope to build its pathway and inform successes. The community and support described in this article is much less about family and more about the economic aspect of support. Creativity is described in this article to be a catalyst for the circulation of money, and although the article admits that this claim gets dicey when it comes to certain genres of music—everything can ultimately be economically categorized. By reading this article I was able to focus on the opposing view of the DIY scene, and could better develop a scope into the goals of my musician friends and the neglected underground scene in general.

Karan, Tim. “Q&A: Bamboozle Founder John D’Esposito.” Alternative Press. 21 Dec. 2010. Web. 3 May 2011. <http://www.altpress.com/features/entry/qa_bamboozle_founder_john_desposito/>.

The questions in this article—that most pertain to underground musicians—are ultimately still filtered through D’Esposito’s moneymaking festival bamboozle. The main arguments or main theme of this interview seems to be the dream of exposing new music without losing followers. It seems that although D’Esposito wants to give these aspiring rockstars a chance without sullying his reputation. If smaller bands are offered a spot on the lineup, D’Esposito is sure to add a major sensation to offset the dig in popularity. This outlook informed me because I chose only to film information from basement shows and expose truly underground settings. I think that the most genuine environment for underground music is in a DIY zone.

Fowler, Aaron. “Q&A Darryl Jenifer of Bad Brains.” Alternative Press. 22 Oct. 2010. Web. 3 May 2010.

<http://www.altpress.com/features/entry/qa_darryl_jenifer_of_bad_brains/>.

This interview is focused on the comparison between Darryl Jenifer’s new album and his old albums. In discussing this concept, Jenifer reveals his inkling that musicians nowadays have it made. While this may be true, he also refers to the current music scene as “watered down,” and hopes that there is something better on its way. He talks briefly about those “against the grain” artists that he can relate to, and alludes to the punk rock state of mind. I think this interview informed me by showing the view from the DIY roots, and how this can change when music is mass-produced. While I resent that Jenifer thinks kids today have it made, the lifestyle is definitely more fun than dangerous, which is what much of the scene started out with.

SLC Punk. Dir. James Merendino. By James Merendino. Perf. Matthew Lillard. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, 1999. DVD.

This movie is based on real (although exaggerated) stories of Salt Lake City punks. The main argument in this movie is that youth should live fast, but not necessarily die young. The movie takes viewers through a series of rough concerts and dangerous scenes where drugs and alcohol run the place. The movie reminds me of a seriously exaggerated form of what goes on in my world. This movie helped me because I like the setup of talking head vs. on the scene footage. I also like the idea of exploring a genre of music despite its gritty and grotesque feeling. The DIY theme was definitely present throughout this film, and I hope it is present throughout my own.

Symposium

Definition

The definition of Participatory Culture is “a link between accessible digital technologies, user created content, and some kind of shift in the power relations between media industries and their consumers…..fans and other consumers are invited to actively participate in the creation and circulation of new content”( Jenkins 10,  YouTube)

So, while this sounds incredibly boring and you’re expecting the rest of this presentation to be dry and torturous, in layman’s terms participatory culture is more or less the coming together of YouTube users across the board. It is all of the functions of YouTube working together to bind users to one another as a family of Internet junkies.

As our classmates have asserted, the digitally literate are able to find, create, or participate with digital media. In participatory culture, users rely on their Internet knowledge to keep the YouTube family intact by using social networking and communication to respond to other users and voice personal opinions. This is new for people worldwide because YouTube now informs so much outside of just the Internet sphere. We see people like Daniel Tosh responding to viral videos in his popular show Tosh.0. YouTube videos have opened doors for talk shows and late night shows, and provide material for hosts and also real life people to talk about. Everyone involved in these exchanges becomes part of this participatory culture.

In other words, it’s a cycle, shifting back and forth between production and consumption. In traditional media, consumers could passively watch productions made by companies and professional filmmakers (such as Warner Bros Studio). The invention of YouTube allows consumers to not only choose what they watch, but instantaneously reply to it in the public forum. Through commenting, favorite-ing, responding, and sharing users “actively participate in the creation and circulation of content”.

Basically, when we show each other these videos, and share them on different websites we are circulating media and actively participating. While many people assume that actively involving oneself means creating a reply video or commenting in the forum, as soon as we begin circulating this footage we are a part of the participatory culture.

Elements

As mentioned above, the use of open communication between producers and consumers (sharing, commenting, and replying both textually and through the creation of new content) is essential to the participatory culture of YouTube.

An element up for debate is the separation of production of videos and consumption of videos as separate entities.  Are we actively participating in the YouTube culture even if we’re only consuming? These two sections are dependent in our culture, due to the fact that one can’t function without the other. Videos are being produced in order to be reviewed, and the reviews have to be involved in the process of commenting or replying in order for the producer of content to continue making content relevant to viewers. When powerful icons like Oprah get involved in the YouTube realm, things get a little dicey because powerful people extend their power over just about everything. Oprah was able to eliminate the comment function, which throws the participatory culture aspect off kilter. The communication between production and consumption is limited without the ability to easily respond.

Users went into an uproar when Oprah created a channel in which she disabled the ability to comment. This brought her video back into the realm of traditional media where the participatory culture was circumvented and users were not able to share their feedback on the public forum.

Implications (why does it matter?)

Through participation on YouTube, users create standards for what makes a video popular. The four major categories of popularity on YouTube are Most Viewed, Most Favorited, Most Responded, and Most Discussed, and each are determined by some facet of YouTube’s participatory culture. Those videos that become popular are the ones that elicit the most participation. This is how we end up with YouTube celebrities, or individuals who gain and maintain (if possible) fame and notoriety through the videos they post on the site. As people comment, respond to, or favorite a particular video, they send clues to other video makers on YouTube about what they might like to see in future content. These video creators “can either deliberately attempt to produce popular content that will achieve mass attention… or they can ignore” these techniques and set their sights on smaller, more focused audience. In this second case, we may see videos that appeal to specific subcultures or people looking or specific information.

Without digital literacy (or in this case, the knowledge and skills to participate in the culture of YouTube through commenting, favoriting, or creating response videos and new content) an individual can’t participate in the YouTube culture. Why would I want to? you might ask. Well for one thing, without provide users who upload videos to the site with your feedback, its less likely that they will continue to upload videos that have the content and techniques you enjoy watching, as explained above. Another issue with a lack of digital literacy is that people who do not become digitally literate will not be able to use YouTube to its fullest potential. While YouTube is generally considered a trashy archive of viral videos, there are also ways to access YouTube from a responsive standpoint. There are useful how-to videos, new coverage stories, vloggers voicing their informed opinions, and we can even find educational material on the site. Without the ability to both navigate through and participate on YouTube, you’re missing out on the numerous other uses it has outside of watching the video you mother, brother, classmates, and friends are talking about. You’re also missing a chance to get your own voice heard, not just about the how good or bad a video is, but about real issues.

Post 20: Annotations

Demello, Margo. “The Convict Body: Tattooing Among Male American Prisoners.” Anthropology Today 9.6 (1993): 10-13. JSTOR. Web. 11 Apr. 2011.

The central argument of this source is that there is a distinct line between lower class tattoos and middle class tattoos. The article focuses on prison life and considers the origin of lower class tattooing to be prison-related. The article also states that lower class tattoo styles are being pushed into the mainstream, but at the time this article was written the collaboration was said to be incomplete. Problems began to spring up when ex-convicts would try publishing their tattoos to major magazines because they were not as respected as mainstream tattoos and weren’t noteworthy. The article ends with commentary on how tattoos define both the body and the identity of the wearer.

I really love this article because while it does not appear to be directly related to my topic, it definitely informs the reader about a dingier side of tattoo culture that most people pay no mind to. Demello tells readers that popular lower class/prison tattoos are those that appear on the face, hands, neck, and arms. In a music culture filled with painful songs and outcast musicians, having tattoos on these places in a popular way to show struggle and therefore make the wearer appear tougher than others. While the people in my subculture value pristine tattoo work more than your average Joe, there is also room for the “stick and poke” tattoo that is representative of a dirty prison-like habit. Many of my friends have these “stick and poke” tattoos that were done by their friends and bind them to the tightly knit music scene/family dynamic that they conveniently met each other through.

“Post Your New Tattoos V.2.” Web log post. TheB9. Bridge Nine Records. Web. 11 Apr. 2011. http://sidekick.theb9.com/pages-topic/723758/2?PHPSESSID=05fc4fa7d7845c3ad51b2e6111a6be37.

The central arguments in this blog are based on why certain people have these certain tattoos. Although this is not a traditional source necessarily, it is a forum that is put up by a record company, and is ultimately one way to examine the subculture of the tattoo world while simultaneously showing us the music scene. The posts in this thread show the new tattoos of B9 users and in some cases there is an explanation of why the tattoo is important. The thread contains a lot of tributes to bands with lyrics/images that relate to important bands in this movement.

This source will be useful in my video because the site itself marries the music culture to the tattoo culture in various ways. There are always these “post your tattoo” threads and it is an easy way to watch these music buffs interact over the common interest of tattooing. There are other websites like this one that show various tattoos and explain why they were chosen. I think the blog world in general will be key in completing this project because it is a means of collecting data straight from the field and getting information for my arguments. This website is pretty solid proof that there is a clear overlap between this specific music scene and the tattoo culture.

Post 19: My role

I find it curious to be talking about YouTube in the light of filmmaker for once. It almost feels like a return to the beginning of the class when we discussed how people document their own lives and thought about how their roles fit into their work. Instead of discussing what YouTube videos do for the viewers, I feel that I’m being asked what my work could do for the YouTube community.

I wondered this about my auto video because I feel like it was aimed at a very specific audience. I think the only people interested in my creation would be those that know the Needlewurks tattoo shop. While this is my current role, I hope for my role to be more geared toward making people interested without spoon-feeding them information.

One theory I am intrigued by is Lange’s idea that people become YouTube celebrities to attract attention. I think it is possible to make a video that attracts attention, but isn’t necessarily in-your-face and demanding attention. I also think that Hartley’s idea of watching how people act on YouTube could be useful because I hope to include some candid footage that could be used to observe how people in the subculture act.

My role this time around will definitely be to show not tell. I want to inform people and make a powerful video without a prose-like feel.

 

Post 18: Emily

Emily’s videos show a wide range of use in the types of material she is posting on YouTube. The chicken video and the screen printing video have a how-to feel to them, and her video about reducing/reusing also gives tips on how to stay green. These videos are educational because they tell us how to do things, but there is also a different type of educational content in her creations.

Her other videos that aren’t about being green or internet concerns, are quirky videos that help us future teachers understand the problems we will soon run into. Even the first video about the internet can apply to us because kids aren’t going to know how to do anything as far as Emily is concerned.

I notice that in her video she tries not to be the boring talking head prototype, and therefore moves from side to side/forward and backward in her frames. She also jumps from the expected lady-at-the-computer frame to those with her outside/in the grass/at the co-op etc.

Emily also interacts with her frames. In the video about the names she is pointing to the text on the frame. She also interacts by talking to her computer generated (maybe?) double, and by adjusting how close she gets to the screen. Those close moments are the ones that really feel like she is interacting.

I like that she starts out with the same intro each time, even if it comes after a more customized intro in some cases. She is smart to have a plug to her channel at the end of clips and smart to include relevant links. She seems like a seasoned YouTuber, and I notice that she has a lot of views.

I think that the things she vlogs about are really entertaining and usually a bit controversial. She is charismatic even when talking about serious subject matter, and can successfully deliver educational information without boring viewers.

Hartley Overview

I. Main Argument:

Although Youtube is meant for the people, it is also a site for researchers to evaluate humans and break their usage down to a science that explains how many YouTube videos are alike and therefore create a common network for all humans and highlights the reasons behind YouTube usage.

“We wanted to trace the process by means of which individual creative talent may lead to economic enterprise and employment; and in general to understand how culture and creativity may be a seedbed for innovation and enterprise.”

This quote sums up our argument because it explains how the creators of YIRN were looking to study humans by seeing how they communicate on YouTube. The quote also touches on how man’s creativity can marry with big business.

II. Keywords/terms:

digital literacy: the knowledge that people have about digital media (introduced because the creators of YIRN inititally thought they would need to teach users how to use sites).

digital natives/generation Y: the members of this digital shift who have become avid users through living and learning in the digital realm.

bardic function: the interaction between bottom up participation and top down participation.

user generation plentitude: the mass of user created content that occupies YouTube and could potentially take over.

creative practice: using YouTube as a form of self expression and making a piece of art. This was introduced in regard to school district’s separation between education and leisure (although they could of course be married).

III. Stakes:

An extensive list of stakes goes from page 128-29, but the most important seems to be “How might YouTube be exploited for scientific, journalistic, and imaginative purposes as well as for self-expression, communication, and file-sharing.”

This sums up the major focus of this article which looks at how people use the site.