Creativity Homework: Week 3

In what way could this short film be considered creative?

• Use of camerawork

The editing within this film is moderately slow and flows effortlessly into each shot. This slow paced editing replicates the slow pace of life that the young, punk girl leads. We also see a lot of close ups on the protagonist's face to help show the contrast between emotions and personalities. 

• Mise-en-scene

The colourful graffiti that plagues every scene creates a modernised version of an old school fairytale, paired with the young girl's facial expressions. This shows creativity quite literally through an adaptation of a previous idea (fairytale). We also see the girl with brightly coloured hair, tattoos and accessories which contrasts to the dull, grey backgrounds that she appears in. 

• Sound

It is evident that during the beginning of this short film, the music is soft and peaceful to foreshadow the essence of the main character and what she is supposed to represent. Also, whenever we see the symbolic codes of the bird of girl herself, the shots are supported with the same musical tone to enlighten which characters are 'creative'. This can also be seen when the music deepens in shots featuring the ink or other characters.

• Narrative

The narrative of this short film is extremely imaginative and conveys elements of fantasy and surrealism, things that we would associate with being creative and open minded. As a whole, this story line could be seen to be creative due to it being about a girl who wants to change her city into something new and fresh.

• Representation of characters

Characters who are supposed to carry a creative aspect are featured in colour, examples of this being the bird and girl. The protagonist of this short film could be representing the typical young adult with a creative, optimistic mind. Whilst we see other characters such as the lady stamping the papers as representations of pessimists and are always shown in black and white. Overall, this contrast in characters could be seen to represent the contrast in creativity and the difference between past and new ideas.

Creativity Homework: Week 2

1) Look at this quotation by Herman Melville, do you agree with him or do you think that imitation can still be creative?

I agree with the quote as a whole in that failure is compulsory if we want to make something new that has never been seen or done before. As well as that, i think it is important for us to always have new ideas and to be creative as imitation can only be altered to originality for so long. However, if we alter a previous idea to create a new idea then that it is not 100% original as our inspiration came from someone/something else in the past.  

2) Find an example of a media text that you think imitates another, whilst still being creative.
Overall, many modern films' plots can be seen as copies of traditional narratives and include familiar characters and story lines. The following films are just a few examples of imitations of previous creations:

• Ridley Scott's 1979 film "Alien" has had comparisons to the 1958 film "It! The Terror From Beyond Space" since it was first released with many critics closely comparing their sequences, scenes and finales.
• George Lucas' "Star Wars" is said to have taken ideas of characters, narrative and film sequences from Japanese director Akira Kurosawa's "The Hidden Fortress". Some people even notice a direct nod to the 1958 movie when the Imperial Officer was forced choked before speaking the entire title (38:34).
• Lee Unkrich's 2010 "Toy Story 3" has to give some credit to "The Brave Little Toaster" which stars household appliances cased aside by their collage-aged owner, Rob, the team decides to find their way to his dorm room, encountering terrifying obstacles along the way. Being thrown in with disassembled or broken gadgets, and even winding up in a junkyard headed for disposal were all re-imagines for the "Toy Story" series, particularly the second sequel.
• More recently, Suzanne Collins' book to film adaptation of "The Hunger Games" (directed by Gary Ross) has been heavily compared to Kinji Fukasaku's "Battle Royale" since it hit the big screen. Both of these films follow the story line of a dystopian society run by an empowering government in which children are forced to fight to the death as a punishment a rebellion.

These are just a few examples of imitations within film however all of the modern recreations are still creative and unique due to advances in technology and cinematography as a whole. New advances in camera, lighting and special effects allow audiences to experience familiar story lines through a whole new perspective.

Creativity Homework: Week 1

1) Create your own definition of creativity
The ability to transcend traditional ideas and create new meaningful ideas across numerous platforms.
2) Now find an official definition

3) Compare your definition and the official one:
i) What are the similarities and differences?
Both of these definitions carry the idea of taking an original idea and making something new and imaginative. As well as that, both suggest that creativity is not restricted to an individual person or platform, and that anyone can be creative how they like. However, in my definition it mentions that the new idea should be meaningful and have some depth behind it rather than just an alteration of an original idea.

ii) Which, in your opinion, is better?
I think my definition is better as it is less vague but still allows different approaches and interpretations. It also suggests that it is ok to incorporate previous ideas into new, unique ones.