Digital Technology and Creativity - Potential Question 1a

Example Question from OCR

"Digital technology turns media consumers into media producers.” In your own experience, how has your creativity developed through using digital technology to complete your coursework productions? (25 Marks - 30 minutes)

Ideas and theories to help you.

"A process needed for problem solving...not a special gift enjoyed by a few but a common ability possessed by most people" (Jones 1993)

"The making of the new and the re arranging of the old" (Bentley 1997)

"Creativity results from the interaction of a system composed of three elements: a culture that contains symbolic rules, a person who brings novelty into the symbolic domain, and a field of experts who recognise and validate the innovation." (Csikszentmihalyi 1996)

"There is no absolute judgement [on creativity] All judgements are comparisons of one thing with another." (Donald Larning)

Themes and Questions

1. Is creativity an internal cognitive function, or is it an external social or cultural phenomenon?
Creativity is a mixture of things you see in your environment and your own ideas. You can find inspiration from things around you but you can develop the ideas to make them your own. I believe that most ideas are a mix of existing ideas or things in the environment around, however they are original as they are a mix of different things in a new way. Creativity does not have to be a completely original idea you thought up it can be mixture of ideas, experiences or things that already exist.

2. Is creativity a pervasive, ubiquitous feature of human activity, or a special faculty, either reserved for particular groups, individuals, or particular domains of activity, in particularly artistic activity?
I think anyone can be creative, it is not a skill reserved for certain people. Creativity comes in many different forms and is used by everyone. You do not have to be artistic to be creative.

3. Is creativity an inevitable social good, invariably progressive, harmonious and collaborative; or is it capable of disruption, political critique and dissent, and even anti-social outcomes?
Creativity can be both positive and negative. Different people have different views and opinions and creativity can be interpreted in different ways. Creativity can be meant to be good but could be viewed as disruptive or offensive by someone else.

4. What does the notion of creative teaching and learning imply?
Creativity can be learnt by anyone and it can be used to aid learning of other topics.

Benaji, Burn and Buckingham (2006)

1a Topics

The 1a topics are:

Creativity

Digital technology

Research and planning

Post Production

Real Media Conventions

Questions 1a and 1b (2010-2013)

In question 1a you need to write about your work for the Foundation Portfolio and Advanced Portfolio units and you may refer to other media production work you have undertaken.

In question 1b you must write about one of your media productions.

January 2010

1a. Describe how you developed research and planning skills for media production and evaluate how these skills contributed to the creative decision making. Refer to a range of examples in your answer to show how your skills developed over time.

1b. Analyse media representation in one of your coursework productions.

June 2010

1a. Describe the ways in which your production work was informed by research into real media texts and how your ability to use such research for production developed over time.

1b. Analyse one of your coursework productions in relation to genre.

January 2011

1a. Describe how you developed your skills in the use of digital technology for media production and evaluate how these skills have contributed to your creative decision making. Refer to a range of examples in your answer to show how your skills developed over time.

1b. Apply theories of narrative to one of your coursework productions.

June 2011

1a. Explain how far your understanding of the conventions of existing media influenced the way you created your own media products. Refer to a range of examples in your answer to show how your skills developed over time.

1b. Analyse one of your coursework productions in relation to the concept of audience.

January 2012

1a. Describe how your analysis of the conventions of real media texts informed your own creative media practice. Refer to a range of examples in your answer to show how your skills developed over time.

1b. Analyse media representation in one of your coursework productions.

June 2012

1a. Descibe a range of creative decisions that you made in post-production and how these decisions made a difference to the final outcomes. Refer to a range of examples in your answer to show how your skills developed over time.

1b. Explain how meaning is constructed by the use of media language in one of your coursework productions.

January 2013

1a. Explain how your research and planning skills developed over time and contributed to your media production outcomes. Refer to a range of examples in your answer.

1b. Analyse one of your coursework productions in relation to the concept of narrative.

June 2013

1a. explain how your skills in the creative use of digital technology developed over time. Refer to a range of examples in your answer.

1b. Apply the concept of representation to one of your coursework productions.

Uncool shuffle playlist

1. One Republic- Counting Stars (Folk)
2. McFly- Everybody Knows (Pop Rock)
3. Bruno Mars- Just The Way You Are (Pop)
4. Tinie Tempah- Pass Out (Hip-Hop)
5. Christina Perri- Butterfly (Pop)
6. Joshua Radin- I'd Rather Be With You (Folk, Acoustic)
7. Olly Murs- Busy (Pop)
8. Little Richard- Good Golly Miss Molly (Rock and Roll)
9. Augustana- Fire (Pop Rock)
10. Christina Perri- One Night (Pop)
11. Lily Allen- Smile (Pop)
12. Razorlight- Before I Fall To Pieces (Indie Rock)
13. Corinne Bailey Rae- Put Your Records On (R&B, Soul)
14. Alesha Dixon- The Boy Does Nothing (Pop)
15. McFly- Room On The 3rd Floor (Pop Rock)
16. Chuck Berry- No Particular Place To Go (Rock and Roll)
17. Ed Sheeran- Photograph (Pop)
18. The Fray- How To Save A Life (Pop Rock)
19. Kenny Loggins- Footloose (Pop Rock)
20. Eddie Cochran- C'mon Everybody (Rock and Roll)

Postmodern artist

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZ7nmMuLTwQ

How can Django Unchained be viewed as a postmodern film?

Postmodernism suggests that nothing is original, everything is created from existing ideas or is a mash up of a number of existing products. Postmodern texts often include intertextuality and may reference or use other texts.

Django Unchained is the story of Django, a slave who is freed by Dr King Schultz, a German bounty hunter who takes Django on as a partner. The two partner up as bounty hunters and eventually take on the task of rescuing Django’s wife Broomhilda, from Candieland, a plantation owned by the ruthless Calvin Candie.

This film has a huge number of intertextual references, as is often seen in Tarrantino’s work. It pays homage to the original Django film (1966), using the original theme tune in the movie and also including a cameo appearance from Franco Nero, the actor who played Django in the 1966 film. Django meets Nero’s character in Candieland where he is asked to spell his name. When he explains the D is silent, Nero’s character says, “I know”. This is a reference to the fact he played Django in the original film. This is a use of homage as it is a sincere use of the first film.

There are a number of other intertextual references throughout the film. When Django becomes a free man, he chooses his first outfit. The outfit he wears is a replica of the outfit shown in the painting, The Blue Boy, by Gainsborough. Another intertextual reference in costume is Django’s later outfit which includes a green jacket and cowboy hat. This is a copy of the outfit worn by Little Joe in the TV western, Bonanza. These outfits are examples of Pastiche as they imitate the original texts and use similar, if not exact copies of the outfits for the character.

One example of parody in Django Unchained is the raid scene. This is similar to scenes from birth of a nation and show an early form of the KKK. This scene is a parody as it shows them as unorganised and unthreatening, as some fall off their horses and most are caught in the explosion of the horse drawn wagon. They are also shown having an argument over the poorly crafted masks before the raid. This is meant to show them in a bad light and parody the usual image of the KKK as being organised and dangerous. Another example is the acting of certain characters. Characters such as Stephen and other black slaves throughout the film seem to be over exaggerating their actions. They are extremely obedient to their owners and don’t seem particularly bothered about being slaves. Characters such as Django and Broomhilda are more active in trying to gain freedom. They frequently try to escape their owners which led to them being separated in the first place. The other slaves seem to have accepted their fate and follow their ‘masters’ orders. This could be seen as over exaggerating acting as in reality they may not be quite so accepting of their new roles.

Although Django Unchained is a Western, it is set mainly in the south and Quentin Tarrantino prefers it to be called a southern. Some aspects of it are in the West however a large part of the film is set in Candieland, a plantation in the South. There are a number of aspects that suggest this film is not a western. Part of the film is set in the mountains, in snow. This environment was taken from the film, The Great Silence, which was a western set in a snowy environment. This is not typical of most westerns as they are often set in the desert. There is also a lack of cowboys which is a huge part of westerns, Django and King Schultz are bounty hunters, not cowboys. Although at some points in the film there are characters such as sheriffs the film is mainly set around a variety of plantations and farms as the two hunt down wanted criminals. Most westerns use Americans as the heroes however in Django Unchained, the Americans are the ‘bad guys’ whereas Django and Schultz are the heroes of the film. This is an unusual feature of a western as usual the foreign/European characters, such as Schultz, are the villains and the American hero has to defeat them. It is unusual as an African-American is the main character and ultimately, hero of the story and the German is one of the only characters to treat slaves with respect and kindness. At the beginning of the film he frees Django and gives him work and also gives the other slaves traveling with him the key to their shackles and a gun to kill the white Americans who were transporting them. This kindness continues throughout the film as he partners up with Django, helps him save his wife and finally gives his life by killing Calvin Candie. The American characters in the film were only ever cruel to the slaves which contradicts the general format of existing westerns.

Throughout the film there are references to other films. The original Django theme tune is used along with the same font as the 1966 film. Franco Nero also makes an appearance, referencing the film. The snowy scenes and Django’s target practice on the snowman are taken from The Great Silence, and the KKK raid scene was taken from the film, The Birth of a Nation. This shows the use of bricolage as the film is a mash up of inspiration from a huge variety of existing films. The title of the film came from a number of different films such as Django and Hercules Unchained. Stephen is left in Candieland before it is exploded and his final shouts at Django are cut off by the explosion. This is a reference to the final scene in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly where a character is cut off mid-sentence. There are a number of Westerns in both TV and film that influenced Django Unchained, from the shooting of Calvin Candie to the scene where Django and Schultz ride into a town together.

It can be argued that Django Unchained is not a film, instead it is a mash up of scenes and ideas from existing media. Jameson suggests that postmodernism is “vacuous and trapped in circular references” and that it is “nothing more than a series of self-referential ‘jokes’ which have no deeper meaning”. While this is partially true, as postmodern films reference a number of different texts, I do not believe this makes them unworthy of being called films. Django Unchained is a mixture of Western influences, in a southern setting with southern melodrama. It is a revenge film were the heroes are African-American and German. It includes a number of references to Quentin Tarrantino’s other films along with cameos from Tarrantino and Franco Nero. However I think that it is a film, a postmodern film. It is influenced by other text, reusing old material however it should be classed as a film because it is different. I has taken a number of aspects from different media genres and created something that works well. A lot of aspects of the film have been done before but they have not been done in this exact way which should be credited. I think this is a postmodern film as it uses homage, pastiche, parody and bricolage. There are a number of intertextual references included in the film, referencing a number of existing texts throughout.