To begin the two weeks of remixing and mashing, we had to review two references and three examples of what a remix is.  I wanted a clearer understanding of what a remix was, and I wanted to know if other people thought the same as I did, so this was a great opportunity to find out!  When I usually hear the word “remix” or “mashup”, I always think of songs on the radio that are combined to create a new song.  After reviewing all this media, I discovered that remixing and mashing can also be applied to videos and other forms of media.

The two references that I reviewed:

• First, I watched A Fair(y) Use Tail that dealt with copyright issues. I got a warning email from YouTube about copyright, but it wasn’t anything serious. They let my video stay up, but I thought this would be a good way to brush up on any toes I might be stepping on. The video used clips from Disney movies to explain the definition of copyright and that one must pay for copyright permission. It also explained what can be copyrighted: books, plays, music, dance, movies, and pictures, and how long copyright can be sustained.  I learned that one can borrow a small amount of copyrighted material in order to teach, report the news, parody, or a critical comment.
  
• The second reference I used was Everything is a Remix by Kirby Ferguson. Mr. Ferguson states that a remix is “to combine or edit existing material to  produce something new”, and that anybody can do it. I had no idea that there were issues with Led Zeppelin songs and that there were within their legal limits.  What Ferguson talked about reminded me of what my Dad always asks me: “Does your generation have its own type of music? You guys just seem to copy everyone else’s.” I guess that falls under what Ferguson meant: Everything is a remix.

The three examples that I reviewed:

• First, I watched Star Wars Call Me Maybe.  It was so funny! I thought it would just be the song playing in the background while a Star Wars trailer played, but instead, clips from the videos were used to emulate the song lyrics. It was very impressive! I would not have the attention span or patience to do that. 
• Next, I watched The Magic School Bus. This video was hilarious! Again, my expectations were way lower than what the video actually was. I figured it would be the trailer or clips from the show to create something new, but the show was brought to the next level by using real people and making it  less for kids. Too funny!
• Finally, I watched Buffy vs. Edward: Twilight Remixed because I did a Twilight mashup earlier this semester with Twilight and the Twilight Zone, so I wanted to see what others did! I was in the library when watching this and kept getting weird looks because I couldn’t stop laughing!

I didn’t think these examples would be so AMAZING! I know I can’t live up to them because I just flat out don’t have the time or energy, but I’ll try my best!

I chose to explain what a remix is to my roommates Catherine and Alicia by showing her the video of The Magic School bus, which I watched earlier.  I recorded it directly to soundcloud, and for some reason, it was a bit distorted, but it sounds like we remixed it!