As I’ve gotten older, I feel I’m slowly starting to understand all the folks before me who I thought were rigid and afraid of change. I’ve felt lately, it’s not so much a fear of change as it is an anxiety about where to start. It seems like things change more rapidly than ever, and every new advancement is quickly followed by an over-saturated market of copy cats with “new and improved” technology. I am constantly shuffling music, only to hear the latest Nicki Minaj track sampling a classic R&B cut from the 90’s, only to find out after a quick google search, that the song she sampled was also a sample. In some ways it feels like change is happening so quickly that we are constantly reinventing the wheel. Only to realize the wheel is still the exact same shape it was, just made out of a “new and improved” material. We are constantly building on the past and with that, appropriation becomes somewhat inevitable.
With that said, I found the process of creating my multimodal ad for Carl Hiaasen’s Flush to be a pleasant reminder that we are not reinventing the wheel; we’re simply playing around, taking things apart, and looking for ways we might use and/or improve on it. I had an irrational anxiety of using Canva for the first time. But I was quickly engaged in the learning process and can confirm (as many of you have noted) that Canva is pretty dope. I remember creating a movie trailer in middle school and having to use different programs to edit sound, video, and text individually. It was eye opening to see just how much Canva could really do. With that, came a little bit of “remixing” of my own. I created this ad as a play on (in my mind, the Corona commercials) the common “peaceful beach” scene. Often used to sell us drinks, or trips to tropical paradises surrounded by the beach. It was quite the surprise to see how many stock “beach scenes” Canva offered. I found this process to be very reminiscent of that middle school movie trailer, in that I really enjoyed the process regardless of the technology. Let this be a reminder (to myself) that trying new technologies for myself is the only way to learn if they’re useful!
Check Your Tone 
Yay Anthoni! I am happy you finally got into the world of Canva –I think your creative mind can utilize the platform for so many things. I also share the feeling that technology is evolving things that maybe don’t need to be revised. But I think you return back to the sentiment of play and exploring nuances.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I still haven’t really experimented with canvas and this gave me a bit more spirit to try I like that you told us about how nervous you were with it at first. I might just have to try and dabble in it for my final project.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hello Anthoni,
I love your anecdote and subsequent analogy. I also find more and more songs that I think are going to be one song but end up being another because the intros are so similar. And your “reinventing the wheel” analogy just with new material reminded me of archeology/anthropology. There is a notion that the civilization with the most advanced materials are on top of the world, generally speaking. The Byzantine empire was so monumental because they were the first to enter the Bronze Age, or at least mainline it. The US was on top of the world because it was first to develop nuclear weapons. These are just a few examples, but with the rise in AI technology, expecting a paradigm shift away from traditional weapons and toward who has the best materials for supercomputing. All this to say that trying new technology in creating media is like a personal level of materials for civilizations. To contrast just a bit, having unique and exceptional skills in more outdated technology can be just as effective; just look at what the Huns were able to accomplish despite using lesser materials. Finding the technology that best matches one’s skillset is perhaps most important, and I hope you found that in Canva and you take over the world (figuratively) by mastering it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Anthoni, your book trailer or book ad turned out well. The contrast of the serene beach seen with the scenario of poo was effective. The humor of the scenario was further played out through your rhyming of “view,” “poo,” and “Ew.” I look forward to seeing what you create for the final project.
LikeLike