Graffiti Is Art

Looking through my RSS feeder, I came across an interesting article from Rolling Stones website. This article talks about how a graffiti crew from South Bronx is suing Jennifer Lopez and Fiat because of copyright infringement. If you haven’t seen the commercial, check it out here. The dispute is over the graffiti murals that are shown throughout the commercial. It appears that graffiti artwork is trying to take an important step in becoming a more legitimate form.

The plaintiffs, the TATS Cru, claim that Fiat’s commercial blatantly uses their artwork throughout the video. If the paintings were sanctioned work by the building’s owner, then I would have to agree with their argument. Typically, graffiti work is done underground and behind the scenes. Only until recently has it started to get a bit more glorified. Ever since Banksy blew up, graffiti work has gotten bolder. I have been to hip-hop shows where they have blank walls for people to tag. What was once viewed as a brazen form of rebellion is gaining ground as true art form and is even encouraged.

I hope that this suit is handled properly and that these murals are viewed as a legitimate form of artwork and self-expression. Even if they were not sanctioned pieces, they still add to the culture of the Bronx and how that area expresses itself. It could be viewed as a branding dispute as well. TATS Cru has helped develop an atmosphere in that area and to not show these artists the proper respect, well, that’s just wrong. There are some very talented artists out there and many of them are from low-income households. If more attention can be shown on graffiti work, only positives can come out of it. This could pave the way for troubled teens and others to find a creative avenue for venting. Many kids who would have otherwise been performing illegal acts are now benefitting the neighborhood by spreading their work across a city that needs a little brightening up. Who knows, maybe this could spread to more cities and show that graffiti murals have a place in city landscape and truly add to its spirit.

Game-ification of LIfe

I have seen a few TED videos and all of them have been pretty interesting but one that I want to discuss is the video by Gabe Zichermann where he talks about how video games make kids smarter and how game-ification is becoming implemented into some everyday activities. He defines game-ification as using game thinking and function as a way to come up with solutions to problems. Video games have become an intricate part of our society no matter how some people may feel about them. Rather then pushing against this fact, some businesses have accepted this and are developing ways to get people more involved with their products or services by attaching some sort of game element to it.

When Mr. Zichermann started to talk about how a teacher by the name of Ananth Pai implemented a video game based curriculum of his own design into his class of 3^rd graders, it caught my attention. Mr. Pai used video game consoles you can purchase right off the shelf so that nothing had to be custom made and used these games to teach his math and language classes. In the span of eighteen weeks, his class went from a below 3^rd grade level in reading and math to a mid-4^th grade level in those two areas.

What made this curriculum a success was what the kids thought of it. When asked about Mr. Pai’s class, the kids responded with two recurring themes; the learning was fun and that it was multiplayer, meaning they were able to interact with other kids in completely different locations in the country or world. If there are more classes that can be taught in this fashion, why not utilize it? I’m sure that there are plenty of kids out there who would greatly benefit from this style of education that are not succeeding in traditional teaching methods.

Game-ification has crossed over into the automobile industry as well.  There is a hybrid vehicle out there that has a plant that grows when you are being more environmentally conscious with your driving and withers when you are being less. They have also incorporated game-ification into speed cameras. These are the devices that cops set up in certain hot spots and take pictures of speeders and send them a ticket. Ken Richardson came up with Speed Camera Lottery, a game that uses those cameras a type of lottery system. He took his idea to Sweden where those cameras are used and also where they send you a ticket not based on how fast you were going but how much money you make. Well if you are driving under the speed limit, you are entered into a lottery for some of the money from the fines of the less fortunate drivers.

I can imagine that this line of thinking will begin to filter into many areas of life as time progresses. If a person can harness a way to make mundane tasks fun and interesting, they would have a very valuable service or product on their hands. The less people think they are working, the more likely they will be to donate their time and engage in what you are trying to accomplish.

SXSW: Guerilla Gear's Target Market

Since its inception in 1987, South By Southwest (SXSW) has increasingly become one of the premier entertainment conventions in the world. In the span of nine days, it covers the three main entertainment mediums; film, music and interactive. Beginning around the second week of March, the city of Austin, TX becomes one of the most popular and busiest cities in the country with the amount of visitors, exhibitors and artists that converge there. Not only can you show your video or have your band perform there, you can network with some of the biggest names in the industry as well as promote your product at the trade show they have.

What really caught my eye about this convention is that it is geared toward every level of entertainment. Whether you are a new up-start or a savvy veteran, everyone is accepted and can participate in anything they feel would benefit their company, band or themselves individually.

What I’m focused on is the Film Conference & Festival, which has been described as “a five-day crash course on guerilla filmmaking and marketing” (sxsw.com/film/about/history ¶5). During this period, Guerilla Gear would be able to display and demonstrate its product. With as many indie and up-and-coming videographers that attend, the likelihood of our products striking a cord with them is quite good. Our product is aimed at the striving videographer. It lets them shoot with their DSLR camera like a traditional video camera but at a fraction of the cost of other similar products. The market for DSLRs has continued to rise so this gives us the confidence that the market for our product will continue to rise as well.

Since SXSW is looked at as more of a collaborative festival then a festival where many of the films that are there are there to find a buyer, you are more likely to find people who are interested in what you have to offer. We have a product that is attractive to individuals who are just starting out to ones who are in the transition of using DSLR cameras to shoot video. Our product and business model fit in well in this environment and I believe that we could only benefit from going.

SXSW is also a great opportunity to network because of it being a collaborative festival. It is more inclusive so it attracts talent that is still being developed and because so, it is getting more renowned and garnishing more attention from distributors and agents. This can only mean a constant and steady supply of potential customers. As more and more videographers begin using DSLR cameras for their projects, the more opportunity Guerilla Gear will have of establishing a solid foothold in the independent filmmaker market.