Measuring Originality

I just finished reading an enlightening blog entry, which was inspired by my previous blog entry. That's one of the nice things I enjoy about blogging ... how fellow bloggers bounce ideas off each other through the art of writing. The "deep thinkers" always draw my interest, and I pay close attention to the things about which they write.

One of the things of which I am guilty is forgetting that my readers don't know my state of mind when I post a blog ... they aren't privileged to my private thoughts or how my emotions are influencing my words.

So, when I make, what I believe to be, a clever little play on words, like, for example, "rip-off artists", I forget to consider those who will take my words literally, and I forget to consider the impact those words will have on some. I understand now that perhaps I should have shared with the readers the question in its original form. I will share that with you now :)

Mister X writes, "Doesn't Britannica Dreams have anything original or is it all rip-offs?"

When I read that, I didn't interpret it to be an accusation that we are ripping off others' ideas and trying to pass them off as our own. But, as I said, it pushed some buttons, and the buttons it pushed are those relating to personal issues I have with the entire Britannica Dreams ordeal ... those things that went on "behind the scenes".

Allow me to write a bit about "influences" ... those things which shape the character of my writing. To explain one influence, I've chosen to share a story about a tarot reading. I've yet to decide where my beliefs stand on the issue of tarot reading or anything related, but I did find this fascinating, and it does tie into the previous blog post.

For those of you who don't know, there are many different types of "spreads" used when reading tarots. In this instance, the spread used was The Great House, which consists of six placements of one card each. Each placement represents a specific position in the person's life. In this particular spread, the third placement is the "Histories" position. The "Histories" position outlines a background or past mental state that has been crucial to the current position. What has gone before? Where has the querent been? Who or what has had influence?

The card that landed in the third position was the Queen of Wands (inverted), and the meaning of this card (inverted) is ... Jealousy and manipulation are at work. An underminer works against you posing as your friend.

So, when I read that question, I thought about that tarot reading, and how "spot on" it was, and I thought, "So that's how BD will be remembered ... as rip-off artists". And I wasn't the one who wanted to make the remakes.

However, I am a big fan of "fan art". I believe there's a difference in loving a song or piece of music and wanting to create something with it or share with others through your creation how that song makes you feel or how it inspires you ... and ... remaking a film for lack of being able to come up with your own idea.

Choosing a piece of music that sets the character or mood of a story you're telling, is simply just that, and I find it to be a perfectly acceptable way to tell a story. An example of this is the BD video, "Scars & Souvenirs". The story of a pregnant teenage runaway who abandons her newborn at an orphanage and much later in life is reunited with her son has nothing to do with the GooGoo Dolls', "Name", but I felt that song was a perfect backup song for my story.

It is true to say that nothing is without influence. Creativity is most definitely influenced, and we are inspired by the things we've experienced and seen. But when it comes to originality, I like to look at it in this way ... the key to measuring originality is to understand the origin ... at what place did the idea begin? Did it begin in your mind, irregardless of all the things that influenced the thought ... or did it begin by imitating someone else's idea?

And finally the last thing that went through my mind when I read that question involves an issue I have with BD winning an award for, Best Story on, "The Snow Witch". Why did BD receive an award for a story that wasn't theirs? There's something really wrong with that ... at least, that's how I see it. And in all fairness, I should point out that other machinima videos by other artists have received awards for things which did not belong to them. But, you don't want to get me started on the so-called award systems currently in place for certain groups of machinimators.

In closing, there is one more thing to consider ...
For most of us, the driving force behind the videos is a simple matter of entertainment. The average person viewing these little vids is pretty much just looking to be entertained, be it with an original story or whatever. I believe the true character of the artist will be found in his or her intent ... regardless of the originality of the film, what was the intent of the artist when creating the film?