This film is a documentary about copyright. It brings up a lot of issues, particularly those regarding downloading, sharing, and remixing music. There are a number of questions that arise during the film. (1) Do you think sampling can be considered an instrument akin to guitars, drums etc? (2) What do you think is more important, the creative process, or the final product?
(1) Do you think the sampling can be considered an instrument akin to guitars, drums etc? Yes. I think it takes the same amount of talent, creativity, and skill to make a mash-up and turn it into something that sounds pleasing as it does to pick up a guitar and play a song – either written by the person playing or not. Some may argue that sampling is not the same because everything in it is not created by that person. However, I believe that the end product of a mash-up is completely the product of the person who created the mash-up. This person has taken small samples from existing songs and broken them up, changed the pitch, tone, and/or speed, and jumbled them up so they are in a completely different order and/or mixed up with many other samples from many other sources. This mash-up can no longer be considered part of the original song. It think it is no different from taking existing guitar notes and choosing the ones that go best together and rearranging them to create your own song. In sampling, a person takes existing sounds and rearranging them to create something of their own.
(2) What do you think is more important, the creative process, or the final product? I think they are equal. The creative process is very important because this is where creativity is expressed and enjoyment happens. It’s fun! It takes a lot of hard work to create something, which is why I consider the creative process and the final product as equal. A person works hard to create something, like a mash-up, and the final product is important. I believe they are equal in regards to copyright infringement as well. Does it matter to the law whether the person took the sampling just to mess around with it, or do they just care that there is a final product that someone other than the mash-up artist hears? The law doesn’t care what the case is, they just care that a person has used these samplings at all.