Remix Project

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Abstract

Introduction

Bojack Horseman is a Netflix show from 2014 to 2020, with six seasons spanning six years. It's a show about the Hollywood entertainment industry. It’s known as a depressing adult animation. The background is set in a society where humans and animals live together peacefully. The reason why many viewers didn't want to watch this show from the beginning: is you would feel that it is impossible to resonate with a horse. Many people have also been unable to understand why in this society where there are clearly humans, there must be other animal characters. The animal characters rarely encounter a crisis of self-identity positioning, and they have never suffered for who they really are. And the human characters are always struggling with the positioning of their own self-identity. The protagonist, Bojack, is between the animal and human characters. His last name, Horseman, represents his animal side, and it has always been his dream to play the running proud horse, Secretariat. His first name, Bojack, represents his human side. He, like a human, wasted 18 years after the end of the show "Horsin' Around", and from time to time suffered for who he really is and what kind of person he really is. He has tried again and again to become a part of other people's lives, but also made other people's hearts broken and even ruined other people's lives.

For those who used to watch comedies, humor sometimes comes too cheaply. For any form of comedy, layers of buildup can lead to the greatest laughter. Therefore, "Bojack Horseman" is certainly not the best comedy cartoon, and its comedy part was initially designed to serve the tragedy. Bojack has been with me from the beginning of high school to graduating from college, from just going abroad to being quarantined after returning from the epidemic in China. Sarah Lynn died in the vast and boundless universe, as light as a feather. Although most people's lives are far removed from that of Bojack, they all found a strong resonance in the show. With very straightforward language or exaggerated metaphors, all the feelings of failure and desolation that everyone tacitly acknowledges on weekdays are all thrown in front of us. The change of the protagonist in the show may only require a turn of the camera, and the change of the protagonist may only require a few episodes, or if not, another season. In reality, a person's change is beyond sight, long and painful, but even though it's long, one must strive to do it, as if one has never been hurt. A true warrior dares to face a bleak life. A person's life is destined that we will constantly make mistakes, correct them, and then continue to make mistakes. What to do? There is no solution. As long as you are alive, it is good, and there will always be an opportunity to change as long as you are alive. Many things are not objectively unchangeable, but our own subjective evasion and life will give you opportunities.

“I‘m fine”

The 4-minute video remix consists of 3 stages, the first 1 minute and 50 seconds of which are mainly references to Sara Lynn, to give some background information to those who have never watched the show. Since she is not the main character in the show, the show uses montage. Even those who have watched it may not be able to remember her timeline clearly. The second segment, 1:51 to 2:40, shows signals of her depression and ends with her death at the Griffith Observatory.

The plot of my remix focuses on the third stage. I disorganized the original timeline, and the majority of the dialogue does not serve the original meaning. If Bojack accompanies Sara Lynn as a father figure or a reliable friend, give her a warning when she does drugs. Sarah Lynn might not become an architect in the end, but she could at least be alive.

Grey Goose → Grey Moose → Hay Horse

Research & Use of Tools

I use 5 Apps in my projects, Netflix is indeed to watch the show. Movavi Screen Recorder, Jianying for the video editing. Procreate for painting the Hay Horse Vodka and Instagram filter materials. Meta Stark AR Studio is used to make the Instagram filter. As I mentioned prior, I didn’t think that the biggest challenge would be collecting archives. I always thought that I had access to it on Netflix and cloud files in Chinese, I can just use one click to take screenshots and record videos. But it turns out, I couldn’t remove the Chinese subtitles. I always watched Netflix on TV, but when I finally tried to take a screenshot on my laptop, it was a blank screen with only subtitles. I Googled and bought the membership of the screen recorder Movavi. One of the steps in the guidance is to turn off the graphic acceleration in Google Chrome Setting. I found out that when you turn off the graphic accelerating, you can also use the function that came with the Mac system. The quality is exactly the same! There is no need to buy the membership!!! Should always use the engineering process first.

I always feel the Bockjack’s character on Horsin’ Around was never referred by a name, just “the horse from Horsin’ Around.” The character was literally a horse with no name! I want to give him an identity. I still want to stick to Cyberpunk. So I made this background into a cyberpunk style. It didn’t turn out so well, look like a haunted mansion to me. While creating the filter, I was thinking that this is my project! I’ll use it and it should serve my will first! Definitely a beauty filter! I followed the tutorial, it guided me to a website named Sculpt GL to do the face distortion and put retouching and stickers on the face mesh.

Mental Process

In the beginning, I had several ideas for this project. It starts with remixing Hollywood Sign. In the show, the “D”was stolen, and turned every sign into a Hollywoo. At the end of Season 6, the D was mistakenly replaced by a B, turned into HOLLYWOOB. The remix of the Hollywood sign is also a fact in reality. The Hollywood sign is a famous landmark in Los Angeles, and it is often used as a symbol of the city and the entertainment industry. On New Year's Day 1976, the sign first became "HOLLYWeeD" - the work of California State University, Northridge student Daniel Finegood, whose project for A large-scale art class assignment ended up earning an “A”. Hollywood became Hollyweed again in the early morning of January 1, 2017, when someone hung tarps on the O's and replaced them with E's. Over the course of history, there have been many remix Hollywood signs, some due to natural disasters. Possibly it’s the font style in S2E6 3:30 stayed in my subconsciousness, so I decided to remix the sign with Barbie Font. Searching for the high-quality pictures of the Hollywood sign and Barbie font without a license took me about 2 hours. However, remixing the font for the picture only took me 10 minutes to finish (erasing the original words and replace with the Barbie font).

The second idea was remixing an LA County Map with Bojack Element in it. During the process, I was distracted by the Cyberpunk style and used AI-generated 2 pictures of LA County in 2 different views and separate elements of Santa Monica Pier and Griffith Observatory. I tried with a cut-up Bojack element, but the color and style didn't fit so well, so I gave it up.

Final Idea

The paint hangs on Sarah Lynn’s bedroom wall at the beginning of S3E11. I watched the show so many times, and this is the first time for me to think that the paint is highly possibly a remix of a famous paint. The name of the painting is Ophelia, a character from William Shakespeare's play Hamlet. The story represents the tragic flow of a young woman. Ophelia has no control over herself and drowned in the water at the end. It’s also an indication of the bad ending of Sara Lynn. In fact, A lot of the characters could be considered to be mentally ill. Bojack and Todd have ADHD - Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Diane went through both bipolar disorder and PTSD(the consequence of being a journalist in the war). Sarah Lynn had Depression and possible BHD - Borderline Personality Disorder. Judah has autism, he is always by himself besides working. But at the end of season 6, everyone gets a happy ending, except Sarah Lynn is gone forever. I think Sarah Lynn is meant to represent the rise and fall of child stars. She never chose that life. So I wanted to give her a happy ending instead, I made a video remix for it, and named it [I’m Fine]. I also want to call attention to mental illness. Maybe there is a chance to save your loved ones. I feel the show could openly acknowledge mental illness more.

Behind the words "I'm fine," there may be a hidden story of smiling depression. It often appears inadvertently, lurking in the hearts of those around us. When our family and friends tell us that they are fine, they might actually be suffering from depression. We must be vigilant and sensitive to these signals. Don't just take their words at face value. Reach out, show concern, and try to understand their inner struggles. Because sometimes, they need our help the most.

I have a very close friend who passed away 5 months ago. He was always smiling, optimistic, and hardworking. He finally passed away after getting drunk. That's still a problem that haunts me. I regret not answering his call in the middle of the night. I don't know how he was doing in the end. I don't know whether I should hope that he lived well and felt relieved, without any regrets when he passed away; or whether it was better that he didn't live well, and his passing was also a kind of relief. At the end of making this video, it is also a reconciliation with myself. I gave Sarah Lynn a happy ending and hope it goes to my friends too. Sometimes saving others is also saving ourselves. It makes me realize that we should cherish every moment and every person around us, because you never know when something unexpected might happen. Let's do our best to save the people around us, the ones we love. Let's offer them a shoulder to lean on, an empathetic ear, and a warm embrace. Together, we can make a difference and bring them back from the brink of darkness. Remember, no one should face their battles alone.

Theories Applied

Navas’s Regressive remix defines always looking backward, celebrating the originals rather than seeking to create something that transcends them. In my remix of Bojack Horseman, my approach aligns with the theories in interesting ways. Regarding Navas's Regressive Remix, I have a deep love for the show and therefore, I didn't want to make drastic changes or attempt to surpass the original author. I based my remix on the original archive, with only the BGM being different in the video remix.Rohan Roberts’s Uncertain Principle is very relatable as well. Trying to pinpoint the exact origin of my inspiration is indeed a challenging task, as it often feels like it emerges from some unknown place. It's almost impossible to precisely determine where those ideas spring from.Manovich's Five Principles of New Media also seem to apply. The modularity aspect is evident in how I break down different elements of the source videos into independent modules. These modules can then be manipulated, rearranged, and combined in new ways to create my remix. In the Hay Horse Vodka painting remix and instegram filter remix, while I used some creative paintings, I still adhered to the original style, demonstrating the principle of modularity.And when it comes to the question of how random is random, my love for the show and the specific elements that remind me of it feel like a burst of random inspiration. It all comes together to create a remix that respects the original while adding my own touch. I’ve tried to trace where my ideas come from. I still can’t define it. I think When I was about to go to Los Angeles for Spring Break, it reminded me of Bojack. The Hollywood sign, LA County Map, and seeing goose are all just one sprung of inspiration and randomness.

Bricolage or Engineering

I am absolutely certain that it is a combination of Bricolage and Engineering process. Given my extensive experience in video editing, it can be considered as a bricolage process. Although it is somewhat complex and time-consuming, it was not at all frustrating. However, the step of collecting clips undoubtedly constitutes an engineering process. I had to meticulously track down the season, episode, minute, and even second of a specific scene. This was my first time using Procreate, and I had assumed it would be easy. Hence, I initially attempted to apply the bricolage process without referring to any guidance, and I ended up messing it up numerous times. From this, I learned a valuable lesson: employing the engineering process when learning a new tool is more productive. Thus, in Meta Stark, I diligently read the guidance, watched tutorials, and followed the prescribed steps, resulting in a smooth process without any hitches.

Legal Issue

When it comes to my remix projects of Bojack Horseman, I have to take a critical look at what I've done. For the first video remix, I recorded the screen on Netflix and edited the video myself. At the same time, I used license-free BGMs from Jianying App. The act of recording from Netflix without proper authorization might be a potential copyright violation. For the Instagram filter, using recognizable elements like the horse ears, hair, and the white rhombus between the eyebrows to represent Bojack could be seen as infringing on copyright. Even though I created a unique background with elements from the show and gave it a cyberpunk style, it's still a matter of concern whether this is allowed under copyright law.Based on U.S. copyright law, there seem to be some uncertainties in my remix projects. It's important to understand that respecting copyright is crucial, and I should make sure to obtain proper authorization when using copyrighted material. I need to be more cautious and consider the legal aspects more thoroughly to avoid any potential copyright issues. To take remixing seriously, I made a more detailed plan. I decided to remove the Instagram filter to avoid potential copyright infringement issues. The filter is curenttly serving as an entertainment tool for myslef. The video remix is a form of propaganda that aims to raise awareness about mental illness. It is both educational and propagandistic in nature. Moreover, it falls within the exceptions of U.S. copyright law. I carefully selected relevant materials and incorporated meaningful content to ensure the quality and impact of the remix. I will also follow all relevant regulations and ethical guidelines to ensure that the remix is legally compliant and respectful of intellectual property rights.

Fair Use of Copyright Law

In my main remix project, the video remix, which is a course project, I can clearly demonstrate how it falls into the fair use of copyright law. The total duration of my remix is only 4 minutes, while the original work consists of 76 episodes with a total duration of 1900 minutes. This clearly shows that the portion I have used is relatively small and insignificant in comparison. My remix is for educational purposes, aiming to raise awareness about mental illness, and not for commercial gain. It is not intended to compete with or negatively impact the market for the original work. By focusing on such an important social issue, my remix is adding value and contributing to a greater understanding. Additionally, my intentions are purely educational, and I have no intention of exploiting the copyrighted material for personal financial gain. Given these facts, it is evident that my video remix falls squarely within the parameters of fair use, allowing me to create and share this meaningful work for the betterment of society and in line with the educational goals of my project.