Creative Expression You Can Touch
featuring photography sans expiration, maternal laundry, AI stories.
Hello, good people. Plenty of visual delight today, take a moment or three to click, zoom, play.
Hand Made: Creativity you can (almost) touch.
Friday Find: Mother does the washing.
The Creator & AI: A story in bullet points.
Gen AI Watch: German & British experiments.
With: A Nintendo museum, influencer studies, Gabriel García Márquez in Japan.
1. Hand Made.
Creative expression and its nuts & bolts can sometimes be a curious mix of very clear physical elements and very nebulous mental, emotional even philosophical elements. The tools and the ideas, if you will; the materials and the feelings; the doing and the thinking.
The materials can be hands, eyes, larynx, pencils, pens, crayons, brushes, instruments, strings, blocks, styluses, chisels, cameras, dye, chalk, fabric… a blank piece of paper. The thinking, the feeling are limited only by imagination, experience, desire.
This century- I say this century not for some compelling sociological reason but because its the most evident (and familiar to me)- has been marked by the march of digital. Digital tools, enhancements, creations, digital art. They have nudged certain creative fields, transformed some, rebooted others. With this evolution, the nature of creative expression and even creative ability, has also evolved. Some might say creativity has been democratised (though that take has increasingly becoming a tech-world speak to cast new technologies in a good light). But surely, it has- not only the tools, but also the ability to distribute, and at scale. We discover so many nuggets of creativity, micro-creativity every day in our feeds. The fact that talented minds can make and share and we can dip into their creativity, is quite wonderful.
In all this, we sometimes bump into creative work that has a physical, organic, hand-made texture to it. This can be refreshing, or curious, or beautiful, or a little bit of all. Here are some such that I have stumbled onto.
Expired.
The ‘old camera guy’ is how I initially kept referring to Miles Myerscough-Harris. Not because he is old- he’s not- but because he works with cameras that are old, older and very old indeed. Think 120 years old. Shooting on film. More specifically, with expired film. What’s that, you might ask. Its a film roll that has… well, expired. “Film that's expired reacts in different and unique ways when exposed. Some rolls can bring out crazy colours, others can have beautiful exaggerated grain, and some can just be plain weird!”
There is a lot of work in sports, some in music and travel, and plenty overall to be charmed by- the film textures and colour in particular.
Miles took to social media to share the output of this photographic journey, one he undertook to ‘escape’ a couple of years ago when we- apparently- had some sort of global pandemic. Social media has loved it. He’s also set up the Expired Film Club (with a shop to boot).
That is the beauty of shooting expired film- you're never quite sure what you will get when the photos are developed, but every time it's a different and wonderful result.
The fun bit, which I suspect is what captured a lot of viewers on social, was how he does a bit of a show & tell. Seeing these vintage pieces, some more than century old, at iconic sports grounds, is definitely is a thumb-stopper. Even since I discovered his work earlier this year, things have moved rapidly, with some collaborations with the likes of Manchester United, NFL UK, the FA Cup, the New York Jets and some indie bands. Here’s a little compile, though you are best off looking at his stuff on his page. All videos from Expired Film Club Instagram.
Look Twice.
Exhibit B- visuals of a very different kind. Precise creativity, a knack for surprise, minimalism and a touch of delight combine in the creations of Anna&Daniel. The work of Anna Devis and Daniel Rueda, who have studied architecture, marries a distinct spatial sense with shapes, patterns and a clean & joyful aesthetic. The result is some very fresh imagery that you would do well to look at a second time.
The other delight though, I find, is in watching their tiny setup videos, showing the intricate and precise craft behind some deceptively simple looking work. All videos from Anna & Daniel’s Instagram.
Its worth noting- their work is mostly done by hand and in the shot, with minimal/no use of photo editing software to create any illusions. The Anna and Daniel Instagram feeds have it all.
I’ll finish with a slightly unexpected mention. Runway (the video-focused artificial intelligence firm) recently did a little demo of visual effects using photos from a disposable camera. You know, the ones we used to try and get before a holiday and carefully ration the clicks? Its a curiosity now, isn’t it. They take it and then have some AI-induced fun.
2. Friday Find: Mother Does The Washing
I wash, therefore I am. -Mum.
There's so much going on here in this spoken-word/song/commentary. A charming mix of being easy and pleasant, sharp and incisive, chill and slightly uncomfortable. Nice groove, too.
Oh, and did I mention thought-provoking? Clearly, repeat watching/listening demanded.
“Hand. Wash. Only. Get with the programme, please.”
Who’s Joshua Idehen you say?
Joshua Idehen is a British-born Nigerian based in Stockholm. “I write poetry to music.”
3. The Creator & AI: a story.
I posted last week about how Youtube could evolve in the coming years. AI-generated abilities, features and tricks could well be central to that. Lo & behold, YouTube has announced that it’s launching a live test of a new process that will provide AI-powered reply suggestions to help creators engage with fans in the app, “in their own tone & style”.
But meanwhile, I had already gone off on an amusing (to me) “what happens next” style stream of consciousness on this. Here's a (dystopian?) creator story in 20 bullet points.
I like gen AI. I will use it as a tool. It enhances what I do, though it can’t actually do it. Its an assistant!
I will generate the ideas and type the script, AI can help plan the shoot and structure of my piece.
I will generate the thoughts and ideas and voice/type the script, AI will generate a version of me talking in my studio. Its not really me, but it is- because the video model is based on me and the words are mine.
But wait, I don’t need to write a script, because the model is also trained on my writing style by looking at hundreds of my scripts. So I only need to dictate some thoughts and ideas of mine on a given topic. It will go ahead and generate the script, then generate a version of me talking in my studio.
But the script is only language. Is it also thought? is it perspective? Is it a POV? But look! I have also trained the model on my takes, my tonality, my wit, my ‘stance’ on things, my opinions. (We already can tell ChatGPT or Claude to write in a certain style or tonality, to sound pointed or subtle or energetic or scholarly or snarky.)
So I can now give the model a topic, and ask it to shape up a piece using my POV, my tonality. Then it will generate my take, generate my reaction, generate the script, then generate a version of me talking in my studio.
One of the key parts of my success has been how much I connect with my followers, replying to every question, honestly engaging in discussions and offering my takes. Its bloody time consuming but its been rewarding, and thats been a big part of my growth. Some of these comments and interactions are pretty repetitive though. Still important but not always as fun .
Great, the model knows my tonality and my take and knows the topic of that content piece as well (better) than I do. I’m pretty pleased that I can now ask it to reply to comments as me, generating my responses, after it has generated my take, generated my reaction, generated the script, then generated a version of me talking in my studio.
Oh wait, I spend so much time reading and researching new topics in my field that I can create content on. That takes up most of my time. Can I get some help? AI is meant to reduce the tedium, no?
Cool. Lets have Monday meetings! So I’ll define the wider field and sub topics for the model to consider for my content. For the meeting, it will generate ten options, I will choose one, then it will generate my take, generate my reaction, generate the script, then generate a version of me talking in my studio.
I have now opened a beach shack where I make cocktails and teach people how to read the stars at night. I find this weekly content creation business dreary. But it pays for the cocktails. What gives?
Ah nice- the model now really knows me, my audience, what works; what I like, what my viewers like and what engages them. After all, it has been ‘speaking’ with them too. It has been months now, and it is as much the persona of me as I am, I suppose. I mean, I am still me but, the AI is me for others. And for the business. Its my creator for the creator economy.
I wake on Mondays and take a look at the latest video it has done. What, I didn’t even know that had happened, boy I’m glad I (my channel) covered it this week! That was really interesting. I have a question though, so I am about to ask it, but I realise I am asking it of myself. I mean, the other myself. Cool, i’ve got a really witty but informative response. All is well.
Hey the last month has been poor. Revenues are dropping.
Who are these new creators in the same space doing so much better than me? Never heard of these guys even in the newbies hotlist. Maybe they are using an intelligent model too? I wonder how the humans behind them learnt all this. I mean, I learnt it by doing it, honing my craft, putting in the hours, building my voice. They - wait, what. There are no humans? Just the model optimising for topics and style and perspective and personality and connection… and authenticity!? This is… not fair.
How do we know if its real or not? Don’t viewers care anymore? Does it not matter to them if the creator they follow is human or the machine? I mean, my followers loved me because I am me, I am real, I am-
Oh.
Why are all the beaches so crowded?
Are the commenters and viewers also bots? Who is watching who? Is anyone watching anything? Does anyone give a shit?
Oh, look- a shooting star.
4. GenAI Watch
Hello, Emma.
Amazingly, in the rush to be ahead of the curve and “with it”, organisations are happy to launch utterly undercooked AI initiatives.
Take this, from the German National Tourist Board, no less. Emma is (unabashedly) “an AI travel influencer”, billed as an “innovative, interactive brand ambassador” created to convince travelers to visit Germany. While she is apparently more a chatbot than anything else, the pitch seems to be that she is the first of other ‘influencers’ planned, and is-of course- on Instagram. Forbes has a good report here.
Look, lets put aside any inherent reservations you & I might have with gen-AI. What boggles my mind is that in the rush to ride this bandwagon, entire organisations are fine to put forward material that looks woefully amateur; creations probably only slightly better than the late night prompt experiments in some recess of the interwebs by some user like @machinemakethaman. It reminds me of these awful AI generated ads from Singapore’s Ministry of Finance some months ago.
For everyone who worries that there is going to be a deluge of AI generated cringe, practice your cringing with such exhibits, because its a gallery that promises to get depressingly long.
I,TV.
Creatives generally like to believe that the work we do is at some level unique or at least differentiated, and that comes from our individual or collective creative perspective. When an organisation seems to believe that this particular creative touch can be produced by- the horror!-a machine, the community takes it… personally.
So, there has been a bit of a flutter in the UK, where The Telegraph reported that ITV will use AI to come up with programme ideas. The broadcaster is looking for “an expert who can use AI to help create material for TV shows, films, and digital-first content”, using generative AI technology to help with “character development and ideation”.
For many, the instinctive reaction to this is to bemoan the death of creativity and herald the dumbification of creative processes. The Guardian amusingly calls it the "worst idea since monkey tennis” and “quickest way for the medium to stagnate to death”; a redditer said “If the quality improves we will know they are using AI”, while other industry folk’s reactions have included words like “depressing”, “disturbing” and “dustbins”.
Ok, I made up the last one but the alliteration was fun.
Despite some hallucinatory benefits, GenAI tends to the mean, or amalgamations of what has already been done (and done a lot). Having said that, lets face it- much of the content on many broadcasters (and other networks/platforms) often tends to the fleshy middle too, often because it ‘just works’, or has better bang for buck. Being precious about it does not help in an industry that is already reeling, with bigger challenges coming. Yet, I remain curious what ITV expects an entire AI specialist team to achieve in ideation & development, using generative AI, that can’t be done by existing creatives using AI tools to supplement their efforts.
5. Masala Peanuts
(where I share stories or tidbits I find interesting)
Read: A nice little interview piece about the Nintendo museum with Shigeru Miyamoto, the legend who brought us Mario, Donkey Kong, Zelda & much more.
Know. ‘Influencer degree launches in Ireland’ is not the headline I would use, but anyway- a four-year-long bachelor's degree in ‘Content Creation and Social Media’ had its first intake in an Irish university. It will be teaching wannabe influencers how to convert online presence and content on platforms- degree modules include creative video and storytelling psychology, entrepreneurship, celebrity studies, storytelling psychology, data analytics and podcasting.
Look. Gabriel García Márquez’s 1967 novel ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’ became the publishing phenomenon of the summer in Japan, likely due to the upcoming release of the Netflix series based on the book, and possibly also because of this gorgeous cover on the new paperback by “one of the most sought-after local illustrators of the moment, Ryuto Miyake.”
Hope that was enough eye candy for a smile or three. Off for my-mid morning brew!