GCIN 2002!

Martin Lo Siu Ki
2012600280

According to an American psychologist James Jerome Gibsons theory of

affordances, it states that the world is perceived not only in terms of object shapes and spatial
relationships, but also in terms of object possibilities for action, in other words, perception drives
action (Gibson, 1997). The concept of affordance was modified by other social scientists later on,
and they believed that it is better suited to analyze the various ways in which creative processes are
both inhibited and enabled in the creative industry. The concept of creativity must take into
consideration of its affordance - the enabling and constraining conditions. In this essay, I will
explore the concept of affordance to analyze creativity in the example of the production of a music
concert, called the SMF Silvermine Bay Music Festival 2013 which was held in Mui Wo, Hong
Kong.

The SMF Silvermine Bay Music Festival 2013 was organized by a group of Mui Wo
music lovers, including the Mui Wo Rural Committee, the Hong Kong Outlying Islands Womens
Association and also the Islands Youth Association. They aimed at sharing their passion towards
music and drawing more visitors to Lantau Island, by bringing out different themes such as
sunshine, sand and epic sounds; many overseas independent musicians or local bands were
invited to perform on the 11th-13th of October, 2013, famous artists include Jun Kung, Joey Tang,
Ellen Lo, ToNick, Dear Jane, Supper Moment, Dirty Loops, etc. The small-scale music festival has
been attracting an increasing number of visitors and performers since it began in 2006, and its
success lies in the circuits of affordance in standing out from the other festivals (Yung, South China
Morning Post).

All industries should engage with the circuits of affordances in order to run smoothly and
effectively; by displaying their own originality, it deviates itself from conventional rules and thus
taking advantage of the affordances. However, in many of the creative industries, people tend to

GCIN 2002!
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Martin Lo Siu Ki
2012600280

rely on established conventions and build their original ideas on them. They will, as well, make use
of standard materials and equipments which afford how they function and the finished form of their
work. There are six affordances in basic cultural production, techno-material, temporal, spatial,
social, representational, and economic affordances.

Techno-material affordance refers to the presence of particular materials used or

practically experienced by those working in different types of cultural production. Techno-material
affordance implies that materials afford a code that directs the cultural producers creative work
and bringing alerts on particular projects. In the example of the SMF Silvermine Bay Music
Festival 2013, the techno-material affordances include the public address (P.A.) system, the lighting
system, the stage, the instruments as well as the musical effects hardware. The creativity of this
music concert lies on the outdoor setting at the Silvermine Bay, all sound system including the
houses, monitors, mixers, cables, amplifiers and wireless microphones must setup in an outdoor
setting which is very unconventional in comparison with the music concerts held in the Hong Kong
Coliseum. Stage manager and the production team have to adjust the sound quality according to the
outdoor settings; light producers have to adjust the intensity or effects of the lights according to the
weather as well. Moreover, musicians use their own instruments, such as electric guitars or drumkits to perform on the stage. This, again, illustrates that materials precede cultural products and
materials afford the modes of production.

Spacial affordance refers to the physical space which affords the production of the
cultural event. Due to the different themes of the SMF Silvermine Bay Music Festival, there are
four major zones that separates the opposite types of music genre. Zone one represents the theme of
Rock on the Road, zone two represents the Interactive Music, zone three represents Party
Zone and zone four represents the main theme of Beach Music Stage. The arrangement of the

GCIN 2002!
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Martin Lo Siu Ki
2012600280

individual zones is well-designed with creativity, and at the time, providing different stages for
musicians or audience to enjoy their types of music. The sizes of the first three zones are
comparatively small and condensed to the Beach Music Stage zone, which allow musicians to
jam music and perform their creative work. Moreover, the Beach Music Stage zone has a
symbolic meaning of sunshine and relaxation, where it locates at the innermost part of the
beach; people can spend their afternoon or evening on the beach listening to live music. The spacial
affordances make the production of the event itself more apparent by setting up the Music Festival
at one of the beaches of Silvermine Bay, freeing the people to visit this small place of Hong Kong.
The venue of the music concert indirectly affects its public appreciation and image of all the music
performances; interestingly, instead of performing at the concert hall or theatre, the particular
outdoor settings perfectly match with the sound quality of the music performances.

Temporal affordance refers to the use of time in its creative industry. According to
Richard Caves seven economic properties, time flies property explains the importance of the
chosen dates for the Music Festival 11th to 13th of October, 2013. October is probably one of the
best months to visit Hong Kong, it is because of the low humidity and constant sunshine with clear
skies. Creative products such like the SMF Silvermine Bay Music Festival must be ready for a
particular timing to hold the event successfully. On the other hand, the fixed duration of a particular
performance must be well controlled, and this temporal affordance help to calculate the time for the
tasks that need to be completed. Again, from 2:30p.m. to 10p.m. is the perfect weather timing, and
night time suits the theme of some jazz and groovy music. The use of time is also important in the
sense of how the Music Festival is advertised, organized, and structured.

Representational affordance is relate to the fundamental elements of the creative

practices. For this particular music concert, the fundamental representations are the various genres

GCIN 2002!
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Martin Lo Siu Ki
2012600280

that performed by the different bands or musicians, as well as their use of instruments and musical
techniques in representing their own music pieces. Different genres of music align different
instruments together, as well as the ways of playing them. An example would be a Blues Jazz
Band will stick with the blues scale and its descending bass-line. Moreover, original songs
composed by the local musicians also marks the importance of the representational affordances, as
it carries its own ensemblage of representational conventions, making their creative products more
recognizable immediately. Other than the music itself is the representational affordance, the
hairstyle or dress code of the bands also represent their image effectively through promoting a
certain type of fashion style.

Social affordance refers to the people who is involved in the discussion of the
creative products, by social connections, these people are responsible for different projects, and they
engage each other in strategic friendliness according to their different forms of cultural
production. In the case of Music Festival, the social connections involve many parties, including the
musicians cultivate bookers, bookers cultivate organizers, who themselves cultivate stage
management team, advertisers, designers, sponsors, lighting team, audio technicians, etc. The social
connections provide an interchangeable human resources, and this will beneficial to the
collaboration of any creative work later on, such as human replacement, or even teaming up with
different potential musicians, enabling the creative work to be carried out. However, collaboration
with government departments would affect the Music Festival in terms of the scale of the festival,
the quantity of the place, as well as the quality of the overall work.

Economic affordance refers to the financial support from the commission of new
artworks, which may be influential to which a creative industry can or cannot be creative.
Depending on the budget putting aside for the creative the SMF Music Festival, it is believed to

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Martin Lo Siu Ki
2012600280

have a huge effect on its overall form. Seeking sponsorships may help out in advertising creativity,
for example, a big budget or financial subsidy from government may allow the organizers to buy
more star power in its event, in this case, inviting more famous local or overseas bands to perform
on the stage.

In conclusion, the essay explores in the concept of affordance in analyzing creativity

in the production of the SMF Silvermine Bay Music Festival 2013 must concert. The six
affordances of techno-material, spatial, temporal, representational, social and economic, together
form a circuits of affordances, showing how the series of events was afforded by different parties as
a result of market demand. In this creative industrial world, materials always afford techniques;
techniques always afford styles; and styles afford finished products, at the same time, were afforded
by time and place, along with people collaborating in the creative work. It is believed that most of
the creative industries follow the rules of circuit of affordances in transforming its creative
products.

Reference(s)

Gibson, The theory of affordances. In R. SHaw and J. Bransford (eds.), Perceiving, Acting and
Knowing. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1997.

Gibson, J.J. (1979). The Ecological Approach to Visual Perception. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Caves, R. 2002. Creative Industries: Contracts Between Arts and Commerce. Cambridge: Harvard
University Press.