Introduction

In our media class we were introduced to blogging. I will be presenting all my work in this blog and will try and blog atleast twice a week.

I grouped up with a friend of mine to be my partner for this media project. Her name is Francesca Baldwin. I state this because some of my work might seem similar to hers as we are working together.

As a pair, we began to decide upon an artist for whom we will dedicate our music video for. As I am a DJ and a dubstep enthusiast, I thought it would only be right to base the music video on this genre. Dubstep is a relatively new genre which emerged in 2003 stemming from underground genres such as Garage, Drum & Bass and 2step.

The term Dub in Dubstep is in relation to the predominantly Jamaican genre 'Dub' where the producer will create a track and will then apply that track to a mixing board. Individual parts of the track are layered onto the mixing desk and are then altered with effects such as 'reverb', 'delay' and 'echo'. An iconic figure in dub music and the originator of the genre is 'King Tubby' An example of his work can be found in the video below:


The term Step in 'Dubstep' is in relation to the genre 2step/garage. This genre was formed in the late 90s which breached on the sounds of Hardcore and Acid. The tracks are mostly drum patterns with subtle basslines. An example of this genre can be found below:


The first artist that we looked at is ‘Stenchman’ and the track ‘The Number One’.
The original track is called 'One (is the loneliest number)' by 'Three Dog Night'. Stenchman is a dubstep producer originating from Bristol. He has had many hits such as 'Too Much Ket', 'Beat the banker' & 'Lemongrass'. I recommended this track to my partner as I feel that the track is original and I get a sense of engagement when listening to it. A sense of loneliness can be found within the lyrics of the song as it talks about being single and lonely within a busy world. Both myself and my partner felt an overlying sense of isolation when listening to the track and this is exactly what type of theme we want to portray within the music video.

Please view the video below which is Stenchman - The Number One




As well as looking at music videos for influences, we also have to study theories which we will implement their ideas into the video itself. One of the theorists we have studies is Andrew Goodwin. Goodwin is author of several books concerning contemporary media. He identifies various codes and conventions that are found within music videos. He states that there is usually a common relationship between the lyrics of the track and visuals they portray.

Francesca and I have discussed this theory and have realized that what Goodwin talks about is actually very true. For example, in rock music videos, their is a common theme whereby most of the shots of of the band members performing their tracks with lots of close of shots of the instruments.

If we were to finalise using Stenchman for our music video, then we will be able to play around with the conventions as the track itself is created digitally so there cannot be any shots of instruments or of Stenchman himself as his appearance remains a mystery - he wears a mask when performing live.In our music video, we are not going to try and conform to any norms of music videos and will try and create an original piece

The basis around dubstep is that the sound should be played via turntables as the Djs that play it are mostly from the 'old school' era of analog production whereby CDs were not even created yet. We have considered having small shots of a vinyl spinning around on a turntable. This will then relate to Goodwins theory however it will still not be conforming to his view that there is always a relationship between the artist and the visuals.

As I have close ties with Stenchman and the indepdendent label he is signed to - 'True Tiger', gaining access to the personal rights of his track will be very easy as all I would need to do is either message him or his management via email.