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Posted: Aug 7th, 2005 at 10:38 pm
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I really wanted to like this DVD. I really did.
I won't talk about the b-boying in the DVD because we all know it's dope. What I will talk about are the numerous other problems with the DVD. First off...the packaging. The DVD comes in a three-panel sheet of cardboard wrapped in laminate. It's about the same quality you get from a DVD in the Bargain bin at Wal-Mart. First day I had it it was already starting to get scratches and dents all over which hell for anyone else who takes pride in having an immaculate collection. The DVD itself is held inside the cardboard box by a round piece of material glued to the cardboard. With the production quality put into the editing I would have expected A LOT more put into the packaging itself.
The only problem with the event itself is that the music is horrible. Sure "Planet Rock" is a good song...but should it be played in a b-boy battle...No. Nor should Boogie Down Bronx be played twice (or at all in a b-boy battle). There's only about three decent songs throughout the event. The rest of the time you're getting "rapper's Delight" or other songs that get played when the DJ is asked to play a few "breakdance songs" Sure JS-1 is a dope DJ but the track selection is just bad. The sound quality on the music is good. There was a direct feed from the Mixer to the filming equipment so it's good. What ISN'T good is the wack ass canned applause added in when a B-boy does a move. If you didn't mic the crowd when you filmed it...don't fake it.
The editing has a high production quality but it's honestly hard to watch. The set's from the b-boys are cut up in such a way where there is no sense of continuity, sets are shown twice, cut in half, spliced with silly camera flash effects, and shown far off beat. An example is the battle between Iron Monkey and Ronnie. One of Ronnie's sets seems to be completely omitted along with the entire last minute of the battle. Instead you just get random shots of previous sets, pointless slow-mo, a couple of moves from a set you don't see all of, or random crowd shots that you've seen 5 or 6 times already. Also, If you took the time to record the music...at least sync the music with the footage and leave it. Most of the b-boy's sets look HORRIBLE because the editing makes them look offbeat because most of the the time, the toprock portion of set is completely omitted and if it's not it's spliced off sync with the music. I'm confused by the camera set up...in the trailers, you see and other reaction shots it appears like there's 3 or 4 cameras but in the battles....there's only one, maybe two. And the camera spends most of the time keeping the b-boys out of frame, far off center from frame, showing a reaction shot (instead of the move that causes the reaction), or it's zoomed in too much to enjoy a set. The editing is basically b-boying gone MTV. You're gonna get highlights of "moves" you're not gonna see dancing.
I buy b-boy DVDs so I can see b-boys express themselves, the editor and cameraman's job is to offer me the chance to see the dancing from the best vantage points possible, to make me feel like the battle is going on right in front of me...not to show me what they think is the best aspects of the event. If i wanted highlights...i'd just watch the trailer again.
Don't get me wrong the editing is done well and it's got good production quality...but for an MTV special...not a b-boy DVD.
On a positive note, the DVD Menus are pretty dope. The menu is set up like a video game where you can choose to either play the whole thing or pick a b-boy and just watch the battles they're in. Before you watch their battles you get a short introduction with the b-boy talking. So that's one good thing.
My Grade: C-....I'm sorry but no matter how dope the b-boying is, it's ruined if i'm distracted by too many jumpcuts.
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Red Bull BC One 2004 DVD - (Read 306 Times)
