Home » Movies and Video Articles » 'Put the Needle on the Record' DJ Documentary First DVD Review
'Put the Needle on the Record' DJ Documentary First DVD Review
This review of the award winning electronic music and DJ documentary was written by Dennis Romero and will run in this week's LA City Beat. For press review or feature story on the film please contact press@dj-film.com or 310-273-7818.
/Movies and Video PR News/ - LOS ANGELES, CA, August 03, 2006 - Dance-music documentaries have been a disappointing lot - either sponsor-driven, overly star-struck, or low-tech enough to make you wonder if your 12-year-old nephew made it on his mobile phone and posted it on YouTube. The DVD version of Put the Needle on the Record, recently released online and headed for stores in September, is a refreshingly slick, sober, and balanced look at electronic dance music.
Perhaps Needle gets it right because it was written and directed by a club-scene outsider with a small-screen pedigree, former ESPN producer Jason Rem. In 2002, he was looking for a topic for a first film when friend and soon-to-be Needle coproducer Shahin Amirpour suggested he check out the Winter Music Conference, the dance industry's annual retreat in Miami. More than a business-card-swapping soiree, the weeklong conference and related events comprise an adult spring break that draws the world's top DJs and electronic bands to perform at parties that happen 24/7 every March. South Beach's "dance music week" has grown to include massive concerts, super-club gigs, and sponsorship events. (Playboy, PlayStation, and Pioneer are but a few brands that have set up shop or sponsored happenings.) It's been estimated that as many as 30,000 industry insiders and outsiders come from around the world to rub shoulders with dance music's elite.
"I was inspired by the passion people had for the music," says Rem. He also spied a no-brainer opportunity to catch the world's dance-music brain trust in one place, during one week. The 2003 conference ended up serving as a common thread for Needle, which is essentially the story of how dance music became a massive subculture while still remaining under the radar of radio, magazines, and MTV. "This goes back to my sports background," Rem says. "Going to the Super Bowl, it's easy to get interviews with all these football stars. The conference is the same way. There's a vast wealth of knowledge."
And so Needle gets house pioneer Jesse Saunders delineating house music's origins; drum 'n' bass star Dieselboy talking drum 'n' bass; radio DJs Jason Bentley and Liquid Todd illuminating the state of e-music on the air, and producers such as Dave Ralph discussing how technology constantly pushes the scene forward. Ralph celebrates the laptop-music revolution, saying a contemporary DJ can produce a track on her computer and end up playing it at a club the same night. Living legend François K, who's been spinning vinyl since the days of disco, counters that emotion, however, saying that technology is overshadowing musicality in the scene.
The film itself was a technological feat. Helicopters swoop down Miami's Ocean Drive as partygoers fill the side streets. Booties jiggle in high resolution. Hands are raised to house music. Needle gets a real aesthetic feel for the community, sexuality, and inspiration that drive people toward club culture. "Those five days, we were doing 45 interviews," Rem says of filming in '03. "[DJ] Donald Glaude we chased the entire week. We had three Beta cameras going for 18 hours a day. We had a crew come on maybe about 11-to-3, then afternoon and early night parties, then an 11-to-5 crew."
Most of the subjects - interviewed at the beach, poolside, and parties - are introspective and open. (At one point, radio jock Todd describes how he learned to beat-match records on air, concluding, "I sucked.") Dance-music tourists explain what attracts them to the circus. And DJs give a universal thumbs-down to the legions of new kids who think mixing records is a cheap ticket to stardom. Dieselboy tells the tale of how he started getting gigs by calling the numbers on party flyers and offering his services free. Jesse Saunders says that, when he started, "I used to play in a closet for like 25 people the whole night."
Rem was moved by the dedication he witnessed. He's now an avid dance-music fan, even as the film did its job, opening doors for more documentaries and possibly even a feature under his company, Rem Entertainment. It's also doing a good deed for dance music, showing how it is with nary a glow stick, big head, or drug-face in sight. "I've learned that this scene is about more than just kids going out and partying," he says. "I started playing the music, and I was like, 'Oh, I get it.'"
About REM Entertainment, Inc.
REM Entertainment, Inc is a full service production company specializing in all aspects of filmed entertainment and live and taped event production. Currently the company has produced and distributed the documentary 'Put the Needle on the Record' in four countries and is producing a short documentary on the International Medical Corps featuring actress Melissa Fitzgerald and narrated by Martin Sheen.
The company is also in development on a feature film written by Rem who will also produce and direct the Hollywood satire story with a caper twist. A second documentary regarding the spirit of the volunteer will begin production shortly and Rem will be producing and directing music videos for a variety of artists. Stay tuned for more.
---
Press release service and press release distribution provided by http://www.24-7pressrelease.com |
|
|
Press Release Contact Information:
Jason Rem
REM Entertainment, Inc.
President
8491 Sunset Blvd.
Hollywood, CA
USA 90069
Voice: 3102737818
Fax: 3108611950
Website: Visit Our Website |
|
|
|
|
| MOVIES AND VIDEO ARCHIVE SEARCH |
|
|
| |
| SUBMIT MOVIES AND VIDEO NEWS |
|
|
| |
|
|
Advertise With Us |
About Us |
Contact Us