Bibliography
liamharvey1 (2020). Final Research Paper, Hip Hop Video Production. [online] Got A Million Rhymes. Available at: https://gotamillionrhymes.wordpress.com/2020/12/05/final-research-paper/ [Accessed 30 Apr. 2023].]
Blistein, J. (2021) Bad Boy Chiller Crew: Hometown U.K. Heroes Who Want to Make the Whole World Party. Available at https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/bad-boy-chiller-crew-interview-1165886/ (Accessed: 22/03/2023).
How, W. (2023). How to Make a Professional Rap Music Video. [online] wikiHow. Available at: https://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Professional-Rap-Music-Video.
Baseline is a genre of rap that is very common and popular amongst the youth in Bradford. The largest Bradford baseline rap group in the UK BBCC originate from Bradford City and have paved the way for baseline artists all over the UK. However before focusing on bassline on its own the first aspect of my research will stem from HipHop, as that is where all genres of rap originate. I will begin by looking into hip-hop music video production and taking slight inspiration from them.
“Hip hop video started out as people doing hip-hop and rap, making their own filming of how they wanted the music and hip hop culture to be portrayed. It was not a big commercial project to do a video. Rose and other historians describe the origin years of hip hop in the Bronx as from about 1973 to 1979”. (liamharvey1 2020).
Hip Hop videos were a way of showcasing the way of life the rappers were attempting to portray. They were raw and true to the area, lifestyle and lyrics the artists related to. Examples of some really inspiring old school Hip Hop music videos are: Mobb Deep Shook Ones, and DMX Ruff Ryders.
These two music videos really inspired me whilst beginning to create my first idea of how my final product will look. They both used setting, costume, lyrics and lighting to there advantage to relate to there roots and express themselves in their true form.
In order to gain a more thorough understanding on these four vital aspects of production I began to to research into what makes a good a music video as a whole and came across these main bunch: Having a visual motive, a good location, good quality equipment and establishing a mood.
Location plays an important role in giving your target audience that sense of belonging. This is because in rap your target audience is normally the locals in your area. This means its important to show where your from in order to relate to those who watch you.
Location
For my location aspect I am taking inspiration from the BBCC (bad boy chiller crew) as they have been successful in embodying the spirit of Bradford in there music videos down to there clothes and setting. They film there videos in local places known to the common man which makes them relatable and down to earth. Some examples of locations they use are Homewood, The Allerton Moors and Fagley. They are also known to record certain scenes in a vehicle, I will definitely be taking this on board during the filming of my music video because Bradford is known to be a city of cars and there is no better way of representing my home town.
A visual motive is when the artist establishes a common set of colors from lighting. Lighting plays a vital role in creating the overall theme of a production. Without lighting the footage can come across boring or unengaging.
Lighting
The lighting I am going to use won’t be anything too sophisticated as baseline music is all about keeping it raw and and as close to real life as possible. It will be natural lighting provided by the indoor place or outdoor area I have chosen to film at. As we can see from the picture below the natural colour of the outdoors has been enhanced through filter and lenses and that is something I am wiling to explore during my own production.
Equipment
The equipment I require to make this music video work is a camera. The only other equipment needed is in the rap studio in which I will perform my song live to be placed on top of the footage that is recorded. The camera I am thinking to shoot with are either a Nikon or a Cannon Camera. This is because they are both handheld and good quality.
Cannon camera
While Canon is more known for DSLRs, the company has excellent mirrorless options too. Their mirrorless cameras are some of the most popular and advanced on the market. The EOS M line is a series of mirrorless cameras with an APS-C sensor. Their battery life is also pretty decent ranging from 500 to 1000 recharge/discharge cycles. On top of that there are three classes of lenses: wide-angle, standard and telephoto, and each can include prime and zoom lenses.
Nikon cameras
Nikon has twice as many focus points as cannon. Nikon’s beginners cameras are slightly lighter and have a longer battery life. Nikon has excellent low light performance making it flexible to most types of setting and lighting. This makes Nikon reliable as dull weather or darker filters wont be an issue.
Target audience
The target audience can vary a lot, as Baseline music has been around since the 80s and this makes it very diverse when looking at specific groups of people who may be interested in it. Baseline was an old school sound of the North that has recently been bought to the forefront of the rap scene in general. This means older people and younger people are able to listen and view it. However for my song my target audience is going to be ages 17-25 as that is the age people are most in Nightclubs and partying. My song is centered around expressing the mind and attitude of a Bradford boy my age.
Early baseline is very similar to speed garage as speed garage came before baseline. It paved the way for the party music scene in the UK with many people still referring to baseline house releases from the early 2000s as speed garage. This early style grew from the sound that was popular in Night clubs in the late 1990s. In the north, speed garage and baseline thrived and maintained its popularity whereas in London it had declined as 2- step garage and grime emerged.
In Bradford, Baseline is listened to by the majority of the population. Some artists I take inspiration from are YA, BBCC, Mist, Fredo and KAV. All of these artists are relatable, modern and true to the youth and the area they are from. This is something I want to achieve with my project as I attempt to represent the city of Bradford and express the daily thoughts of a Bradford “charva” on a day to day basis.
Towards the end of the 2000s, there was a new wave of younger Yorkshire producers such as TS7, Service Crewand Danny Bond who took bassline along a different path. They invented a new style, and this style started to be called 4×4. This began to take bassline further away from the original garage sound everyone was used to but still retaining the core elements such as the warping bass and female vocals. Bassline as a whole remained fairly underground and was mostly only popular in the North.
BBCC said“I feel like people are behind us because they used to like all this stuff, and we’re bringing the past out, but we’re putting our twist on it and making it new,” says Kane, the group’s musical mastermind. (Blistein, 2021).
People respect originality and value artists making their music their own.
The impact of bassline music on the North
Bassline music gave the North something to be proud of and provided them with something they could claim as their own. It has now grown into a more mainstream genre of music and has impacted the rap scene immensely. Big rappers such as Jaykae, Mist and Fredo have created songs dedicated to all the bassline listeners world wide. One of the most hit songs of the year “so high” by Mist and Fredo was bassline and it sold millions of copies internationally.
Costumes for bassline artists
Bassline artists do not wear expensive clothes and contrary to rap music today they glorify being working class and normal. This genre of rap is supposed to reflect every day life for a common person so a normal tracksuit will be fine for filming.
YA
YA is an artist I am taking inspiration from and his music reflects his everyday life on the estate. He was bought up in Fagley and began his music career because his family was low on money. He made his first song in 2016 that went viral across all social media platforms advertising his council estate and local area. I have taken inspiration from this and want to showcase my roots and stay true to my self.
Editing inspiration
While conducting the research into Bassline music videos I pin pointed certain moments that I either found interesting or inspirational.
An example of this is in the song self made, at two minutes fifty eight seconds we see YA in a car with natural lighting making it look realistic and true to his hometown. I also love the shot (which is a mid shot) that captures him and the vehicle all in one. This is something I am thinking of incorporating in my own project. As one of my three locations will be inside a car.
Another thing I picked up on while watching the BBCC was that the camera wasn’t still and clearly wasn’t moving along a track as we see in mainstream music video’s. Rather it was moving with the artists chaotically with no form or rhythm and this interested me into looking into camera effects.
Transitions and Effects
I researched editing transitions and effects and the main one that stood out to me was speed wrapping. Speed wrapping includes movement sped up to give the music video a modern and interesting element.
The wipe video transition can work very well for your video if it is placed with intention, like in a travel video when you are shifting to another location or revealing a monument or waterfall.
The cross zoom transition will start by zooming in at the end of your first clip and will zoom out to your second clip with a little fade in the middle. This is a great music video transition, especially if you want to give your video a fast paced feel .
Shot research
Close up – A shot that focuses on an individual person or subject. This shot is used to convey information and it is the film makers way of telling the audience what is important. I plan to use this shot to do
Mid shot – this shot covers from the waist (sometimes from the knees) up to the head and is useful if you want to show the performer along side some props or a bit of the setting.
Wide shots – Covers the surroundings around the specific performer or object and establishes the setting or theme. A wide shot will be vital in my project as the setting to my music video is key in showing the theme of the ‘baseline’ genre of music.
Angles are also important in getting it to look creative and unique. The camera can be placed beneath me, above me and to to the side giving the audience different perspectives of the same scene