THE GENRE’S CONVENTIONS

Elements of the genre

Style

Design

Sources

Elements of the genre

Informs about a topic from a particular perspective. Pray gives an insider’s view of scratching, through the point of view of hip-hop DJs.

Based on interviews with experts (primary research). Pray interviews people connected with the hip-hop and turntablism movement, such as Afrika Bambaataa (early hip-hop pioneer and DJ from the South Bronx).

Identifies interviewees. Pray identifies interviewees by name and location, for example, “Grand Wizard Theodore” of “New York City.” The labeling also makes clear that interviewees are influential hip-hop DJs.

Not staged. Pray films interviewees in their environments. And what they say seems conversational, not scripted or rehearsed.

Use of voice-over. Pray includes narration over some of the scenes; for example, in the frames that show people break-dancing, a narrator explains some of the history of the dance style.

Style

Careful and deliberate editorial choices. For example, Pray sometimes presents a visual image without dialogue, but still conveys meaning.

Level of detail. To capture the skill that goes into turntablism, Pray often focuses the frame on the DJs fingers/hands, showing exactly what it takes to spin.

Tone of interviewees, narrator, and film. The film has a friendly, conversational tone. For example, the DJs speak directly to the camera, and viewers follow them as they shop for records.

Use of B-roll. The opening frames show B-roll footage of driving into New York City at night, which provides context, mood, and location.

Design

Range of shots / atmosphere. Pray uses close-ups and midrange shots. His framing of interviewees creates intimacy. Sometimes he shows only the DJ’s hands working the record.

Use of music and sound. Because the film focuses on the art of scratching, the majority of the music and sound comes from actual compositions by the artists. Pray emphasizes the sounds of the scratching.

Sources

Because Pray is an outsider to the world of scratching and hip-hop, he relies on the expertise and experience of hip-hop and scratch artists.