Glocal Scene: A Documentary

Glocal Scene is a documentary made by two young amateur filmmakers from Leeds. It is obvious when watching the film that they have no experience with filming. Their camera is often times very shaky, there are weird camera angles, and poor sound quality. The beauty of it, though, is that adds to the overall atmosphere of the documentary and the idea they are trying to get across. The film has a very organic feel because it is about struggling artists that have very little chance of getting much publicity and so it is up to themselves to get known. They are all very unpolished just like the film itself, but in this way, their true passion for their music shines through because it isn't just about the fame.



However, as is made clear in the film, making and recording music is about connecting with people and that is where the challenge begins. Since, the people who control the music industry is so concentrated it is hard for these local artists who are so different to get well known. Thanks to the internet and myspace, though, many are able to be heard and can create a fan base, however small. Another way for them to be heard is to tour and play in small venues weather it be nightclubs or even people's houses. These bands usually only make enough money to cover the costs of the trip.


The film also presented some interesting points that I never would have thought of before. It is interesting how bands get to another bands that know another band and they are able to sometimes form these small networks that can help each other out. In the film there was an example of a two woman band that had other bands play at there house in exchange for a breakfast of pancakes. The women said that once a band came to play at their house they always came back. Another interesting point made in the film is that the more isolated a city, often times, the more creative and unique the art will be. One gentleman in the film from LA believes that if you are exposed to too much music as you are growing up, you will lose a certain element of innocence when creating your own music. This reminds me of the video we watched during the marketing talk where they were able to predict the ad that the advertisers were going to create based on the ads they passed by on their trip to the studio. It shows how we are bombarded by so much of the same music and advertising that it starts to creep into our lives without even realizing it.