Video Breakdown: Slaughterhouse’s “The One”

Slaughterhouse is the epitome of the internet hip-hop group. They’re part of a new generation of musical group that heavily owes the internet for its success. Their buzz started out on internet message boards in conversations speculative revolving around which four MCs people would love to see on a track together. From that demand came the album, which had very little mainstream promo, yet did very well, and of course the videos. This week we take a look at “The One”.



Not only was it great to see Crooked I, Joell, Royce, and Joe Budden actually on television for the first when this video first aired, it was also pleasantly surprising to see that the video for their album’s first single had a high quality, fun and accessible visual that turned out great to go along with the bumping song. Helmed by hip-hop filmmaker Rik Cordero from Three 21 Media in New York (look his work up if you’re not familiar, he’s dope), the video is also cutting edge in regards to the fact that it maintains a high production value while keeping production costs down. I couldn’t tell you how much the video budget was, but I guarantee you it was probably much lower than many videos of lesser quality playing regularly on MTV and VH1 today and backed by major label budgets. The secret to high value of the video is due primarily to a revolution in digital filmmaking called the Canon 5D Mark ii. Let’s also not forget Cordero’s ability to nail hip-hop videos on the head and his ingenuity and creative with limited resources, hats go off to him and his crew for making it happen.

The other key to getting the high quality look of the footage is the use of 35mm prime lenses, which brings the footage closer to having the look of being shot on real film (35mm). Like in the music industry and recording side of things, the cost of production has gone down in film as well. We have the internet and advances in digital filmmaking and computing technology to thank for that. While there are cons, (such as declining budgets), there are also pros (anyone can pick up a camera now and try to make a video like this one). The entry point to joining the playing field is much lower, but it is also a much wider playing field (more competition). If the technical info is not your thing, just keep this in mind, that Slaughterhouse was able to make a great song, dope video, and awesome album without the help of a major label on reasonable budget. Sounds good to me.