The story is based off the premise that their crew, director, arrangements, and everything else had been scrapped right before the event was to take place. Despite all of the setbacks, the raves.com crew captured the raw essence of what the Winter Music Conference is all about. They created phony press badges to attempt to gain VIP entry to all the hottest clubs in Miami and unbelievably, it worked.
From the start they chronicle the Hed Kandi party at the Shoreclub - the true definition of a South Beach pool party with the outdoor vibe, sexy house music and sexy people. To gain press entry into Club Level, they dropped the "We know Dave Aude" line and it worked. Running into Dave earlier in the day is a good example of how you can't really plan a WMC experience, the best things happen when you walk around and bump into people. Their first night appeared to be a smashing success.
Transportation was one thing planned successfully. Rather than relying on taxis or walking, the raves.com rented a stretch hummer to transport themselves around town. With such high-end transportation at their beck and call, they gained entry to the Wet Grooves party by giving DJ/producer Mark Lewis a ride to the venue.
One of the movie's highlights is the footage from the DJ soccer match. All the Europeans play soccer, so the walk-up game on the beach shows the leisurely side of DJs when they are not at work. Behind the scenes of the Remix Hotel, they show BT doing a seminar for Logic audio. That is true to the spirit of the Winter Music Conference, seeing famous DJs and producers teaching classes to the next generation.
The final segment of the documentary shows the diversity of electronic music at the Winter Music Conference. It's not just dance music as the crew takes out some time to party with Miami native DJ Craze and A-Trak cutting it up at the Ritz Plaza hotel. It's easy to see why he has been a DMC champion more than once. Contrasting the latin soul of The Latin Project and the German trance super producer Paul Van Dyk, the film shows there is something for everyone.
Covering an event like the Winter Music Conference is not an easy task. With 50 parties every night and several hundred thousand people walking around, its nearly impossible to be in the right place at the right time. The most memorable parts of the event almost always arise from walking around and bumping into people (demonstrated here most noticably by a lucky airport dialogue with Juliette Lewis). Showing the week from a journalist's viewpoint is a unique way to capture the scope of the event. Even though the war story line seems staged at some points, the setup was necessary to highlight the people who spoke out as things were happening with their immediate feelings. Dance music continues to be our one form of expression that allows us to capture and share these emotions, because you know its all about peace, love and beats.
