This Tuesday, on the occasion of its 15-year anniversary, the branded powerhouse known as Red Bull Music Academy released an ambitious full-length feature film, the existentially-titled What Difference Does It Make? (The title is pulled from a Brian Eno quote.) You can watch it for free above.

By all counts, the film promised greatness. Its premise was ambitious and lofty: exploring what it means to make music—and demystifying varioius angles of the artistic process along the way. Its cast is formidable. Brian Eno, Giorgio Moroder, James Murphy, Nile Rodgers, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Richie Hawtin, and many more appear on camera to chew the fat. It even offers an unprecedented look behind the scenes at RBMA’s prestigious workshop for up-and-coming producers (notable alumni include Nina Kraviz, Flying Lotus, and Salva). But even with all of these rather impressive elements, What Difference Does It Make? is ultimately a wandering sojourn that could have benefited from an extra round of heavy-handed edits.

Lee “Scratch” Perry

The strongest part of the film is RBMA’s level of access to a wide range of luminaries, who offer their theories on what drives them to create. Director Ralf Schmerberg zooms in close and tight so we see their faces in startling HD, shrouded in dramatic chiaroscuro lighting that lends their words a sense of philosophical gravitas. Nevermind that those words are often platitudes that would barely carry weight if their speakers weren’t so stratospherically famous. Example: “Music is a universal language. It’s a place where a lot of people’s differences can be put aside and anybody can enjoy a good groove.” Another: “To be vulnerable in life is everything.” A third: “If you’re not doing it for the love of the music, give up now.” Let’s face it. We’ve all heard great artists spew stuff like this a million times before.

Brian Eno

Which is not to say that this film is merely a branded puff piece. While it does include a few awkward Red Bull shout-outs, RBMA’s role as a generous benefactor to the electronic music community has paid off with some invaluable footage—like scenes of Giorgio Moroder’s epic DJ set at Brooklyn’s notoriously camera-averse Output club earlier this year; scenes from guest lectures by Philip Glass and Blondie’s Debbie Harry; and footage of everyone from Stephen O’Malley to Big Freedia to Mykki Blanco from their Academy events in NYC. Compared to the slew of electronic music documentaries out this year—like the EDC-advertisement-disguised-as-a-concert-doc Under The Electric Sky or Swedish House Mafia’s advertisement-disguised-as-a-biopic Leave The World Behind— What Difference Does It Make? is far less transparently self-promotional.

Torsten Schmidt, one of the founders of RBMA

The film shines in many places, especially when its subjects stop striving to poke at that mysterious force behind their artistic prowess and deliver off-the-cuff remarks that range from unintentionally hilarious to vulnerably honest. When Lee “Scratch” Perry is asked how to be perfect, he replies, “Eat vegetables.” Skream is visibly caught off guard when Schmerberg bluntly asks him, “Why are you still alive?,” which causes the notorious party boy to visibly ponder his own wild existence.

Sam Moulton

And then there’s a priceless interview in record producer Tom Moulton’s rats’ nest apartment. Moulton—who invented the remix and the 12-inch single vinyl format—is shot in his Hoarders-like home surrounded by tens of thousands of CDs. (“I don’t like the idea of cleaning… because I could be mixing something rather than doing that.”) One of the best scenes is the simplest: Moulton completely geeking out to Imagination’s rapturous “Just An Illusion,” singing its melody with the passion only a diehard could muster. Side scenes like this—show don’t tell, I guess—ultimately prove more honest and revealing than the cliches we’re offered as the main course.

Random floating garbage bag

Woven around these star-studded interviews is a second narrative about the 2013 Red Bull Music Academy in New York City. We watch the journey of this hand-picked group of musicians as they go from shy bedroom producers to powerhouse collaborators. Several wildly talented youth stand out in particular but, sadly, the film never dwells long enough to give us a chance to get to know them and their stories—a missed opportunity for sure, and perhaps part of the reason What Difference seems to lack an emotional heft. Another strange decision was the idea of scattering random shots of New York City’s street life amongst all the interviews and RBMA footage. Sometimes it works: footage of a performer’s deep meditation on happiness versus financial success—in song, in a subway tunnel—is gripping indeed. But do we really need to see more cliched shots of pigeons and and cabbies and fluffy dogs and subway cars whizzing by? Yes, the pedestrian ordinariness of these scenes contrasts nicely with the film’s message of transcendence. But even with the beautiful camerawork, they often end up feeling gratuitous.

In the end, the most interesting part of What Difference Does It Make? is watching RBMA attempt to craft an overarching narrative that sort of explains why they do what they do. It’s a laudible effort to tease a deeper, quasi-philosophical theme out of fifteen years of experience. But its uneven results suggest that perhaps the filmmakers were too close to the subject at hand to acheive that vital critical distance needed to hit this high-minded target. What Difference Does It Make? would have been great—as a 30-minute video.

@MichelleLHOOQ