Will Smith - Men in Black Music Video

Will Smith: example of synergy and purpose

This video is a clear visual style of the idea of synergy and branding. As the music video includes references to the film ‘men in black’ the music video is an example of synergy because it promotes the movie Men in Black 2. The video combines shots of the artist (Will Smith) and the movie. It also has references to the film by the means of its lyrics.  Both the soundtrack and the film promote each other; this is an ideal form of marketing for a film. It’s a great way to promote both; as the use of tracks played via radio in advance of the film being released provides hours of advertising that is not only free, but brings in money for the company without much effort. 

Will smith, himself could be seen as a brand as he has a wide audience. There will be a fan based for the actor himself, a fan base for the music he has produced and for the films he has starred in. Each of these means that the whole of his audience will go and watch the film allowing an increase in profit to happen. This is one of the many reason film and music industries integrate together and try to use synergy to market their products.

Here is a screenshot showing an example of synergy, here Will smith is advertising the film within the music video. The way he has been placed in the shots shows the audience that he is a 'cool' guy as the way he is posed shows the audience.

Here is another screenshot of Will smith this shows him dressed exactly how he is in the Men in Black film.









Here is the music video for Will Smith - Men In Black:

Fun - Some Nights

After gathering some research and talking to some friends and family, I have come to a conclusion that the song may be an anthem but has not been written and performed for the traditional purpose, which is usually done to inspire individuals to work and sacrifice for a higher purpose. Often that higher purpose is the successful completion of a military campaign. Here, however, the soldier singing this 'anthem' is questioning why he is fighting. The video begins by switching between the past and present; showing a soldier and his girlfriend being in love before he was sent of to war. 

The style of the music video is shown through the use of narrative and lyrics interpretation. This allows the audience to interpret their own meaning about the song. It has the use of lip sync and 'As Live' footage. All of these have been done to show the audience that somehow even during war, soldiers still manage to hold on to that small grasp of hope that keeps them believing that they will return home safely. Many people are able to relate this, especially as there are quite a lot of soldiers fighting for our country in wars all around the world in today's society. The medium close up shot of the soldier looking deeply into his girlfriends eyes quickly switches to him killing the soldier, this has been done to show the audience that in fact after having experienced killing they can quickly change, as it is shown by the anger on the soldier's  face.

This is a screen shot referencing to the point about the Medium close up of the soldier looking deeply into his girlfriends eyes then quickly switching to him killing the other soldier.

This is a screen shot referencing to the point about the Medium close up of the soldier's, this is showing  the anger he feels - representing to the audience that this how going to war can change a person. 

Here is the music video for Fun - Some Nights

Mumfords & Son - Little Lion Man

Little lion man is a 'As Live' performance where the band is playing on a stage to an empty room. This may have been done to suggest to the audience that they feel alone or an emptiness within their lives. The style of the music video is shown through the use of lyrics interpretation. This allows the audience to interpret their own meaning about the song. Some people think the song is about a person who has made a choice or choices that ended up really affecting or hurting some one they cared about. "it was not your choice but mine and was your heart on the line". The lyrics "was your heart on the line" may also reference to someone being heartbroken.

The pace of the music is matched by the pace of the video, the faster the music becomes the faster the pace of the video is, as if they are in sync together. When there is close ups of the band members faces or when they are playing their instruments it is in a low key lighting, whereas when the band is stood in a long shot it is filmed in high key lighting. This may have been done to show the audience that in a low key lighting it is most when they feel alone but when in high key lighting they feel not as alone as they are stood with people they know - almost showing a contrast between happy and sad.


This is a screen shot referencing to the point about the close up of the band member's face - Low key lighting representing - dark, alone, sad etc

This is a screen shot referencing to the point about the long shot of the band members playing their instruments - High key lighting representing - Bright, Happy etc







Here is the music video of Mumfords & Sons - Little Lion Man

Disturbed - Another way to die

The main purpose of Disturbed music video 'Another way to die' is to promote to the audience about the ethical issues that are happening in today's society. The style of the music video is shown through narrative and with the use of lyrics interpretation. This allows the audience to interpret their own meaning about the song. Some people believe that the song is talking about the lead singers beliefs about Global warming and how not much is being done to help prevent it. This is shown by some of the lyrics such as 'The time bomb is ticking...And no one is Listening...' this has been shown by the fuel pumps price being raised extremely quickly almost as it is a 'timer'.

He also writes about what is happening at the moment such as the ice caps melting he references it to the audience by using the lyrics “Glaciers Melt as we Pollute the Skies..” With the use of the song and video, it switches between good and bad, the majority of it is based around bad events such as global warming. The whole video is almost like a montage of slowly showing the audience how the future may look if they don't change the way things are now. The pace of the music is matched by the pace of the video, the faster the music becomes the faster the pace of the video is, as if they are in sync together.

The lyrics are referencing to the fact that not many people actually believe global warming is going to happen, it is also shown by some of the close up shots within the video such as the shot of the oil sign. The fact that the person in the foreground is out of focus whereas the oil sign is in focus, may have been done to tell the audience that if we don't start making a change now, in time our future may only consist of us living in a wasteland as the video has interpreted.

Here are a few screen-shots from the Disturbed Music Video 'Another way to die': 

A screen shot of person in the foreground is out of focus whereas the oil sign is in focus. 

This is a screen shot referencing to the point about the melting ice caps mentioned in the song. -  “Glaciers Melt as we Pollute the Skies..” 

This is a screen shot referencing to my point about the fuel pumps price being raised extremely quickly almost as it is a 'timer'.

Here is the music video: Disturbed - Another way to die