Film director Justin Broadbent creates music videos to have fun and connect artists with their fans. A close friend of London, Ont. native Shad, Broadbent has worked on the majority of the emcee’s music videos, album artwork and photography, including the video for single “Remember 2 Remember”. The video was one of 12 showcased at this year’s Music Video Night at the ReelWorld Film Festival.
“I think [the music video] adds another dimension,” says Broadbent. “I don’t think it’s necessary, but I think that music is a language and so are visuals. I think when you combine two languages together it forms an even more powerful thing. People really tend to latch onto their artists as well. When they see Shad or they see Drake they feel excited to watch them.”
This year’s videos represented hip-hop, rock, R&B and electronic music. The videos showcased elements of storytelling, creativity and strong use of production and post-production skills. There was everything featured from documentary style with Hollarado’s “So It Goes” to animation style with The Lytics’ “On Top”.
Music Video Programmer Sabrina Spence put the diverse array of music videos together, whether it was the story line or the graphics or just the filmmaking itself, explains Spence. “I chose these videos because each one had something different about it, whether it was the story line or the graphics or just the filmmaking itself. I tried to keep things on a really broad spectrum so that it could engage a wider audience.”
In previous years, artists, producers and directors have appeared at this event and this year was no different. After the videos were shown, a panel consisting of Broadbent and fellow directors Rinku DasGupta and Reza Dahya answered questions for 40 minutes.
The music video celebration is one of the staples of the Reel World Film Festival because it’s one of the only public outlets music videos have in a festival. “I think it’s pretty important especially because a lot of directors start out with music videos before moving onto short films or feature films,” says Spence. “It’s a really great way for independent directors to showcase their work.”
Words & Photo By. Matthew Anness
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