Rihanna - Sledgehammer (From The Motion Picture ＂Star Trek Beyond＂)

What this video is

Released June 27–30, 2016, 'Sledgehammer' was commissioned as the promotional centrepiece for Paramount's Star Trek Beyond (2016), the franchise's 50th anniversary film. It represents the peak of the mid-2010s trend in which major studios paired pop superstars with cinematic-scale music videos as blockbuster marketing tools. The song was written by Rihanna with Sia Furler and Jesse Shatkin — a Sia collaboration…

Why it matters

A landmark in prestige pop music video production, 'Sledgehammer' marks the maturation of the blockbuster tie-in single into a large-format cinematic form. Its IMAX-first release strategy and full integration of studio-grade VFX assets set a new benchmark for music video production budgets and…

The director

Italian-Canadian director based in Los Angeles. Known for visually inventive music videos for artists including David Bowie, Justin Timberlake, and Christina Aguilera. Directed the rock biopic The Runaways (2010) and has worked in prestige television…