Monday, November 10th the 7th annual UK Music Video Awards were held in London at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in the Southbank Centre, where a throng of British and International filmmakers assembled to celebrate creative and technical excellence in music videos.
This year’s winners list demonstrated the strength of filmmaking talent across all areas of the art form, from directors and producers to artists and commissioners, and right across the spectrum of production and post-production craft categories.
Video of the Year went to American directing duo DANIELS of Prettybird, who received a total of five nominations and also picked up Best Dance Video – International for DJ Snake ft Lil Jon’s “Turn Down For What.” And the UK Jury selected LA-based director Hiro Murai of Doomsday Entertainment as the Best Director of the past year for his body of work, including Queens of the Stone Age’s “Smooth Sailing,” which also earned him the award for Best Rock/Indie Video – International.
One of the big winners of the night was Somesuch director Daniel Wolfe for his 8-minute epic for Paolo Nutini’s “Iron Sky,” which picked up five nominations and rewarded him with the Best Pop Video title as well as the coveted Best Cinematography prize for Robbie Ryan. Wolfe, who was named the MVAs Best Director in 2010, has just released his first feature, “Catch Me Daddy” which itself picked up an award at the recent BFI London Film Festival Awards.
Also picking up two honors at the ceremony hosted by comedian Adam Buxton, was Mercury Prize-nominated FKA Twigs’ who won the brand new Best Video Artist category for her body of video work in the past year, as well as the Best Alternative Video – Budget for “Papi Pacify”, co-directed by Twigs with Tom Beard.
Alt-J, Atoms For Peace, Disclosure, Paloma Faith, Peace, Jon Hopkins and James were among the other artists whose videos won awards at the UKMVAs. The post-production categories saw the cream of British talent winning against tough international competition with Final Cut’s Dan Sherwen taking the Best Editing title for his work on Jon Hopkins’ “Collider,” Ainslie Henderson and Michael Hughes winning Best Animation for James’ “Moving On” and the team at Electric Theatre Collective triumphing in the Best Visual Effects category for their work on Alt-J’s “Hunger Of The Pine.”
Among other international talent celebrated at the Awards, Israeli director Vania Heymann collected the award for the outstanding Best Interactive Video of the year with Bob Dylan’s “Like A Rolling Stone,” French directing team Truman & Cooper picked up Best New Director and the irrepressible OK Go received the Best Art Direction & Design in a Video award via a specially-recorded message for “The Writing’s On The Wall.” Also expressing their thanks via video on the night were Sia and Daniel Askill for their incredible choreography-led video for “Chandelier” in the Best International Pop Video category, and UK director Sam Pilling who triumphed over a host of international directors to grab the Best International Urban Video award for J Cole ft Amber Coffman’s “She Knows.”
Grammy-award winning video director Joseph Kahn was presented with the Icon Award. He is celebrated for his iconic work with a generation of music artists, including Beyonce, Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, Eminem, Katy Perry, Wu-Tang Clan, Justin Timberlake and U2. Heartfelt tributes on the night came from Robbie Williams and Kylie Minogue.
Earlier on saw the successful launch of MusicVidFest, a conference on the business of music video creativity held at BFI Southbank, which gave professionals a chance to discuss the issues and advances driving music video production here and abroad. Our Icon Award winner Joseph Kahn kicked off the day with a keynote speech.
The event also saw participation from M.I.A, Basement Jaxx’s Felix Buxton, an exclusive presentation by legendary director Steve Barron, and some of the most prolific producers and directors working in music video today from the UK, France and USA.
The UK Music Video Awards editorial director, David Knight, said, “November 10th 2014 was a Super Monday for music videos with the first MusicVidFest examining the important issues surrounding the medium at a time when it’s more significant than ever before in bringing music to a global audience. Then the UK Music Video Awards once again demonstrated the high levels of craft, creativity and innovation that the medium produces when it’s allowed to celebrate its core element – the music itself.”
Those in the UK: keep an eye on 4Music in the week of November 22nd, when they will be airing a special show focusing on the nominees and winners from tonight’s event.
Website: www.ukmva.com
Here is the full list of winners:
Best Pop Video – UK in association with Rushes
Paolo Nutini – Iron Sky
Director: Daniel Wolfe
Producer: Lee Groombridge
Prod co: Somesuch
Commissioner: Dan Curwin for Atlantic
Best Dance Video – UK
Director: Emile Sornin
Producer: Jules de Chateleux
Prod co: DIVISION Paris
Commissioner: John Moule for Island Records
Best Rock/Indie Video – UK in association with Finish
Throne – Tharsis Sleeps
Director: Nicos Livesey / Tom Bunker
Producer: Posy Dixon
Prod co: Lucky Features
Commissioner: Channel 4 Random Acts
Best Alternative Video – UK in association with Smoke & Mirrors
Atoms For Peace – Before Your Very Eyes
Director: Andrew Thomas Huang
Exec Producers: Tamsin Glasson / Nathan James Tettey
Prod co: Colonel Blimp / Blinkink
Commissioner: Phil Lee for XL Records
Best Urban Video – UK
Director: Karim Huu Do
Producer: Katie Dolan
Exec Producers: Katie Dolan / Sorcha Shepherd / Louise Gagen
Prod co: Caviar
Commissioner: Last Night In Paris
Best Pop Video – International
Sia – Chandelier
Director: SIA / Daniel Askill
Producer: Jack Hogan
Prod co: Radical Media
Commissioner: Camille Yorrick for RCA Records / Sony Music Ent
Best Dance Video – International
DJ Snake ft Lil Jon – Turn Down For What
Director: DANIELS
Producer: Judy Craig / Jonathan Wang
Exec Producer: Candice Ouaknine
Prod co: Prettybird
Commissioner: Bryan Younce for Columbia Records
Best Rock/Indie Video – International
Queens of the Stone Age – Smooth Sailing
Director: Hiro Murai
Producer: Jason Colon
Exec Producer: Danielle Hinde
Prod co: Doomsday Entertainment
Commissioner: Gabe Spierer for Matador
Best Alternative Video – International
Arcade Fire – After Life
Director: Emily Kai Bock
Producer: Anne Johnson
Exec Producer: Kathleen Heffernan
Prod co: Iconoclast
Commissioner: Genneah Turner for Mercury / Merge
Best Urban Video – International
J Cole ft Amber Coffman – She Knows
Director: Sam Pilling
Producer: Sarah Park
Exec Producer: Laura Tunstall
Prod co: Pulse Films
Commissioner: Chaka Pilgrim for Roc Nation
Best Pop Video – Budget
The Correspondents – Fear and Delight
Director: Naren Wilks
Producer: Naren Wilks
Commissioner: The Correspondents
Best Dance Video – Budget
Friend Within – The Renegade
Director: Craig Moore
Producer: Liam Johnson
Exec Producer: Sophie Brooks
Prod co: Familia / robot
Commissioner: Caroline Clayton for Ministry of Sound
Best Rock/Indie Video – Budget
Kid Wise – Hope
Director: Truman & Cooper
Producer: Anthony & Johnathan
Prod co: Chey Eddy / Colonel Blimp
Commissioner: Kid Wise
Best Alternative Video – Budget
FKA twigs – Papi Pacify
Director: FKA twigs / Tom Beard
Producer: Cherise Payne
Prod co: Cherise Payne
Commissioner: FKA twigs
Best Urban Video – Budget
Bonnie Banane – Champs-Elysees
Director: Helmi
Producer: Clémence Cuvelier
Prod co: DIVISION, Paris
Commissioner: Jules Cuvelier for Weird Data Music
Best Art Direction & Design in a Video in association with Creative Commission
OK Go – The Writing's On The Wall
Art Director: Ethan Tobman
Director: Aaron Duffy, Damian Kulash, Jr. Bob Partington
Producer: Garrett Fennelly
Exec Producers: Cheri Anderson / Sam Penfield
Prod co: 1st Ave Machine / Warm & Fuzzy
Record company: Paracadute
Best Styling in a Video in association with i-D
Brooke Candy – Opulence
Stylist: Nicola Formichetti
Director: Steven Klein
Producer: Colin Lewis
Exec Producer: Coleen Haynes
Prod co: Black Dog Films
Record company: RCA
Best Choreography in a Video
Peace – Money
Choreographer: Supple Nam
Director: Ninian Doff
Producer: Rik Green / Ore Okonedo
Exec Producer: Zak Razvi
Prod co: Pulse Films
Record company: Sony Music
Best Cinematography in a Video in association with Panalux
Paolo Nutini – Iron Sky
DOP: Robbie Ryan
Director: Daniel Wolfe
Producer: Lee Groombridge
Prod co: Somesuch
Record company: Atlantic Records
Best Colour Grade in a Video
Paloma Faith – Can't Rely On You
Colourist: George K @ MPC
Director: Paul Gore
Producer: Denna Cartamkhoob
Exec Producer: Tim Nash / Tash Tan
Prod co: Somesuch
Record company: Sony Music
Best Animation in a Video
James – Moving On
Animator: Ainslie Henderson / Michael Huges
Director: Ainslie Henderson
Producer: Ainslie Henderson
Prod co: White Robot
Record company: BMG Chrysalis / Cooking Vinyl
Best Editing in a Video
Jon Hopkins – Collider
Editor: Dan Sherwen @ Final Cut
Director: Tom Haines
Producer: Connor Hollman
Exec Producer: Dom Gomez
Prod co: Rogue Films
Record company: Domino Records
Best Visual Effects in a Video
Alt-J – Hunger Of The Pine
VFX Artist: Adam Watson / Richard C Thomas / Annie Rowland / Bernardo Varela / Micheal Walton @ Electric Theatre Collective
Director: Nabil
Producer: Claire Oxley
Exec Producer: Liz Kessler
Prod co: Academy / A+
Record company: Infectious
Best Live Music Coverage
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Live In Paris
Director: Bartleberry Logan
Producer: Bartleberry Logan
Commissioner: Jordan Berliant
Record company: Abstract Dragon
Best Music Ad – TV or Online
Disclosure – Settle
Director: Kate Moross
Prod co: Studio Moross
Commissioner: Universal-Island Recordings
Record company: Universal-Island Recordings
Best Interactive Video
Bob Dylan – Like A Rolling Stone
Director: Vania Heymann
Prod co: Interlude, Walter Pictures, Pulse Films
Commissioner: Sony Music Global
Record company: Sony / Legacy Recordings
Vevo Must See Award
Wilkinson – Afterglow
Director: Rémy Cayuela
Prod co: Able&Baker
Commissioner: James Hackett for Virgin EMI / Ram Records
Best Producer in association with Island Studios
Amber Millington
Best New Director in association with Electric Theatre Collective
Truman and Cooper
Best Director in association with Locomotion
Hiro Murai
Best Commissioner in association with IMD Fastrax
Caroline Clayton
Best Video Artist in association with Box Television
FKA twigs
The Icon Award
Joseph Kahn
Video of the Year in association with Promo News
DJ Snake ft Lil Jon – Turn Down For What
Director: DANIELS
Producer: Jon Wang / Judy Craig
Executive Producer: Juliette Larthe UK
Prod co: Prettybird
Commissioner: Bryan Younce for Sony Music