This past Monday 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, 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 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.
Iconoclast director Emily Kai Bock collected the MVA for Best Alternative Video for her video for Arcade Fire’s “After Life,” and gave an impromptu speech, arguing that music videos should be seen more widely on the big screen – gaining a rapturous response from the audience.
Grammy-award winning director Joseph Kahn was presented with the Icon Award. He is celebrated for his legendary work with a generation of music artists, including Beyonce, Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, Eminem, Katy Perry, Justin Timberlake and U2. Heartfelt recorded tributes honoring Kahn 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 in the UK and abroad. Icon Award winner Joseph Kahn kicked off the day with a keynote speech, and the event also saw participation from M.I.A, Basement Jaxx’s Felix Buxton, and an exclusive presentation by legendary director Steve Barron.
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 the event.
Click here for a full list of the winners!