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Monday, 22 December 2014

2014 Scene Awards - Video of the Year




We now return to your regularly scheduled programming... with the 5th annual Scene Awards! Yeah, we don't even know how we've done up five of these bad boys. We've got all the big names performing and presenting and by that I mean we don't... because we're just a blog. This isn't televised. And there's no like, statue or physical award or anything like that. We say we'll post out certificates to the winners, but we don't. But that doesn't make them the big winners that they are. We're sticking to the same awards as last year, so that means up until the end of 2014 we'll be telling you about our favourite Video of the Year (that's today!), Best New Artist, Australian Artist of the Year, EP of the Year, Group of the Year, Man of the Year, Woman of the Year and Album of the Year. Will Queen Tay slay? Probs not. But maybe, who knows these days? Stick around to find out! Now... let's go all "classic" MTV and talk about music videos...


VIDEO OF THE YEAR:


#4. Far From View
by Jack Colwell and The Owls
Directed by Brian Fairbairn and Karl Eccleston




"A sweeping and nostalgic story about a teenage girl's sexual awakening on prom night." Themes of shame and regret amongst a somewhat 80s inspired clip. A dramatic, atmospheric clip that not only goes with the song, but makes the listening experience even better. Jack Colwell's music video for 'Far From View' was definitely one of the year's best and it blows my mind that something of this quality is coming to us from an emerging, unsigned, Australian artist. It also blows my mind that the YouTube view count is sitting around 5800 when it should be something like 5 800 000, but that's a gripe for another time and doesn't stop Brian and Karl's video for 'Far From View' being one of the absolute best clips of 2014. (Matt Bond)


#3. Frameless 
by Hudson and Troop
Directed by Darcy Prendergast and Andrew Goldsmith (Oh Yeah Wow)




I have an interesting relationship with the music video. It takes a special one for me to notice, because if they’re playing, I’m probably more likely listening to the lyrics, tapping to the beat or harmonising with the tune. For me, it’s generally all about the sound, which is what makes the start of Hudson and Troop’s clip for ‘Frameless’ so fascinating to me. A big blue monster, wandering the street, communicating in a way completely unexpected in a music video – sign language. You know, the way hearing impaired people communicate, with a gentle flurry of hands and gestures that most of us don’t and won’t ever know. A secret language for those lucky enough to speak it and a language not often associated with such an aural medium as music. 

The sign language led into a story of a broken heart, a lonely soul, an empty life and a path all too familiar, a dead end job, some empty streets, an outburst of heartache which lead into the words that repeat at the end of the song “yeah this love it aches for more”. All of the images so striking in their uniqueness, so perfectly matched to the emotion of the song in the strangest way. The creators, Oh Yeah Wow, have put together such striking images that remind me just how powerful the visual medium can be when matched with just as passionate sounds and it’s clips like this that make me want to watch some more. Those moving images, in combination with the amazing talent of Hudson and Troop, have managed to do exactly as is described in one of my favourite songs of 2014; “capturing all the light as it bends” and in doing so, have created one of my favourite clips of the year to go with that incredible song. (Jo Michelmore)


Runner-Up: I'm A Fantastic Wreck
by Montaigne
Directed by Guy Franklin




A little bit deranged, but deserving of all of our love. The video for Montaigne's 'I'm A Fantastic Wreck' beautifully lays some hand-drawn animation and computer generated trickery (yes, that's the technical term) over an arresting performance from our leading lady. I've never been great at interpreting, well, anything... but I took what happens after the opening reveal with the animation to represent that wish for someone to actually see and understand all of those thoughts that are constantly running through your (or in this case, Montaigne's) head. You can take it as something quite deep that matches the content of 'I'm A Fantastic Wreck', or you can enjoy it as a visual companion that matches the quirkiness of the music. Guy Franklin knows a little something about directing clips like this that make a big impression, like Kimbra's 'Settle Down' and 'Cameo Lover'. 'I'm A Fantastic Wreck' might be his most "simple" effort yet, but it might just be his best. Perfectly suited to the song, we'll be loving this one for a long time to come. (Matt Bond) 


WINNER: It's Alright
by Fractures
Directed by Matthew Chuang




Even though I adore it, I’ve been putting off writing about this clip. I’ve been so unsure as to how I can do it justice with simple words. How do I describe something that almost brings me to tears with every play and how do I describe something so intense, so painful and so beautiful all at once? Where do I start in the description of a journey that most of us will never have to make, but lots of us already have in our own ways?

I have watched it over and over and thought about how I shall write about the story of a man, returning to his home town of Pripyat, Chernobyl. I shall write a historical piece about what happened there more than twenty years ago, about how many people’s lives were lost and how many lifestyles were left behind and I will go into a detailed explanation of the fallout, how and why and what the social effect was and has been since. Then I will write about the clip itself, the sights and endless shots of destruction and abandonment, buildings bare, walls and windows destroyed, the representation of what those buildings mean and what they mean to the lone man wandering and what they mean to me, half a world away with the vaguest idea of what it is actually like to have lost everything and almost nothing at the same time.

I would type all of those words and maybe someone would read them but none of them would mean a thing. Because words don’t mean that much when the art is this powerful. I adore this clip and this song and I adore them on both a very basic and a very complex emotional level, so words are really irrelevant. I adore it because of it's joy and it's pain and I adore it because with all those images and all of our experiences, no matter how much it hurts, there are always the words in this delicate song that we all need once in a while; “It’s alright, it’s alright”. (Jo Michelmore)


2013 Winner:
'The Bed Song' by Amanda Palmer and The Grand Theft Orchestra
Runner-Up: 'You Are New' by The Trouble With Templeton


2012 Winner:
'Bad Girls' by M.I.A
Runner-Up: 'Hey Jane' by Spiritualized


2011 Winner:
'Lonely Boy' by The Black Keys
Runner-Up: 'Somebody That I Used To Know' by Gotye ft. Kimbra


2010 Winner:
'Islands' by The xx  

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