Ben Yater is the senior copywriter at MakeAStar.com. Make A Star began in 2001 as the first online music competition platform using a bracketed tournament format. Featuring prestigious online talent and skill competitions in a broad range of popular music and performing arts, Make A Star creates a level playing field for emerging talent from around the world. Through a combination of industry judge reviews and online fan votes, Make A Star uses the interactivity of social media to allow the best talent to rise to the top.
The $10,000 Original Music Contest stands as Make A Star’s signature contest so far this year, and with well over 200 contestants, it goes without saying that plenty of great music videos did not win any cash.
Some of those music videos are now coming around again to compete in the all-new Best Music Video contests. While offering a much more modest cash prize of $100, a Best Music Video contest gives everyone a 1 in 8 chance of claiming the prize. But with the quality of the competition seen so far, winning isn’t easy.
Best Music Video 1 saw Seattle post-punk band Romance prevail over Los Angeles indie songwriter Victor E. Romance’s video for “Killer in the World” features a fast-paced, kinetic style that flowed well with the relentless rhythm of the song. Adding ‘screen within a screen’ effects and themes of psychological control that recalled Apple Computer’s famous ‘1984’ commercial, the video, directed by Petit Robot Media, created an ominous atmosphere wrapped in a slick and media-accessible package.
Victor E’s video “Meditation No. 6 (Getting To Know You)” bared an uncanny semblance to Romance, as it also raised themes of social repression in the video, which Victor said gained inspiration from the classic film ‘Metropolis’. But to help shine some light on the darkness, Victor E’s video also featured lots of roller skates and claimed inspiration from ‘The Wiz’ and ‘Roller Boogie’. Though he claimed the higher judge scores, Victor E had far fewer fan votes than Romance, which helped put the Seattle rockers over the top.
Best Music Video 2 was won by Chicago band Team Rockit, with their video “Know What I Mean”. A celebration of comics and animation, the Jim Distasio and Mark McCutcheon directed video used entertaining visual effects to place the band inside the funny pages, complete with odes to Dennis The Menace, Dick Tracy, Peanuts and even Sudoku puzzles. Team Rockit were challenged by New York electronic songwriter ISADAR, whose video for “Dream of the Dead” recalls the classic film noir movies of the 40s. Shot in lush black and white with a sound recalling some of the best 80s new wave, ISADAR plays a detective in a cemetery attempting to solve a mystery. The final voting in this battle was very close, but Team Rockit prevailed by a 51 – 49% margin.
The Best Music Video 3 contest should launch soon, as a few contenders have already lined up to compete for a spot in the 8 contestant money bracket. Make A Star’s talent and skill competitions give artists around the globe the equal chance to rise to the top, and give fans a great opportunity to discover new music and have their voice count as their votes can sometimes make the difference between winning and losing. But even for the artists who don’t claim the cash prizes, the exposure and networking opportunities at MakeAStar.com are well worth the experience.
To find out more about the best music video contest online, visit www.MakeAStar.com.
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