1999 Music Week CAD (Creative and Design) Awards Brochure Introduction 1998 may have been a turbulent year for much of the music industry, but creativity was never far from the fore - and indeed, in some areas such as the internet, it was helping to drive change. The judges for this year's CADs found it harder than ever to choose the winners for some of the categories, such was the high quality of entries. Moreover, they found that the winning entries in individual categories were often part of wider campaigns that were particularly cohesive and well-executed. Perhaps most encouraging of all was the fact that the winners included some new names as well as those of more established stars in the fields of design, video and the internet. Once again it was a strong year for videos, with some striking clips for artists such as UNKLE, Portishead and Massive Attack. But it was in the area of new media that the biggest advances were made. In recognition of this fact, this year we added a number of new categories on the web. Overall, however, the winners emphasised how all sectors of the creative industry are rising to the challenges presented to them. As you will see from the entries contain in this brochure, there is much to celebrate. BEST DIRECTOR Chris Cunningham NOMINATIONS Vaughan Arnell Wiz Hammer & Tongs Walter Stern Roman Coppola Few will be surprised by the promo industry's choice of Chris Cunningham as director of the year. After presenting his credentials so emphatically in 1997 with Come To Daddy, Aphex Twin's comic-horror masterpiece. Cunningham's work in 1998 suggests that a career in feature films is only just around the corner and that he may soon emerge as a household name in his own right. Each new addition to Cunningham's portfolio has simply increased his reputation. From Portishead's Only You and Madonna's Frozen to the as-yet unreleased promo for Leftfield, his videos have consistently demonstrated his characteristically dark and fantastic vision as well as his meticulous technique. He has repeatedly redefined perceptions of what can be achieved in a music video. "The videos he makes are not just promotional tools but works of art in their own right," say Steve Beckett at Warp. BEST VIDEO OF 1998 Squarepusher Come On My Selector Directed by Chris Cunningham; Production: Black Dog; Commissioned by Steve Beckett & Rob Mitchell (Warp Records) NOMINATIONS Massive Attack Teardrop - Directed by Walter Stern; Production: Academy; Commissioned by Carole Burton-Fairbrother (Hut Recordings/Virgin Records) Portishead Only You - Directed by Chris Cunningham; Production: Black Dog; Commissioned by Cynthia Lole (Go! Beat/Polydor) Pulp This Is Hardcore - Directed by Doug Nichol; Production: Partizan Midi Minuit; Commissioned by Emma Davis (Island Records) UNKLE Rabbit In Your Headlights - Directed by Jonathan Glazer; Production: Academy; Commissioned by Robin Dean (Mo Wax) Chris Cunningham's CAD Award for Best Video of 1998 marks the climax of a story which began when the director first heard Squarepusher's Come On My Selector and immediately phoned Steve Beckett at Warp Records. "Chris said he just had to make a video for the track and that it should be like a live action strip cartoon," said Beckett. Although Cunningham's plan called for a bigger budget than Warp could afford, Beckett was so impressed with the idea that he approached Nine Inch N ails' Trent Reznor, owner of Squarepusher's American label Nothing Records, and succeeded in raising the extra finance. Although Come On My Selector failed to make the Music Week charts, Beckett believes that Cunningham's video was worth every penny. "There was just as much interest in the video as the single, so the obvious move was to put it on a limited edition of the CD, which immediately sold out," he explained. "Squarepusher is so enjoyable you can watch it again and again," said judge Francoise Lamy from Island Life. "With music videos it is so easy to put up cool images. But to synchronise the music and the visuals to this extent, while telling a story at the same time, takes a bit of genius." BEST ROCK/ALTERNATIVE VIDEO Squarepusher Come On My Selector Directed by Chris Cunningham; Production: Black Dog; Commissioned by Steve Beckett & Rob Mitchell (Warp Records) NOMINATIONS Pulp This Is Hardcore - Directed by Doug Nichol; Production: Partizan Midi Minuit; Commissioned by Emma Davis (Island Records) Radiohead No Surprises - Directed by Grant Gee; Production: Kudos; Commissioned by Dilly Gent (Parlophone) UNKLE Rabbit In Your Headlights - Directed by Jonathan Glazer; Production: Academy Films; Commissioned by Robin Dean (Mo Wax) Whale Four Big Speakers - Directed by Acne International; Production: Acne International; Commissioned by Carole Burton-Fairbrother (Hut Recordings/Virgin Records) Chris Cunningham claims the best alternative/rock video CAD for the second year running with a video for a Warp Records act. Just like last year's winning clip for Aphex Twin's Come To Daddy, Cunningham's video for Squarepusher's Come On My Selector is as much a short film as a promo, and features a lengthy prologue which is cinematic, atmospheric and very funny. Come On My Selector also marked Cunningham's debut as an editor. "It was easy to shoot because I spent months planning it all out," he says. "I broke the entire track down into component parts on a huge chart so I knew exactly what was going to happen and where long before we started." BEST DANCE VIDEO Portishead Only You Directed by Chris Cunningham; Production: Black Dog; Commissioned by Cynthia Lole (Go! Beat/Polydor) NOMINATIONS All Seeing I The Beat Goes On - Directed by Dawn Shadforth; Production: Image Dynamic; Commissioned by Alan Parks (London Records) Lauryn Hill Doo Wop (That Thing) - Directed by Big TV!; Production: Academy Films; Commissioned by Camille Yorrick (Columbia Records) Madonna Frozen - Directed by Chris Cunningham; Production: Black Dog; Commissioned by Randy Skinner (Warner Bros) Massive Attack Teardrop - Directed by Walter Stern; Production: Academy; Commissioned by Carole Burton-Fairbrother (Hut Recordings/Virgin Records) Portishead's Only You was Chris Cunningham's first promo since his groundbreaking Come To Daddy clip for Aphex Twin. The characteristically cinematic nature of the Portishead sound provided the key to what Cunningham describes as a dream project. "I saw the video as soon as I heard the track," he says. "It sounded like it came from underwater, and one of the samples gave me the distinct impression that I was being watched." As a result, Cunningham created a scenario in which Portishead singer Beth Gibbons and a teenage boy float just above the ground in a dark alley while mysterious men view them from high above. The artists spent days in large water tanks during the shoot, while Gibbons was required to sing underwater. The resulting sense of suspended animation and the subtly floating forms not only reflect the nuances of the track but also support repeated viewing. "The idea of shooting underwater was to create a feeling. You're not really supposed to figure it out," says Cunningham, who worked hard in post production to remove all tell-tale signs such as air bubbles. BEST EDITING IN A VIDEO Dawn Shadforth for All Seeing I's The Beat Goes On Production: Image Dynamic; Record company: London Records NOMINATIONS Ming for Placebo's Pure Morning - Production: Freedom Music Videos; Record company: Hut Recordings/Virgin Records Gary Knight for Madonna's Frozen - Production: Black Dog; Record company: Warner Bros. Richard Orrick for Gomez's Get Myself Arrested - Production: Godman Films; Record company: Hut Recordings/Virgin Records Jerry Chater for Fatboy Slim's Gangsta Trippin' - Production: Serious Pictures; Record company: Skint Richard Lawley for UNKLE's Rabbit In Your Headlights - Production: Academy Films; Record company: Mo Wax BEST SPECIAL EFFECTS IN A VIDEO Jonathan ëWes' Westley for Eels' Last Stop: This Town Production: Uground; Record company: DreamWorks NOMINATIONS Creature Effects & Sean Broughton for Massive Attack's Teardrop - Production: Academy Films; Record company: Virgin Records Paul Simpson & Stuart Gordon (at Realise) and Sean Broughton for Garbage's Special - Production: Black Dog; Record company: Infectious Steve Murgatroyd, Dan Williams, Steve Hiam, Anthony Walsham for Madonna's Frozen - Production: Black Dog; Record company: Warner Bros. Acne International for Whale's Four Big Speakers - Production: Acne International; Record company: Hut Recordings/Virgin Records Paul Marangos for Manic Street Preachers' If You Tolerate This - Production: Oil Factory; Record company: Epic