When it comes to promoting your music on the Internet, the importance of music videos cannot be understated. A visual companion for your song not only elevates your composition, it can make all the difference in whether or not your music gets heard.
Since 2012, the Prism Prize has honoured the best Canadian music videos, recognizing the achievements of artists and directors who mastered the marriage of music and visual media over the course of the previous year.
The Prism Prize aims to recognize the creation of music videos as its own unique art-form, and calls on a jury of over a hundred music and film industry professionals to highlight the best videos they’ve seen in any given year. Previous grand prize winners include Halifax indie-pop mainstay Rich Aucoin, and interactive music video titans Arcade Fire.
This year, some Prism Prize shortlist standouts include Ryan Hemsworth’s lonely video for “Snow In Newark,” and Chad VanGaalen’s animated oddity “Monster.”
Here are the best Canadian music videos of 2014, according to the Prism Prize jury. The grand prize (of $5000) will be awarded in Toronto on March 29th at TIFF Bell Lightbox. You can purchase tickets for the screening here.
2. Rich Aucoin – Yelling In Sleep
3. Timber Timbre – Beat The Drum Slowly
4. Kandle – Not Up To Me
5. Fur Trade – Same Temptation
6. The New Pornographers – Dancehall Domine
7. PUP – Guilt Trip
8. Kevin Drew – You in Your Were
9. Ryan Hemsworth – Snow in Newark
10. Odonis Odonis – Order in the Court
