Nominate Your Favorite Video! - Anti-Video Awards Awards

Do you ever watch the MTV Video Music Awards on TV with complete disdain? I know I do. Every year, the rich and famous come out for an evening of self-indulgence as MTV and its viewers decide which overrated artist's music video was the most extravagant. Meanwhile, indie acts are left with their low-budget videos with little more than user comments on YouTube to commend them for their efforts.

Not anymore!

This year, I've decided to take it upon myself to give these hard-working, underappreciated videos the credit they deserve! On Wednesday September 5, 2007, the winners of the 1st Annual Anti-Video Awards Awards will be announced. Starting today, I'll be accepting nominations from all users for their favorite videos. Here are the rules:

1. Video must have been released after August 1, 2006 but before July 31, 2007. You can often check the release date of the video by visiting the label's website, or YouTube Profile.
2. Nominate as many videos as you like, just be sure to keep the categories in mind (listed below).
3. Simply leave the artist and song name (or a link) for the video you wish to nominate as a comment in this post, or email to audiooverflow@gmail.com

The process will take place over 3 phases:

Phase 1 - Nominations: July 14 through July 31

Phase 2 - Voting: August 1 through August 31

Phase 3 - Winners Announced: September 5, 2007

Once all nominations have been submitted, I will personally decide on which 5 videos (per category) will make it to the voting phase. From there, you will be able to cast your vote for a video in each category. On September 5, 2007, I will announce all the winners. Simple right. Here are the categories you should keep in mind when nominating and voting.

• Best Male Video - The best video from a male solo artist.
• Best Female Video - The best video from a female solo artist.
• Best Editing - Which video made the best use of its editing time?
• Best Art Direction - Sets, costumes, makeup, choreography...it all falls into this category.
• Best Rock Video - The best video featuring a rockin' song!
• Best Electronic Video - The best video from a primarily electronic/dance artist.
• Best Group Video - The best video from a group with 2 or more people.
• Best Direction - The director brought his/her A-game.
• Video of the Year - Far and away, the best video of the past year.

You can nominate any video you feel is worthy to win a completely uncoveted jpeg of a trophy, even if it's by a mainstream artist. Just head over to YouTube or your favorite video site and start watching those videos with a critical eye. Or you could scour through Audio Overflow's Video of the Week collection if you're short on ideas. It's all up to you! Get those nominations in and recruit your friends to do the same. You have until the end of the month to nominate your faves!