The Music Video Portland Awards ceremony at One Longfellow Square on Jan. 10 was a reunion of sorts for film director Anthony Marshall of Morning Visuals. He worked on six of the 22 videos nominated, including at least one in all four categories of music to receive awards: rock, pop, hip-hop and acoustic/roots.
“I knew I had good odds that one of my videos would win, but I didn’t expect to win best director because I’d never won an award in my entire life,” Marshall said. In addition to working full-time for Hannaford Supermarkets, he shot, directed and edited nine music videos in 2018, including The Very Reverend’s “Give Up the Ghost,” the rock video for which he was named best director.
Marshall also directed Bri Lane’s “Sunshine,” which was voted best acoustic/roots video.
“I’m really happy to see so many Maine musicians in one room,” said Lane, a second-year awardee. “I’m also just proud of how many musicians have organized themselves to the level of making music videos. It seems like the participants this year took this seriously.”
“It’s such a diverse, eclectic collection of musicians, filmmakers, artists and dancers,” said poetic rapper Myles Bullen, whose “Not Dead Yet” was voted best hip-hop video. “I feel like Maine is kind of a goldmine for creative expression, and this is a beautiful way to show a small fraction of the beautiful things that are happening in this city.”
Pop singer-songwriter Jamie Colpoys and director Will Caswell received the best video award for “Ain’t That a Shame,” featuring Hustle & Flow dancers making synchronized waves off Willard Beach. Jeff Beam won the rock video category with “Something Came from Nothing,” directed by Sam Peisner. And pop duo Forget, Forget won best performance for “Couldn’t Matter Less,” another Morning Visuals production.
“People are making really cool stuff,” said Hot Trash Portland blogger Victoria Karol, who was inspired by the MTV Music Video Awards to pull together Maine’s small but mighty music community for the Music Video Portland Awards, which she started last year. “It’s about coming together to support each other.”
Amy Paradysz is a freelance writer and photographer based in Scarborough. She can be reached at:
amyparadysz@gmail.com
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