Maurizio Von Trapp, Head of Music at Academy Films and D&AD Music Video Jury President, shares the boundary-breaking music videos of the past year, discusses the trends shaping this moving medium, beloved by creatives, crafts people and designers alike, and answers your questions on music video mastery.

“Music video is much freer, you don’t have to abide by narrative rules, you can go all out and I think that’s the most wonderful thing,” Von Trapp says of his chosen medium. If you’ve got no experience then start at the bottom, he advises. Obviously not all music videos are small budget and the extremes of the industry require different approaches. “The higher the budget gets, when you are dealing with a big artist like Béyonce or Rihanna, it’s their world that you’re coming into and there’s always a sense that ‘I am here to serve the music’,” says Von Trapp.

The flipside is when you are dealing with a new artist who needs to create an impression and communicate the identity they will be known for into the foreseeable future. It’s all about doing justice to the music. “It’s really exciting when you’re part of shaping what an artist’s identity feels like.”

This years’ criteria were: is it inspiring, brilliantly executed and fit for purpose? Cautionary words from Von Trapp warn against overthinking and underestimating how complicated it can be to achieve simplicity. Zhang + Knight’s video for Eden’s Projector was highly ranked by judges for how the production design, lighting, costume and mood seamlessly gel to create a deceptively simple result. This is an example of what talent can do with a relatively small budget.

Hosted by Adobe Content & Community Manager Emma Lextrait
Originally broadcast on Adobe Live, the community where creatives share ideas online.