Motion & Print Design
The BT Digital Music Awards 2005
CC-Lab worked with BT and Drum to create a one hour TV special about digital music for Channel 4 to mark the BT Digital Music Awards 2005.
The BT Digital Music Awards were established to celebrate the new ways we are listening to music: online, downloading, through mobiles and interactive TV. In 2005, the second year of the awards, BT secured a TV broadcast slot from Channel 4. CC-Lab proposed that the show be used as an opportunity to highlight how technology was making the digital music experience a better music experience for fans, combining short VT packages with live performances and coverage of the awards presentation itself. CC-Lab also created integrated sponsorship sequences.
We focused on several key areas which demonstrated the benefits to music lovers of digital music: how downloading is encouraging us to sample a wider range of music, how bands can now reach a wide audience on their own without a deal, the choice available from online radio and podcasting, and how digital music was helping to promote the live music experience.
The VT packages included interviews with Mobo winner Sway, Alan McGhee, Pete Tong, The Ordinary Boys, Tom Middleton and King Creosote of Anstruther’s Fence Collective. We also staged a flashmob gig with the Test Icicles, advertising a performance at Hoxton’s City16 only 24 hours before it took place on MySpace. Around 200 fans turned up for the gig.
From the awards itself we had live performances from Goldie Lookin Chain, Roots Manuva and the Magic Numbers. The programme was presented by Alex Zane.
CC-Lab created an integrated sponsorship title sequence for the programme, with a treatment which used organic forms and live action to break away from the “hi-tech” visual clichés often associated with digital music. To create title music, we ran a competition with Channel4.com/music and selected a track by unsigned artist Sodared. In addition we also provided visual services for the awards show itself, running all screen based content.
The live elements of the show were directed by Nikki Parsons. VT packages were directed by Kieran Evans and edited in house at CC-Lab. The producer was Frank Lampen.
The show was highly praised by both BT and Channel 4 as an innovative and fresh approach to awards coverage which painted a compelling picture of how exciting the digital music space is.