Vote for the Viewer's Choice MartyCasey.org Music Video

You can still view all the videos here. For best viewing, select the option to play them in the smaller (320 X 240 screen).

The Results:

My favorites include: The Cemetery (#29) and War (#41) movies. The Stick figure concept (#17) was wicked. The Hammerettes (#23) were cute. I also love (#27) the girl staring in the mirror and the huge multi-family housing complex and the girl running. It captured the mood of the song perfectly. But my winning choice is the girl waving her arms with my photo in front and then the wings spreading (#19). This was so damn cool.

Marty's winner: #19 by Kristen Dyrr of San Marcos, CA Kristen receives the autographed electric Washburn guitar.

We also brought in a completely objective expert to offer feedback on the videos. We asked television and film writer/producer and American Film Institute Conservatory faculty member Tom Blomquist to review the videos and provide comments on his favorites.

Mr. Blomquist reviewed the videos before the voting ended, not knowing the vote outcome nor the identity of any of the entrants. He was familiar with Marty Casey from Rock Star: INXS but did not know of Lovehammers or the song "Rain on the Brain." Here are some of his comments:

I'm not sure exactly what you are looking for, so I'll give you two alternative "winners" in my book and why I think you could go either way.

I would say to all the entrants in the contest, it is important to remember that videos are supposed to either tell the story of the song or an original story that is inspired by it. Emotional impact is vital, especially with a song like this one. Random images or simplistic production techniques are not going to be enough to properly service the needs of the artist or song.

(Entry 11) The best production of all. Well shot & edited. Good moody concept. This could be the winner, but it features actors rather than Marty and the band... which was a little strange. But if using Marty was not part of the rules, then this is the best video.
(Entry 19) My alternate winner. The animation idea was really interesting, though pretty basic in execution. I could see how a little more time and money would help this become a wonderful production. This one featured Marty, which I liked a lot.
(Entry 29) A good video that didn't seem to have time to take off in the time allowed. I would have very much liked to see where this would have gone if extended to the whole song. Unfortunately, the concept was undermined by the rules.
(Entry 41) This had a good idea and was well shot. Unfortunately, the bold concept was undermined by simplistic production values in the war sequence. It looked like pretend when harsh reality would have helped. I also thought that the homogenized suburban setting of the home front didn't support the concept nearly as well as more visually interesting city or farm textures would have. This could be an Honorable Mention for a strong effort.
(Entry 23) An adorable, though simple video. Great concept, though not a winner in my book because it lacked even basic camera coverage and editing. This was a case where the great concept demanded more elaborate execution. With even a few close ups of the kids singing and other unrelated cutaway shots of them (called B-Roll footage) this would have won hands down. If you have an "Honorable Mention" award, this video should get it solely because the kids were a riot. Very original.

It was great to see so many different routes taken in artistic interpretation. There were lots of good performance footage videos and Lovehammers photo montages. We especially enjoyed seeing all the original films that everyone came up with. From the plot driven ones to the expressive imagery of others, the videos showed a lot of thought and effort. Some were mostly about mood and atmosphere and others involved expression, whether through dance, impersonation, humor, special effects, or just scenic locations. It was fun to see all the various representations of rain, brain, comfort and pieces.

We would like to give special kudos to our two youngest entrants in the contest, Anna, age 11 who had video #22 and Morgan, age 14, who had videos 5, 26, & 27. These young ladies had good solid entries in the competition, and we were so pleased by their participation. We are sending each of them signed CD posters as Special Award winners.