Cadence Music Video Festival Hits the Big Screen in Oakland

Music videos were once shot on thousand-dollar cameras and edited over the course of weeks before premiering on MTV and BET. Nowadays, a kid can shoot and edit their own video between second and third period, upload a snippet to TikTok and become a viral celebrity before school is out. The game is different. Not any less artistic or less worthy of fanfare, but a lot has changed since the days of MTV’s Total Request Live and BET’s Rap City.

How cool would it be to break away from watching music videos on phones, and instead watch them on a humongous screen?

Enter the Cadence Music Video Festival. On Aug. 25 at the New Parkway in Oakland, artists, directors and producers from around the world will have the opportunity to show their music videos on the silver screen. Submissions for the festival are open now through July 27, and the event is open to independent, grassroots projects and big-budget videos alike. (There’s a final, extended deadline of Aug. 17, but organizers recommend getting your work in early.)

Hosted by CLee, the event is organized by BlinkTone Studios co-owners Sebastian Santiago and Adam Geiser. They”ve directors behind videos for Bay Area artists ALLBLACK, 22nd Jim, Lil Bean and Zay Bang, as well as national artists like Babyface Ray, Sauce Walka and Money Man.

Twenty videos will be selected for the screening on Aug. 25. Of that bunch, there will be winners from five categories: Best Overall, Best Run and Gun, Best Production Video, Best Editing and Audience Choice.

The winners will receive a trophy, as well as assorted filmmaking-related prizes from event sponsors CinePacks, Hatch 86 Films and more.

While many folks’ aim is to get recognition, and maybe even win the festival, Santiago says his goal in creating this event is more about community. “This isn’t just to celebrate the directors,” says Santiago, “but to bring people of different musical interests into one space.”

Santiago says he’s used to reading certain names in the credits for music videos, but he rarely gets to see these people in person. “Production is a group process, but it feels like a solo sport,” he says.

With that in mind, Santiago and company are intentionally bringing like-minded folks together. “This [festival] is for the artists in the videos, the camera crew, all of them,” says Santiago. “We thought this would be a great opportunity to celebrate them.”

The Cadence Music Video Festival takes place on Aug. 25 at the New Parkway in Oakland and will be livestreamed. Submission information and event details here.