2022 Prism Prize Eligible Video: Halcyon Phase - Emergency 

By External Source

The 2021 Prism Prize for Best Canadian Music Video was recently awarded to Theo Kapodistrias, for his clip for Haviah Mighty’s Thirteen. We will continue to profile noteworthy Canadian videos that are eligible for the 2022 prize, including this one from an Ottawa duo with a notable pedigree. 

Halcyon Phase - Emergency 

Halycon Phase is the collaboration of Frank Smith (Sills & Smith) and Phillip Victor Bova (Bova Sound). Based in Ottawa, the group recorded and produced their album Tendrils during the Covid-19 pandemic which focuses on the repercussions of human crisis. Although written prior to the Covid era, the songs resonate even more with listeners considering the state of our world right now. 

Directed by Jesse Stasiuk, the visuals for“Emergency showcase an animated telling of a town in crisis and the consequences of such. With a dark colour landscape and eerie displays of schools, homes, and families, the video captures an almost dystopian-looking town.

Stasiuk commented on his intentions for the video, stating “I created an Orwellian nightmare society which seems perfect for the lyrics and tone of this Halcyon Phase song and speaks to a decided tilt to the ultra-right in our real-world politics. Faced with an ecological crisis, the proposed solution of the society is driven by short-term greed; a chemical solvent to purify the contaminated water. Of course, the process to create the solvent is generating more pollution than the product can hope to contend with.” Some may consider this to be a parallel to the world that we are currently living in. 

Produced & Recorded by Phillip Victor Bova 

Animated by Jesse Stasiuk 

Directed by Jesse Stasiuk