Prism Prize Eligible Video: The Darcys - Running For The Hills

By External Source

The 2022 Prism Prize for Best Canadian Music Video was recently awarded to Mustafa, for his clip for his own track, Ali. We will continue to profile noteworthy Canadian videos that were eligible for the 2022 prize, including this one from a slick Toronto alt-pop duo.

The Darcys - Running For The Hills

The Darcys are a two-piece rock band from Toronto consisting of Jason Couse & Wes Marskell. In 2014, their album Warring earned them a Juno nomination for Alternative Album of the Year. Their latest single, Washed Away, was released in July 2022, and you can listen to it today on audio streaming services. 

The music video for Running For The Hills is gripping. Right off the bat, we have a man in a bloody t-shirt running desperately, leaving the audience to wonder what has happened. Once the lyrics start, the scene changes to match the song and we have the man watching the sunrise over the city skyline. As the song goes on we get pieces of what happened that night - all being played in reverse.

These scenes being presented to us in this way really help build the story’s tension. In addition, we have these gritty shots that look like a crime scene with blood spatter that enhances the true crime documentary vibe. They leave us wondering ‘what happened?’, ‘did someone die?’, ‘did he kill someone?’.  In the end, we find out what happened, but you’ll have to watch the video to find out for yourself. 

Credits:

Creative Director: Emma Higgins

Director: Arden Grier

Editor: Christine Armstrong 

Production Manager: Alice Barros 

Director of Photography: Tamara Santos

1st AC: Marco Marchiori

Steadicam Op: James Greer

Gaffer: Michael Rosner

Key Grip: Monty Sloan 

Grip: Patrick Le

Swing: Conrad Holzman

SPFX: Veronica Rodarte 

Colorist: Aleks Ver

PAs: Griffin Burns + Max Johnson