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Video Music Awards nominees and editors’ picks

Best Art Direction

Drake f/Rihanna

“Take Care”

Art Direction by Charles INfante

Katy Perry

“Wide Awake”

Art Direction by Benji Bamps

Lana Del Rey

“Born to Die”

Art Direction by Anna Brun & Audrey Malecot

Of Monsters & Men

“Little Talks”

Art Direction by Mihal Wilson & Marcella Moser

Regina Spektor

“All The Rowboats”

Art Direction by Anthony Henderson

Our pick

This one could go either way. Drake & Rihanna are the obvious choice and their video can be described as a piece of art. But because this is a non-voting category, popularity does not necessarily factor in. Regina Spektor is a favorite amongst the music industry and her video could come out on top.

Best Choreography

Avicii

“Levels”

Choreography by Richy Greenfield & Petros Papahadjopoulos

Beyonce

“Countdown”

Choreography by Danielle Polanco, Frank Gatson Jr., Beyonce & Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker

Chris Brown

“Turn Up the Music”

Choreography by Anwar “Flii” Burton

Jennifer Lopez f/Pitbull

“Dance Again”

Choreography by JR Taylor

Rihanna

“Where Have You Been”

Choreography by Hi-Hat

Our pick

All the videos can be considered dance videos, but Chris Brown’s was just a little different. Avicii could always come in as the underdog, and is a great video, but since Fatboy Slim’s dance video, the quirky dance video hasn’t been very popular. Jennifer Lopez, Rihanna and Beyonce are doing what they do by creating a dance song and filming a purely dance video. But Brown’s choreography is something different, and something that makes us want to watch.

Best Cinematography

Adele

“Someone Like You”

Cinematography by David Johnson

Coldplay f/Rihanna

“Princess of China”

Cinematography by Stephanie Vallee

Drake f/Rihanna

“Take Care”

Cinematography by Kasper Tuxen

Lana Del Rey

“Born to Die”

Cinematography by Andre Chemetoff

M.I.A.

“Bad Girls”

Cinematography by Andre Chemetoff

Our pick

We’re sure we can all agree that Adele is the sweetheart of 2011 and 2012, but for this category we think others have her beat. The Coldplay & Rihanna video is truly a film (plus any video to include a samurai sword is OK by us). It may be a little over the top, but you can tell they truly put the time into making it a work of art.

Best Direction

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