For Steve MacKinnon of Rosnick MacKinnon, it was a tough call wading through 600 commercials to judge the music component of the Bessies.

‘What you’ll see in the stuff that was recognized is some of it has more dream-like qualities and some of it has a much more aggressive, cutting component,’ he explains.

MacKinnon happily notes music played a more prominent role in commercial production in ’95. Connecting with the audience at an emotional level replaced trying to wow the viewer with special effects, and sound design was replaced by credible music tracks such as those for the Pontiac, Molson Canadian and Bank of Montreal spots, he says.

‘It’s subjective, but your craft radar is informed by what you do every day of your life. There are certain things that just really jump out. Overall, it was really very impressive,’ he says.

Although MacKinnon was judging music craft, the whole concept of the commercial was taken into account, bypassing groovy music tracks if they had no reason for being there. Ultimately, the driving force behind the judges’ decisions was that the craft, whether it be cinematography, music or editing, reinforce the concept of the commercial – and that the concept had some kick to it in the first place.

Nationally, MacKinnon says Vancouver was well represented at the Bessies this year. In the grand scheme of things, he believes the high standard of Canadian commercial production is on par with anything that’s being done anywhere else in the world, noting how his and other companies perform well at international festivals such as Cannes and the London Festival.

‘For me, it was very enlightening and very informative,’ he says about being a judge. ‘I figured I was going to be completely baffed coming out after a weekend of commercials, but what I came out of it with was actually a greater appreciation for the whole genre.’