| MTV Video Music Award for Best Cinematography | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Cinematography |
| Country | United States |
| Presented by | MTV |
| First awarded | 1984 |
| Currently held by | Rina Yang – "Anti-Hero" by Taylor Swift (2023) |
| Website | VMA website |
The MTV Video Music Award for Best Cinematography is a craft award given to both the artist as well as the cinematographer/director of photography of the music video.
From 1984 to 2006, the award's full name was Best Cinematography in a Video. After a brief absence in 2007, the category acquired its current, shortened name in 2008.
The biggest winner is Harris Savides with three wins. Pascal Lebègue, Daniel Pearl, Mark Plummer, and Scott Cunningham follow with two wins each. The most nominated director of photography is Daniel Pearl with nine nominations, followed by Martin Coppen, Christopher Probst, and Jeff Cronenweth with six. Beyoncé has won the most awards in this category with 4 wins. Madonna's videos have received the most nominations with ten. Ryan Lewis is also the only performer to have won a Moonman in this category for his work as a director of photography on the video for "Can't Hold Us" in 2013. Jared Leto ("Hurricane") is the only other performer to have been nominated for his work in this category.
| Year | Winner(s) | Work | Nominees | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Daniel Pearl | "Every Breath You Take" (performed by The Police) |
|
[1] |
| 1985 | Pascal Lebègue | "The Boys of Summer" (performed by Don Henley) |
|
[2] |
| 1986 | Oliver Stapleton | "The Sun Always Shines on T.V." (performed by a-ha) |
|
[3] |
| 1987 | Mark Plummer | "C'est la Vie" (performed by Robbie Nevil) |
|
[4] |
| 1988 | Bill Pope | "We'll Be Together" (performed by Sting) |
|
[5] |
| 1989 | Mark Plummer | "Express Yourself" (performed by Madonna) |
|
[6] |
| Year | Winner(s) | Work | Nominees | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Pascal Lebègue | "Vogue" (performed by Madonna) |
|
[7] |
| 1991 | Rolf Kestermann | "Wicked Game (Concept)" (performed by Chris Isaak) |
|
[8] |
| 1992 | Mike Southon and Daniel Pearl | "November Rain" (performed by Guns N' Roses) |
|
[9] |
| 1993 | Harris Savides | "Rain" (performed by Madonna) |
|
[10] |
| 1994 | Harris Savides | "Everybody Hurts" (performed by R.E.M.) |
|
[11] |
| 1995 | Garry Waller and Michael Trim | "Love Is Strong" (performed by The Rolling Stones) |
|
[12] |
| 1996 | Declan Quinn | "Tonight, Tonight" (performed by The Smashing Pumpkins) |
|
[13] |
| 1997 | Stephen Keith-Roach | "Virtual Insanity" (performed by Jamiroquai) |
|
[14] |
| 1998 | Harris Savides | "Criminal" (performed by Fiona Apple) |
|
[15] |
| 1999 | Martin Coppen | "The Dope Show" (performed by Marilyn Manson) |
|
[16] |
| Year | Winner(s) | Work | Nominees | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Jeff Cronenweth | "Do Something" (performed by Macy Gray) |
|
[17] | |
| 2001 | Lance Acord | "Weapon of Choice" (performed by Fatboy Slim) |
|
[18] | |
| 2002 | Brad Rushing | "We Are All Made of Stars" (performed by Moby) |
|
[19] | |
| 2003 | Jean-Yves Escoffier | "Hurt" (performed by Johnny Cash) |
|
[20] | |
| 2004 | Joaquín Baca-Asay | "99 Problems" (performed by Jay-Z) |
|
[21] | |
| 2005 | Samuel Bayer | "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" (performed by Green Day) |
|
[22] | |
| 2006 | Robbie Ryan | "You're Beautiful" (performed by James Blunt) |
|
[23] | |
| 2007 | — | ||||
| 2008 | Wyatt Troll | "Conquest" (performed by The White Stripes) |
|
[24] | |
| 2009 | Jonathan Sela | "21 Guns" (performed by Green Day) |
|
[25] | |
| Year | Winner(s) | Work | Nominees | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | John Perez | "Empire State of Mind" (performed by Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys) |
|
[26] |
| 2011 | Tom Townend | "Rolling in the Deep" (performed by Adele) |
|
[27] |
| 2012 | André Chemetoff | "Bad Girls" (performed by M.I.A.) |
|
[28] |
| 2013 | Ryan Lewis, Jason Koenig and Mego Lin | "Can't Hold Us" (performed by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis featuring Ray Dalton) |
|
[29] |
| 2014 | Darren Lew and Jackson Hunt | "Pretty Hurts" (performed by Beyoncé) |
|
[30] |
| 2015 | Larkin Seiple | "Never Catch Me" (performed by Flying Lotus featuring Kendrick Lamar) |
|
[31] |
| 2016 | Malik Sayeed | "Formation" (performed by Beyoncé) |
|
[32] |
| 2017 | Scott Cunningham | "HUMBLE." (performed by Kendrick Lamar) |
|
[33] |
| 2018 | Benoît Debie | "Apeshit" (performed by The Carters) |
|
[34] |
| 2019 | Scott Cunningham | "Señorita" (performed by Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello) |
|
[35] |
| Year | Winner(s) | Work | Nominees | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Michael Merriman | "Rain on Me" (performed by Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande) |
|
[36] |
| 2021 | Benoit Soler, Malik H. Sayeed, Mohammaed Atta Ahmed, Santiago Gonzalez and Ryan Helfant | "Brown Skin Girl" (performed by Beyoncé, Blue Ivy, Saint Jhn and Wizkid) |
|
[37] |
| 2022 | Nikita Kuzmenko | "As It Was" (performed by Harry Styles) |
|
[38] |
| 2023 | Rina Yang | "Anti-Hero" (performed by Taylor Swift) |
|
[39] |