Leading international VFX and grading studio Electric Theatre Collective is the first partner to be announced for the year's UK Music Video Awards 2023. And the Whitechapel-based company is back sponsoring one of the top prizes at the UKMVAs - Best Director.

It is the fourth year in succession that Electric Theatre Collective (ETC) has sponsored the award which is always one of the most prestigious and coveted honours at the UK Music Video Awards.

"Electric Theatre Collective are proud to sponsor the Best Director award at this year's UKMVAs," says Oliver Whitworth, ETC's colour executive producer.

"A staple of the UK awards calendar, the UKMVAs always provide a unique insight into the best and brightest new creative talent the industry has to offer. We look forward to seeing the plethora of amazing work showcased this year."

ETC is an independent VFX studio, with a multi-award-winning colour grading and VFX/CGI team working across the top music videos, commercials, features and episodic TV. With impeccable visual creativity always at the forefront of the work, the studio recently won a D&AD black pencil for their work on Pharrell Williams' Cash In Cash Out - which also won four awards at the UKMVAs last year, including Video Of The Year.

Entry is now open to the Best Director award, together with 35 other categories covering videos by music genre and type, technical achievement, and individual and company achievement - all via the UK Music Video Awards 2023 website.

The full range of categories can be found at the UKMVA website here. More entry info is here. Entries to the awards are now being accepted on the website, here and here. The deadline for entries is at midnight (BST) on Wednesday, 2nd August.

That will be followed by two rounds of judging in most categories, with an announcement of nominations in late September. And the UK Music Video Awards 2023 ceremony will return to Magazine London, near the O2 Arena in London, on Thursday, October 26th.

• UK Music Video Awards 2023 website