Your Shot: Shredded Wheat Meets Northern Soul in Super Cool Campaign

Shredded Wheat is a cereal product that’s primarily aimed at over-50s, but that doesn’t mean its marketing has to fit into the fuddery duddy (and often inaccurate) stereotypes of the age group. ‘Live From The Heart’, which was created by McCann London and directed by Knucklehead’s Finn McGough, is buoyant, energetic and just downright brilliant. The two-minute film tells the story of Dave, a Northern Soul old timer (and definite contender for loveliest chap of the year), and his son Dan as they hang out at home and jive to 1960s American soul at all-nighters. And it turns out that bringing the film to life was as enjoyable as the film itself, as director McGough tells LBB’s Addison Capper.

LBB> Why did the initial brief stick out like something you wanted to get involved with? 

FM> I liked the fact that the product is aimed at the 50 plus market and yet there was an energetic and youthful take on this in these scripts.  There has been a big resurgence of Northern Soul recently and I was concerned about a heavy handed commercial exploitation of this but the creative team were bold and were genuinely looking to tell an authentic story. Luckily we found one!

LBB> What kind of research and pre-production was involved?

FM> It was a very fast turn around!  This is something I’m used to but it’s an extra pressure when you’re looking to make an observational style film featuring non-actors. It’s fairly straightforward to brief a casting director to find an actor for a specific role but it takes time to find the perfect ‘real person’. There are just so many criteria to meet. Luckily I found someone who’s part of the Northern Soul scene to cast this.  She was very connected and she did a fantastic job.  

LBB> Where did she find Dave and his son and why were they the perfect stars of the film? 

FM> Dave was known by Gill the casting director because he had been involved as a background artist on the recent film ‘Northern Soul’, which my friend directed. Dave is just a lovely bloke and an amazing dancer. He was the epitome of what the films were about. He’s so passionate about the scene and genuinely does ‘live from the heart’. The fact that he had a young son really strengthened the story for me – that and the fact this father could put his son through his paces was a great visual reference for only being as young as you feel.

LBB> What kind of people did you initially set out to look for? 

FM> It’s quite a tough ask! They’ve got to be 50ish, passionate about Northern Soul, they have to have had something which took them away from the scene for a while but then rediscovered it, they’ve got to look great on camera, they’ve got to be able to dance, they’ve got to be open and warm and confident on camera. Oh, and no criminal record. And can you find them by Wednesday?

LBB> Both Dave and his son are great on screen. What kind of conversations did you have with them during production? What were they like to work with both on and off camera?

FM> As soon as I saw the pictures of them I prayed they were good on their casting tape too because they just looked perfect. In fact from the initial photos we thought Dave was the son and Dan was the dad! Dan sent in a black and white photo of him and his girlfriend in vintage outfits and we assumed it was a picture from the 70s of Dave in his youth!  

We went to meet Dave at his house in Shrewsbury two days before we shot. He was so hospitable. He made us numerous cups of tea and then we took him to his local pub. The next day we went though all his outfits and memorabilia and then took him to the pub again with our small crew. He was just a pleasure to hang out with and we were all very relaxed together by the time we started filming. He’s an almost enviable happy person! He lives with his son and girlfriend and lives for the weekend. He just loves the music and you can see that in his smile and the twinkle in his eye when the record kicks in.

LBB> I love the look of the film, especially the dance hall shots. They seem really stylised and 60s, but still quite fresh and modern. What kind of aesthetic and feel were you aiming for and how did you achieve it?

FM> Actually we were scheduled to shoot in a much more authentic, vintage looking all-nighter in Blackburn but at the last minute Dave and Dan wanted to go to another night because more of their friends were going and they insisted it would be much better music. We were torn because the new venue is actually not great looking – like a modern gymnastics hall – but we decided it was better to sacrifice our visual preference to get the best out of the cast and make sure they were comfortable.  Luckily our small budget helped the look – we could only afford one light! This was fine because I’d noticed from a lot of Northern Soul reportage photography that the dance floors are often lit with just one huge lamp next to the DJ. It looks great because it’s very dramatic and casts these long shadows of the dancers. It’s also helpful because the shadows make the dance floor feel busy even when there are only a few people on the floor. The dance sequence looks quite dark and moody but actually it felt overly bright on the night. It was disruptive and obviously put some of the dancers off (this was a real all-nighter not one set-up for filming) so we only really had about half an hour to film with Dave. I didn’t get the chance to film with his son, which I’d have liked, but I’m happy with the results – it’s ultimately about Dave loving the moment and not the background, and I think that’s strikingly clear.

LBB> There must have been a lot of pressure to get the soundtrack right. Obviously you only had one genre to choose from but so many tracks could have worked. How did you come to choose Bobby Angelle’s ‘It’s Gotta Be That Way’ and why did it come out on top?

FM> Massive pressure to get the track right! And where do you start? To be honest I was aided by limitations – I could've spent days on end listening to catalogues of tracks but this just wasn't realistic. Time and budget constraints meant we had a pool of music we knew we could afford if it worked. I'm no expert on Northern Soul by any stretch of the imagination but it was very important to me that the track had some cred with the kids! Dave and Dan were the litmus test for this. I took a couple of tracks up for them to listen to and they gave their seal of approval to both (at least they grinned and started dancing to them). In actual fact out of two tracks they preferred another one over the one we used but in the edit 'It's  Gotta Be That Way' by Bobby Angelle just worked perfectly. It's upbeat, soulful and the vocals don't conflict with Dave's monologue – it's crucial we can hear him above the music. For me the track perfectly sums up Dave's warmth and optimistic take on life. 

LBB> Was it a straightforward production? What were the trickiest aspects and how did you overcome them?

FM> It was fairly straightforward in that it was character driven. Once you have a great cast in place 90 per cent of the work is done. The trickiest aspect was shooting in Dave’s home. It’s a very small house and we were filming on one of the darkest days of the year with very few lights. I wasn’t convinced it would be as visually strong as it is but DOP Jim Joliffe did a great job and actually, while small, Dave’s home is very cute and has a lot of personality and that shines through. It’s authentic and it’s a good reminder to embrace what’s in front of you.

LBB> What was the most memorable moment on set and why?

FM> I just loved filming Dave and all his mates walking down the terraced streets in their amazing clothes. You could never style them to look that good – they just look incredibly stylish. The shots of them walking in slow motion in their suits and red socks – its Last Of The Summer Wine meets Reservoir Dogs/Peaky Blinders – they may be in their 50s but they look cool!