How Call of Duty and SOUTH Music Turned the Volume Up for ‘Squad Up’
Directed by Valentin Petit and created by 72andSunny, the iconic video game franchise ‘Call of Duty’ has released an epic call and response music video that features some of the biggest stars around and some big-budget military vehicle action. The ‘Squad Up’ campaign sees Nicki Minaj, Pete Davidson, Lil Baby, Kane Brown, Bukayo Saka, Lando Norris and all of their ‘squads’ celebrating the release of ‘Modern Warfare II’ and singing the military-style cadence that SOUTH Music created.
A ‘true labour of love’ for the SOUTH Music team, which started in the pre-production phase, the sound designers, composers and audio engineers that were involved wrote and produced the music, coached the celebrities, recorded the vocals, and finished the track with a professional polish. From vocal casting to post production, SOUTH Music ensured that the track was perfectly recorded and mixed with the sound design, which they were also responsible for.
Speaking to LBB’s Ben Conway, SOUTH Music’s partner and creative director, Dan Pritikin, discusses writing lyrics that sounded authentic coming from well-known recording artists, combining the music with the ‘behemoth’ sound design, and the power of assembling the right team for the job.
LBB> This is such an exciting project! How did it all come about?
Dan> SOUTH has a long history of partnering with 72andSunny on high-profile projects, from Samsung to Target to Coors Light, and now, Call of Duty. But this team was particularly impressed with our recent work on DoorDash, which required more of a 360 approach: something they expected to need for their project as well.
LBB> You started in pre-production. Can you walk us through the first steps of this project? Does it all start with writing the music… or the lyrics?
Dan> The agency came to us with a concept and some early lyrics based on to-be-decided talent/casting. On our first call, we spoke in detail - both from an overall creative perspective, and then from more of a nuts and bolts standpoint. In other words, at this early stage how could we create a foundational piece of music which would allow us to shoot this effectively, support the talent on set properly, and leave room for creative exploration in the post phase? Right after we talked through all of this, it was pretty clear that we were on the same page with the agency.
LBB> As more celebrities joined the cast, did you have to adapt your lyrics and music? How did the challenges and work evolve during the process?
Dan> Fortunately, one of our first demos was well-received conceptually, by both the agency and client, so it became more a matter of adjusting for the ever-evolving cast of celebrities. Since many of them were contemporary musicians, rappers, performers, etc. the copywriters felt they needed some support in writing lyrics that really sounded like they came from these people’s voices, and not a bunch of ad folks. This was the most exciting challenge for us, as we were able to tap our deep roster of artists and pair one of our pop/hip-hop songwriting teams directly with their team to develop pages of lyrics that felt authentic and legit.
LBB> Audio-wise, this spot is reminiscent of the DoorDash soccer chant ad that you worked on - how did these projects differ creatively?
Dan> The DoorDash spot has some similarities and was part of what attracted 72andSunny to us for Call of Duty (COD). The biggest differences come from the cast and the style. Working with celebrities adds another complicated layer to any project, particularly when you’re writing lyrics for them. And then stylistically, we were looking to infuse a more youthful hip-hop-inspired flavour into the track. This involved a completely different group of producers and artists. Anytime you’re working in a more contemporary genre, authenticity is everything. Also, the production in general was larger, and was shot in two cities with a bigger and more diverse cast, so our involvement on set was all the more crucial for COD.
LBB> Are the team fans of the Call of Duty series and the celebrities in the spot? What was it like working on such a big franchise and writing music for Nicki Minaj and Lil Baby?
Dan> Many of us are fans of both COD and the celebrities featured in the spot. (We’re also pretty big fans of the content they produce to promote the brand. It’s always top notch!). Writing lyrics for Nicki and Lil Baby was extremely fun, but nothing new for our team, who has extensive experience writing and producing music for artists on that level. We also have years of experience working with (and sometimes coaching) high-profile talent on set. Of course, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that it’s always a thrill to meet and collaborate with some of your musical idols. And when the final product is this good, it’s that much more fun to brag about it.
LBB> You were on set in London and LA - why was that? What were your roles on set?
Dan> Our main role was to make sure all the talent (the lead celebrities and the big background groups) were giving good performances that would eventually lead to transforming our basic demo into the big, live, finished product you hear today. So, there was a lot of coaching and directing needed. Also, we had a rig with us so we could capture wild performances outside of the main shoot - giving us even more material to work with in post. The biggest lesson we’ve learned over the years with shoots like this is to get much more material than you think you’ll ever need. The agency and director understood how crucial our involvement was, so there was really no limit to what we were able to do on set. It’s great to have that level of trust across the board.
LBB> After recording the live vocals, how was the post-production process?
Dan> Fun! We initially built out the track to the early edits - replacing our placeholder vocals with the real stuff - and immediately the spot came alive. That’s always a magical moment. Then, we spent a few days exploring ways of evolving the track musically. We re-engaged a handful of producers and artists to re-mix, re-invent, and re-imagine the track, pushing and pulling it in lots of cool ways from the more cinematic to the more electronic, to the more beat-oriented world of hip-hop. After learning a few things about the track through this process, the agency and client came in for a session, and together, we put the finishing musical touches on it - landing on something we were all very happy with. The client had a pretty extensive musical background, so being able to work together in person at our studio was essential to getting the track where they wanted it to be.
LBB> You were also in charge of the sound design - how big of a task was that, considering the piece involves lots of vehicles, a range of different environments and large crowds? How did you blend all the sound with the song?
Dan> The sound design was a really large undertaking, and we were thrilled to be able to handle that part as well. When you’re producing a spot that is so musical like this one, how the sound design works and plays off the track is so important. Having the same team working on both, in tandem, can be a huge advantage. As you can see, there are some moments where you really want to get some grit and power from the sounds (engines, stomping, etc.) and other moments where you want the music track to take centre stage. The agency really trusted our instincts here, and I am as proud of the sound design work we did as I am of the music, no question.
LBB> What was the hardest challenge you faced on this campaign and how did you overcome it?
Dan> It’s just a lot of work and it requires a ton of specific attention and care. SOUTH is typically juggling dozens of projects at once all in varying stages of production. The key with handling a 360 beast like COD is dedicating specific, important people to be focussing 99 to 100% of their attention on just this. We have a very special team here that is quite used to adjusting how they work to take on a behemoth like this. I’m sure it’s very challenging at times for each of them, but overall, I am so impressed with all of them for how easy they make it all look. And, I got the feeling that the agency and client felt the same way! In other words, we overcame the challenges of this production by having the right excellent people on board from the very start. It starts and ends with them.
