How Stormzy Returned to the Rap Game with ‘Mel Made Me Do It'
Dropping his first solo track in three years, British rapper Stormzy made sure to create a ruckus with a music video that wouldn’t go amiss. With cameos from 35 influential figures, it was no surprise that ‘Mel Made Me Do It’ blew up on social media, especially with a feature from the legendary football manager José Mourinho.
Alongside Mourinho, Usain Bolt, Jonathan Ross, Louis Theroux, Ian Wright and fellow rapper Dave were some of the other big names who featured. But, it wasn’t just the celebrity spots that impressed fans. Many reactions on Instagram, Twitter and Youtube likened the 11-minute video to a movie - celebrating its craft and praising the spot for ‘raising the bar’. But fans aren’t the only ones noticing, the video just received an MTV EMA 2022 nomination for ‘Best Longform Video’ as well.
The track’s title is dedicated to Stormzy’s stylist Melissa Holdbrook-Akposoem, known as Melissa's Wardrobe, who styled the musician with help from Pulse Films’ director KLVDR, who shot and worked on the video for a total of eight months. During this time, a monologue by Wretch 32 and Michaela Coel was incorporated into the spot, and the team worked on details to elevate it at every turn.
KLVDR, the video’s editor Jamie Hodgson and associate producer Lola Cookman at Work Editorial, and editor Ellie Johnson at tenthree, all spoke to LBB’s Nisna Mahtani about the process behind the spot.
LBB> Can you use a word or sentence to describe your vision for Stormzy’s ‘Mel Made Me Do It’ music video?
KLVDR> A visual representation of who Stormzy is at this point in his life.
LBB> Whose idea was it to include such a star-studded cast? And what was it like working with everyone on set?
KLVDR> The idea of having a star-studded cast was a growing theme. With the track already having José right in the middle [of the lyrics], Stormzy always wanted him to make an appearance. And when he agreed, it just kept growing from there.
LBB> With it being almost 11 minutes long, the spot has a wide series of locations and visuals. What was the process of planning and creating all of the different shots? And did you have a specific vision for each, or did it evolve on set?
KLVDR> Initially we only had a few locations in mind, but the blessing was being able to get into the edit for a few days after each day of shooting. Making an 11-minute video entertaining isn’t an easy task, and so there were additional scenes added as we kept shooting.
LBB> The most talked about moment is the shot of Stormzy and José Mourinho, which is not only a pause in Stormzy’s flow, but a striking shot of them standing together, dressed in black, with one finger covering their mouths. How did this shot come about and did you know the reaction it would cause?
KLVDR> Stormzy and I always wanted this scene to be a moment. Initially, it was meant to be pretty casual, but we both agreed that it needed to be iconic… I mean it's José! We couldn’t undersell that. We searched high and low, and when I found the right location, I fell in love with the idea of shooting the scene somewhere quite opulent, while still having the energy from all of Stormzy's friends in the back. We just wanted José to be one of the mandem haha!
I'll be honest - I shot that scene in July. After a while, you just get used to the footage, so to see the reaction was a bit of a shock to me. My social timeline was filled with it for two days!
Jamie & Lola> This scene was largely edited before we came on board the project, but we were conscious about preserving it in later versions and giving it the time it deserved in the edit. It always felt like a standout moment, but the reaction has been pretty incredible!
Ellie> Kal pushed for the break in the track to give this section suspense and gravitas, and it was a scene he’d worked hard on in the months following the first few shoot days, so by the time I got my hands on it, it already was in a good shape and you could feel the weight of it. For me, once we cracked that scene, the film felt effortless. We’d shown the reach Stormzy has (being able to include José Mourinho), alongside the friends he grew up with, and it was just a joyful, energetic scene with great rushes that set the tone for the video really well.
LBB> By contrast, the shots of Black creatives, dressed in white and standing together in solidarity is another striking moment. Can you talk us through the slow-motion shots of these influential Black figures? What was it like creating this on set and editing it in post?
KLVDR> This scene is quite close to my heart, as the way it developed was very natural. It was initially meant to go over the music. But, after one late session in the edit, I decided with Jamie (the editor) to stop the track completely and give that scene its own moment.
Later on, Stormzy and I agreed we needed a monologue over it, which was crafted perfectly by Wretch 32 and Michaela Coel.
The idea was all about the generations of game changers. Stormzy is standing in the position he is in now because of the ones that came before him. And he is a person that never strays away from that fact. So, I wanted to make a scene that showed the ‘then’ and ‘now’ of our scene. Not just music, but sports, fashion, radio and other platforms.
Without these integral parts, we wouldn’t have such a strong confidence in our identity as Black children of immigrants in Britain.
Creating this on set was almost surreal. I couldn’t believe we got everyone together. But everyone was extremely excited and patient.
Jamie & Lola> This scene went through a few iterations, but as soon as we decided to stop the track and loop the instrumental, it really felt like a special moment in conjunction with the slow-mo walking shots. The monologue came a lot later - really bringing it together as a true celebration of Black-British culture.
LBB> The edit is vital within the rap genre, as it adds to the flow of the song. Can you talk us through the style of editing that generally accompanies the genre? Is there a particular way you approached this edit?
Jamie & Lola> We wanted to craft something more cinematic, that wasn't so indebted to the style of editing normally associated with this type of music video. Of course, there are nods to the genre, but the length of the track gave us a bit more scope for the pace of the edit to ebb and flow. Kal was clear from the start that he didn't see it as a traditional music video.
Ellie> Generally, videos in the genre are really high-paced and energetic - keeping the audience entertained and on their toes. In his work, Kal knows how to build energy and power into a scene without the need for the edit to drive it forward, so coming into the project, I knew it would be a more restrained cutting style.
We also knew that due to the length of the song, we couldn’t go balls to the wall the whole way through; we needed very carefully paced sections to keep the audience engaged. But it was a careful balance between holding shots and scenes for power and grabbing people, pulling them along for the ride. As a general rule, we would try to introduce more energy with cuts just before we pulled back with a slower scene, but confidence in our editing style and shot choice was key throughout.
LBB> Let’s talk time scale. How long did this take to shoot and edit, and how many locations feature on this track?
KLVDR> It took six months to shoot, but the entire process for me was eight months. And I think we had a total of eight locations, with some being extremely versatile.
Ellie> I was first booked in for the project at the end of April, but due to the secrecy surrounding the job, Kal alone had the material until I started the edit in early July, through to mid-July when it went over to the team at Work Editorial. It’s unusual to have such a flexible edit schedule, but it’s a testament to Kal and the producer (Joseph) that they kept pushing to elevate the video at every turn – demanding the best from their collaborators throughout a long post process!
Jamie & Lola> We were very fortunate to be passed the baton for the final leg of the edit. There were late nights and early mornings, but these were all definitely worth it after seeing what an incredible response there has been to the video.
LBB> From all of the footage, did you create several different edit versions, or did you work towards honing this particular one?
Jamie & Lola> The edit was constantly evolving. Such was the length of the piece we would often concentrate on one or two scenes a day, exploring all the available options. As we got closer to the finish line, it became more about refining the piece as a whole.
Ellie> The structure was always quite clear thanks to the amount of planning Kal and the team had done in advance - and we quickly found that treating the scenes in sections made them stronger. For example, we could have been teasing in certain setups, or returning to prior scenes, but we didn’t want the audience to blur the scenes in their minds. The benefit of the longer production process meant we could brainstorm new scenes to film whilst in the editing room, and adjust to notes given by the creative team.
LBB> The name of the track is inspired by Melissa, Stormzy’s stylist. Of course, she features in the video, but did you work together on the styling for shots? Can you tell us more about merging outfits with the setting and how you created a balance?
KLVDR> Yes! Mel and I built all the looks according to the scenes in the video. We spent a few weeks discussing colours and styles. She really brought a different element to the video, as we had never seen Stormzy this colourful and vibrant before.
LBB> How do you know when you’ve reached the final draft of the edit? Is it a gut feeling, or a shared process between everyone in post? How did you know with this Spot?
Jamie & Lola> It was a shared process really. A pickup shoot later in the schedule really helped solve some issues we were having with a particular section of the edit. From this point, we knew we had a great piece. And then there was a fair amount of VFX and sound design that came together after the offline, all of which really helped elevate the film.
LBB> Is there anything else you’d like to add or share with us?
KLVDR> I just want to shout out to everyone that worked on this. You have all been integral pieces of the process, so a huge thank you to every single one of you that helped to make this moment happen!
Jamie & Lola> A massive congratulations to the whole team involved. Enough from us, I think we should let the video do the talking!
