The Directors: Melody Maker
Coming from a background in fashion, Melody embarked her career styling artists like M.I.A., Rhianna, and Iggy Azalea before joining the cult youth brand BOY London as their creative director.
A veteran of The Mill, her deep-rooted love of film and CG is coupled with an inquisitive mind and a desire to delve further, leading to bold, provocative outcomes like her music videos for Gorgon City and Green Tea Peng.
An obsession with movement and various filming techniques has led Melody to create award-winning visual masterpieces such as the gravity-defying Oppo “Shake”, as well as dozens of films for clients such as Logitech, BMW and Revolut.
Name: Melody Maker
Location: Global
Repped by/in: London Alley / USA
LBB> What elements of a script sets one apart from the other and what sort of scripts get you excited to shoot them?
Melody> A script that truly stands out is one that weaves a narrative together with a distinctive visual dialect. I like dark humour and the chance to push the boundaries, disrupting the ordinary, and introducing the audience to a visual language that stays etched in their minds.
LBB> How do you approach creating a treatment for a spot?
Melody> I get most of my ideas when I’m driving or in some kind of motion. So if I’m short of ideas or when I’m crafting something, I’ll often go for a drive. Winding suburban lanes are good. I’m a big believer in surrounding yourself with good people, so I work through a lot of stuff with my DP.
LBB> If the script is for a brand that you’re not familiar with/don’t have a big affinity with or a market you’re new to, how important is it for you to do research and understand that strategic and contextual side of the ad? If it’s important to you, how do you do it?
Melody> Very important. I research like mad. I use the product. I look at the competitors. I look at past campaigns and at those of the rivals. I try to see what worked and what didn’t. It's about getting to the brand's core, absorbing its essence, and integrating it into the narrative.
LBB> For you, what is the most important working relationship for a director to have with another person in making an ad? And why?
Melody> The most crucial partnership for a director is undeniably with my DP. Working with the same team of DPs creates an invaluable shorthand. We often know what each other is saying without having to say it. It makes everything quicker, more efficient and just better.
LBB> What type of work are you most passionate about - is there a particular genre or subject matter or style you are most drawn to?
Melody> My greatest passion is bringing talent to light in novel ways. Working frequently with sports stars, I enjoy showcasing them in a new light. Seeing an undiscovered talent they have, or a side to them no one else has seen and then bring it out.
LBB> What’s the craziest problem you’ve come across in the course of a production – and how did you solve it?
Melody> Shooting in the desert during a severe sandstorm was hard. The sand was like needles piercing you and made it impossible to view the monitor. Despite the adversity we continued through and made one of my favourite music videos.
LBB> How do you strike the balance between being open/collaborative with the agency and brand client while also protecting the idea?
Melody> Dancing this impossible tightrope is my forte. You have to strike the right balance between being collaborative whilst safeguarding the core idea. I actively encourage an open exchange and usually find transparency works best.
LBB> What are your thoughts on opening up the production world to a more diverse pool of talent? Are you open to mentoring and apprenticeships on set?
Melody> Totally. Hard work, enthusiasm, ability - those are the qualities I look for.
LBB> What’s your relationship with new technology and, if at all, how do you incorporate future- facing tech into your work?
Melody> I'm all about embracing new tech, but not just for the sake of it. It has to serve the narrative, amplify the story, elevate the experience, all that stuff. But raw emotion is the most important thing. AI can’t do that … yet.
LBB> Which pieces of work do you feel really show off what you do best – and why?
Melody> BMW - NIGHTRIDE: I've always wanted to make a car ad, so you can imagine how I felt when BMW approached me directly to collaborate on a film, set right in my city. The brief was simple: work with an artist and capture the essence of London at night while driving around the city.
BMW gave me the creative freedom to run with the concept, and I was fortunate to collaborate with the talented musician NabIhah. Her unique perspective added a layer of depth to the film. We had a chat over Zoom, discussing the process of creating art in London and how it correlates to our experiences driving through the city. We also both coincidentally drove BMW’s at the time.
Inspired by our conversation, I crafted a poem, an ode to the city we both love and cherish: London.
OPPO - SHAKE: This advertisement holds a special place in my heart, as it allowed me to explore the delicate dance between subject and camera in an innovative way. Capturing the beauty of everyday moments, grounded in reality yet with a touch of the extraordinary.
GORGON CITY - GO DEEP: This project is very dear to me as it was one of my earliest music videos and it was the piece of work that kick started my career in directing.
The video is pure filmmaking at its core; I wanted to embrace old-school techniques using in-camera methods to achieve the impossible. Nothing in this film is actually underwater. It was all shot in a studio with the subjects on harnesses and carefully placed fans strategically positioned around the room, all aiming towards a central point to create the underwater effect on their clothing and hair.
We scattered tons of sand across the studio floor and used a projector to cast caustic ripples, which I had to ship in from Germany. It was one of the only projects that had enough lumens to fill a studio of that size. This project was a real labour of love, of course, created on a budget, and it marked a beautiful step into the industry for me.
MAHALIA FT RICO NASTY - JEALOUS: I love this music video because it was a story I had been wanting to tell for years, ever since smart homes became a thing. Inspired by the infamous Anonymous crews and Wikileaks, as soon as I heard "Jealous," it was the perfect track to bring this idea to life. I also wanted to give a nod to the iconic aesthetic of the 90s, particularly the style of the film Belly.
