Spoiler alert !! This almost tops Dizzee Rascal’s tongue-in-cheek
style, did you collaborate closely with him in developing the script?
Or does he have a creative director sourcing new talent like you?

Dizzee liked my promo for Duke Dumont’s Need U (100%) so when he saw that I’d written on Love This Town he gave it a read. I liked the idea of parodying the London riots and other riot music videos.

I love Dizzee’s tongue-in-cheek humour so I was confident we’d be on the same
page creatively, and the finished film didn’t stray from the original treatment at all. Strangely some people have found the video quite
heart-warming, but it was always intended to be more sardonic than
sincere!

Please tell us about the shoot and production. Was everything prepped
thoroughly before the shoot, any major challenges and how did you
resolve them?

The main challenge was the brutal schedule. A one day shoot in the
Wimbledon Studio backlot with LOTS going on; animals, children, smoke,
fire and a big cast. Luckily the fantastic producer, Corin Taylor, put
together a really experienced team to get us through the day.
Naturally I wanted to spend more time on some scenes, but I guess
every director says that after a shoot! Dizzee brought a lot of energy
to the scenarios; he’s a brilliant improviser. Kicking the dumpster,
sweeping the shop keeper’s doorstep and taking a picture of the
Malaysian student are all his ideas.

Meanwhile have you shelved your animation talents to focus on live action?

I’m a natural perfectionist but this has to be thrown out the window
during one day live-action shoots. And after three live-action promos
on the trot my perfectionist side is yearning attention so I’m open to
trying animation again. Especially as Colonel Blimp have a network of
such amazing animators. However, I loved working with a featured
artist for the first time, especially one with such a wry sense of
humour.