Crafting 'Mr Drake': Directing a Music Video in Shanghai
- Olivier hero
- Jul 20
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 2
As a music video director shanghai, at the time I was living in Brussels/Budapest, flying back and forth between Shanghai, Brussels, Budapest, and sometimes Kuala Lumpur, mostly shooting advertising. I was in my thirties. I grew up in clubs; my father owned clubs and bars, so nightlife was never exotic to me. It was familiar. Mr Drake came out of that.
Mr Drake, directed by Olivier Hero Dressen.
A love letter to old Shanghai
I have always been fascinated by Shanghai before the Second World War. The city was carved into foreign concessions, each run by a different country, and the French Concession in particular was a world of cabarets, jazz, gambling and seedy back rooms. People partied hard. The gangs ran a good part of it. It was a strange, electric, morally loose moment in the city's history.
When I first arrived in China in the early 2000s, some of that was still in the air. There were fewer rules than there are now, a lot of foreigners, and a certain freestyle energy. It felt like a faint echo of that older city.
So I made this video as a love letter to nightlife: the cigarettes, the alcohol, the excess, and the women who worked the cabarets and clubs, then and now. A love letter to the glamour, and just as much to the darkness underneath it.
Mr Drake, directed by Olivier Hero Dressen.
Finding the location
I visited a lot of places. Shanghai has entire period sets, and I went to see one of the big studio backlots, the Chinese equivalent of a Hollywood lot. The problem was that a set is empty. Dressing it to feel lived in and rotten would have cost more in interior design than the whole production could carry.
What I wanted was a real place that had already died on its own.
I found a shuttered cabaret. The previous owner had left the country owing money to the wrong people, so the place had simply been abandoned. Getting to whoever still held the keys took a long chain of contacts. When the meeting finally happened, it was awkward: a man with a long nail on his pinky finger sat across from me, and he only agreed to see me because he assumed I was connected to the man who owed the money. I was there to talk about a music video.
It was a strange conversation for another reason too. China had only been open for a few decades. The film industry existed, but music videos and advertising were still new, still early stage. A random foreigner turning up to rent a derelict cabaret, and then asking to leave it exactly as it was, made no sense to anyone.
Because that was the point. Chairs upside down. Broken fittings. Dirty floor. I did not want it cleaned. That decay was the subject: the lost dreams you find in those rooms, the people who drink too much, the heartbroken, the ones looking for something. Everybody is looking for something when they go out at night. I wanted the location itself to carry that.
Mr Drake, directed by Olivier Hero Dressen.
The look and the choreography
The choreography and the styling were done by Julian Mei, who built the whole retro look around the 1930s, what we call in French les annees folles. He also plays one of the characters, the bar owner. He was one of the dancers in Michael Jackson's Bad, directed by Martin Scorsese.
How the track changed
The video was originally meant for a specific Belgian band. They went flaky, as bands sometimes do, and the project moved away from rock and roll into something electronic. It ended up built around a track by Monsieur Magnetik, a Belgian DJ.
Mr Drake, directed by Olivier Hero Dressen.
Self-producing, and the part I do not recommend
I self-produced this, which gave me total freedom and no safety net. I directed and produced it, scouted it, negotiated it, and shot it.
It also cost me. I overstayed my visa to finish this project, and I came very close to ending up in jail for it. I would not advise anyone to repeat that. But the video exists, and that abandoned cabaret is still one of my favourite locations I have ever shot in.
The story did not end there. A connection of mine had always dreamed of taking over that kind of business, and after seeing the video, he asked me to put him in touch with the landlord. I did. That connection is now the legendary Pearl in Shanghai.
FAQ: Mr Drake Music Video Production
What was my role in the 'Mr Drake' music video project?
I served as both the Director and Executive Producer for the 'Mr Drake' music video. This dual role allowed me to oversee the creative vision from conception to execution, while also managing the logistical and financial aspects of the self-produced project in Shanghai.
Where was the 'Mr Drake' music video filmed?
The entire 'Mr Drake' music video was filmed on location in Shanghai, China. This vibrant city provided a diverse and compelling backdrop, allowing us to capture a unique urban aesthetic that perfectly complemented Monsieur Magnetik's musical style.
What type of project is 'Mr Drake'?
'Mr Drake' is a music video, specifically created for Monsieur Magnetik and his track from Dark Gloves (GND Records). It was a self-produced endeavor, emphasizing creative control and an independent approach to visual storytelling.
Who was the client for the 'Mr Drake' music video?
The client for the 'Mr Drake' music video was Mr Magnetik himself, as the project was self-produced. This direct collaboration ensured a highly focused creative process, aligning the visual narrative precisely with the artist's original intent.
Explore more of my directing work and production stories.
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