Partners in Crime: Behind the Scenes with Jake Aldridge

Suffolk singer and rapper Jake Aldridge contacted us after finding The Camera Guys through a Google search for music video production. He was preparing to release Partners in Crime and wanted a production company to help turn his ideas into a video that suited the song.

The track is playful, cheeky country-pop, so the visuals needed to have that same sense of fun. Bright colours, an interesting location and lively performances were all part of the plan. The shoot eventually took us from a cocktail bar in Norwich to a second location with two classic American cars, with plenty of practical lighting and a little improvisation along the way.

Developing the idea with Jake

We first met Jake at a local cafe to talk through the video. What we hadn't realised was that we'd chosen a live-music night. It was a louder meeting than expected, but a fitting place to start discussing a music video!

Jake brought his ideas for the track, and we worked through the possibilities together: the story, performances, cast, lighting, costumes and locations. We wanted something that represented the song without taking itself too seriously, while making the most of the available budget.

Those early conversations are where an idea starts becoming a practical shoot. For artists preparing for a similar meeting, our guide to what to put in a music video brief explains which references and practical details are useful to bring along.

From a studio concept to Cecilia's Cocktail Bar

Our initial idea was to film the whole video in a controlled studio environment. Different lighting setups, green screen and camera movement would let us create a variety of colourful scenes around the performances.

That changed when Jake found Cecilia's Cocktail Bar in Norwich and arranged permission to film there. With the venue more than 60 miles from our studio at the time, he scouted it and sent over photographs and a quick walkthrough recorded on his phone.

It looked ideal. The pink interior suited the colour palette, and the different parts of the venue offered plenty of possibilities for performance shots and supporting footage. We decided to move away from the studio idea and build the video around the bar instead.

A location with its own character gives you something to respond to. Rather than constructing every background from scratch, we could concentrate on how to light the space and use it within the story.

Moving from the bar into Jake's imagination

The concept followed Jake imagining an alternative reality in which the barmaid became his partner in crime. We didn't take the title literally: this was about a mischievous connection between the characters, not a crime story.

The opening established Jake arriving at the bar and ordering a drink. Between the first verse and the pre-chorus, the video moved into his imagined version of events, marked by a dramatic change in lighting and costumes.

That transition gave the colour a storytelling role. The change in appearance signalled that something had shifted, letting the audience follow Jake into the fantasy without stopping the song to explain it.

Creating the pink and blue lighting

We developed the palette around the pink set, the outfits and the lighting, using blue and pink together to create a strong colour contrast.

The setup included two 5ft LED tubes, two Yongnuo YN360 light wands and smaller LED panels with coloured gels. Two Aputure 120d lights with softboxes provided the key and hair lighting, while a fog machine added atmosphere and helped the coloured light register within the scene.

The aim wasn't simply to fill the room with colour. We wanted the lighting, setting and wardrobe to feel connected, with the performances remaining the focus.

Cecilia's also gave us enough variety to keep changing the backgrounds and camera positions. We could move between performance footage and supporting detail shots without the video becoming a repetition of the same setup. It's a good example of creating several music-video looks within one location, rather than relying on constant travel to keep a film interesting.

We filmed at the bar from 10am until 3.30pm, before moving on to the second location.

Classic cars and a different performance setting

Jake had arranged a Dodge Charger and a Chevrolet Camaro for the next part of the shoot. He and Danielle Beales, who appeared alongside him in the video, performed beside the cars, with a car each for some of the setups.

The move gave us a different setting and a larger backdrop for the performances, while the coloured lighting kept the scenes connected to the look established in the bar.

We used the Aputure lights, two LED panels and the two YN360s to light the scene, positioning the 5ft tubes behind the cars to cast colour onto the walls. Two fog machines added atmosphere around the performance area.

There was, however, one practical complication: the wind.

Keeping the fog around the cars

The fog was dispersing too quickly in the windy conditions, so we needed to adapt the setup.

Our solution was a cooling chamber made using ventilation ducting, a 90-litre bin and ten bags of ice. Cooling the fog helped it stay lower to the ground and gave us a denser layer around the cars that lasted longer in shot.

It was a practical response to the conditions on the day. The effect still needed to support the performance, but keeping more of it in the frame gave the coloured lighting something to catch and added depth to the scene.

The finished video and the next collaborations

We were really pleased with how the video came together. The colours, performances and contrasting locations gave it the playful character we had discussed at that first meeting, and it took a good effort from everyone involved to bring the ideas to life.

Our Partners in Crime portfolio case study brings together the finished-film feature and a shorter overview of the production.

This also became the first of several music videos with Jake. We later worked together on King of the World and Rather Be Me, each with a different story and visual approach.

Planning a music video of your own?

Bring us your track, ideas, visual references and any locations you have in mind. Our video production pricing provides a starting point; the right production plan depends on what your particular video needs.

Tell us about your music video, and we'll talk through the concept, filming and edit with you.

Planning a shoot in Norwich? See our page on video production in Norwich, the Partners in Crime case study and our wider Norfolk video production work.