Back before kids had a gazillion websites and YouTube channels to glue their eyeballs to, we had Nickelodeon. For many, Nick shows defined our youth. The characters made us laugh while also giving us models for navigating and making sense of our own young lives and relationships. Oh yeah, and they taught us that being obsessed with orange soda was totally normal.
When Nickelodeon wanted to create an original series for Facebook Watch with the power to inspire fans past and present to fall in love all over again with their favorite Nick shows, they turned to the ultimate fan creator community (hi, yup, that’s us!).
Tongal filmmaker Ryan Estabrooks ultimately got the greenlight for his pitch “Nicktunes,” which he described as:
“Nicktunes” is a series where each episode uses an original song performance to recap a beloved Nickelodeon series episode.
Imagine if Flight of the Conchords wrote songs about Nickelodeon shows and performed them with Jimmy Fallon and the Roots, but with the visual flair of a 1980s music video.
You can picture it in your head right now, huh?
We totally could! And now, that picture in our heads is a video on our screens! Check out the first music video released in the series below, then stick around as we pick the mind of its creator.
Marissa: First off, this series is a whole lot of fun! In addition to delivering a major hit of nostalgia, you’re also giving viewers music and colorful production design. What drew you to the Nickelodeon Video Recap Series Project?
Ryan: Thank you, I'm glad you thought it was fun! That was one of the major goals of this project - plaster a smile across the faces of everyone watching.
What first drew me to the project is, of course, my lifelong love for Nickelodeon. As in, I'm literally, right this very moment, wearing a hat with SpongeBob and Patrick riding dinosaurs in space [Ed. note: Oh, this hat?]. But I also really liked how this was an opportunity to create an original series. We're looking back at older Nickelodeon shows but this is more than just a promotional video - it’s something completely new! And that's really exciting.
M: You’re based outside of Nashville, TN. Tell us more about your creative background and what the film scene is like in the area.
R: I first started out in music back when I was 12 and thought I would ONLY be a musician for the rest of my life. After graduating from high school, I moved to Nashville to study audio engineering but along the way, I became super interested in film, wrote scripts and made short films on the side. Since then, I've always had a foot in both worlds, which ended up being perfect for this series.
The great thing about Nashville is it has a never-ending pool of creative talent. We've had some big-name TV shows film here but we're all actively trying to make it more of a film destination. I will say, one of our true hidden gems is our insanely amazing theatre scene! I've met some top-notch actors for our film work here.
M: The throughline in each recap video is the band singing about beloved Nickelodeon characters. Tell us about the band - do they have a name - and what inspired you to run with this framework for the series?
R: So our band is called Midnight Zero and I really have to brag about everyone in it. Sarina is an incredible vocalist and was on American Idol a few years back! Elizabeth, our drummer, has played with some of music's biggest heavyweights, like Carrie Underwood. And Amber brings this unbelievable energy on bass. What makes the band unique is we all truly love just about every genre of music out there, which was perfect for this Nickelodeon project.
When it comes to concepts, I always try to think "What is something that could only come from me?" I was rewatching some Nickelodeon shows and it struck me just how big of a role music plays in them. So I started imaging ways my music background could help with this series and it took off from there.
M: Does music always play a big role in your film work? Do you generally write original music for your videos?
R: Yes to both! I usually end up doing the music for most of the film projects I make. And even though I'm mostly writing & directing these days, I still manage to compose scores for at least one or two projects each year for other filmmaker friends.
M: You wore many different hats during the production, but being onscreen talent while directing can be the trickiest. Do you have any tips on how to balance both roles?
R: For me, there are two big components to this: being really prepared and working with people you have a previous relationship with. On the preparedness front, every shot was mapped out and we had a game plan for how we would film our takes. The crew knew exactly what they needed to do, which freed me up to focus on working with the band and my own performance. Relationship-wise, I've worked with the same crew on a lot of projects, so they knew what types of shots I liked, what kind of lighting I prefer and all that good stuff. I don't know if I would recommend directing and acting on a project with a completely new crew. We're people after all, and it helps to know each other in order to bring out the best work possible.
M: The set is so fun and colorful! Can you talk about your approach to production design?
R: I really have Jim Manning - the set designer - to thank for the incredible set. He delivered beyond what I could have imagined. We took inspiration from vintage music sets, like old school Top of the Pops performances and Soul Train episodes. We also took inspiration from live stage setups from artists like the Flaming Lips, Katy Perry, and Empire of the Sun.
We initially had two separate designs: one based around TVs and another based around balloons and spheres. We showed them to Nickelodeon and they said "Why don't you try combining them both?" and that's what our final set ended up being!
M: One of the exciting aspects of this project was the ability to utilize Nick’s library of content. How did you decide which shows and topics to feature?
R: It was an ongoing conversation with Nickelodeon on which shows we wanted to do first and what the songs would be about. Initially, the concept was focused on recapping specific episodes but we thought it would be better to start the series off with more general topics and characters. We probably went through 15 to 20 ideas before we settled on these initial four.
M: Lastly, if Tongal could facilitate a project tailor-made just for you, what would it look like?
R: Ohhhh that's a good one! Maybe a feature-length psychedelic science-fiction musical of some sort? But that's just off the top of my head.
M: We’ll get right on it! ;)
