British singer-songwriter James Morrison has made a series of online videos giving fans a satirical view of what it takes to be a pop star.

Set around the release of his fourth studio album Higher Than Here, the episodes include scenes begging old friend and singer Nelly Furtado for a retweet and unveiling unusual methods of reaching a high note during recording.

The three-part mockumentary was devised and written by Edinburgh-based producers Jordan Laird and Ian Greenhill – known as Something Something.

It came about after James and his record label saw a previous video they had made with Scottish band Prides.

Ian said: “They wanted to do something funny and unexpected with James, and as soon as we met him we saw why they wanted to showcase his humour and personality.

“The whole thing took two days. James was great to work with. Most scenes were ad-libbed and his comic timing, ability to act awkwardly and hold character was great.”

The duo also star alongside James in every episode as a hapless record label team.

Jordan added: “The whole thing is just our silly humour but obviously it leans on the classic Spinal Tap style.

“We love things like The Office, The Thick of It and Veep, but in all honesty, the biggest influence came from some real-life meetings and characters we’ve met doing music videos down in London. It’s a fun world but it’s ripe for satire.”

The three episodes were posted on James’s social media sites on October 29 and have already had more than 200,000 views.

James said: “When Island (record label) approached me with the idea of doing the documentary, I was really excited. It was an opportunity to show a different side, I suppose the opposite of what people would expect from me.

“I loved the tongue in cheek sentiment of what it’s like being signed to a label: the sublime, the ridiculous and the boredom.

“I’ve been doing this for 10 years, so many fads have come and gone it’s difficult to keep up, but I think as long as you’re true to who you are, you’ll be all right in the end.”