Initial Research Music vids

INITIAL
MUSIC
VIDEO
RESEARCH

BY MIA PATIENCE

JORJA SMITH

• JORJA IS AN ARTIST, BORN IN WALSALL, WEST
MIDLANDS TO A JAMAICAN FATHER AND
ENGLISH MOTHER ON JUNE 11TH, 1997.
SCOUTED AT THE AGE OF 15, JORJA’S FAME
GREW AFTER RELEASING HER FIRST SONG
‘BLUE LIGHTS’ ,FEATURING DIZZIE RASCALS
‘SIRENS’ AS A SAMPLE, ON SOUNDCLOUD. SHE
THEN RELEASED A FOUR-TRACK ALBUM
WHICH RESULTED IN HER BEING CHOSEN AS
THE ONE OF THE FIFTEEN RISING ACTS ON
BBC MUSIC'S SOUND OF 2017 LONGLIST. SHE
THEN CONTINUED TO GROW, RELEASING MORE
SONGS AND COLLABORATING WITH ARTISTS
SUCH AS ‘DRAKE’, ‘STORMZY’ AND ‘KALI
UCHIS’.

• GROWING UP LISTENING TO R&B AND HIP-HOP,
HER GREAT LOVES OF THE INDUSTRY CONSIST
OF AMY WINEHOUSE, RIHANNA, ALICIA KEYS-
ALL GREAT WOMAN WITHIN THE INDUSTRY.

• JORJA CONTINUES TO GROW IN FAME AND
TALENT ACROSS THE WORLD.

• INFORMATION GATHERED FROM
HTTPS://WWW.IMDB.COM/NAME/NM9700609/BIO.

• ‘TEENAGE FANTASY’* BY JORJA SMITH (SCREENSHOT SHOWN OPPOSITE) IS A POP/R&B RECORD,

MUSIC VIDS BY• WITH THE VIDEO RECORDED IN PARIS. THE VIDEO IS IN BLACK AND WHITE AND HAS A SMALL
JORJA <3 NARRATIVE OF TWO GIRLS, STEALING FROM A MAN IN PARIS AND THEN TRAVELLING TOGETHER.
THERE’S A PAJAMA/UNDERWEAR STYLE OF COSTUME AND THERE’S MONEY USED AS PROPS, AS
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTnWe_sMznM&list=PLN1XtmMhmW6H • WELL AS A BEDROOM LIKE SET. MAKEUP IS MOSTLY NATURAL AND THERE’S AN OVERALL TONE OF
1dfwQNIXJbaxivx0HtkAy&index=16. FILM NOIR AND VINTAGE STYLE SHOTS. THEY IMPROV THROUGHOUT THE VIDEO IN A FREE/
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80J2YroXH3g&list=PLN1XtmMhmW6H1 CHILD LIKE MANNER.
dfwQNIXJbaxivx0HtkAy&index=11.
ANOTHER SONG, WITH A SIMILAR KIND OF NARRATIVE IS THE MUSIC VIDEO FOR THE SONG ‘THE
ONE’* BY JORJA SMITH. THE VIDEO FOLLOWS A VERY MOVEMENT-BASED ARTIST WHO’S
EVIDENTLY GOING THROUGH A BREAKUP AND ISN’T SURE WHETHER TO LEAVE OR NOT. SHE
KEEPS GOING TO LEAVE AND WALK AWAY YET ALWAYS RETURNS. THE ENDING CONSISTS OF
JORJA GETTING IN THE CAR TO LEAVE, THEN SHE'S BACK IN HER BEDROOM LOOKING OUT OF THE
WINDOW. THE GENRE IS POP/R&B SIMILAR TO TEENAGE FANTASY. ALSO A NARRATIVE VIDEO, SET
IN A BEDROOM AND CARPARK/BALCONY OF AN URBAN SETTING. COSTUMES BEGIN WITH PAJAMAS
BUT OFTEN SWITCH TO A GLAMMED UP OUTFIT. PROPS FEATURE A BED AND CAR AND MAKEUP IS
NATURAL. CHOREOGRAPHY CONSIST OF JORJA WALKING IN AND OUT OF THE HOUSE, AND OFTEN
WALKING TO THE CAR.

BOTH MUSIC VIDEOS ARE IN AN URBAN SETTING AND FOCUSES ON A NARRATIVE TYPE OF MUSIC
VIDEO, FOLLOWING LIVES OF TWO DIFFERENT CHARACTERS, BOTH PLAYED BY JORJA SMITH.

MUSIC VIDS BY
JORJA <3

• BEAUTIFUL LITTLE FOOLS* BY JORJA SMITH, INSPIRED BY THE ICONIC
‘BEAUTIFUL LITTLE FOOL’ QUOTE FROM THE GREAT GATSBY. THE
VIDEO TAKES THE NARRATIVE OF A YOUNG WOMAN, PLAYED BY
JORJA, WHO’S A WAITRESS AND PERFORMER. THE VIDEO IS
DEFINITELY NARRATIVE BASED, SIMILAR TO HER OTHER VIDEOS, IT
IS MOSTLY R&B WITH A HINT OF POP. THE VIDEO IS SET IN A 20S STYLE
RESTAURANT/BAR ASWELL AS A PERFORMANCE SPACE THE
PROTAGONIST OFTEN VISITS. COSTUMES CONSIST OF A FORMAL DRESS
AND A WORK OUTFIT-SHIRT AND BOW-TIE. PROPS CONSIST OF DRINKS
TO BE TAKEN TO CUSTOMERS AND A MICROPHONE WITHIN THE
PERFORMANCE SPACE. A RED LIP STICK RETURNS THROUGHOUT IN
TERMS OF MAKEUP. A THEME OF SADNESS IS PRESENT THROUGHOUT,
A TONE THAT’S CONVEYED VIA LIGHTING- DEEPER TONES.
CHOREOGRAPHY IS SIMPLE WALKING MOVEMENTS.

• LET ME DOWN* BY JORJA SMITH, IS A SONG THAT IS QUITE MELLOW
AND SAD AND THIS IS REFLECTED IN THE NARRATIVE BASED MUSIC
VIDEO. JORJA WEARS A BLONDE WIG, SUNGLASSES, A LONG COAT AND
PLAYS THE ROLL OF A HIT WOMAN WHO IS BEING PLAYED TO KILL A
MALE BALLET DANCER. SET IN A CITY AND THEATRE, JORJA SEDUCES
THE DANCER AND TAKES HIM HOME TO KILL HIM. THE DANCER DOES
SIMPLE BALLET CHOROGRAPHY AND A GUN PROP IS PRESENT DURING
THE FINAL SCENE OF JORJA KILLING THE DANCER.

• BOTH VIDEOS FEATURE STRONG NARRATIVES, SIMILAR TO THE OTHER
VIDEOS JORJA HAS PRODUCED. THEY’RE INTERESTING TO WATCH AND
COULD BE A SNIPPET OF A FILM DUE TO THE NARRATIVE.

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ymm3A5lSGwo
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaEPYljtIAw

Beautiful Little Fools Let me down

SIMILARITIES
-CLOSE UPS

Teenage Fantasy The One

SIMILARITIES-
TRACKING SHOTS

LYRIC INTERPRETATION
FOR TIME* BY JORJA
SMITH

• AN R&B/SOUL TRACK, WITH A KEY OF D MINOR
AND A DURATION OF 1:55 MINUTES. THERE’S A
SHIFT IN TONE WITHIN THE OUTRO WHEN
BEJOICE AND JORJA BEGIN TO TALK.

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFf_t2esVrc

TRACK ANALYSIS

• ‘TIME’* IS A ‘REMINDER TO LISTENERS •*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFf_t2
TO NOT LET THEMSELVES BE HELD esVrc
DOWN BY OTHER PEOPLE’S
BAGGAGE’*. MANY OF JORJA’S TRACKS • * https://hypebeast.com/2021/9/jorja-
ARE VERY MEANINGFUL, AS IS THIS smith-time-music-video-release
ONE. THE REFERENCE TO WEED IS
VERY UNLIKE JORJA YET IT
REFLECTS THE TYPES OF PEOPLE SHE
WANTS TO BE WITH. WITH 8.8M
LISTENERS ON SPOTIFY, SHE GROWS
AS ARTIST AFTER EVERY RELEASE.