Jorja Smith - Be honest - classified as R&B
24 year old singer song writer who specifies in R&B, Pop, Neo soul, grime
She won the Brit's critics Choice award in 2018
2019 was named best British female artist in Brit awards and nominated in the Grammys for Best new artist
she is labeled with FAMM
MISE EN SCENE
Lighting-
the colour palette in this music video is very aesthetically pleasing to look at, it has a real variety of cool and warm tones
you will notice that the background is cooler tones such as the images below but herself, she is wearing warm colours really adding a contrast to her and her location
Costume/makeup-
in this video, Jorja seems to have a total of 5 looks, which vary depending on her location. this is to accentuate the idea of each location being a different atmosphere/vibe but still keeping it all intermingled together.
I think that's an interesting idea when coming to create my own music video as it also keeps the audience interested. this being said, the outfits should each have a specific item to them that makes them unique.
when talking about costume I think its also interesting that your target audience can relate to them. For example, Jorja Smith's target audience is young adults , meaning people that age like to go out in the evenings , looking nice and good looking. This is very effective in her music videos as by watching them (as a young adult myself) you want to wear those outfits and feel that confidence she gives out and portrays to us, almost like it comes in a package
Props-
there is A LOT going on in this music video, one thing being the almost exaggerated amount of props included.
this being from the living room scene where its almost overwhelming to look as your not too sure what you should look at first . this is also quite interesting to build context to the protagonist and make the video look more everyday "normal" when it is obviously extremely extra
I also think that what plays a big part is the idea that she shoots in many obscure places such as a swimming pool with neon lights but also on a motor bike which are two completely different things that have no correlation whatsoever.
In this clip scene above, I selected a specific time in the music video which I really liked due to many aspects :
the editing pov
the camera work
these simply consist of simple cuts but the use of montage. The idea that we going back and forth from one scene setting to another, by still moving forward in time. which is something I would want to consider for my music video
here I really like the idea of a close up with a tracking camera
again, moving with the artist with the camera - tracking polly shot
Representation & Ideologies :
Jorja Smith seems to portray herself very strong and that sense of feminine power which is very popular nowadays. this is shown through her use of body language like you may have seen above, the way she moves her body the way she walks and the way she is sitting. All of these showing this powerful free 21st century woman.
to add to this point i believe Jorja Smith represents also a very strong positive black woman vision and power, which is greatly presented and represented in this video.
Intertextuality:
although in this video there is not any signs of intertextuality, Throughout the music video for ‘Beautiful Little Fools’, Jorja Smith has used media language and intertextual references to make a statement about her opinion on the pressure and limitations that society puts on women; that they must be done up and look beautiful all the time and that they must be loved by a man to be validated.
Also, ‘Beautiful Little Fools’ is a combination of performance and narrative style, as it makes a lot of political statements about the unfair expectations of women due to society, but it also includes shots of Jorja Smith lip syncing. This performance style element is stereotypical of the music from this R&B genre and it has been included to build her star persona.
Audience reception:
Jorja Smith's target audience being young females, her type and style of videos correspond greatly to what society nowadays craves. The idea of a powerful irresistible woman that's too good for all men is the basic idea being portrayed in most female music videos nowadays. I believe that most girls watching her music videos must ahve felt extremely confident and almost made them feel like they were in the character, which is something that wants to be achieved when producing a music video. This links greatly with the Utopian theory.
Uses and gratification:
Jorja tries to fit all the codes and conventions that link greatly to her music. Although her music style is very much the image of a powerful woman, Jorja still feeds into what society says to be ¨good looking" or even ¨hot¨ this being what is acceptable as attractive towards a male gaze. I believe this links greatly with Andrew Goodwin and
Angela McRobbie's theories. Goodwin suggested that there is a link between the genre of music and the genre visuals of music videos. This means that the visuals of the music videos are going to be styled to suit the genre of music. whilst Angela McRobbie is about Post Feminist Icon Theory: “Lara Croft, Lady Gaga and Madonna for example could be identified as post feminist icons as they exhibit the stereotypical characteristics of both the male and female – strength, courage, control and logic but also are willing to be sexualised for the male gaze. This control element of their own representation is crucial in understanding the theory”.
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