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Jorja Smith 'On Your Own' by Rashid Babiker

David Knight - 15th Oct 2018

This superb video for Jorja Smith presents the artist and her song On Your Own inside a beautifully designed picture book, discovered in a young woman's bedroom, that comes to life.

 

Rashid Babiker brings different visual elements - design, photography, and even cutout animation - that work so well together to elevate not only a delightfully cool image of Jorja Smith but serves to make the song more hypotic, more alluring.

Very good indeed, and on this basis, Rashid Babiker is a real one to watch.

RASHID BABIKER:

"Before Jorja even asked me to come up with a concept for On Your Own, as a thought experiment I was imagining books, the hardback clothbound ones, being retrofitted into interactive photobooks, or video books sometime in the future when print is in the terminal stages of obsolescence. I imagined them to be like those 1940’s gramophones that bare the Dolby digital insignia and have Bluetooth connectivity but aren’t gramophones; the ones that visitors mistake for vinyl players, the same visitors that mistake you for being cold-hearted enough to correct them.

"To stage it in a way fitting for the song I channelled imagined-nostalgia from the perspective of a girl, a fan of Jorja, who’s living in an intentionally anachronistic world where these videobooks exist and cassettes are the new, old vinyl of today. Even with the nondescript time period, from the year markings in the book you can determine the book is from Jorja’s “lost & found” period and the world is set a bit further into the future.

"The whole thing works as a music video by having a great song firstly, Jorja always makes it easy in that respect, interesting content on the pages (just like a good book), thematic parallels to the lyrics, and choreographed page turns that act as cuts. But then it’s a real jigsaw puzzle piecing everything together!”

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David Knight - 15th Oct 2018

Tags

  • Animation
  • Director's notes
  • New Director
  • Pick of the Day
  • VFX
  • Pop
  • R&B

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Credits

Production/Creative

Director
Rashid Babiker
Producer
Martha McGuirk
Producer
Nick Hayes
Production Company
Nuuksio Films
1st AD
Bryony James

Camera

Director of Photography
Oliver Ford
Focus Puller
Sam Riley
2nd AC
Francis Boyter

Lighting/Grip

Gaffer
Peter Bishop

Art

Art Director
Chloe Brady

Casting

Lead actor
Savannah Acquah

Editorial

Editor
Rashid Babiker

Grading

Colourist
Toby Tomkins
Colour grade company

VFX

Post production company
Temple Caché
Post Producer
Franky Chadwick

Commission

Commissioner
Zubin Irani
Label
FAMM

Other credits

Production Assist

Pier Boble-Berry

Runners

Alex Tawney, Akay Delano, Emma Spiers

Sparks

Leon Pyszora, James Leech,

Set Construction

James Simmons

Art Assist

Nick Tolladay

MU Assist

Mario Brooksbank

Nail Technician

Izabelle Bellamy

PU Day 1st AC

Richard Savage

PU Day Camera Trainee

Andi Thompson

PU Day Gaffer

Will Pope

PU Day Prod Design

Paulina Rzeszowska

PU Day HMU

Mandana Mirzaii

VFX Supervisor

Daniel Hawkins

Casting

Collins Casting

David Knight - 15th Oct 2018

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