RESEARCH | Jorja Smith - 'Don't watch me cry'

The first line of the song immediately grabbed my attention as a song to use for my music video on Domestic Violence as it picks up on the idea that it is common for the victim to be unaware or clueless as to what they've done for their partner to want to hurt them. I then went on to research the reasons into what causes domestic violence.

Domestic abuse, or intimate partner abuse may occur when one partner feels the need to control or dominant the other. Abusers may feel this need to control their partner because of low self-esteem, extreme jealousy, difficulties in regulating anger and other strong emotions, or when they feel inferior to the other partner in education and socioeconomic background.

Some people with very traditional beliefs may think they have the right to control their partner, and that women aren’t equal to men. Others may have an undiagnosed personality disorder or psychological disorder. Still others may have learned this behaviour from growing up in a household where domestic violence was accepted as a normal part of being raised in their family.

A partner’s domination may take the form of emotional, physical or sexual abuse. Abusers may learn violent behaviour from their family, people in their community and other cultural influences as they grow up. They may have seen violence often or they may have been victims themselves. Some abusers acknowledge growing up having been abused as a child.

For my first shot, I want 4 different clips of the victim fading in and out and then all to appear on the screen at once. She doesn't look directly at the camera in order to convey the idea that she is 'disconnected' from the audience but from everyone in her life too. I want the clips to look like a mugshot photo but without her looking at the camera.

Another shot I want to put in my music video is one of her mum ringing her phone and it being ignored or grabbed from the table by an unidentified hand. I want to keep him unidentified and only one individual in the. video in order to convey the idea of feeling alone. Despite having people around her she is alone in herself. She will be seen in the background of the shot.

For the chorus, as explained below, I want to move to a bathroom location and fill the bath with milk to get the water to look white - this will represent the innocence of the victim. For the lyric "CRYING" she will have mascara running down her face and red lipstick smudged with a pale skin tone that will blend with the bath water. For the lyric "BLEED" I could use red food colouring and dot it in various spots in the bath in order to contrast with the white, representing blood and pain. For the lyric "CAN'T ESCAPE" I could have her placing her hands over her face to convey a feeling of being trapped inside herself.