http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsUsVbTj2AY&feature=share&list=AL94UKMTqg-9AuFwrfpWD2PdKS129sgDan

Justin Timberlake - Suit & Tie Feat. JAY Z

I chose this video as the genre was similar with it being R&B it will help me see some conventions in my genre and plan my music video accordingly.

 The video has a black and white theme to it which suggests olden times which is what this video works on when it is trying to show the classiness of the artists. It shows the artists in a hotel room on a piano drinking whisky in posh clothes which suggests upper class. The mise-en-scene also represents the upper class of the artist by them wearing diner suits and a bow tie, it shows them performing on a stage which again shows his celebrity status which is a convention, on the stage they have an old style of performance where they have classic drinks like whisky in crystal glasses and cigars on stage. They have a choreographed dance which breaks convention slightly but works with the theme of the 20th century style performance.

We also see a woman in his hotel room laid on his bed in stockings which shows her as a sexual object which abides by conventions of the genre of music, we also see throughout the video through random jump cuts, a woman who is dancing with little clothing on in a room by herself which also shows again how women are just sexual objects in this genre. They perform in a grand theatre with large chandeliers which also suggest wealth, a large spotlight shines down on the main artist which as i have mentioned before is a strong convention in my genre of music, it suggests the artist is the light in the otherwise dark place.

 The editing in this breaks the conventions a bit as its more of continuity editing then the usual montage editing for my genre of music, this could be due to it trying to be an old style video. The edits in this video always jump to the next one on the snare drum beat in the backing track; we would expect this as it is a main convention in my music video genre and all music videos in general. In their performance there is a lot of long shots to show the dancing of the artists, there also are a few establishing shots to show the location of the theater and the recording studio.

The theme of this video I think is to show how the artists think music was better before and how they would have like more of a classy life, it shows them working in the recording studio with more traditional equipment like a music script even though he was using an electronic tablet to view it on, the music they are making is also made on instruments like brass instruments. I think it shows how they are bringing classic back into the modern era.

 I think this music video works really well in bringing classy into the modern era, and I like the way it goes against convention slightly by bringing more of continuity edit rather than a montage style.
This video clearly represents how good the 'classy life' is and makes the audience jealous of the artists but aspire in there direction which seems to be a convention of this genre of music with all the artists living the good life.