5/10/15
Suit & Tie - Justin Timberlake
Suit & Tie is a song by Justin Timberlake, featuring the voice of rapper Jay Z. It was released in 2013, as was the video above.
Camerawork
The camerawork in the video is various in many aspects, the reason for this could be that the video was directed by movie director David Fincher. It is a performance based video. When the video firsts starts, the shots are all either mid shots that show what the character is doing or fairly long shots that show the environment. The only close up that appears in these early seconds is that of the Justin Timberlake (JT) and Jay Z themselves. This instantly shows the audience the people that are performing the song and due to their fame, shows a familiar face that the audience is already accustomed to. As the video continues, the shots start to focus more on the singers and the performance, this is very common for music videos of this genre, due to the need of the artist to portray their talent. In this case both in terms of singing and dancing, which is also a very common convention when it comes to the POP/R&B genres. When JT starts to come onto the stage, the camera is only focused on him from behind with a mid level mid-shot. By doing this, the main focus is on him, but the audience and environment is still presented, making the scene more immersive. The shot then rapidly changes to the front perspective and shows a long shot of JT, but this time with all the instrumentalists in the background of the stage at 0:45. This reiterates the performance concept of the video. Throughtout the video, many different angles are used including low angle shots at 0:49 and 0:53. There are also shots from behind the stage so it may give the point of view of an instrumentalist at 0:5, and further on in the video many side angle shots are used to clearly illustrate the artists dancing. However, throughout the video, there isn't one shot in which the artists are seen from above using a high angle shot, this is because the artists are seen as dominant, powerful and in control, whereas if a high angle shot is used, it makes them seem small, unimportant and even vulnerable. In contrast, low angle shots are used many times and are usually paired with close ups (e.g. 1:31), this has the opposite effect and makes the performers appear bigger and focused. These shots could also be considered as point of view of the audience and reinforces the viewers' position as a spectator. There are many close ups of JT's face when he is stretching his notes and singing with more enthusiasm. An example of this is at 1:41, and the reason for this is to emphasise the singers talent. This is a very common convention in performance based music videos and can be seen as a mutual trait shared by many videos. At 1:57 there is a wide long shot of the studio in which the song is presumably being recorded. This, again shows the process of the artist showing their talent and relates to Richard Dyer's star theory, due to the fact that it lets the audience in on the process of the music being created and displays the talent of the artist, in addition, it gives the impression that everything they are seeing is real and there is nothing for the artist to hide. The one thing that is consistent in the video in terms of camerawork is that there are no shots in which the camera is moving or tracking. For a song of this pace this is a common convention as it binds well with the slowish pace of the song, for a song of the 'POP' genre this is slightly less common as there is usually dancing or lots of energy. However, given the more R&B style of this song, it goes well with the song.
Editing
There is a great deal of subtle editing that sets up the atmosphere of the video. For example, the first instance of editing that can be seen is the Black and White filter that is apparent throughout the whole video. This dark undertone gives the video a slick sense. It also links to the title of the song as the majority of suits are black and white, and therefore this provides a sense of synergy that the audience can link together. The Black and White effect also makes the video seem more Noir, which relates to the previous generations of R&B and POP music. This links directly to Steve Neals's theory that genres are instances of repetition and difference. If the audience can find something familiar in a new text, then they are able to relate to it more and therefore would be more interested in the new piece of media. Ultimately, this Black and White technique is not a common convention in POP music videos, as most POP videos are colourful and bright. In addition to this, the length of the camera shots vary. Though the cuts are all simple cuts, the legnth of each shot is edited for effect. For example the shots at the beginning of the video, where JT and Jay-Z can be seen in more detail, are very short and cut very quickly. This is so the video instantly grips the viewer and shows them as much as possible in a short amount of time. These quick camera shots are extremely common amongst POP music videos due to their generally fast pace. In terms of effects, not many are seen in the video, this gives the video a sense of realism and ensures that the video can reach out to the viewers and connect with them at a sensible level. Whilst this may seem like a usual convention, most POP music videos have rather a lot of effects to make the viewer more concentrated on the video. This video differs slightly from the usual masses of POP music videos.
Mise-En-Scene
Mise-En-Scene in this video varies from each aspect, in terms of props, there are not many that are used besides from the instruments that are needed to convey the artists talent. However, there are points in which unnecessary props such as ties are used, whilst these are not needed, they amplify the tone of the of the video and reinforce the atmosphere that the director desired, in this case the atmosphere is calm and completely focused on the performance of the artist, whereas in many other POP music videos there is a lot more going on to engage the viewer. The costumes in the video are all very unified and there is no one differently dressed character in the video, every person on stage can be seen wearing the same thing: A suit and a tie, this links directly to the title of the song and again creates a sense of synergy which would help the audience make more sense of all that is going on in the video. The lighting in the video is very minimalistic and simple, the majority of the lighting is focused on the artist, this is a very common convention of POP music videos and relates to Dyer's Star Theory in which the artist has to promote themselves. In addition to this, the video fuels the idea that the viewer is part of the audience due to the fact that the actual audience in the video cannot be seen. This is due to the lighting in the video that covers the audience and prevents them from being seen clearly, giving the impression that they are performing solely for the viewer. It also even may add a sense of mystery as to who they are performing in front of, and may pique the curiousity of the viewer. There are not many females in the video, however, when Jay-Z sings his verse, the atmosphere regarding this changes and short shots can be seen of women wearing somewhat revealing costumes, this links to Mulvey's Male Gaze Theory and how it may attract more viewers to the video. The fact that the women cannot be seen properly because they are covered in shadows and that only silhouettes and shapes can be seen, teases the viewer and increases the effect of The Male Gaze Theory.
Sound
There is a very small amount of ambient sound in the video towards the beginning where Jay-Z can be heard saying "You ready JT?" Most POP videos have some form of ambient sound to enlarge the world they have created and make it more ralistic, this is not the case in this music video and the majority of the video is the music for which the video was created for. Therefore this music video does not follow convention in that regard.