30 Seconds To Mars- Kings and Queens

Genre= Hard Rock, Emo, Alternative

Genre Characteristics= Dark military style costume, lots of attention focused on hairstyles.

This video appeals to me as it tells a story in such a short amount of time, also it is in a completely new direction in terms of 30 seconds to mars music videos. The video brings together the community of their fans, which is essential for a succesfull rock band. The video doesn't move in time with the beat of the song which i feel helps it to flow more naturally.

The location of the band is very unique as they are on high ground which gives the audience the feel that they are looking over them. What also works well is the continual jump between members of the band in the bike riding situation. The video reaches a peak at 3:52 where the bike rider is hit by a car, a new equiilibrium is not usually formed in a music video and this brings shock to the audience.

The actions of the lead singer (jared leto) such as reaching out his arm when the man is knocked off his bike brings unity between the media text and the band. The mise en scene is important as it is set in a urban new york location, this helps the costumes as it shows a wide range of personalities as some look like they belong in the location and some look like they are lost.

Genre= Rock, Alternative
Genre Characteristics= Instruments are seen visually, attempt to act cool and unique. Surreal and Dark perspective.
Relationship Between Visual and Lyrics= There is no real link between the two, the only link is the constant use of "We" as it refers to the group of cyclists as being united.Close Ups Of Artist and Star Image Motifs=There are many close ups of the band and of individual members. In this video they have also used close ups of the cyclists who are their fans instead of using actors as it relates to the closeness of themselves and their fans (the echelon). The star image motif is achieved with the location being in a big city but with a naturalistic and individual style to each of them. This is achieved with their apparel being plain and "affordable" and focusing attention on emotions and their physical actions.Is Their Reference To The Notion Of Looking= Their is reference to the notion of looking, using the long shots of the location this can be seen as what the band are seeing. We expect to see a close up of the road when we see the close ups of the cyclists but this is vacant. This emphasises the emotions expressed as we can focus on what is going on mentally instead of physically.Are There Intertextual References? There aren't any intertextual references as the majority of the locations are naturalistic and unchanged. The only reference is the bands symbol on the back of the singers jacket. The use of non-intertextual references fits this video as we focus on the action and the symbolism of using a city landscape.Is The Video Performance, Narrative or Concept Based? How Much Of Each? The Video is evenly split between narative and performance and are in two seperate locations. The narrative is based around peoples seperate lives that are not seen by everyone, about how someone is not always what you expect them to be. The performance is based mainly around a live gig but with the city being the audience, the band act as if they expect applause or feedback from the city.