The music video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yvGCAvOAfM

30 seconds to mars – The kill

 

Throughout this music video, a large amount of conventions are used to send a message to the audience. The conventions are used to give the audience ideas about the videos narrative and the point of the videos story. These conventions include mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing and the narrative of the music video.

 

The main convention used in the video is its use of a narrative. The narrative is used as a small story line that creates some kind of short story for the audience to follow. It could be argued that this particular video is some kind of short film. Before the music starts, the audience can see two male characters pulling up to a large house in the back of a car. Once reaching the house, they stop and exchange speech with one another. This is the bands way of starting the narrative that runs alongside the song. Introducing the story using speech also makes the point of the song more obvious for the audience. This could add to the entertainment element of e music as a large amount of concentration is not needed.

 

Another main feature used throughout this music video is the use of costume. The costume is used as a tool that tells the audience who each character is and gives them an idea of their regional identity. In this particular video, each character is wearing black clothing that covers most of their body with black hair and eye make-up. The use of dark clothing is used in this video to add a gothic nature to the narrative. The audience get the impression that each character may come from a dark background but they are not sure what. This is the bans way of adding a dark presence to the narrative of their song.

 

The use of editing in the video is a successful convention that makes the narrative clearer for the audience. Like many other music videos shown throughout various forms of media, this video uses the idea of a band performance. Throughout the music video, the focus switches between the story of the song and the band performing. Through the use of this style of editing, the audience become aware of the men who are performing the song and allow them to make the connection between the band members and the characters in its opposing narrative. This is the bands way of using editing to make the narrative more obvious for their specific target audience.

 

The cinematography used in this music video is an important feature in the way the band can send a message or present a narrative. The various types of shots used help to present the characters involved in the narrative and the performance of the band. When the audience first see the performance side of the video, a close up shows the main singers face. This forces the audience to focus on the black hair and black eye make-up. Therefore, the audience are given further clues towards the gothic nature of the bands narrative.

 

These conventions give the audience multiple ideas about the bands intentions for the video and the message they are trying to put across. The band relies on a strong narrative for this music video and uses it to represent the band and its members.