Emotion Photos: Peaceful

Music Video Analysis of Kings and Queens by 30 Seconds to Mars

Is it narrative, performative, conceptual or a combination?

This music video is a combination of a being a narrative, performative, and conceptual. There is a story being told with all of the people riding bikes through the city, and it cuts back and forth between those scenes and of the band members performing the song outside of the city. There are a few conceptual aspects to this video, for example when the man gets hit by a car and the white horse comes running through the city, and the man then suddenly wakes up and gets right back on his bike.

What visual elements are used to style the video (color, shape, line, tone, light, rhythm)? Does it stay consistent throughout or does it change? When and why does it change?

The color of this overall video is dark when they are riding in the city, but the scenes where it shows the band performing it shows the sun rising or setting in the sky which is orange. At the beginning, the people are shown as just black silhouettes against the sun. I would say since this takes place in a city, there are many geometrical shapes used such as the buildings, the streets, and the bikes. There are many different ways that lines are implied in this video. For instance, you can see an implied horizontal line between the ground and the sunrise/set, and there are implied diagonal lines showing the movement of the people on the bikes. The lighting throughout this video is generally pretty dark because it is taking place at night for the majority of the video. 

What are some of the key moments in the video? How are they photographed?

Some key moments in this video are when the band is playing, showing all of the people in unison on their bikes riding together, and the part where the man gets hit by a car and then a white horse comes running through the street and the man wakes up and gets back onto his bike. The band members playing are sometimes all shown in one shot or sometimes individually. The people on the bikes are often all in the same shot but sometimes it shows just one person in a shot. There was one part in particular that was shot in a birds-eye view that showed a bunch of bikers riding in a circle. The part with the white horse first shows the man getting hit by the car, then the horse comes running through the street and is shown facing the camera. It then shows a close up of the man's face and his eyes open and in another shot it shows him get back onto his bike. 

Does the camera stay static or is there movement? Why does the camera move?

The camera in this video tends to stay static through the majority of the shots. There were a few shots that I noticed that the camera did move, like when the people were on the bikes at some parts. The camera would move to show the movement of the bikes and follow them along as they rode. There were several shots that showed the people moving along and the camera was in front of them and moving forward as the bikers moved forward. Another thing that some shots had would often go back and forth between focus, for example at one part it went back and forth between the lead singer and the lights of the city behind him. One of the reasons why I think that was done was to emphasize the lyrics and the power of his voice at that part. 

Does the video follow the story of the song or reinterpret it in a new way?

I heard this song first before watching the video so for me personally I think it does follow the story but it also interprets it in a new way. For example, the lyrics, and music of the song are kind of motivational (definitely a song I could work out to) and the video shows people on bikes which is also motivational to exercise to. However, before watching this video I didn't imagine the video being anything like that, but I definitely think it made me interpret in a way that focused on the empowerment of mankind and how cool it is to see so many people doing something together. I think that idea was an important part of this song and I got that message after watching this video.

My name is Makenzie Connors and I am a Junior majoring in Graphic Design and minoring in Marketing. I always loved drawing, but when I was about 13 I realized I had a true passion for it. When I got to college, I decided that I wanted to choose a path for my career where I could continue to use my creative ability, which is when I decided that Graphic Design was the perfect route for me. I enjoy drawing: especially people and in a manga style. I also love to play video games: especially The Legend of Zelda Games. I also try my best to workout when I can even though it can be hard since I have a pretty busy schedule. A few years ago, I realized I had a passion for something else called cosplay. Cosplay is where people dress up from different shows, movies, video games, etc. and attend conventions such as Comic Con, Anime Central, and Anime Midwest. Speaking of which, anime is my favorite type of shows/ movies to watch. My favorite shows are One Piece, Fairy Tail, and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood among other anime series.

If I could make any media without restrictions, it would be to become an animator for Disney, move to Japan and create anime series, or learn to use video game characters and video game design. When I graduate, I would really like to work for a company doing web design. I do not think that I will want to do that forever, but I do enjoy that and I think it will be a good place to start. I am interested in making media because it combines technical and creative skills. I enjoy creating things and coming up with new and innovative ideas but I also love learning new skills that allow me to execute my ideas. I am looking forward to this class because I don't have any skills when it comes to directing, filming, and editing videos and I feel as though it will be fun and beneficial for me to learn.

P.S.- Here is my cat. His name is Zoro. :)