This video was based on the 1980’s film ‘The Shining’, recreating scenes to fit in with the video. This is evident throughout the video as scenes are copied from the movie to fit in with the song. When they walk into the hotel they pick up a letter that reads, ‘stay out of room 6277’. These numbers were picked because if you type them out on a telephone keypad they spell out Mars. At 0:39 the music song starts to play showing the performance side of the song. Not listening to the warning, to stay out of room 6277 they open it and this is when things start to get peculiar. At 1:25 the music stops and ‘ONE WEEK LATER’ appears on screen. Following ‘The Shining’ narrative, this is the time when everything is supposed to turn weird/creepy. Letters are seen that have been written by the lead singer saying ‘this is who I really am’ (part of the song lyrics), over and over again, linking into ‘The Shining’ when Jack Nicholson's character types up pages and pages of the same line, ‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy’. There are several other similarities between this video and ‘The Shining’ such as, when one of the band members encounters the woman in the bathroom of room 6277, another member is served drinks at the bar by an apparition and they both finish in an elegant ballroom. Each member experiences the effects of the room differently; however, one thing remains constant for them all; they each encounter a tuxedoed version of themselves.At the end of the video you finally realise that the few scenes of performance is of the apparitions singing in the ballroom, whilst throughout the video they have each been shown separately performing on the guitar, bass, drums or singing. You can also see that everyone else who is in the hall also has their own apparition.
The edits again are quite simple; however the shots are widely ranged. Close-ups are used when the lead singer is singing so that you just see his face and not the surroundings, so as to not give the storyline away. Zooms are used a few times to bring your focus in to something that will later be revealed in the video, for example, there is a zoom into the door 6277 which you find out is the source of everything happening. Sound effects are used whenever the music stops at several parts throughout the video. These sounds make the moment eerie and spooky. Medium shots are used when following a certain band member throughout the hotel to see what he is getting up to. Panning shots are also used for the same reason. The mise-en-scene is quite simple and is to fit in with the conventions of a hotel, or whatever point it is at the video. At the beginning the hotel is tidy and each band member looks like there from a rock band. Further through the video, the hotel looks a bit more untidy, with food wrappings, cups etc. on the floor, and at the end when they are in the ballroom, hangings are on the wall to make the place more sophisticated and all the dancers are wearing either gowns or tuxedoes.
The edits again are quite simple; however the shots are widely ranged. Close-ups are used when the lead singer is singing so that you just see his face and not the surroundings, so as to not give the storyline away. Zooms are used a few times to bring your focus in to something that will later be revealed in the video, for example, there is a zoom into the door 6277 which you find out is the source of everything happening. Sound effects are used whenever the music stops at several parts throughout the video. These sounds make the moment eerie and spooky. Medium shots are used when following a certain band member throughout the hotel to see what he is getting up to. Panning shots are also used for the same reason. The mise-en-scene is quite simple and is to fit in with the conventions of a hotel, or whatever point it is at the video. At the beginning the hotel is tidy and each band member looks like there from a rock band. Further through the video, the hotel looks a bit more untidy, with food wrappings, cups etc. on the floor, and at the end when they are in the ballroom, hangings are on the wall to make the place more sophisticated and all the dancers are wearing either gowns or tuxedoes.
The album cover portrays quite well the genre of the band. The two colours used are red and white, with small red writing for the words ‘THIRTYSECONDSTO’, and then in large font the word ‘MARS’. Instead of the name of the band being along the top like most are, this one has been put along the left hand side with opposite side featuring the album title, ‘A Beautiful Lie’, which is an oxymoron fitting in with the band genre as it sounds dark and a little twisted, and a picture of two skulls, again enhancing the fact this is a rock band.
This poster has a lot of similarities with the album cover which makes it easier to relate them. The same title is used, with ‘THIRTYSECONDSTO’ in small writing and then ‘MARS’ underneath it in a large size. The surrounding of the poster is in black which doesn’t fit in with the album cover however the middle of picture is all in red which does. The picture is also taken in a bedroom which could possibly fit in with ‘The Kill’ video because of the whole hotel theme. Altogether, the poster reflects the band genre rock as it is all dark and eerie and the band members are all in dark leather jackets looking extremely rock.
I think the target audience for this band is again teenagers, 16+. The age range could be wider than any of the new rock bands about as the band members are a lot older, however, the majority of rock listeners are young adults. Particularly for this video, I think the target audience would have to be someone who likes to watch a thriller movie; otherwise they wouldn’t get the songs storyline. Again, as it is an all male band, possibly more males would be more into this band than females.
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