30 Seconds To Mars - A Beautiful Lie

A Beautiful Lie is the second album by American rock band 30 Seconds to Mars. It was released on August 30, 2005 through Virgin Records. The music video was shot in August 2007 in Greenland. The video was meant to be similar to a short film/documentary, showing the importance of global warming. Jared (the main singer) said that the video would be environmentally safe and for every download of the video, the money would go to an environmental charity. The video itself, features hidden frames of coal emissions into the environment, dead animals and a cemetery of white crosses.

There are some really interesting shots used within this music video, one of which is the match being lit at the beginning. The close up of this really emphasises the aim of the song and has strong connotations of global warming. The lit match is perhaps meant to represent the destruction of the earth. The shot is particularly effective in establishing the plot of the music video and contrasts in colour to the majority of the music video, as it is quite a dark and eerie shot. Although the shots of the band members in Greenland are quite extreme and lots of panning shots are used to portray the location, it is still effective in emphasising the message of the song. This will be something that I will need to think about when storyboarding my music video, to ensure that the video fits in with the song and explains the message of the song.

There are lots of really clever and interesting shots used of the band members playing, with a range of shots of them and their musical instruments. In particular, long shots of silhouettes of the band members are used, which is effective in creating interesting shapes against the stunning backdrop in Greenland.

The use of natural lighting really adds to the overall video and emphasises their silhouettes well. There are also lots of close ups of the band member's faces and the use of side and key lighting in these shots portrays the anger in the faces. The darkness within the shots as well, provides a mysterious element to the music video. One particular shot that was quite interesting, was a blurred shot of the lead singer's face coming into focus. This again adds to message of the song, about a lie coming into light. The elements of the use of lighting and also different shot types are definitely something that I will consider including in my music video as they provide another interesting aspect of the video and creates a natural atmosphere within the video.

One particular technique that was used in the music video, was slow motion shots. These were extremely effective in emphasising the anger of the band and it established the mood of the song well. The shots also allow the audience to focus in on the band members and their costume and makeup, which is quite gothic in appearance. There appearance contrasts a lot to the location of the music video, perhaps portraying a negative view of humanity within nature. There is also another point, nearer the end of the video, where a drop of blood splashes onto the ice. This is could be a symbol of the 'lie'. The close up shot is clever in emphasising the symbol. When storyboarding my own music video, I will look at using a symbol, to signify an important theme or element in the song. However, the music video does end with a long shot of the beautiful location, leaving the video on a high. This emphasises the original purpose of the song and music video.