MUSIC VIDEO Eg3: Twenty One Pilots-Heathens

Artist: Twenty one Pilots
Album: Suicide Squad: The Album
Song: Heathens
Released: 2016
Genre: Rap Rock



This song was made for a movie and therefor the music video was made to fit with the movie. The music video contains clips from the movie as well as clips created for the music video. The main protagonist or antagonist in this case as he is an inmate is the lead singer of the band. He is sent to the same prison which the movie is based in.

The song starts of with the use of ambient sound and diegetic sounds that are most likely only in the video and not in the song. The video uses jumpy and fast editing to give the audience the impression that the main character is crazy. This is done throughout the video and is often done when the drum player is in a shot, making the audience not really knowing if  the drummer exists or of its a the singer just seeing things.

There is a cool editing technique used when the singer is looking in the cell at the drummer but then every think flashes except the singer and he is in the cell. This is used to give the impression that he is insane.

Twenty One Pilots makes music in the genre of alternative hip hop and indie pop rock. The TA for this is teenagers or young adults. This is why they got a deal to make the song Heathens for the movie Suicide Squad because the TA for the movie is the same as the band. The colors used start of really dark because it fits with the movie genre. The mise-en-scene in the video is very convincing to create the location of the prison. When you first see the drummer the colors change to follow a more light hearted theme.

As he walks on the stage his jumpsuit rip of to reveal a mustered yellow suit jacket, the band is also standing on a light platform to lighten up the mood as the music gets more intense.  The editing also increases in pace to fit with the increased pace of the song. As the band is playing both hand held shots are used from an inmates POV and cuts to a tracking shot.

As the music video ends the camera slowly movie away from the main singer sitting on the floor when the camera is close the color of his jump suit is mustered yellow but in changes unnoticeable to orange. The colors also revert back to the dark colors as the guards surround him and the sound of the alarm can be heard.