Analysis of a rock music video

This is my analysis of the music video for 'Time Bomb' by All Time Low. This is a promotional music video for the band because it shows them throughout the whole video playing their own song.


At the beginning of the music video, close-ups of the band members preparing to play the song are shown to the audience. The viewers may not know who the band is so this is a lead up to when they finally show a long shot of the whole band as the music has reached a climax.


The music video is also showing cut aways to the two characters that are involved in a narrative, which is told through the music video. This gives more meaning to the song and the music video instead of only the band performing for the whole video.


Once the lyrics start, we can see that the lead singer has started singing. This is typical in a rock music video because we can see who is performing and which one of the band members is the lead singer, even though in the long shot showing the whole band, he was at the front.


Throughout the whole music video, there are close ups of the other band members performing. This ensures that the video has a variety of shot lengths which makes it more interesting to watch.


The mise-en-scene shows the genre of rock in the music video through the use of dark costumes and low-key lighting. The band members are wearing black and the character is also wearing black. Outside, where the band is performing, the background shows dusk and the room where the character is working and where the soldiers are also show very dark backgrounds.


As the chorus picks up, the editing gets faster showing the change in tempo of the music. More shots of the band are shown, however, there are still cuts back to the character who is part of the concept.


The actions of the characters are in time to the beat of the music which is shown when the soldier shoots his gun just as the chorus picks up again.


As the music slows down, the urgency of the characters in the video is reduced because he has found the girl and he knows that he can save her. The mood of the video changes and becomes calmer and the audience knows that everything will be alright for the two characters.


The two characters are running out into the same location as the band which shows that the song and the concept are linked together, which is typical of most rock videos.


The audience are now shown what the true concept of this video is; the girl has a power inside of her, maybe given to her by the boy and the soldiers think that it would be a danger to society. It is typical for the true concept to be shown at the end of the music video so that the audience finally understands what is going on.