The music video begins with a low angle, establishing shot of city buildings which shows their dominance, showing how dangerous the city can be for the people within it, to a mid-shot of another set of buildings decelerating the height of the scene to a high angle shot of the traffic below to show the inferiority of the public. A mid shot of a man looking around, almost confused, shows that he will be the main focus of within the next few shots. A close up point of view shot reverse shot shows the man looking at passers’ by, particularly at their heads. A mid shot shows a man on the phone walking into the foreground with the confused man from the beginning walking past him into the background, creating a connection between the two.
A multiple series of fast paced shots builds up the tension as the confused man sprints toward the man speaking on the phone, leaving the audience eager as the man’s life is saved, reflecting the title of the song to then be shown a long shot of a bus driving past and the man on the phone flabbergasted as the man who saved his life runs off, denoting to the audience what he was in danger of.
A wide shot of the band followed by various different shots of each member establishes who the song is sung by as the music starts.
The same hand held mid shots used for the confused man at the beginning are now being used for the man who was just saved, showing the audience that from being saved, he now has the same actions as the man who saved him, creating an enigma for the audience and keeping them interested. An extreme long shot from a high angle shows the man still searching above other people’s heads but shows that he is the only one doing it, confirming that it is because his life was saved. After a close up of the lead singer and a mid shot of another band member as he looks down at his arm as the camera jump cuts to it to show a close up of his tattoo showing a name with the date of “2003”, clearing in memory of someone close to him. A tracking P.O.V shot shows the man travelling the streets as he continually searches people’s heads. Various fast paced shots occur as he tries to work out what’s wrong, making the audience empathise with him, as they are puzzled about mystery as well. A close up of the man’s face as he sits down on a bench and rubs his eyebrows shows his agitation and frustration, which by this point should be similar emotions that the audience is feeling. A woman sits down next to him, shown in a long, two shot which then cuts to yet again another P.O.V shot of the woman looking at him; however she has a countdown visible on the top of her head. The shot cuts back to the man reaching above her head, exactly the same way as he did with everyone else showing the audience that this is what he has be seeing the whole time.
Hand held P.O.V shots cut between shots of the band and shots of the main character that the audience has been following as he looks at the countdown above everyone else’s heads, still confused as to why he can see them or what they mean. A long P.O.V shot of a parked Ambulance and paramedics rushing into a building cuts between different shots of the band and close ups of the man’s expression, back to the paramedics bringing out an old woman.
A mid shot of the pensioner lying down show’s her countdown at the number “11.25” seconds and decreasing. This denotes to the man and the audience that the countdown is nearly at zero. As she is placed into the back of the ambulance, a mid P.O.V shot from her eyes shows the man running up to the doors of the ambulance, curious to see what will happen once the countdown finishes which then cuts back to a shot of his P.O.V, showing the countdown reach “0.00” and flickers away as her eyes close, connoting that the end of the countdown means the end of her life. A tracking P.O.V shot is shown as the ambulance drives off, the paramedics unaware that they are already too late.
A high angled P.O.V shot shows a woman with another timer, only this time it’s by her stomach, it’s only after closer inspection that it’s because she is pregnant and the timer belongs to her baby. A mid shot reverse shot from inside a shop window to behind the man shows that he is trying to look for his own countdown to which shows the audience that he is unable to see his own. Yet another P.O.V shot shows a long shot of a business woman walking toward her car with her number rapidly decreasing the closer she gets to it. A mid shot of the woman in the foreground and with a long shot with the man in the background shows him running toward her as she enters her car, replicating one of the first shots, where the confused man ran toward the man in the shot now, linking them together. After a few long shots, mid shots and a close up of an industrial piece of equipment falling onto the business woman’s car and her reaction toward it, a shot from her P.O.V shows the man walking off into the crowd with all of them having a countdown on their heads. This shows that she can now see what he saw, because of her being saved, concluding the story. The music video finalises with an establishing shot of the man walking down the street, tracking upwards to link the beginning of the music video with the ending, almost looping the two together to represent how continuous the events can be.
The editing for the music video begins with a fade in from black to almost a beginning or introduction to a story. Fast cut montages occur mostly throughout the early stages of the music video, creating atmosphere and building up the tension of the scene. It appears that the exposure and contrast of the shots have been increased to enhance the luminosity of the characters and the mystical aura that the story involves, also making the lightest features of the people and objects stand out and the shadows of them appear softer and smoother, bringing a calmer appearance to the video. The saturation seems to have been slightly decreased as well, making the setting look like a state of limbo. A CGI is used for the countdown to place them above people’s heads and angle them in the direction the head is pointing and showing that only the man can see it as there are no strings or objects used to hold them up. The same fast cut montages are used throughout the middle and ending scenes as well to echo the intensity of the situations being shown. The music video ends with a fade out to black, joining the beginning with it, giving another method of showing the possible loop and continuation between the two.
The setting of the main storyline is based in a busy city. Somewhere bustling with people and the central of the business district, where people are less aware of things around them. This location also contains many health hazards, a perfect place after understanding the meaning behind the story. Fast traffic, falling apparatus’ and the overcrowding of people are only a few of the issues within a busy city. The other location used would be the room where the band is as they sing the song. It’s a remote room in a high location, noticeable due to the lack of cars and windows passing by the windows. It has no wallpaper, carpet or lighting and the only furniture within it are the chairs and radiator being used by members of the band. Everything about the room is simple and minimal, to make sure that everything is natural, like the narrative, and prohibits the shots set in that location from taking any attention or importance away from the story.
The lighting being used throughout the music video is natural lighting, deliberately used to make everything look normal as the video is like a story based in an everyday location, relating it to the audience. It could possibly be used because of a low budget, but as this video is mostly based in an outside location, it is more likely to have been used as a natural lighting. The lighting within the room where the band is located is also lit due to the natural light. This shows simplicity and can also create a silhouette effect on the band members, creating dynamics and a powerful, masculine feel to their presence.
The first person seen in the video is a tanned man with dark hair, including facial hair, wearing a beige shirt, hat, jacket and trousers that are slightly scruffy and dirty, denoting someone of a lower social status and class, yet the repetitive use of the colour beige brings strangeness to this character. He is wearing many layers of clothing in an attempt to keep himself warm, clearly seen as the weather in the video looks slightly muggy and wet. The second main character seen is a Caucasian male, cleanly shaven, wearing a buttoned shirt and a large jacket with trousers, representing someone of a working class, relating to most everyday people and the majority of the audience watching the video. The band members are also wearing casual clothes to make everything realistic and simple. However, one of them is wearing ragged and ripped jeans whilst two others wear black clothing, conventional for member s of a rock band. The women with slightly smaller roles within the video (the pregnant lady, the pensioner and the business woman) are all wearing the colour grey. This could possibly be a coincidence or could also emphasize the simplicity or limbo like state of the location. This could be due to the slight de-saturation effect used in the video. The business woman has her hair tied up in a tight bun, showing her professional approach to everything yet she still cares for her appearance as well as her higher working class and status. She wears a matching skirt and blazer which emphasize her figure, with short heels to show her practicality yet fashion interest, stereotypical for a woman. This shows why her character walks strongly and rapidly, unaware of the dangers around her, just like others within the busy city life.
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