Music Video Full Analysis- Twenty One Pilots, Heathens
The video opens on an establishing shot of a flooded plane of ground with what can either be seen as a military base but due to the bars is more likely a prison. Due to the isolation of the prison that we are shown within this shot it is most likely a high security prison suggesting danger within.
The following shot of the sign which says 'Welcome to Belle Reve'. Belle Reve in the DC comics (suicide squad the film of which this song is part of the soundtrack is part of the DC universe) is a prison facility used to contain 'metahuman' criminals. However in French "Belle Reve" means a 'beautiful dream'. The sign also features the words 'till death do us part' and de-pics the Grim Reaper behind bars. The sign also says 'special security barracks' confirming the location of the video. The sign also features a snake and a flur-de-lys. Snakes represent creative life, rebirth, transformation and healing. They are also connected to vegnefullness and vindictiveness. The flur-de-lys symbolizes enlightenment and the US army have been known to use the symbol to identify martial power and strength.
The camera pans forward past a shot of other prisoners hands onto a mid shot of tyler being brought into the prison . At this point the editing has been flowing at a smooth, slow pace. The music begins playing and the diegetic sound of police sirens and chatter stops.The cutting pace is still slow, this suggests that this is a smooth and chilled song on the most part. The cuts then take place when the piano chords change. There is also a strange noise which is accompanied by the flickering of Tyler from reality and what we are led to believe is his imagination.
This is where we first see Josh. The lighting has changed to a bright glow of yellow which symbolises hope, optimism, honour and loyalty. It can also symbolise deceit. The cuts are typically slow only speeding up when accompanying the flickering noise. Later this changes and starts to cut with Josh's drum beat.
Tyler touches his neck which is widely known to the fan base to symbolise his insecurities. I like how Tyler is back-lit here as it adds a sense of anticipation and a sense of danger. As he comes into the light it is hugely symbolic of him 'seeing the light' having a realization of his crimes maybe?
Tyler then has his orange prison jumpsuit stripped from him revealing a yellow suit beneath (continuing with the theme of yellow).
As the pair are a band and you can hear the instruments throughout the song the performance aspect if key to this video and is cleverly linked in to the narrative. The prisoners are realised into the room where they are performing and Tyler grabs his neck again which could symbolize his insecurity of being liked by his fans/viewers.
They gain confidence when they realise the crowd are enjoying their music. This is reflected by the cutting rate increasing considerably compared to the rest of the video. Before returning to its normal pace along with the pace of the song. We then enter the 'epilogue'. The music fades out as an alarm sound fades in. This is paired with a tracking out of Tyler alone (without Josh) sat on the floor surrounded by guns, back in his jumpsuit.
Overall the video relfects the edgey nature of the film it was written for. However the symbolism leads us to believe that possibly Tyler's 'character' killed Josh and misses his friend. Personally I really like the hidden narrative within the video and that if you look deep enough the information is all there.