Cinematic narrative devices drive filmed entertainment. In Hollywood action films, the storytelling device of the countdown is often used to create tension. Whether it’s the timer of a bomb that is about to go off, or a finite period of time in which a character needs to complete a task, the countdown creates unease in the audience by referencing time and its fleetingness. In de-contextualizing the timer or countdown itself, and removing any tangible meaning of its implications, the viewer is presented with a cinematic device without a narrative to forward.