A Ticking Clock in screenwriting or story telling is a device used to frame a story against a counting-down clock, typically in an effort to create suspense and a sense of urgency.

In the first act, the clock is established and can take a wide variety of forms, e.g., from a one-hour duration to the nine months of a pregnancy.  The clock usually expires at the end of the 2nd act, or in the 3rd act.  This device makes it easy for the audience to understand the order of the story, and can add to create urgency and sympathy with the players in the story.

A special visual technique used to enhance storytelling (such as computer animation, slow motion, or time-lapse photography).

The recording of a performance by means of video camera and videotape.

The way in which the components of a story relate to each other and to the story as a whole so that it makes overall emotional or thematic sense.