On the same day, the band released a music video in which the members use props to create optical illusions, reflecting the song's description of a relationship that fails because the couple has different points of view.

[1] OK Go frontman Damian Kulash said "The Writing's on the Wall" was written around "that moment in a relationship when you realize it’s coming to an end and that it’s inevitable", where there is the "feeling of having something coalesce and fall apart, like chaos and order".

The band spent a lot of time working on the bass parts sounding distorted, which were re-tracked with a Music Man StingRay.

"[3] The four-minute video is shot in a single take using a hand-held Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH4 camera mounted in a stabilizing Fig Rig frame, moved about by members of OK Go and assistants through a warehouse with about 28 stations consisting of everyday objects mounted on supports, clothing worn by the band, and painted walls and floors of the warehouse in specific arrangements.

[8][5] The video for "The Writing's on the Wall" was co-directed by Kulash along with Aaron Duffy and Bob Partington, creative personnel from the Special Guest and 1st Ave Machine agencies, respectively.

[9][8] The illusions were tied to the theme of the song, as described by Rolling Stone, "a pre-break-up report from a relationship in which two people keep seeing things in different ways".

[10][5] The film was arranged to put most of these complicated shots where mistakes would be made at the front of the video to reduce the amount of time to reset the warehouse for subsequent takes.

[13] The band released "The Writing's on the Wall" alongside three other songs as the Upside Out EP on June 17, 2014, as a teaser for Hungry Ghosts.

Roberts Randall, writing for The Los Angeles Times, said the song's melody has a New Order feel,[15] while Chris Conaton of Popmatters called it "catchy, with a compelling vocal performance from Damien Kulash and a strong lyrical premise".