2. Introduction
• The music video I am analysing is Paradise by
Coldplay, directed by Mat Whitecross. The
video goes against a few points made by
Andrew Goodwin in Dancing in the Distraction
Factory although it still follows the
conventions of a pop/rock music video, such
as a live performance and having a
relationship between the visuals and lyrics,
but enacts the narrative in a quirky and
comical way.
3. Lyrics and plot
• The lyrics of the song talks about the subject wanting to
find paradise in the world, which is amplified by the visuals
which the music video shows. The visual images shows an
elephant (the main singer, Chris Martin in costume)
escaping from captivity before he is seen in London. This is
expressed by the quick-cuts of the location in London, most
predominantly the zoom-in to the London Underground
sign, followed by the elephant’s journey to the train.
Between the process of going down to the underground,
there are jump cuts to the elephant busking in the station,
moving distances from the lens of the screen whilst holding
up the lyrics to the song simultaneously, replacing the
absent lip-syncing.
4. Lyrics and plot
• Whilst on the underground, the elephant goes to
Heathrow airport and flies to an unknown location,
where he later comes across three other elephants
who look the same as him, playing instruments to
make up the four-piece which they are known to be. As
a result of this, it is clear that the lyrics of the song
helps to describe the journey the band-mates have
been on, comparing it to “paradise”. As well as
amplifying the lyrics of the song, by the use of unique
scenarios and cartoon like costumes, the music video
has a comical feel which helps to widen their audience
and break the typical rock music stereotype.
5. Editing
• The video cuts to the beat of the music, most
notably towards the end of the video. Here the
band are performing live in front of a crowd,
however they still have the elephant heads on
and therefore only the instruments can be seen.
Throughout the song, there are no quick cuts in
the latter part however the first part of the song
is quickly cut to show the chaos of the situation
as the elephant tries to flee to his paradise. As a
result of this, excitement builds for the main
character as the viewers see the elephant leave
captivity and search for a better life in the wild.
6. Costume
• The use of costumes in the music video means that there are no
close ups of the band-members faces. But due to the characters
wearing friendly costumes, a rapport is still able to be created
between the artists and the audience. Even though the band’s faces
are absent, the use of live performances helps the audience to
understand that the four elephants are Coldplay, and therefore
although their faces cannot be seen – the true identity of the
elephants are known. The unique video helps the marketing for the
video, as no video would have the same comical values. But, the
lyrics of the song are similar to other Coldplay songs. For example,
the line “Every tear a waterfall” is almost identical to Coldplay’s hit
song “Every teardrop is a waterfall”. This similarity is another factor
which helps the fans of the band consolidate their understanding
that the video is one of Coldplay’s without the artists featuring in it.
7. Mise-en-scene
• Due to the use of cuddly costumes being used in
the music video, Coldplay are steering away from
the heavy beats of the image, whilst also making
the notion of looking in a sexualised way very
hard. As well as breaking this convention or key
feature, no close-ups are performed in this video
with the effect of the shot being felt, due to the
covering over the performer’s faces. But, the long
shots of the four members makes it clear to the
audience that the elephants are the bandmates,
despite not showing their faces.
8. Performance base
• The video shows a mixture of performance,
narrative based and live performances. The
narrative tells the story of Coldplay joining as a
band, going from busking in the streets in the
narrative based, joining together as a four-piece
band as shown in the music video performance,
followed by the final shots of the elephants
performing in a sell-out stadium concert which
shows their climax as they reach “paradise” and
therefore helps to consolidate the amplification
of the lyrics.
9. Conclusion
• Overall, the music video goes against many
conventions of features of a rock music video
but manage to use their fan base and
reputation to their advantage. With the
audience recognising their story as a narrative,
as well as the intertextual references to other
Coldplay songs, it is evident that despite the
anonymity the characters are Coldplay.
