Music Video Analysis: Coldplay — Paradise
From the outset, you can clearly make out that the video is mainly a narrative that focuses on a man in an elephant suit, played by Chris Martin, the lead singer of Coldplay. But, towards the end, there are shots of the band playing the song at a concert.
The first shot is of the African Savannah in which there are trees and herds of animals moving at the bottom. The warm colour tone conveys that the song is very upbeat. I love how the song title is shown in a big, dark and bold font in the lightest part of the screen.
The next shot is the first time we see our elephant, locked up in what seems to be a zoo. In the next few shots, we see him counting the days he’s been without his friends and then escaping from the zoo. He is then chased by the police as he escapes on a bicycle and enters the London Underground.
I love how the video focuses on using a lot of Point of View shots, that help in the viewer feeling like a part of the video.
Then there are shots of the elephant holding up cardboard pieces with the lyrics written on them that are in sync with the song. This adds a really nice aspect to the entire video.
There is a shot of what seems to be a map and the words “Heathrow Airport” can be seen very apparently. This suggest that the character is travelling to the airport.
There is this really beautiful shot inside the airplane, where the camera is placed on the floor of the aisle, and in the foreground you can see the character picking up nuts, and in the background you can see a member of the cabin crew walking away. The imagery created is really beautiful and the viewer’s focus is drawn exactly where the video had intended to.
Then there are a few landscape shots, followed by the elephant dancing in the streets, to the song with his cardboard lyrics in order to earn some money. The composition of these shots is beautiful, as the background of the colourful wall with graffiti remains stable, while the character moves along dancing.
The character is then shown using the money he earned, to buy a bicycle. The shopkeeper nods his head, and points towards a unicycle, thus suggesting that he doesn’t have enough money.
We then see the elephant riding the unicycle in picturesque landscapes. These shots are used to draw attention to the aesthetically pleasing imagery in the background, such as mountains and large fields. There is a shot of the man removing the elephant suit’s head in order to take a breath. This is the first time where it is revealed that Chris Martin is the man in the suit.
Then in the climax of the video, there is a focus pull to 3 other men in elephant suits (the 3 other members of Coldplay) that are playing musical instruments. We see all of them jumping around in joy, showing that they have finally been reunited.
I love how the expressions on the faces of the elephant suit are static and can’t be changed, but how, just by the imagery and the actions of the characters, the emotions and mood can be felt.
Then, as the guitar solo comes in, the video changes to the shots of the concert, where we see that the band members still have parts of the elephant suit on.
Coldplay concerts are known to be a visual treat, as they use lights and various other visual elements that are very vivid and bold. This helps in showing how playful the music video really is.
We then see a shot of all 4 of them running in slow motion where the video finally fades to black.
In conclusion, I’d like to summarize my perception of the message conveyed by the song.
At first, we see an elephant trapped in a zoo, who escapes to his home — Africa. Once he gets there he can finally take a breath of fresh air, in the place where he is free. Where he is himself. Then he finds his friends. They all are happy because they are free and where they belong. I think that the comparison the band is making of the elephants to themselves is that, like elephants belong where they are free and with their friends, Coldplay belongs on the stage with their audience.
You can see the music video here- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1G4isv_Fylg
