Music Video analysis 5 - Paradise

I have chosen to evaluate Coldplay's hit 'Paradise' as there genre is simliar to that of Of Monsters and Men, which is Alternative. What makes this video eye catching is the fact that there is a person dressed in an elephant costume walking around places like the London underground and Heathrow airport. As Coldplay is one of the biggest bands on the planet there budget would be big so that they can film in places such as the African plaines and tropical islands and so by using many establishing shots, the audience see's some beautiful pictures. This video is unusual because seeing a man dressed in an elephant costume walking around is not something you would not normally see but for this video the 'weirdness' works in its favour because people want to understand what is happening and so will see it through till the end. As the elephant doesn't have any changing facial expressions close ups are very rarely used and so mid shots and long shots are the more frequent seen in this video because the viewer can see how this character is feeling by his body language, for example when the elephant shakes the cage the audience can tell that he is frustrated and wants to get out. Another aspect of the video which works well is the relationship between the pace of the music and the pace of the takes, so when the music is slow and calm the audience see's longer takes and then when the music picks up pace, shorter takes are then used. Lastly what also makes this video a success is that it is aimed at all audiences and so more people will watch and spend money on this song.

Even though the video appears unusual, the audience still understand a story through this 'elephant' which is that he is trying to find love and is going many miles to find it and in the end he does, which would please the audience as everyone loves a happy ending. And so this is similar to what i want to do in my music video as i want to tell a story and not necessarily through the characters facial expression but through the environment and the situation.