New Music Video Analysis: The Scientist

Coldplay's music video to the scientist is one that definitely sticks in my mind as an incredibly imaginative and creative video. It is definitely thought provoking and leaves people thinking. This, in my opinion, is one of the things that music videos should aim to do - evoke a response from their target audience and fans.

 

The music video starts with a close up shot of the lead singer, Chris Martin, with his arm above his head in an uncomfortable looking position. The fact that immediately, we as the audience get this close up position allows us to feel closer to the group and immediately empathise and begin to relate to his actions and the lyrics of the song. The blue of his eyes is emphasized and made to stand out more by the blue background behind him, and makes the audience want to focus more on the character and how he's feeling throughout the video.

 



We then see the main character, with a long shot, central to the image laying on the same blue item we saw before. However we then learn that it is a blue mattress in the middle of a street which he is laying on. This gives us the immediate impression that he is mentally unstable as he is laying in the middle of the street. From this moment, the audience are wondering whether to trust him and what he speaks, as it is clear he is unhappy or unstable



We then see the lead singer, Chris, fly upwards from the mattress and a boy on a bicycle go backwards. From this we are able to infer that the video is moving backwards. And the events that we are watching unfolding have previously happened. For example pressing rewind on a TV show is the same effect we are getting – the only difference is that the lead singer is singing to us as if it was happening in present. This effect is extremely intelligent and gives an interesting video, as we are all watching to discover what got him to the state of the blue mattress. Upon searching the internet for how the video was made I have found that the director had a lot of vision for how he wanted the video to go. Jamie Thraves directed the video, and had the idea when he heard the ballad and its lyrics “take me back to the start”. When hearing this he said “ I had this idea that I wanted to do a story that’s tragic but starts off and ends happy”. Chris Martin took the prospect of the video to the extreme and set himself a month to learn the lyrics to ‘The Scientist’ backwards. This is how the video is so creative and effective, as although the narrative of the story in the video is backwards, we are still receiving the lyrics normally.

 

 

 

 

We see Chris, later on in the video, walking along trainlines – in the backward motion aforementioned. The long shot is used which gives him the sense of unimportance, and also makes him appear small amongst the many possible “paths” he could take. Train lines symbol danger, and possibility, which we later on in the music video learn foreshadowed the danger and destruction that occurred. By having the long shot of chris amongst the lines could show how he arguably wanted to end his life after the traumatic event that we discover later on. Or perhaps due to the fact he loses an important person in his life, it could mean he feels unable to go on. Or careless as to what happens to him, hence he is fine to walk across the train lines. It could also suggest his confused state of mind at the time, and the impact that the trauma had on him.

A mid shot is used of Chris in the middle of a wood, where the background is dark suggesting night. The woods, which alike the train lines could represent danger show how Chris doesn’t care whether he is in dangerous situations after what has happened.  The tree he is next to, which once may have suggested new life and hope, when faced in the darkness could suggest death and concern.

Chris is shown to still be in the woods the next day – or the previous day – as it is light and clearly day time. This shows he was in the forest for a long period of time, highlighting his confused and dazed state of mind. He also is shown to be wearing a jacket, which he threw on the floor before.

There is then a clear shot of a woman, who’s feet are about to go back through a smashed car. This is the pivotal moment when the audience is able to infer what happens and the dark tones of the music begin to make sense. It strikes empathy for the protagonist, Chris, as he has clearly lost his girlfriend in this car crash – as she has fallen through the front window onto the floor. This shot is effective as we see the stages where everything went wrong for Chris, and why he is feeling dazed and confuse ( because he has just been in a horrible car crash). The shot definitely evokes emotion in the audience, which is what a music video should aim to do. The actual video begins to fit the tone of the song and everything we have previously witnessed makes sense. The lyrics “it’s such a shame for us to part” clearly shows Chris’ thoughts and feelings about the loss of his girlfriend and further makes the audience sad for him.

The final shot, of Chris and his girlfriend sat laughing in the car is a more positive note for the video to end on, like what Jamie Thraves intended.  The two shot shows their relationship to be happy and Chris to be content. The music which goes with this is a serious of “ooh” sounds which create a cheerful feel to the end of the sad song. The ending also very clearly relates to the lyrics “take me back to the start” as at the beginning of his day he was perfectly happy with his loving girlfriend before everything unfortunately deteriorated when he became involved in a car crash.