analysis of video by Coldplay (fix you)

Analysis of Video by Coldplay (fix you)

Coldplay - fix you
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1. Narrative- the narrative structure of this video is obviously linear. We follow the central artist on a journey to his performance with the other band members (This is unknown to us at the beginning of the video) The central artist sings of not being able to achieve or succeed in almost everything you do which makes this song quite depressing but in the end there is hope “lights will guide you home and ignite your bones; I will try to fix you”. There is a very strong link between the narrative and the lyrics. They both start of very depressed but end on a high note. The video starts off with the central artist wandering around aimlessly and lifeless but draws to an end of him running to his performance full of life and performing with his band to a huge crowd. I had to think really hard about this and I have come to the conclusion that there is a strong amplified link between the video and the song. This video adds more meaning to the song without contradicting the lyrics. It starts of depressed and almost lifeless but ends on an exhilarating note.

2. Genre- Once you think of Coldplay you think of rock. This song is alternative rock. Meaning soft rock. The video has got characteristics of rock. At the end we see the band which consisted of the drummer, the main singer, the guitarist, the pianist. The intensified sound of the drums and electric guitar adds the rocky feel to both video and song. The setting and lighting also contributes to it being a rock video. The band is on stage, dark surrounding red lights. Soft rock takes aspects of rock and tones them down which is exactly what this video does. The artists all have short hair or no hair; they are dressed in a range in style of outfits (e.g. suit and tie, jeans, casual biker jacket, long sleeved shirt) which all stick to one colour. Black.

3. Representation- The band is represented as cool.
4. Media Language- At the beginning of the video the edit is very slow paced. Signifies time in a realistic way. A drag. The camera zooms in to the central artist and moves with him. There is a lot of close ups on the central artist which lets us no he is the lead singer. The edit changes with the beat sometimes and other times at the end of a sentence so we don’t notice exactly when it changes making the edits all flow together. E.g. edit speeds up just a little when the sound of the piano is added on then goes back to being slow. You don’t notice it if you don’t pay attention to it but my point is that it flows. A fast paced edit right at the end with a mix of long shots, birds eye view shots, close up, zooming in. Which all add to the upbeat feel.

The central artist tries to connect with the audience by looking straight into the camera. This creates the effect which is the audience feel as if the person on TV is speaking directly to them.