Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1464279
www.postmagazine.com 16 POST MAR/APR 2022 MAKING MUSIC VIDEOS Matching visuals with soundtrack-driven stories BY MARC LOFTUS Coldplay — Let Somebody Go In February, Coldplay debuted a new music video for Let Somebody Go, a track off the British ock band's 2021 album "Music of the Spheres." The song features Selena Gomez, and in the video, lead singer Chris Martin and Gomez are coming to the end of a relationship, sending them each into a confusing world inspired by the drawings of MC Escher and the Marvel Cinematic Universe — a world filled with n ver-ending staircases and kalei- doscopic perspectives. The video was directed by Dave Meyers and produced by Nathan Scherrer for Freenjoy. Francois Olivia Pron served as concept artist, setting the look for the project, whose visual effects were created by the team at Berkeley, CA's Tippett Studio (www.tippett.com), along with contributions from Studio City, CA's Mod (www.modvfx.com). While Tippett is well known for its commercial and long-form work, this project is among its fir t in the area of music videos. According to Tippett VFX supervisor Brad Fox, the studio came on board just two weeks before the shoot was to take place. "We had to get going very quickly," Fox recalls. "The director, Dave Meyers, Tippett Studio created the ambitious effects in this Coldplay video. M usic videos are known for their modest budgets and tight produc- tion timelines, which is why Coldplay's latest release, Let Somebody Go, is so unique. Loaded with visual effects that one might find i the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the project tapped Tippett Studio to create the stylized world — a task Tippett normally performs for features and commercials, and with considerably longer lead times. More on par with what the music video world is used to are releases from Alice Glass, Queen Kwong and Ian Flanigan. These videos were shot in just one or two days, with small-but-efficien crews, often capturing just single takes and finishing po t in the immediate days that followed. This month, Post looks at both ends of the spectrum, and how artists are employ- ing visuals to connect with audiences while sharing their soundtrack-driven stories.