The Mission: The thoroughly modern music of Coldplay’s fourth album,<a href="http://weareresident.com/webrefs/coldplay/vivalavida.html.> Viva la Vida, is reconnecting audiences to Romantic era artistry with its visuals. The creative studio Resident (www.weareresident.com) was the ideal visual FX resource to translate the band’s vision into reality, with their classically-inspired work on the highly anticipated Hype Williams-directed video for the record’s stirring title track.
The video marks the latest in Resident’s long string of collaborations with Williams that includes recent videos for Kanye West, Mary J. Blige, and Jay-Z. The in-demand director knew that the international talent roster of Resident, which is capable of wielding a distinctly European approach, would be able to meet Coldplay’s exacting standards within extremely tight deadlines.
SEE THE VIDEO HERE: http://weareresident.com/webrefs/coldplay/vivalavida.html.
Making it Happen:
The cover of<a href="http://weareresident.com/webrefs/coldplay/vivalavida.html.> Viva la Vida pays homage to the classic 1830 Eugene Delacroix painting, Liberty Leading the People, a landmark work that encapsulates the passion of revolution. After attending the NYC green screen video shoot, followed by a close consultation with Coldplay and Williams, Resident set out to capture the feel of 19th Century Romanticism and seamlessly recast it in a 2008 context.
“After meeting with Hype, we knew we had to stay in keeping with the color palette of Romanticism – dark browns, reds, yellows and dense black,” says Gregory de Maria, Art Director of Resident. “We created visual FX in line with that look, creating a kind of live-action motion painting that gave the effect of a subtly moving background. The song is very dynamic and powerful, so a subtle sense of motion was important. Sometimes you don’t see it as much as feel it, but if our work was too static it would have slowed down the rhythm of the edit.”
Technical Perspective:
In the emotionally engaging “Viva la Vida” video Coldplay delivers another one of their trademark performances, as lead singer Chris Martin and his bandmates play the song while dressed in Delacroix era-inspired attire. A “cracked painting” surface treatment, rich background swirls of brush-and-paint color, and myriad other subtle motion effects by Resident provide viewers with plenty of unique texture and movement throughout.
While de Maria and his team applied their mastery of advanced programs such as After Effects to achieve their results, de Maria points out that CGI expertise is only half the battle. “It’s one thing to push the button on a painting effect in a plug-in,” de Maria points out. “It’s something else entirely to make it work. Hype Williams knew that Resident could bring a truly organic look to a video shot against green screen, and we created a highly artistic environment around Coldplay in a very short amount of time.”
About Resident:
Resident is a globally-influenced visual effects boutique. Based in downtown New York City, its international team of designers creates photorealistic CG, motion graphics, and complete production services to broadcast and multimedia producers. Founded in 2007, Resident’s clients have included Avon, Heineken, Verizon, Pepsi, Febreze, Max Factor, Time Warner, and Vitamin Water. Music Videos include Kanye West, Jay Z, Kenna and Lupe. For more information, please visit www.weareresident.com.
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