'One Shot Wonder' Music Video

'Yellow' by the British Alternative rock band 'Coldplay', was written for the band's debut album Parachutes in 2000. The lyrics of the song are a reference to vocalist Chris Martin's unrequited love. The song is known for its emotion and rawness, whilst still considered one of the band's best songs. 

The video is minimalistic, featuring only Chris singing as he walks along the beach near the water's edge. The raincoat and his hair wet suggest that it had just rained and we see a gradual build in colour throughout the song, before ending on a shot of sunlight. The video is one continuous shot ('one-shot wonder') with no cuts, with the entire sequence in slow motion. This simple however very effect Music Video is what has granted it with an Iconic status. 

Initially the video was envisioned to be shot in a sunny setting, featuring all 4 band members. However, The funeral of drummer Will Champion's mother was held on the day of the shooting, which was also the immediate explanation of his mood during this part. Perhaps, this style reconsideration was for the best as it depicts the 'britishness' of the band and the song. 

In order for lip-syncing to work due to the slow motion editing of the video, Vocalist Chris Martin sung the song at double speed so that the audio and visual content would be synchronised. However this is a popular component in music videos, slow motion beautifully illustrates the emotion of the song intended within the lyrics. 

Theorist Consideration: Andrew Goodwin's theory of key features found within Music Videos are exercised here. 

1. Genre characteristics are put on show by the use of a very minimalistic performance during the duration of the video. 

2. If the whole band were to have been featured like it had first been envisioned, it is likely that the record label would have expected director duo James Frost and Alex to commit to predominately soloing Martin with a wide array of Close-up and Mid shots. You can assume a narrative featuring Martin may have also played out, between intercutting with the performance band shots.

3. Because of the minimalism of the video, it is impossible to comment on any more of Goodwin's features. Whereas, it is worth mentioning that Coldplay did develop a minimalist-style of video across their work.