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Scene 1 from Coldplay's 
"Speed of Sound" music video.
Image courtesy of a52.
Click on thumbnail for 72dpi image. 
300 dpi version here.

Scene 2 from Coldplay's 
"Speed of Sound" music video.
Image courtesy of a52.
Click on thumbnail for 72dpi image. 
300 dpi version here.

Scene 3 from Coldplay's 
"Speed of Sound" music video.
Image courtesy of a52.
Click on thumbnail for 72dpi image. 
300 dpi version here.

Scene 4 from Coldplay's 
"Speed of Sound" music video.
Image courtesy of a52.
Click on thumbnail for 72dpi image. 
300 dpi version here.

Contacts:
Roger Darnell
DWA for a52
1.828.264.8898

For Immediate Release

HOLLYWOOD – Jun. 3, 2005 – Emmy Award-winning Los Angeles visual effects company a52 today announced details of their visual effects work for Anonymous Content director Mark Romanek for Coldplay’s new music video for “Speed of Sound.” The Times of London reports that the song – the first release from the band’s new EMI album “X&Y” which is due out on June 6 – is currently the world’s fastest-selling download.  The new music video debuted on MTV on May 23. 

 “The idea was to try and mirror the ecstatic nature of the band's music using light and color,” Romanek explained.  “The a52 team was extremely helpful in creating a consistency to the look of the piece, and in exploring some other aesthetic options.” 

“Mark knows exactly what he wants, and he knows what the Inferno can do better than a lot of effects artists in this town,” commented a52’s project visual effects supervisor and lead Inferno artist Pat Murphy.

Murphy then described beginning an exploratory phase on the project with Romanek which – as the edit got better and better at the hands of Rock Paper Scissors’ editor Adam Pertofsky – came to focus on specific lighting and color effects. 

Each section of the video has different moods to it,” Murphy said.  “The first section was a lot more easy-going and relaxed in its tone and quality.  We essentially left that the same as it came to us from Encore Hollywood’s colorist Mike Cosola.  As we got further into the song, Mark wanted to make the look stronger and more powerful.  There's an LED light-wall behind the band, and as the video progresses, the wall emanates different lights for different sections of the video.  We tweaked each section differently, sometimes hand-placing luminence but generally pumping-up the lighting and making the colors pop visually to match the edit and the look Mark wanted.”

Mark Romanek’s music videos have received numerous awards, including over twenty MTV awards, three Grammys, a Country Music Association award, and three Billboard Music Awards. Two of his music videos have become part of the permanent collection of New York's Museum of Modern Art. 

Faith Holmes is the project’s video producer for Parlophone EMI Records.  Aris McGarry produced the project for Anonymous Content, and long-time Romanek collaborator Harris Savides served as this project’s director of photography.  Additional editorial credits for the team at Rock Paper Scissors include executive producer Linda Carlson, producer Kelly Garcia and assistant editor Charlie Lee.

a52’s project team also included executive producer Mark Tobin, producers Scott Boyajan and Ron Cosentino, Flame artists Tim Bird and Justin Blaustein, and Inferno artist Ben Looram. 

The on-set animations were programmed and performed live during the shoot, utilizing the song's audio stems to drive all the generation parameters, creating unique visual waveforms that were mixed with original visual content created by V Squared Labs.  Synesthetic visual art was created by V Squared's Vello Virkhaus.  The LED screen was designed by Michael Keeling of Project X.  Show programming and visual playback was handled by Martin Philips.

About a52
Established in 1997 as a home for the very latest high-end photo-real visual effects technologies and the industry’s most innovative and talented graphic design artists, visual effects company a52 creates award-winning imagery for the world’s most visually ambitious commercial and television projects.  Having relocated to Santa Monica in 2007, the company’s work has earned AICP Show recognition for 11 consecutive years along with recent “Outstanding Commercial” Emmy, Andy, BDA, Belding, Clio, British Design and Art Direction, International Monitor, International Automotive Advertising, London International Advertising, One Show and PROMAX awards.  For more information, please call 1.310.586.0650 or visit www.a52.com.

QuickTime for
"Speed of Sound" Music Video






Scene 5 from Coldplay's 
"Speed of Sound" music video.
Image courtesy of a52.
Click on thumbnail for 72dpi image. 
300 dpi version here.

a52's Pat Murphy at work in 
his Autodesk Inferno suite.
Photo credit:  Kevin O'Hagan, a52.
Click on thumbnail for 72dpi image. 
300 dpi version here.