How Raman Djafari animated a love story for the ages

What was the brief like from Coldplay?

The brief was rather straightforward. They wanted the music video to show an array of different animation styles and using interesting transitions between these styles. Also, they wanted a video that represented the idea of finding love. Beyond that I had the freedom to develop an idea from scratch. 

 As a genuine fan of each animator, it was really fun to envision the segments through the lens of their style.

How did your plan for the film evolve from conception to completion?

In every music video I've directed, one guiding idea or image emerges early and shapes the project. For this video, it was the image of a pair: friends, lovers, soulmates.

 It felt essential to me that the transitions are more than just a device to get from one scene to another but rather part of the core idea of each sequence.

The concept revolves around a couple travelling between worlds and changing forms, depicted through 15 styles of animation by 15 animators across three chapters: longing, searching, finding. I brainstormed scenes and character forms for each chapter, considering how they would fit with specific animators' techniques and sensibilities. As a genuine fan of each animator, it was really fun to envision the segments through the lens of their style.

I aimed to capture both the fragility and euphoria of love, making the journey feel dreamlike with interconnected animated transitions. 

Storyboarding the first thumbnails, I started planning out the transitions between scenes from the start. It felt essential to me that the transitions are more than just a device to get from one scene to another but rather part of the core idea of each sequence, representing the beginning and end of each chapter of this journey. 

 It was exciting to see each scene develop in parallel, directing towards the video's vision without stifling individual creativity.

For example, the transition from Tokay's stop motion to Dante Zaballa's sequence involved a puppet drawing with crayons, bringing Dante’s sequence to life. After Dante's scene, the paper transforms into a bird, folding into Martin Robic's 2D animation, where the characters' hands connect. This bird then flies into Kinemus' scene, continuing the journey. Each shot was meticulously planned to align with each animator's style and voice.

Did each artist plan the visual concept for their own scene?

My goal was to create a framework allowing animators to express their unique styles while maintaining a coherent narrative. I curated a list of animators, each distinct in their visual language but united in capturing genuine emotion and warmth. For each animator, I developed a scene and pair of characters, collaborating further on their specific ideas. 

Among them are artists I have seen grow and develop their own unique approaches and refine them over the years, as well as animators who I have always looked up to and now can call peers and friends.

Sometimes, I provided sketches and designs for characters and props; other times, references, and for some, the scenes changed quite a lot from the original storyboards. Each collaboration was unique, and I'm grateful for their contributions. It was exciting to see each scene develop in parallel, directing towards the video's vision without stifling individual creativity.

Did you have any particular creative inspirations?

We discussed several videos known for their fun and surprising transitions, like The Chemical Brothers' Let Forever Be and Peter Gabriel's Sledgehammer. The video for Dan Deacon's When I Was Done Dying, featuring numerous amazing animators, also blew my mind.

In many ways this video is about highlighting 14 of these incredible animators and a love letter to the medium of animation itself.

I've always admired animation directors who master surprising shot transitions, such as the late Satoshi Kon, who used disorienting transitions to represent an overwhelmed mind or connect concepts visually.

And of course, there are the incredible animators who joined me on this project: Tokay, Dante Zaballa, Martin Robic, KINEMUS, Jack Zhang, Niki Lindroth von Bahr, Moera.cf, Gaia Esther Maria, Aaron Fisher, Karlotta Freier, Isabel Garrett, Hannah van der Weide, Kohana Wilson, and Ram Han.

How did you select the artists involved?

Over the last few years, I’ve travelled to animation festivals globally and met so many talented animators, many of whom became friends. I wanted to bring some of these people to this project. 

considering the huge amount of scene transitions we were planning for, but had to wait for everyone's material, the final weeks of compositing were incredibly intense.

Among them are artists I have seen grow and develop their own unique approaches and refine them over the years, as well as animators who I have always looked up to and now can call peers and friends. This community is so absurdly rich in talent. In many ways this video is about highlighting 14 of these incredible animators and a love letter to the medium of animation itself.

What were the main highlights and difficulties?

Because each animator required different kinds of feedback, and because many of them are scattered throughout the globe, coordinating and bringing them together was challenging but a lot of fun. From the very beginning I tailored every scene toward the particular style and approach of each animator. I enjoyed trying to see this video through the lens of their craft and presenting them with the scene I came up with for them. 

The transitions were another fun challenge that stemmed from the need to blend all these styles seamlessly. I tried to find surprising changes in animation style and bring them together through a transition that was specific to each scene idea and technique.

Also considering the huge amount of scene transitions we were planning for, but had to wait for everyone's material, the final weeks of compositing were incredibly intense. Luckily I had the amazing producers Alexander Handschuh and co-producer Jon Mealing to schedule all the logistics and the one of a kind lead compositor John Malcom Moore, who led a team of compositors, making every transition look more beautiful than I even could have hoped for.

Any unexpected challenges?

One of them that we could have expected but totally overlooked in the rush of planning this project, was that our schedule overlapped with the festival in Annecy. As you can imagine, this became a problem for a music video that features 15 animators from all over the world.

The end of the first sequence shows this stop motion puppet writing a letter, which is actually the first line of the lyrics.

Do you have a personal favourite scene?

I love all of them equally