Irish fan wins Coldplay video comp

O’Brien employs a blend of claymation and computer graphics to tell the story of a piano player who can’t find his dog, Seamus.

“I'm a huge Coldplay fan, almost to the point of being obsessive,” O’Brien admits. “Listening to the song gave me lots of feelings, but mostly drew me towards the idea of people trying to find each other. I’d played with the idea of a couple who’d been forced apart, but then felt it was all a bit complex. Stop-Motion lends itself to simpler stories and I thought a dog wandering away from his owner was a lot less complicated, yet could still bring viewers the same kind of emotions.

“The sets and characters took roughly two weeks to get ready and from that point the animation took probably another two weeks of sleepless nights!”

The hard graft paid off with a spokesperson enthusing: “The band and I were blown away by the attention to detail, the characterisation and its sheer life-affirming splendour. Congratulations, Paul, and thank you for giving us three minutes of heart-warming brilliance!”

The clip – which can be viewed here – received its giant screen premiere before Christmas at one of Chris Martin & Co’s London O2 Arena shows.