Stardust creative director Alan Bibby teamed up with longtime friend and veteran music video helmer Adria Petty to co-write and co-direct Coldplay and Rihanna's epic music video for "Princess of China."
Blending iconic elements from kung fu films and samurai epics, "Princess of China" is a soaring visual fantasy that pays homage to Petty and Bibby's favorite films and scenes. The directors embraced Asian influences from multiple countries and eras to round out the video's visually stunning world.
"We love old kung fu movies, the Shaw Brothers, all of that," Bibby explained. "This began as a love letter to that genre, but we also wanted to make it much broader and just go way over the top with it. The Japanese taiko drums, the Guanyin multi-arm imagery, the Southeast Asian architecture, the hair and modern fashion - it was this mix of visual elements that really created the immersive world for this story."
"It is so rare to get to work with one of your best friends on an original creative idea," said Petty, "and we were so blessed to be doing it for such amazing talent and star power. I am really delighted with how the clip turned out and the spirit of fun and visual spectacle it achieved. We were very lucky in that Rihanna and Chris were both totally on board with this vision, and we had an amazing crew to help make everything come together seamlessly."