Media Powerpoint

1. BLOG 14: MICHAEL
JACKSON
Not just ‘King of Pop’ but ‘King of the Pop Video’

2. Early Pop Videos with Jackson 5.
Rockin Robin 1971
• Basic video – promoting song
• Limited sophistication
• Lip synching
Analyse the video – refer to Goodwin’s
characteristics - comment on at least one thing!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2vzTKh-O5c

3. Rock with You 1979
• Outlandish Costume
• Use of light in the video
• Beginning of his solo career
Analyse the video comment on at least one thing!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5X-Mrc2l1d0

4. Billy Jean 1982
• First interesting Pop Video that tells a story and does
more than just Lip Synching.
• Originality  An emerging identity
Analsye the video – comment on at least one thing!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zi_XLOBDo_Y

5. Beat It 1983
• End sequence elaborate choreographing
• Tells a story
Analyse the video – refer to Goodwin’s
characteristics - comment on at least one thing!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRdxUFDoQe0

6. Thriller 1983
The music video is considered the most famous music
video of all time
A cultural milestone introducing:
• Elaborate choreography
• Costumes and dialogue
• The concept of the long-form music video, where a
mini-movie was made for a song (14 minutes, then
edited down for the short version.

7. Thriller 1983
The video cost about $500,000 to make.
Jackson's record company had no intention of paying for it,
since the album was on the downswing and they had
already financed videos for two of its songs.
According to John Landis (Director), Jackson really wanted
to turn into a monster, so he offered to pay for the clip
himself. Landis took on the project because he saw it as a
way to revive the short film genre, which he loved.

8. Thriller 1983: Finance
• Jackson didn't have to
pay for the video,
because deals were
made with Showtime
and MTV to cover the
costs.
• Showtime got to air a
one hour special with the
"making of"
documentary and the
14-minute film before it
was broadcast anywhere
else.
• When MTV heard about
this, their executive Bob
Pittman decided that
losing a Michael
Jackson video to
Showtime was
unacceptable. He paid
$250,000 for the
exclusive broadcast
rights.

9. Thriller 1983: Recognition
• The video won for
Best Performance
Video, Best
Choreography, and
Viewers Choice at the
first MTV Video Music
Awards in 1984.
To date, the long version of Thriller has 293,285,316
YouTube views.

10. Thriller
Alice Cooper
Welcome To My Nightmare tour
1975
Michael Jackson
Thriller

11. Thriller 1983
• Most homes had Video Cassette Recorders in 1983 and
sales of videos were big business.
• You could buy a VHS or beta copy of Michael Jackson's
Thriller, which included the full video and also "The
Making of Michael Jackson's Thriller”
• BETA 1975 Sony: 60 mins  VHS 1976 JVC: 3hrs, cheap
• This tape became the best selling music video at the time,
and was later certified by Guinness World Records as the
top selling music video of all time, moving 9 million units.
It was released a few weeks before Christmas.

12. Thriller 1983 Director: John Landis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOnqjkJTMaA
Analsye the video – comment on at least one thing!
Making “Thriller”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3GyKVYswVs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUyvMSUl5cw

13. Bad 1987
• Following “Thriller” he was the
biggest pop star in the world.
• His videos made the news.
• The video of “Bad” was a major
event. Shown for the first time
on BBC.
• People wanted to see his new
image and the dancing.
Analsye the video – comment on at least one thing!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsUXAEzaC3Q

14. The Way You Make Me Feel 1987
• Laura Mulvey’s theory relates to classical Hollywood cinema. However,
we can apply some of her ideas to our work on the pop video.
• How many of these characteristics apply to this Music Video?
• The male gaze =
• women viewed as the objects of male erotic desire – in film and
audience
• men active / women passive.
• Women do not have agency – they do not move the plot forward.
• The audience is forced to identify with male gaze.
• Cinema reflects patriarchal (male dominated) society
• Patriarchy and phallocentrism linked – phallus (penis) a symbol of power
– e.g. in cinema guns = phallus = power.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzZ_urpj4As

15. Black or White 1991
($4,000,000 – Today $6,925,000)
• The pop video was very
expensive and inventive.
• Used to try and resurrect his
career (allegations of being
‘strange’)
• Problems with his image – white
skin.
• Serious message.
Analsye the video – comment on at least one thing!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2AitTPI5U0

16. Black or White 1991
The end sequence referenced Peter Gabriel’s ground-
breaking video “Sledgehammer”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJWJE0x7T4Q

17. Earth Song 1995
• A serious message
• Jackson portrayed as a
‘Christlike’ figure?
Analsye the video – comment on at least one thing!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsUXAEzaC3Q

18. Earth Song Controversy
• Jarvis Cocker – Founded of Pulp
• "My actions were a form of protest at the way Michael
Jackson sees himself as some kind of Christ-like figure
with the power of healing. I just ran on the stage. I didn't
make any contact with anyone as far as I recall."
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJluMi8bXYo

19. Scream 1995
$7,000,000 (Today $10,834,000)
• Most expensive music video
produced
• Helped to revive Janet
Jackson’s career
• Released two years after
allegations were cleared
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0P4A1K4lXDo

20. Conclusion
• As digital technology developed so did Michael Jackson’s
use of the Pop Video. How? Be specific about some of the
special effects used.
• His videos became much longer and more complex. The
videos became as important as the song itself.
• Jackson used Pop Videos to:
• Reinvent his image.
• Tell stories
• Address serious issues.

21. Andrew Goodwin Key features of
Music Videos
• Andrew Goodwin in
Dancing in the
Distraction Factory
(1992) has identified
the features of music
videos.

22. Key features of Music Videos
1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics
(eg stage performance in metal video, dance
routine for boy/girl band).
2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals
(either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).
3. The demands of the record label will include the
need for lots of close-ups of the artist and the
artist may develop motifs which recur across
their work (a visual style) EG Katy Perry /
Michael Jackson (to be analysed in separate
blogs).
4. There is frequently reference to the notion of
looking (screens within screens, telescopes, etc)
and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the
female body.
5. There is often intertextual reference (to films, TV
programmes, other music videos, etc).

23. Relation of Visuals to Song Lyrics
There are three ways in which music videos work
to promote a song
Music videos can
use a set of images
to illustrate the
meaning of lyrics &
genre, this is the
most common
Meanings and effects
are manipulated and
constantly shown
through the video.
They are drummed
into our vision
This is where the meaning of the song is
completely ignored

24. Using media language to analyse Pop
Videos.
• Camera work: angle - high or low; long, medium or close
up; over the shoulder - point of view, tracking, pan,
steadycam.
• Editing: speed (long or short take); Style – straight cut,
dissolve, fade, wipe, jump cut.
• Mise en Scene: setting/location, props; hair/make
up/costume; positioning of characters in frame; body
language/facial expression; colour; lighting – high or low?