Michael Jackson was known as the "King of Pop" but was also pioneering in the music video genre. His early videos with the Jackson 5 lacked sophistication but videos for songs like "Rock With You" and "Billie Jean" told stories through carefully planned shots, lighting, and choreography. His "Thriller" video, costing $500,000, became the best-selling music video ever with its elaborate extended version and cultural impact. As technology advanced, Jackson's videos grew more sophisticated, using their visuals and choreography to spread messages of unity and social issues.

1. Michael Jackson
Not just ‘King of Pop’ but ‘King of the Pop
Video’
Taju Deen

2. Michael’s Early Pop Videos with the
Jackson 5 (Rockin’ Robin – 1972)

3. Michael’s Early Pop Videos with the
Jackson 5 (Rockin’ Robin – 1972)
• The Jackson 5 hit cover of Rockin’ Robin by
Bobby Day, was released February 17th 1972.
• The music video is very basic with simple cuts
and use of lip syncing. Throughout the video
there is a variety of angles shown – high and
low, central and side but compared the
modern music video it lacks sophistication.

4. Rock With You - 1979
• Rock With You is a song written by the British songwriter
Rod Temperton and record by Michael Jackson. It was
released November 3rd 1979. It also Jackson’s second single
off of his solo album “Off The Wall”.
• It reached both number one on both the pop and R&B
singles chart.
• In this video there is a more bright and modern mood used
to show Jackson’s star quality. His sparkled suit and disco
dance moves display this. The mise-en scene is carefully
thought over with laser lights in the background to enhance
his costume with a myriad of shots.

6. Billie Jean - 1983
• “Billie Jean” is Jackson’s second single from his sixth
solo album, “Thriller” (1982). It was written by him and
produced by himself and Quincy Jones.
• Billie Jean is a music video that portrays more elements
of a short film rather than a music video as it’s purpose
is to tell a story not just to lip sync. Throughout the
video a range of shot types are employed such as eye-
line matches and match on action. The mise-en scene
was carefully planned as there was an excellent use of
lighting in the video, which is seen when he steps on a
pavement slab/staircase step and it lights up.

7. Eye-line match 1 Eye-line match 2
Match on Action 1 Match on Action 2

8. The us of lighting and split screen editing

9. Beat It
• “Beat It” is a song written and performed by Michael
Jackson and was produced by Quincy Jones. It’s Jackson’s
third single from the singer’s sixth solo album Thriller
(1982) .
• This music video established Michael Jackson as an
international pop icon and was the first treatment of black
youths on the streets in a music video. In the video the
gang members were actually real, which was Jackson’s idea,
and this created plenty of job opportunities. The music
video also sends a positive message as the fantastic
choreography at the end merges the rival gangs together in
music and dance which encourages them to leave their
violence and hatred.

10. Beat It

11. MJ’s Thriller - 1983
The music video is considered one of the most famous of all time by the
Library of Congress which added it to its National Film Registry in 2009 –
the first music video in their registry. This video created a cultural
milestone introducing precise and elaborate choreography, costumes and
dialogue, the concept of the extended version of Thriller, where a mini-
movie was made and edited down for the short version. The extended
version of “Thriller” runs for 14 minutes and racking up over 100 million
views on YouTube. MTV usually ran the short version which was just
under 5 minutes but still contained a minute of dialogue to give a short
storyline.

12. Thriller
• The video cost about $500,000 to make in which Jackson’s record
company had no intention of paying since the album wasn’t doing so well.
John Landis, the director of the video, said how Jackson really wanted to
turn into a monster so he insisted on paying for the project himself. Landis
saw this as an opportunity to revive the short-film genre in which he was
passionate about, so he took the project on. As deals were made with
Showtime and MTV to cover the costs, Jackson didn’t have to pay for the
video out of his own pocket. Showtime had the opportunity to air the
whole “making of Thriller” documentary followed by the air of the 14
minute extended version of Thriller before it was broadcast anywhere
else. When MTV’s executive Bob Pittman heard about this he had no
intention of losing a Michael Jackson video to one of their competitors so
paid $250,000 for exclusive broadcast rights once Showtime’s window
finished. Although MTV was founded on the principle of not paying for
videos, Pittman got around this by claiming the money was for the
documentary.

13. Thriller
• The video won Best Performance Video, Best Choreography, and
Viewers Choice at the first MTV Video Music Awards in 1984. The
popular graveyard dance began a trend of group dance scenes in
pop videos. One person that was a huge participant in the video
was Alice Cooper who in 1975 created a movie based on the stage
show from his Welcome To My Nightmare tour. Most homes had
Video Cassette Recorders in 1983 and the sale of videos were big
business. You could buy a VHS or beta copy of “Thriller” which
included the documentary of the making of the video and behind
the scenes footage. This tape became the best-selling music video
of all time and was later in the Guinness World Records as the top
selling music video of all time with 9 million units sold. The release
time played a huge factor too as it was released a few weeks before
Christmas.

14. The Way You Make Me Feel – 1987
• Released November 9, 1987.
• This song is about love and falling in love which Jackson introduces women
as the main object of attraction. Laura Mulvey’s male gaze is displayed in
this music video as the women is viewed as an object of male erotic desire
as there is a mid-shot of her body wearing a short, tight fitted dress.
N.B. Jackson is staring at her bum
highlighting women as sexual objects.

15. Bad - 1987
• Released September 7, 1987
• Following “Thriller”, Jackson was the biggest pop star in
the world. His videos made the news and so the
release of the music video for “Bad” was a huge event.
The music video for Bad is another short film at 18
minutes long, written by Richard Price, a novelist and
screenwriter. The elaborate dance sequences became
have become an essential feature of his music videos.
There also seems to be a frequent theme of gang
related drama with a positive message to educate the
youth.

16. Bad - 1987

17. Black or White - 1991
• Released November 11, 1991.
• Cost $4,000,000 - $6,925,000 Today (accounted for inflation)
• This music by Michael Jackson was very expensive and inventive, taking the viewer
on a journey through Africa to Asia to Europe and so on. The message behind this
music video was that it doesn’t matter what race you are or where you come from,
you are human and everyone is equal. One section of the video outlines war and
terrorism which usually form due to race or cultural indifferences. A shot of
Jackson at the top of the Statue of Liberty has connotations of freedom and
equality. The music video was used to revive his career after all the controversy
with the press had started to damage it with allegations of skin bleaching when it
was a skin disease.
• The end sequence in which his face morphs is reference to Peter Gabriel’s
sledgehammer.

18. Conclusion
• As digital technology developed so did the technical quality
of Michael Jackson’s videos. He used his videos alongside
his music in order to form a message as seen in Beat It
where he diminishes gang culture and violence through
dance. The newer equipment available allowed him to
create a sophisticated and artistic choreography with a
large cast. In Black or White Jackson had used the digital
technology to his advantage with the many effects used as
well as the green screen. In order to really display the
effective technology advances his videos became very
complex making them just as important as the song. The
pop videos Jackson created were used to recreate/revive
his image throughout his career by addressing serious
social issues such as war, terrorism and race.