In the beginning, when Michael Jackson was still in a band with his family he was featured as the lead singer in a song called "Rockin Robin" on TV. The video was fairly ordinary and there was no use of narrative nor was there any relation in the visual and the music. In fact I personally speaking, the sole focus of there clip was an attempt to promote their song.
Rockin Robin - Jackson 5 1971
On the other hand the song "Rock with you" was Michael Jackson's first music video whereby Michael Jackson sang solo. Away from from the Jackson 5, Michael Jackson was the focus of the attention. At this point he was now more mature both physically and mentally and this shows in difference of the clip with Jackson 5 compared to Michael Jacksons "Rock With You". The music video is still like the "Rockin Robin" In terms of the variety of shots used however Michael Jackson later improved his music video in "Rock with you" by wearing an interesting costume and an abstract use of light during the video. This in my opinion displays a more professional attempt at a music video with a bit more structure than the counterpart of the music video "Rockin Robin".
Rock with you - Michael Jackson 1979
In like manner lip syncing is also used in Michael Jackson's next music video called "Billie Jean" however the main and most intriguing difference, is the fact that there is now a narrative within his music video. A story which is being told expressing how his music videos are developing because he is now implementing a storyline for which the viewers can hear hear but also now see visually. In addition to this it is clearly evident tat Michael Jackson has a lot more structure within his video concerning cinematography, costumes and choreography. All are put together in harmony creating a way more advanced and successful music video than his previous two. All of these improvements are shown in his use of continuity shots, split screen and story line.
Billie Jean - Michael Jackson 1982
Michael Jackson further develops his music video in "Beat it" with a much higher quality of choreography. Nevertheless this is supported through his amazing use of camera, editing, sound and Mise-en-scene whereby he uses his dance choreography and story in synergy with each other, creating a very smooth transition from each sequence of the music video. In addition to this he uses the dance even to an extent that it replaces the actual violence that can't be displayed however doing this enables all people of different age, gender and culture to be able to interpret and understand the situation in a more enjoyable and less graphic manner.
Beat it - Michael Jackson
In 1983 Michael Jackson's music video called the "Thriller" was released and became the most famous music video. This was according to the Library of Congress, which added "Thriller" to it's National Film Registry in 2009. Making it their first music video within their registry. Michael Jackson's use of Camera, Editing, Sound and Mise-en-scene helped to introduce another level of high quality and captivating choreography. In addition the choice of costumes and dialogues, I believe has helped to increase the choreography's impact. Furthermore this music video was the first to introduce the concept of a long-form music video, lasting nearly 14 minutes due to it also possessing a mini movie. When it showed on YouTube it easily racked 100 million views. However the music video would, based on circumstance be shortened down to 5 min depending on where it would be shown. For example when MTV ran it they played the short 5 minutes version with a minute of non-sing content to keep some of the narrative.
The music video was produced with a total budget of $500,000 which Michael Jackson suggested he pay himself because his company was unable to do so. However the main reason as to why Michael Jackson suggested he'd pay it himself was because he really actually wanted to turn in to a Monster. In relation John Landis saw this as an opportunity to revive the short film industry which he adored. Luckily Michael jackson didn't have to pay for the video because he had made deals with Showtime and MTV to cover those cost. An hour of the "making of the thriller" as well as 14 minutes of the film was given to Showtime to air before the "Thriller" was broadcasted anywhere else.
As soon as MTV discovered this, Bob Pittman their executive decided they would not allow the Michael Jackson video to be lost to Showtime. In turn leading them into paying $250,000 for exclusive broadcast rights as soon as Showtime's window ended. This was surprising because MTV was founded around not paying for videos, thankfully Pittman worked around that issue by paying for the documentary instead although the money was actually used to pay for the film.
The "Thriller" ended up winning Best Performance video, Best Choreography, and Viewers Choice at the first MTV Music Awards which took place in 1984. Michael Jackson's music video the "Thriller" was able to then also inadvertently trend group dance scenes in Pop videos. The Thriller ended up being the best gift to offer at Christmas, seen as though it was sold a few weeks before then and because of the fact that it was the best selling music video at the time.
The music video was produced with a total budget of $500,000 which Michael Jackson suggested he pay himself because his company was unable to do so. However the main reason as to why Michael Jackson suggested he'd pay it himself was because he really actually wanted to turn in to a Monster. In relation John Landis saw this as an opportunity to revive the short film industry which he adored. Luckily Michael jackson didn't have to pay for the video because he had made deals with Showtime and MTV to cover those cost. An hour of the "making of the thriller" as well as 14 minutes of the film was given to Showtime to air before the "Thriller" was broadcasted anywhere else.
As soon as MTV discovered this, Bob Pittman their executive decided they would not allow the Michael Jackson video to be lost to Showtime. In turn leading them into paying $250,000 for exclusive broadcast rights as soon as Showtime's window ended. This was surprising because MTV was founded around not paying for videos, thankfully Pittman worked around that issue by paying for the documentary instead although the money was actually used to pay for the film.
The "Thriller" ended up winning Best Performance video, Best Choreography, and Viewers Choice at the first MTV Music Awards which took place in 1984. Michael Jackson's music video the "Thriller" was able to then also inadvertently trend group dance scenes in Pop videos. The Thriller ended up being the best gift to offer at Christmas, seen as though it was sold a few weeks before then and because of the fact that it was the best selling music video at the time.
Thriller - Michael Jackson
After the "Thriller's" success, Michael soon became the biggest pop star in the world. The news featured his videos and for the first time on BBC the major event "Bad" was shown. Most people wanted to see this because they wanted to discover his new image and his new ideas for dancing.
Bad - Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson's "Bad" music video, was significantly different. It included Michael jackson with his new image however you could clearly see that within his music video's the dancing was a lot more prominent. Although there were some narrative, that wasn't the focus. In Michael Jacksons case it was more focused on the new trend he started which was the group dances that captivated peoples attention. This idea was also reflect in his use of camera work where the Michael Jackson and his dancers were tracked most of the time.
On the other hand a few years later in 1995, Michael Jackson released his most expensive music video called "Scream". In total it costed 11million today which wasn't surprising considering the amount of preparation that was needed in order to end up with a futuristic and abstract music video.
Scream - Michael Jackson
In conclusion, Michael Jackson's pop videos have evolved in so many significant and unforgettable ways. He started so small in "Rockin Robin" and now he's making high quality, professional standard expensive music videos. Inspiring and encouraging people over the world to follow his trends and steps. In fact Michael Jackson has developed in his creation of pop videos so much that he really is the king of pop videos and this shows with his "Scream" music video being the most expensive to date.
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