Renamed Michael Jackson's Thriller, it was the video that made Pop history as it was unlike anything ever produced before. It was released on the 23rd of January 1984 and is owned by the record label Epic.
The song was originally meant to be called 'Starlight'. Rather than the famous line 'Thriller, Thriller night' it was originally 'Starlight, Starlight sun' but the man who wrote the song - Rod Temperton, had the responsibility of titling the album woke up one day with the world Thriller in his mind, and knew that this is what the album had to be called and therefore changed the song name.
Concept
The video is 14 minutes long, so it is like a small film. The film begins with Michael and a girl in a forest, where Michael suddenly turns in a werewolf. However this is only a film, as we see Michael again sitting in a cinema with a girl watching this. They leave the cinema with Michael taunting the girl that she was scared by the film. They pass a graveyard where zombies start to appear from the ground. They surround Michael and his girl and when Michael turns around he has turned into a zombie too. The song then begins, and a dance routine, however we discover that it was all just a dream.
Video
Through out the video there are many sound special effects used such as a creaking door, thunder, feet walking, dogs and the wind blowing. This all contributes to the eerie feeling of the video.
The location of the music video was filmed at the Palace Theatre in Los Angeles, and the zombie dance sequence was filmed in East Los Angeles.
Styling
The red jacket the Michael wore in the video is one of the most iconic piece of clothing in pop music video, and recently one of the two jackets used in the video has been sold for £1.1 million. It was made for him by designer Deborah Nadoolman Landis.
The makeup used for the zombies were supposed to be made using prosthetics, however the dancers were casted a few days before they started filming, so precast prosthetics were used. Only dancers with proper makeup were used for close up shots.
The makeup used for the zombies were supposed to be made using prosthetics, however the dancers were casted a few days before they started filming, so precast prosthetics were used. Only dancers with proper makeup were used for close up shots.
Good start here Chloe. Remember good research practice:
ReplyDeleteWrite down the sources of your secondary research & date written. Where did you find this information?
Be analytical about the research you find – question views and facts you read – who has written them and why?
It's good to see you have started to carry out some primary research of your own:questionnaires, audience research. How are you going to ensure you have a large enough data set to make your results useful? ie directing audiences to your questionnaires and research? Could you extend this research with interviews from your peer group considering issues of target audience and how music videos are used or consumed? linking to your research on audience theory?
Keep up the good work! Ms Keenan
Can you carry out some research into a music director who has directed artists' videos in the same genre as your music video?
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