Shot Sequence King: Michael Jackson

For this week, we were tasked with looking through music videos (bonus for being from the 80's) to find a shot sequence. On my way home from school, I turned to the SiriusXM Radio station "80's on 8". I wanted something to hit me, like a light bulb going off.

There was music by Queen, The Bangles, Dexys Midnight Runners, Elton John, and the list goes on. Suddenly, "Thriller" by Michael Jackson comes on. If you don't know who that song, or who that is, stop reading. Go to YouTube, and look it up. You'll thank me later.

Shot sequence is simply a collection of video clips, that tell a story. How many times have you watched a movie where one minute a door is opened, and in the next frame it's closed. It catches your attention, and distracts you, right? With shot sequence, you'd see someone walk through the open door, and then close it. It's basically a natural movement that you typically wouldn't pay attention to.

This brings me back to Michael Jackson, who's videos were stories. For my entry, I chose the song "Billie Jean".

Within the first 1:30 - there are several moments that are examples of shot sequence:

1. At :36 into the video, it shows Michael looking at a homeless person sleeping. It cuts to his hand tossing a coin, followed by it landing in the cub next to the man.

2. At 1:11 he stops next to a trashcan, where he lifts his foot onto it. It goes to Michael grabbing a handkerchief to clean off his shoe.

3: At 2:32 the camera splits into thirds, with 2 frames freezing. Moving from left to right, each third has a moment of movement.

A majority of Michael Jackson's songs have a form of storytelling, and multiple shot sequences. From "Billie Jean", to "Thriller", "Beat It" and "Smooth Criminal", they all give examples of what was asked to find this week. A small blog could turn massive, if I went in depth with each one.

Made it this far? I'll save you the Google search.