The music video for Michael Jackson's 'Billie Jean' is seen as an iconic video for many reasons. Firstly, it is one of Jackson's earliest music videos which gives it an iconic feel as this was the beginning of the king of pop. This video features the first time Jackson ever did his globally known dance move 'The Moonwalk' for his audience which is another reason why this is seen to be an iconic video, as he then went on to have that be his 'signature move'.
The video itself shows close ups of Michael Jackson's face as he walks down the street. His face looks caring and the close up shows the face the women fell in love with. Also, a close up is used when following the coin into the homeless mans cup. This emphasises MJ's skill.
The editing used is very much controlled by MJ, each shot cuts back to him to show us what he is doing during the whole video. This emphasises his importance. Slow motion is also used on some shots such as the cat running from behind a bin. However, the slow motion doesn't look smooth which could suggest it is one of the first times this had been tried in a music video.
MJ's costume in this video is very much to make him look cool and make everyone want to be like him. The bow tie, shirt and shiny shoes suggest he has lots of money. The way that everything he touches lights up suggests that he is like royalty and needs everything he touches to be bright, clean and shiny.
And what did you think of the video? Has it become 'dated' or is it still iconic? I like the way you have given specific examples and used media terms.
ReplyDelete