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Thriller 40th Anniversary

The estante can't be that dumb to know what the fans want branca is too busy with his tik tok channel talking about old stuff is unimportant
 
83magic said:
didn’t know where else to post this.
www.yahoo.com

Michael Jackson video director recalls smashing MTV's color barrier with 'Billie Jean': "I thought, 'When people see this, the world is going to change'"

"I just felt this absolutely wasn't right," says director Steve Barron. "What do they mean, it 'isn't their audience'? Obviously, I was filled with suspicion about the real motives behind the nonacceptance of the video."
www.yahoo.com www.yahoo.com
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This is the best account I've ever seen of the MTV story. Even previous versions from Steve himself haven't been as detailed as this. So glad he's given us a very full version of how that whole MTV thing went down. Brilliant stuff!
 
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Unfortunately, Barron was on a tight $50,000 budget — a far cry from the $150,000 CBS would drop on the “Beat It” video that made its debut on MTV just three weeks later (and went straight into high rotation), or the $2 million spent on “Thriller” in December 1983 — so not everything went according to plan. It turned out Barron would have toll shoot with 16-millimeter film, not 35, and Jackson’s idea to have the tailor shop’s mannequins spring to life and dance behind him was also nixed.
 
Fuzball said:
Unfortunately, Barron was on a tight $50,000 budget — a far cry from the $150,000 CBS would drop on the “Beat It” video that made its debut on MTV just three weeks later (and went straight into high rotation), or the $2 million spent on “Thriller” in December 1983 — so not everything went according to plan. It turned out Barron would have toll shoot with 16-millimeter film, not 35, and Jackson’s idea to have the tailor shop’s mannequins spring to life and dance behind him was also nixed.
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Never seen this before, is this the first time him having this idea has been mentioned?
 
SmoothGangsta said:
Never seen this before, is this the first time him having this idea has been mentioned?
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I've seen it before but can't remember where. Sorry. No idea if it's accurate but I have seen it mentioned. My mind is telling me it was another Steve Barron piece but it was yonks ago so I might be misremembering.
 
Fuzball said:
and Jackson’s idea to have the tailor shop’s mannequins spring to life and dance behind him was also nixed.
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SmoothGangsta said:
Never seen this before, is this the first time him having this idea has been mentioned?
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This is not the piece I remember seeing. This is from 2016 and he is now saying the Midas touch idea was one he had for a Joan Armatrading video not the Adam Ant one. But the story is essentially the same re the mannequins.

Still trying to remember which piece it was that I saw. But, anyway:

www.irishexaminer.com

Steve Barron: How I made the Billie Jean video with Michael Jackson

Steve Barron directed the music video for ‘Billie Jean’, the chart-topping second single from 1982’s Thriller.
www.irishexaminer.com www.irishexaminer.com
 
Mister_Jay_Tee said:
Maybe this thread will be unpinned soon

Billie Jean ain't in 4K, but the Off The Wall clips and Motown 25 also aren't and probably never will be, so I suppose it's not that far out of field. Still hugely disappointing though.
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I wanted to add something to this thread. Many people have been speculating why Billie Jean wasn't redone in 4K (or at least HD).

I VIVIDLY remember the director being interviewed about their work together. It was around the time Michael died and when HD was picking up steam (way earlier than the 2016 interview posted above). One of the things he was asked about was a potential release in HD or even a making-of documentary. His answer: as much as he would love to do it, it could never happen because most of the original film reels are lost or have been disposed of after it was edited in the 80s (or something like that). He said it was standard practice at the time and that he's at peace with it, because the video made a tremendous impact as is, and he will cherish his memories forever.

I remembered this when the 4K remasters were posted last year, but haven't mentioned anything because I wanted to find the source. And so I've been trying to find this interview for the last few months, but... haven't been able to! Maybe it wasn't ever online? Could have been a TV or radio interview...
 
IIRC a fan said that they were told at the event that Billie Jean wasn't present because it needed much more work done on it than the other films did. Not sure how true that is and if the people running the event would even know that information but that's what was said.
 
No idea if I'm allowed to post this. It's from another mj online thing! If the mods don't like it, I'll delete. In the meantime, a longer anecdote from Steve. 2014.

MICHAEL’S MOMENT OF GENIUS
‘So, we ran through it with him, scene by scene. And when it came to the scene with the camera store, with the cameras all firing off, triggering his energy, triggering the Midas Touch again, Michael said he had this idea. ‘What about if one of the other stores in the street is a tailor shop with some mannequins in the window. When I go past it, before or after the camera store, how about the mannequins come to life, and they jump out behind me and they dance with me?’ I absolutely loved it, I thought it was an amazing concept, it enhanced everything. It was right on concept, right on story and just a genius idea.

After that meeting I got onto my producer and said, ‘Michael has come up with a great idea. We need to change that store, the third one along or whatever, we need to get some mannequins in, get some dancers in, do rehearsals. We need to get a choreographer, a costume designer, and I need a couple of hours more to shoot this in a certain way, because this will be after the first dance.’

My producer worked out that this would cost $5,000 dollars more and CBS [Michael Jackson’s record label] said no. They said, ‘No, we’re not paying you a penny more, we’ve told you, you’ve got $50,000 dollars and that’s it.”

A LUCKY BREAK
‘I presumed someone would tell Michael that we couldn’t afford his idea. I suppose half of me was hoping that he’d say, ‘I’ll pay for it’, but he didn’t. I got a phonecall on the Friday night – I was asleep, so it was one of those ‘where am I’ moments – and it was Michael on the phone, which was odd because he didn’t strike me as someone who’d make his own phone calls. And he was like, ‘Hey Steve, I’ve been thinking that we shouldn’t do the dancing in the video tomorrow’. I thought, ‘I won’t blow it. He’s cancelled, so what’s the point in telling him about the budget when he’s realised that he doesn’t want to do it anyway?’

I understand why he didn’t do it, creatively, because I think at that point, he was thinking about Beat It and he was thinking about Thriller. To not do that good idea was disappointing, it’s like the missing scene that I’d have loved to have actually shot. I think it would have made the video better.’
 
‘billie jean’ is such a unique video. it stands out among the ‘thriller’ ones.

as much as I appreciate the insight into Michael’s creative process, I can’t imagine anyone dancing with him in this song - be it video or performance. it’s too personal, and best left as a solo improv.

I love the colour scheme, symbolism and surrealism of the environment. it hints at the subject matter, whilst building a whole new story around it. somehow they both tie together. it’s a mystery that’s engaging from start to finish.

this was the first time that Michael showcased his (silent) acting in this format to such an extent. he was no longer smiling as he did previously. his hair literally blew in the wind. it was a whole new look and image that he unveiled.

this is honestly my favourite video. I wouldn’t change a thing about it 💜 there’s a reason it has over a billion views.
 
SmoothGangsta said:
IIRC a fan said that they were told at the event that Billie Jean wasn't present because it needed much more work done on it than the other films did. Not sure how true that is and if the people running the event would even know that information but that's what was said.
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Well obviously it would need tons of work done if there's no reels available lol. It'd require a time machine to go back in time and save it and we're at least two decades away from that.
Alec said:
He said it was standard practice at the time and that he's at peace with it, because the video made a tremendous impact as is, and he will cherish his memories forever.
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He's right in a way, because Motown 25 will always be SD as far as we know, and that's still MJs crowning achievement.
 
zinniabooklover said:
Cannot find that interview I mentioned. Giving up. But am posting this MJJC Q&A with Steve Barron from 2015 as an FYI - it might be new for some people.

26m 33s

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Interesting! Thanks for posting this. So this Q&A was conducted a couple of years later than the interview I referenced... He gets asked pretty much the same question: Can the BJ music video be released in high definition?

His answer:
"Yeah, the high-resolution scan... Well, I've still got a 1-inch master tape of Billie Jean in a closet somewhere (...) and one day it would be great to get that put on digital and make sure it's as close to the first generation as possible."

So it looks like not much has changed between 2009-2015. That master tape would still be SD, and who knows how degraded considering he keeps it at home.

I wonder if they managed to find anything since? It's been 8 years. Doesn't seem likely. If they had ANYTHING, even 30 secs of film reels, it would have been featured in the Thriller 40 documentary.
 
I can't for the life of me figure out why throw it away...& where are the master tapes for dstyge & rwy... nobody ever mentions them. Spike Lee had rock with you looking pretty damn good on the otw35 doc
 
While I enjoy the HD experience of thriller I still don't see why everything now needs to be in HD. It is not THAT important, so if the upgrade is not possible then so be it, it is not a game changer imo.
 
Dorian said:
Michael was pretty careless when he was storing stuff…
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Question: Where was the vault (talking about the video vault really) exactly located? I heard in a Warners lot (something like that), was MJ's video material stored at Neverland? (did it get lost in that raid?) I also heard that Michael had several rentals and warehouses filled with his stuff, is that true? Where are all of his video material? (Talking about concerts, arrival footage, home videos, hotel footage, rehearsal footage) where is it? No way hours and hours of footage like that is just lost.. Where's his masters? Did he film everything? What about copies?
 
femi said:
Question: Where was the vault (talking about the video vault really) exactly located? I heard in a Warners lot (something like that), was MJ's video material stored at Neverland? (did it get lost in that raid?) I also heard that Michael had several rentals and warehouses filled with his stuff, is that true? Where are all of his video material? (Talking about concerts, arrival footage, home videos, hotel footage, rehearsal footage) where is it? No way hours and hours of footage like that is just lost.. Where's his masters? Did he film everything? What about copies?
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as @Dorian said, Michael was careless with a lot of his items....engineers knew not to give Michael a master tape because he would lose it.....most of his footage could be at Hayvenhurst, various warehouses that the estate doesn't feel like going through or simply with the people he worked with.....he filmed a huge aspect of his life [late 70's to mid 80's might be what most footage contains]
 
BlackAnon said:
as @Dorian said, Michael was careless with a lot of his items....engineers knew not to give Michael a master tape because he would lose it.....most of his footage could be at Hayvenhurst, various warehouses that the estate doesn't feel like going through or simply with the people he worked with.....he filmed a huge aspect of his life [late 70's to mid 80's might be what most footage contains]
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Michael didn't seem to have any proper system to store or catalog things.

He famously didn't have the multitrack for Blood on the Dance Floor, and after trying to recreate it in 1997 and not being satisfied with the results, he just overdubbed the mixdown he had on a tape. There was also a story, told by Matt Forger I believe, about Michael losing the multitracks to Scared of the Moon almost immediately after it was recorded. I know for a fact that it was the same with Throwing Your Life Away -- he worked with a cassette rip (no multitrack) and did overdubs in 2008/2009.

A lot of footage is with the people who filmed it. Most from the 90s/early 2000s is with Hamid Moslehi, Michael's personal videographer. Rodney Jerkins apparently has a couple hours worth of studio footage from the Invincible sessions. Barry Gibb's son has a lot of studio footage too, both from the Eaten Alive sessions and from 2002. Michael Amir Williams had the Vogue/Ebony photoshoots from 2007 filmed in HD and that footage was sold to a documentary maker who never released it. Brett Ratner has some cool stuff. Studio staff like Sundberg will have some interesting things... Dieter Wiesner has tons and made a documentary with some of it (VERY cool if you've never seen it)...

in other words, it's super scattered and borderline impossible to track down unless they had someone working on it full-time for a couple years.
 
femi said:
Question: Where was the vault (talking about the video vault really) exactly located? I heard in a Warners lot (something like that), was MJ's video material stored at Neverland? (did it get lost in that raid?) I also heard that Michael had several rentals and warehouses filled with his stuff, is that true? Where are all of his video material? (Talking about concerts, arrival footage, home videos, hotel footage, rehearsal footage) where is it? No way hours and hours of footage like that is just lost.. Where's his masters? Did he film everything? What about copies?
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Slightly off topic, but did anyone ever created a scale model/maquette of the Neverland Ranch? I would love to be able to visualize all the rooms/studio etc
 
Alec said:
Michael didn't seem to have any proper system to store or catalog things.

He famously didn't have the multitrack for Blood on the Dance Floor, and after trying to recreate it in 1997 and not being satisfied with the results, he just overdubbed the mixdown he had on a tape. There was also a story, told by Matt Forger I believe, about Michael losing the multitracks to Scared of the Moon almost immediately after it was recorded. I know for a fact that it was the same with Throwing Your Life Away -- he worked with a cassette rip (no multitrack) and did overdubs in 2008/2009.
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That explains why the 2010 remix of TYLA was only overdubbed. Maybe someone else who worked on the track has the multitrack for it?
 
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