An experiment in early music videos

Before Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” changed the content and format of music videos, many music videos experimented with new forms and cuts, notably Queen Bohemian Rhapsody. The promotional video for the song established the visual language of contemporary music videos through novel visual effects and live stage editing, leading to many music videos to follow suit. But it is also limited to the visual representation of musical performances.

The advent of MTV changed the format of popular music

The advent of MTV created a huge strain on music videos. The format will experiment with avant-garde new technologies, as well as “sell music” through authentic live videos, which will put enormous pressure on performers. To some extent, it changed the expression of popular music. The Buggles’ Video Killed The Radio Star directly showed the performer’s cognition of the industry change.

Represents a milestone in the inspired architecture of new music video production

The iconic zombie dance in Thriller has become more than just a performance; it has become a cultural phenomenon. The music video was even more successful than the music itself. Michael Jackson dominated the pop culture of the decade for the rest of the decade. And to some extent, it eliminated the racial distinctions that television stations made in music.

Thriller, as the first story music video with documentary form, the intervention of non-musical elements made the shaping of the picture easy to follow, and also provided the theme image for the music video. in Thriller, we can see An American Werewolf in London, Michael Jackson’s fascination with mysterious and imaginative fairy tales, and so on. The special theme and performance, resulting in the music video with its own similar but not the same audio-visual language. The formal intervention of these non-musical elements gives the audience space for reverie and leaves a deep impression on the audience. This is very different from purely musical performance.

To this day, producers and viewers tend to focus on the story when thinking about a music video, even though there may be no pressure to follow narrative rules. “Thriller” has undoubtedly had a profound impact on music video production, which is a milestone in the history of music video development.

References

Queen Official. (2008）Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody (Official Video Remastered).

TheBugglesVEVO. (2010）The Buggles – Video Killed The Radio Star (Official Music Video).

Michael Jackson. (2009）Michael Jackson – Thriller (Official 4K Video).

Phil Hebblethwaite, How Michael Jackson’s Thriller changed music videos for ever  (Nov 21, 2013). How Michael Jackson’s Thriller changed music videos for ever | Michael Jackson | The Guardian

NANCY GRIFFIN, The “Thriller” Diaries (June 24, 2010). Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”: How an Iconic Music Video Was Made | Vanity Fair

GAVIN EDWARDS, 12 Thrilling Facts About Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ Video (Nov 29, 2022). Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’: 12 Thrilling Facts About the Video (rollingstone.com)

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