Thriller

As the shock of Michael Jackson's death wears off and the retrospects of his life fill the media, we are reminded of the great body of work that this man left behind. Hit singles, gold and platinum albums are only a part of the legacy of Michael Jackson. With radio stations digging out interviews from the last four decades we are reminded just how young he was when fame came knocking at his door. Bits and pieces of his ambitions and dreams of the future can be gleaned from the video clips and radio interviews that he did throughout the last forty years. From Michael's answers and his performances it becomes clear that Mr. Jackson was hankering for a to delve deeper into the Theatrical and Film business. His stage performances and sets already reflected his affinity to the theatrical. Michael Jackson was already a trail blazer in bringing the two disciplines of music and theater together when he blazed a trail with his immortal music video, Thriller.

Michael Jackson's vision of Thriller was co-written and Directed by John Landis, a film icon in his own right. John Landis enabled Michael Jackson to apply the theatrical techniques a a feature film to flesh out the video vision of his song that played in his mind. The half million dollar budget of the Thriller video was an unheard of sum of money for most independent films at the time let alone a 14 minute video. Thriller included everything a feature film included, a cast, makeup, costumes, multiple cameras, moving cameras, lighting, a sound stage and a world renowned Director. Upon it release The Thriller Video became the gold ring of music videos, setting a standard that changed the course of music videos forever.

The Thriller Video made use of Special Effects Makeup in creating the graveyard scenes featuring the walking dead , Zombies. The Thriller Video featured the immortal Vincent Price, the King of Horror, who has played in his share of Vampire and Zombie movies. Thriller incorporated everything that a feature film would use, a cameo appearance, a love interest, played by Ola Ray, a an ensemble of characters. Plus the Academy Award winning Special Effects Makeup Artist Rick Baker.

As the week progresses and the funeral of Michael Jackson proceeds we will be reminded of many of the excitingly great productions that Michael Jackson was responsible for recording and leaving with us. The concept of the Thriller Video is one of the works that must be looked at to appreciate the creative genius of Michael Jackson.