u/mjthrad

I have just seen a post on this sub that I did type out a reply to but it appears the post was deleted before I could post my comment so I'll express how I feel here if that's okay.

Michael Jackson gave us so much love, hope, magic, inspiration, comfort and he did so whilst giving us a part of his soul. He did this despite being in so much pain himself. His love was selfless.

The media relentlessly bullied him for everything he did do and didn't do. They mocked him and picked him apart like he was a helpless bug under a magnifying glass and the media was Sid from Toy Story. We don't need to add to his distress. We should not disect his appearance in relation to his health issues. As stated in his 1993 Oprah interview, his medical history is his private business. As fans we need to understand and respect our place.

He showed his fans more love than he was ever able to show himself. We owe it to him to celebrate him and remember exactly why he was so special. We do this not just because he deserves it, but also because he IS that special and our admiration feels involuntary.

Let's share our favourite memories of Michael. Let's celebrate our favourite moments, albums, short films and eras. For me, the Thrad era has a special place in my heart because he had finally gained his independence but he was just on the cusp of world domination with Bad. He was busy creating Bad but also got to create Disney magic with Captain EO. He had given us We Are The World which is important to his story because he was sharing his humanitarian passion with the world. In this era he is caught between two worlds yet carries himself so gracefully. He was learning to understand his health issues yet still carried himself with confidence. I really admire the Thrad era. There's a glow from within that shines out of him.

A scene in the Smooth Criminal short film leaves me with questions. A shot looks to be intentional but also not intentional, at the same time. Michael was such the perfectionist that it makes me think every single shot in this short film was exactly how Michael wanted it to be. However, my little detective mind keeps on wondering about the possibility of an unintentional moment finding its way into the final edit.

The shot I'm referring to is the part when Michael flips a man over and takes his money. Here, it looks like the camera wasn't focused on the right part of the scene Before Michael walks 'into frame' and stands next to the man, he is seen on the right of the screen standing. He is waiting for his turn to get into the action. It looks like he's counting the dance steps or waiting until it's his turn to start dancing. Could this be something that was not intended to be seen? Is this Michael genuinely waiting to get onto the screen or is this is his character watching what's going on and deciding to make a move? If he was waiting for his cue, surely he would make sure he wasn't in the frame, being such a perfectionist he was.

The lady in green who steps into frame just before Michael walks into the centre of the shot makes me think that it was all intentional because her timing is very similar to Michael's. That leads me to think what we see is exactly what we're meant to see. This just proves how intentional and creative Michael's art is.

l've asked Chatgpt and Google Gemini about this. One says Michael is in character, one says Michael never intended this shot to have the camera ratio it did. Every fibre of my being tells me everything Michael did in his short films was intentional but I still can't help but wonder.

The shoot took a long time and the feeling of it was just as important as the technicality of the choreography. The genius of Michael's dancing is you never can tell if something took him months to practice and perfect or if he naturally felt it in his body and it was a spontaneous movement.

I also think a move he did at the 5:01 mark in the video supports this idea that some parts of this short film came to life on the day of shooting. This particular dance move is the only one that doesn't feel very 'Smooth Criminal' to me but it feels very much a part of Michael's stage identity.

Seeing the behind the scenes footage of him deciding how the choreography should be in the break sequence just shows us how often the choreography was changed on the day according to the feeling it gave Michael.

I can see both arguments for it being a characterisation choice and an editing 'mishap' which Michael felt worked in the final edit. I'm curious to know what others think about this because I haven't seen this discussed before.

The shot in question is around the 2:45 mark of this video on YouTube.

https://youtu.be/h\_D3VFfhvs4?is=R2C1tTVm0m2qWeMq

If you're having trouble with the link, it is the Smooth Criminal video (lasting 9:26) on the official Michael Jackson YouTube page.

A scene in the Smooth Criminal short film leaves me with questions. A shot looks to be intentional but also not intentional, at the same time. Michael was such the perfectionist that it makes me think every single shot in this short film was exactly how Michael wanted it to be. However, my little detective mind keeps on wondering about the possibility of an unintentional moment finding its way into the final edit.

The shot I'm referring to is the part when Michael flips a man over and takes his money. Here, it looks like the camera wasn't focused on the right part of the scene Before Michael walks 'into frame' and stands next to the man, he is seen on the right of the screen standing. He is waiting for his turn to get into the action. It looks like he's counting the dance steps or waiting until it's his turn to start dancing. Could this be something that was not intended to be seen? Is this Michael genuinely waiting to get onto the screen or is this is his character watching what's going on and deciding to make a move? If he was waiting for his cue, surely he would make sure he wasn't in the frame, being such a perfectionist he was. The lady in green who steps into frame just before Michael walks into the centre of the shot makes me think that it was all intentional because her timing is very similar to Michael's. That leads me to think what we see is exactly what we're meant to see. This just proves how intentional and creative Michael's art is.

l've asked Chatgpt and Google Gemini about this. One says Michael is in character, one says Michael never intended this shot to have the camera ratio it did. Every fibre of my being tells me everything Michael did in his short films was intentional but I still can't help but wonder.

The shoot for Moonwalker, especially the Smooth Criminal segment, took a long time and the feeling of it was just as important as the technicality of the choreography. The genius of Michael's dancing is you never can tell if something took him months to practice and perfect or if he naturally felt it in his body and it was a spontaneous movement.

I also think a move he did at the 5:01 mark in the video supports this idea that some parts of this short film came to life on the day of shooting. This particular dance move is the only one that doesn't feel very 'Smooth Criminal' to me but it feels very much a part of Michael's stage identity.

Seeing the behind the scenes footage of him deciding how the choreography should be in the break sequence just shows us how often the choreography was changed on the day according to the feeling it gave Michael.

I can see both arguments for it being a characterisation choice and an editing 'mishap' which Michael felt worked in the final edit. I'm curious to know what others think about this because I haven't seen this discussed before.

(The shot in question is around the 2:45 mark of this video on YouTube https://youtu.be/h\\\_D3VFfhvs4?is=Q46Mdo\\\_Da5bnJD5r)