Michael Jackson anti gravity lean explained
von Zimmermann 054: Michael Jackson
The anti gravity lean in Smooth Criminal looks like pure magic on screen, body perfectly straight, fedora staying put. But MJ wasn't about to let it stay a camera trick; he wanted stadium crowds to see that same impossible moment live. So he co-patented special shoes that lock onto stage pegs, letting him pull it off for real. Still, the patent only covers the hardware; the core strength and body control to keep from collapsing? That part's all on the performer. #MichaelJackson
Transkript (en)
How do you do that lean on the video to Smooth Criminal? Oh, Smooth Criminal-ing. Well, that one happened. It was in the middle of the shoot, and it wasn't. I choreographed it right at the moment. It took us an hour to execute it. It's a special effect that we kind of lean as far as we can, and we let the conveyor belts do the rest, you know?
