1 reply to this topic

[jay]

I'm looking for more

here's the ones that are already out there

[MJSunshine]

Hi Jay,

I haven't seen more pics than the ones you have posted except this one:


    

But I thought, I'd share some impressions from this shooting by Dick Zimmermann:

Dick Zimmermann memories of the Thriller cover shooting

[...]
Shoot Day

The day of the shoot arrive. I hired one of the best fashion stylists in LA to gather a large variety of wardrobe, and we began the arduous process of selecting attire for the cover and inside spread. After about an hour of weeding through the wardrobe, Michael couldn't find anything he was crazy about. I started to panic. His eyes lit up when he noticed the white suit that I was wearing. He said, "That's the look I like, do we have anything like that?" We didn't. Time was fleeting. I was concerned about having enough time to execute my cover ideas. I indicated that we were about the same height and build and if he would like to wear mine. That was exactly what he wanted. Fortunately for the session and the time involved, the suit fit like it was tailored for him.

We had decided prior to the session that Michael would have a tiger cub in the photograph so we had a selection for him to choose from. He loved a six week old cub but was very squeamish about letting it get to close to his face because of possible scratches. Throughout the session I had to get Michael to forget about getting scratched, and to focus his attention on me and my direction.

During breaks Michael would stand in front of a full length mirror and practice continual spins. I was privileged to get a personal preview of those legendary ones that are now so familiar to us all. He just would come alive in front of that mirror. It was fascinating, because he had such a shy and subdued manner throughout the photo session, but in front of that mirror, dancing, he was electric and that was the first time that I realized that I was witnessing something very special.
For lunch he ordered a special meal brought in from a vegetarian restaurant on 3rd Avenue, which was his favorite in town. In fact, a few months later Michael hired that chef as he personal cook for his home and his touring.

The photo session lasted about 6 hours with three different set-ups and no particular problems out of the ordinary. I was very impressed with Michael's diligence as had someone from his production company using a counter to count every click of the camera to make sure that he saw that every frame was presented to him once finished. This spoke elegantly as to his constant and detailed professionalism. At the days end, we said good-bye, and arranged to meet in a few days to go over the results.
About four days later the photos were ready and we met at the recording studio on Beverly Boulevard. Michael was in the middle of finishing up one of the tracts, so I set up my light table and spread out the transparencies so he could see them all at one time.

The Album Cover

Michael walked out of the studio into the reception area where my presentation was set up. He was in a very good mood. He looked over the transparencies and was very excited and pleased with what he saw. He said "There are so many good ones here, how can I ever make a decision?" He told me to hold on a minute, and then ran back into the studio. After a moment, he came back out with Quincy Jones, who was producing the album and was evidently very respected by Michael. Quincy took one look at the transparencies and with a confident smile, without any hesitation, pointed to one, and said "That's your cover, Michael!"
I was totally impressed by that decision as that was the fastest I have ever seen anyone select a final transparency for anything, and it was a good choice. Michael was extremely happy. Quincy was happy. CBS was happy. I was ecstatic, and judging by the fact that it is still the highest selling album in history, I can say without doubt that it was the correct choice and the world was happy." It has become an artistic icon. Who would have suspected that the click of the camera, 1/60th of a second, would create the unforgettable image it has become in history.

The following are a few of my personal thoughts and observations I would like to share. As having had the opportunity to be close to Michael during some very private discussions as we worked and conversed together off and on for those 15 years. I do feel that I have a sense of who he really was. [...]

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