Due to our work schedules, we had to balance the filming of the anniversary of Michael Jackson’s death carefully as we knew fans would be in several locations (Forest Lawn, his Hollywood Star and the Encino home). So we each took a location and a different time slot starting at 10am and reconvening together at 11pm at his star. We stayed at the star until 3am, and talked with Michael Jackson fans–what struck us as incredible, was the mood of the night. There was little sadness, but joy and hope as fans celebrated one man, his life and his music.
Production Meetings
Originally, when we first began filming this project, it had been our hope to have it finished and distributed in time for the anniversary of Michael Jackson’s death. The three of us, trying to balance this project with our personal lives and full-time jobs, realized a couple months before his anniversary, that our plan had been ambitious.
On the one hand, we had really wanted to have this complete and finished to show Michael’s fans by June, but on the other hand, this delay gave us a gift. We realized that because of the delay, we could now film fans on the anniversary of his death and capture the intensity of his fans that was still ongoing one year later.
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Take Two With the Stonums
In shaping our story, we realized there were a couple elements we had neglected to capture the first time we met the Stonums. For the first interview, Jackie (the mother) had discussed how much Michael Jackson had impacted her family in their daily lives. This time, we wanted to focus on the three daughters, all musically gifted, and dig into how Michael Jackson inspired them to play their various instruments. After a few technical glitches, we filmed the footage we needed and enjoyed seeing the family in their new place.
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Footage Review & Editing
For the rest of April and much of May, we focused on reviewing all the footage we had filmed and the best way to connect the hundreds of stories. There were so many ways we could cut clips together, and our discussions about the project, people we met and things we had learned helped us realize how much Michael Jackson had impacted so many people all over the world in such incredible ways–and ultimately how important it was for us to showcase that story.
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Jules Sings at Dodger Stadium
Jules, who first told us about the World Music Dance Awards, and the Michael Jackson Tribute Choir he belonged to, had a troubled relationship with his father growing up. He looked to Michael Jackson as inspiration and comfort. Always with a passion for singing, Jules found his way into Dodger stadium as a photographer, in order to network his way around to accomplish his ultimate goal of singing the National Anthem at the Stadium. On this particular day, Jules acted out his dream and performed the National Anthem and God Bless America for the entire stadium.
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Bechir and Michael
As a young Haitian, Bechir grew up in a country where English was not his first language. He discovered music through Michael Jackson and ultimately became an incredibly talented dancer following Michael’s lead. In transitioning with his move to the United States as a pre-teen, Bechir tried to maintain a positive attitude about his new country–by remembering how Michael Jackson had his own struggles, but then had become one of the most successful entertainers of all time.
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World Music Dance Awards: Show Night
What an incredible night! In addition to hearing the amazingly talented Michael Jackson Tribute Choir, we me Dan S. Brown, an incredibly talented artist. Dan had brought with him an amazing piece of his art–a 12ftx12ft portrait of Michael Jackson, completely made up of pop cans, which was incredible to see in person. What another unbelievable way to honor the King of Pop with a portrait of pop cans!
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World Music Dance Awards: Rehearsal
After receiving a tip about the World Music Dance Awards that was going to feature Michael Jackson music and even a Michael Jackson Tribute Choir, we knew we had to film the event! So we first started at the rehearsal, and had a chance to see behind the scenes and meet the performers in person to find out how Michael Jackson has inspired them musically.
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Teresa And Michael
Teresa was one of our most surprising gems. Her story focused on how she fell in love with Michael only after he passed away. Growing up in a home where music was considered noise, she had never listened to Michael’s music. She was someone who had never really understood his fans, or the connection he had to so many. It was only after he died, and she started researching all the good he had done in the world, did she begin to fall in love with Michael Jackson the person.
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Pierre and Michael
Pierre might possibly be one of the most charismatic fans we interviewed. Originally from France, but with Polish roots, Pierre moved to the states almost 20 years ago and has made a living as a model and actor. We loved that Pierre had an European perspective on Michael Jackson, and how even though he had lived in a small village growing up, people heard of Michael Jackson. Although an artist himself, Pierre seemed to connect with Michael on an entirely different way–he saw Michael as a humanitarian and someone spiritual who created much love and positivity in this world. In Pierre’s own words, Michael was a mench.
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