Fist in ears?
curls
Posts: 3,111
Has there been a discussion here about the J5 bit in TII where MJ doesn't sing because he's 'adjusting to the situation' of being unable to hear because it feels like a fist in his ear? This part bugs me, it seemed odd and a lot of time was spent on it with his conversation with Kenny. But I don't want to go over it all again if it's already been dissected!
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I also thought it strange that everything kept going - the band, the dancers - even though it was very apparent Michael was unhappy with something. I know he runs the show, but it's not like Kenny ever had a problem jumping in before. Case in point: Smooth Criminal. Kenny interrupted the whole thing when he thought the band had missed the cue to start. So the whole J5 medley part just seemed strange.
i found so strange this part too... btw, i love this part of the movie! but yesterday i was watching one music channel and i saw a video from a latin singer and something got my atention: they are at studio recording and the video was filmed there, like an inside look of the recording studio... and all the band members and the singer have this thing in the ears. i will make my point now, we know for sure that michael never use this ears thing at live performances, and why use it in rehearsals? this was a recording sesion (i think) because this latin singer never use this ear thing at live either...
It's perfectly normal to use in-ears during gigs, especially in closed venues. In case no in-ears are used, you will see monitors on the stage in front of each musician.
I'm not sure whether Mike never used in-ears during live performances, he can very well have been using them as he always had a transmitter attached to his waist band.
The thing that has always bothered me about this particular scene in TII is that Mike calls them inner-ears, while every musician knows they are called in-ears.
I don't know if it's been "debunked" but I love that part because Michael has a special smile on his face that tells a lot to me. And the word "adjusting" makes me think of one of TS' redirects to one of my post where I used the word "readjusting" regarding Michael (re)adjusting things during the hoax to guide us where he wants us to go. Maybe it's connected...
i know is normal to use it, but mj never use them and he say in tii that he is not familiarized with this "inner ears" that he is trying to "adjusting to the situation" and i don´t see him using this inner ears at live performances, about the transmitter attached to his waist i think is for the microphone... <!-- s:roll: -->:roll:<!-- s:roll: --> and btw, we see monitors too during tii...
But I might be wrong... <!-- s:? -->:?<!-- s:? -->
Can you please post a screenshot of the moment you see monitors on stage? I have been looking out for them, but did not see them.
Just to make sure we're talking about the same kind of monitor - I mean stage PA monitors, not to be confused with the autocue we saw in This Is It.
While watching TII, I never had the impression that Michael complained about the technical device only but that he was really concerned about his hearing capabilities being disturbed or in worst case harmed by the impact of the technical devices.
Artists are always concerned about their instruments of expression.
Singers fear for their voice and many musicians are blessed with the talent of absolute pitch which requires much ear training and comes down to an individual tonal memory.
Technical devices in many cases indeed do disturb perception and expression of sounds.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ear
I think so, too. I think it felt strange for him cause he wasn't used to use that device.
I've heard "fist in ears" used for a disturbing or loud sound as well, but then again English is not my mother language.
Would not be the very first musician that gets deaf...I know some musicians/ singers and tinitus it´s a common factor.
Some of them can hardly listen after the years working with loud music.
I WILL LOOK AGAIN IF I CAN FIND A VIDEO ON YOUTUBE
HERE IS THE PICTURE, AND BTW WHY IS ORI WITH A MICROPHONE? WAS SHE REHEARSING FOR WHAT???
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It needs to fit right?
There are no monitors on the picture you attached.
Here is a link i thought was interesting talking about this scene:
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"This is It": What Michael Jackson can teach us about executive communications
The other day I went to an IABC presentation with Roger Friedensen and Ray Hornak of Forge Communications in Raleigh, NC. Their essential approach to communications (which I love) is that they are problem-solvers. The next day, I found a great example of this approach when I was watching "This Is It", the amazing documentary about what was to be Michael Jackson's swan song concert series in London last year.
Go to about the 43 min. mark of "This Is It" and you'll find a fascinating microcosm of executive communications finesse and problem-solving in action. In the spirit of avoiding copyright infringements, I've transcribed it below (comments in parentheses are MINE). But get the movie and listen to it if you can - you'll hear director Kenny Ortega work his magic in a way that reading these words cannot fully convey.
Michael Jackson has just completed a run through of a song and is shaking his head and pulling or tapping on his ear.
MJ: "You guys, I gotta tell you this... When I'm trying to hear, it's like someone's fist is pushing in my ear... It's really very difficult... I know you mean well but I'm trying to adjust to the inner ears, okay? With the love, with the love - L-O-V-E - it's not easy though..."
(HUH? WHAT IS HE TALKING ABOUT?)
Offscreen, loud and clear over the PA system, we hear director Kenny Ortega, in a deep, smooth, measured voice: "Michael, one more time - I couldn't hear you, sir."
(BY ASKING THIS, ORTEGA SEEMS TO BE BUYING TIME TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE PROBLEM IS - HOPING TO GET JACKSON TO EXPRESS IT MORE CLEARLY)
MJ: "The inner ears are very difficult for me, when you raised - the use - just your real own, you know, aural, auritory ears.
(DOUBLE HUH?)
It feels like, it feels like somebody's fist, their FIST is shoved into your ear.
(HERE HE PUNCHES THE AIR AND PRACTICALLY SPITS THE WORD "FIST" - HE'S CLEARLY UPSET BY SOMETHING)
I'm trying to hear and I can't.
(A HA! WE JUST FOUND THE PROBLEM)
So I'm, I'm, I'm adjusting to the situation..."
KO: "Michael, is there anything they can give you now in your ears to make it better in terms of volume or mix?
(YOU REALLY HAVE TO HEAR THIS: ORTEGA'S CADENCE IS POWERFUL, SOLID AND SLOW - HIS WORDS EACH SEEM TO WEIGH A TON; HIS VOLUME IS EVEN, HIS TONE ONE OF COMPETENCE AND CONTROL. HE CAN FIX THIS.)
Now there's a pause - you can almost see the path that Ortega has cleared for Jackson. There's someone in control who understands the situation. This calms Jackson and helps him find the words for what he really needs.
MJ: "Um, if we could just bring it down a little bit."
(WOW, NOW THAT'S A CLEAR REQUEST.)
KO: (to engineers) "Bring it down a little bit please."
(AGAIN, THE CALM, SOLID TONE - REPEATING JACKSON'S WORDS VERBATIM SO HE KNOWS HE'S BEEN HEARD.)
KO: "Anything else, Michael? You want to hear more of anything, you want to hear more voice, you want to hear more...?"
MJ: "No."
(THE FISSURE OF CREATIVE ENERGY THAT CRACKED OPEN THIS EXCHANGE HAS BEEN SEALED. NOW JACKSON CAN REFOCUS ALL HIS CREATIVE ENERGY ON CREATING.)
KO: "Okay, Michael, after the next song, if it hasn't adjusted to your liking, will you please let us know?"
(THE ALL-IMPORTANT FOLLOW-THROUGH, IN ADVANCE. ORTEGA WANTS TO ASSURE JACKSON THAT HE WILL NOT LET THIS DROP UNTIL IT'S EXACTLY THE WAY THE BOSS NEEDS IT TO BE.)
MJ: "Sure."
(YOU CAN SEE AND FEEL THAT JACKSON HAS LET IT GO, THAT NOW HE CAN GET BACK TO CREATING HIS ONE-AND-ONLY KIND OF MAGIC.)
KO: "Thank you. Would you like to pick it up from..."
I kept watching this clip over and over, fascinated by how Ortega provides Jackson with the sense that he (Jackson) is in total control while conveying the unspoken truth that, in fact, Ortega is handling everything so that Jackson can be free to create - to do what he does best and not be burdened by the technical, logistical or other elements that get in his way.
Why couldn't Jackson just have said, "Hey, the volume's too loud - please turn it down" and moved along? Let's face it, creative superstars are not often known for their plain and direct approaches to problem-solving. There's almost always drama involved. Skilled communicators and message people need to know how to strip out the drama and hear what their boss is actually asking for and what they need.
Michael Jackson was heading this mega-million dollar enterprise; there was tremendous pressure and responsibility on him, just as there is with our CEOs. Thoughts tend to tumble out complicated, twisted and sometimes downright incomprehensible under that kind of pressure. As the man tasked with communicating Jackson's vision and brilliance, Ortega's job was to translate that foreign language of creative expression and refocus it onto what the actual problem was - and then solve that problem in a way that made his boss feel comfortable, powerful and self-assured. I think Ortega is an absolute master at this. (The exchange also illuminates the benefits of a long and deep working relationship - Ortega knew his boss very, very well, and it shows.)
So I think "this is it" - our job as executive communication specialists is to shine a spotlight on the message, to hold it to its mark center stage - where it belongs - and to get all the other crap out of our messenger's way smoothly, competently and respectfully. The ones who can do that are the true communication superstars.
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I WAS THINKING THE SAME BUT MAYBE THEY REHEARSED FOR THE CONCERT AND MAYBE THEY WILL SING AT THE CONCERT... <!-- s:roll: -->:roll:<!-- s:roll: -->
No, that's an auto-cue.
This is a really good point and interesting way of seeing it. It is so interesting how everyone interprets someone else's words. Hey, maybe you are onto something?