Hey Wikipedia shows it better:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Smooth_criminal_patent.png

frenetic and staccato? Seriously man?

It's after 3:50 into the video...

That's cool... I also put in my blog.
http://albertoferreira.blogspot.com/

I'm surprised Gene Kelly didn't sue him.

professional weirdo indeed

King of Pop Pepsi can. Now that's what I call quick thinking.

Buying one.

you all are jackasses and haters. either way this still proves he's a genius. how many patents for anything worthwhile do you have? MJ was not weird just creative.

yo check this website out you do offers or surveys and get points to spend on amazon.com or cash that can be withdrawn by paypal, check, ect. and when you signup i will add you up and help you get more $

Wow, truly amazing dude!

RT
www.complete-privacy.tk

The guy on the right that struggled with the release never really seemed as "smooth" as Michael and the other dancers in the close ups. Pretty interesting stuff, I had wondered since I saw the music video for the first time how it was really done live (figured it was wires in the video)

anonymous...do you really think that Michael Jackson did the engineering work on these shoes?

it doesn't matter who built them. the idea guy gets the credit....and the patent...

Extricating? Paraphernalia?

Thesaurus fetish of some sort? I hate to see the English language butchered in these kind of articles.

MJ is obviously not the idea huy

adelashkanani - don't be hating on someone with a little more than your 6th grade edumacation

@adelashkanani

That's precisely what makes English an exciting language - there's
many different ways to express ourselves. Please don't drag us
down to your level!

You dumbass tell me at what time the lean happens so i dont have to watch all of this video.

The Lifestyle

that's just ignorant!

:-) @sp

Michael was a Awesome Showman.
and glad to have been an enemy for many years. He will be missed.

Don't the shoes lock in onto something on the stage?
Watch when they walk away from the forward lean. The dude on the far right, his foot gets hooked, and he does not immediatly come loose.

This is classic. RIP M.J. Truly one of, if not, THE greatest performers. Love to hear a MJ song when I'm out.

Cool article.

RT
www.incomplete-privacy.tk

u mean they didnt use wires? then why did they need to dim the lights n shift our attention to an extra?

Very interesting :)
http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=MAUgAAAAEBAJ&dq=5,255,452

Very interesting :)
http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=MAUgAAAAEBAJ&dq=5,255,452

the magic is over!!!!!

You can't discredit a "GENIUS" stop trying....

He was the best and there will be no other...

Despite the gizmo, which makes sense, th rest of the performance is amazing.

Paris Hilton with this gadget would just be another unstable dumb blonde.

Jackson was a freak, maybe, but what a performer. I saw that show. it was awsome.

It's at 3:50 for those that want to see the guy mess up a bit.

I remember learning about this, there was a rumor that it was done with hypnoses.

Let me translate adelashkanani's comment:

"Extricating? Paraphernalia? I had to look those words up on Google, and am upset about it. Maybe if I use a tiny bit of advanced sentence structure, people will fail to notice that I'm a fool."

Extricating and paraphernalia are both perfectly acceptable words in the context they have been used. If you failed to understand them or thought the writer was being 'clever', then you need to go back to school.

I thought they just used Captain EO Power

I would never call him a genius but a great performer yes. The device is very clever and whether or not he designed and patented it doesn't matter as much as having the ability to incorporate and execute an idea and concept so effectively.
I watched most of the video and am convinced he is lip syncing. I'm not a MJ hater but I also admittedly never LOVED the guy either. I am sorry he's dead but am not loosing any sleep over it. He hasn't had any decent albums in over a decade. I know that doesn't take away from his 3 decades of ground breaking hits but I think he was trying too hard to get back to his "King of Pop" days.

Even with the shoes you would still need to be a strong dancer and have good flexibility and balance. I could do it but I think some other people could not

Thanks for the information - GREAT performance. Enjoyed the video. Michael was smart - just different.

Michael Jackson was a big advocate for this fruit which he ate everyday and said contributed to his physical fitness and nutrition

SadistiX - I just saw a piece on these shoes on CBS news, so I came online to learn a little more. I have a bit of theater techie in my background, and if I understand what the mechanism was, pins popped up out of the stage to lock into slots in the heals of the shoes. You'd need some time to get the pins in place, so the blackout would have been necessary to cover the little bit of a scramble needed to get hooked up to start. The pins went back into the stage after the move, so no one would stumble over them.

I've never really been an MJ fan (way too much hype for one person), but after seeing clip this I can understand how his show would have been something to see.

Does anyone know where we can buy those shoes & things that go on the floor to create the illusion

Folks what ever you speak or how much you shout lemme tell you one simple fact about MJ.........He was the king of pop and did contributed huge to music and thats what count. I do not believe ppl who sit in stadium and only know how to clap but the real fun lies in making ppl enjoy the game from the battle field. Hats off to MJ and last but not the least for ppl like you.........We still need morons in this world else if each one of us is good then we might not see hitler/saddam and many like that... Hold your breath as this only a disaster begining so do not provoke me to become ferocious. MJ ROCKS

Extricating: To remove or escape an environment that is keeping you or something from full mobility.
There, with that said, MJ was a showman. He did his best to entertain his audience, and loved it. You always got your money's worth.
MJ will be missed.

Its five AM and im sitting here crying my eyes out for the loss of this performer,,In my life time i have loved 2 performers this much,,,Elvis and MJ,,,both gone and i cry because i never got to see them live,,and now i never will,,,i always thought there would be more time,,,doesnt matter how they did what they did in their lives,,it only matters that they did,,and we loved them for it,,IM going to miss them,,i dont usually do music but when i do,,,its them,,,

Say what you like, but MJ accomplished what many entertainers strive for. The patent even impresses me! Personal lives are just that, they are personal. What skeletons do you have in your closet.

Khan,
I think the principal from Billy Madison said it best:
"What you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul."

Khan,
I think the principal from Billy Madison said it best:
"What you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul."

Very interesting - I wonder if anyone has ever utilized this invention other than MJ?

@adelashkanani - Those words were completely appropriate for the context in which they were used. Furthermore, both those words were on my son's middle school vocabulary list last year.

Neat trick. All along I just assumed it was some Hollywood sfx at play here.

Anyone knows when and where that concert, from the video, took place?

Every person contemplating splat suicide from a high building should first wear a pair and then do "the lean" with his/her eyes open of course!

Thank goodness "MJ" is dead! Now my little kids can sleep through the night without being scared of him comming into the room to sleep in the same bed. Thanks for helping to ruin a perfectly O.K. site by adding something about this freak. Now can we PLEASE get back to things that matter?

Looks like it was from a concert in Munich. You can see the same mis-step happen at about 4:28 in this version of the video. Also some of the same fans in the audience.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ev09bBEuECs
Michael Jackson - Smooth Criminal live in Munchen

lovely ;-)

Simply the best singer, the best ideas, the best creativity, the most revolutionary!

Ok, call me a complete retard, but I still don't really understand how the trick shoes work.

I've read all the external links people posted, and I still can't picture EXACTLY how the shoes work. I just kind of "get the gist" of the idea, sort of.

Has this ever been demonstrated on T.V.? I don't think I'll understand how this works unless I actually SEE a step-by-step demonstration.

MJ was not weird???????????????? OK,"Anonymous" !!!!!!!

PeepsMcJuggs,
You do not deserve this wrath from me and for sure i do mind coming down to your level and shed few words. I honestly repect those who knows whats music is all about and for that you do not have to articulate peculiar words in the forum......All i can say...........The very next thing which took birth after an artist is CRITICS..........

Michael Jackson was not a child molester..sure he may have been a freak..or maybe a little weird..but a child molester..no way....That was just a big publicity stunt cooked up by someone who wanted to cash in on his fortune

Michael Jackson did not invent the effect. Unfortunately, the guy who did invent it, didn't do the patent himself. I have used the effect in my show long before the Smooth Criminal video was thought of. I guess all that is important is who gets to the patent office 1st. I must commend MJ for be smart enough to move on the opportunity.

It's always interesting how polarised people become in the face of well known personalities dying... and how a degree of balance can easily be lost.
For those who have been extremely negative on here, it's difficult to argue that Jackson produced work which was unique and extraordinary at times, which might be to your taste or might not, in which case it's poor show to condemn people who do like him. However, for those who like him a lot, you might have to accept that we do not know the real facts behind why there were so many accusations about him and for that reason many people are less positive about him than otherwise. Anyone else in the general public displaying the same behaviour would be in far more trouble than he was. However for those condemning him, you too must also accept that we don't actually know what went on - plenty of people are accused of paedophilia these days because people don't understand their behaviour and are scared of them (I only need to cite the hundreds of instances every year where people with learning disabilities want to associate with children in their communities because they find them easier to understand however adults believe them to be paedophiles because they don't make any attempt to understand the individual - they just take aim and attack!). Humans are not good at accepting people who are different.
However, just be a little balanced guys. If you don't like him, don't be cruel and upset people who do. He was an unusual guy, he did some unique work and none of us have proof of what he really was like. Just be a little more tolerant.

why do they call this live? It was obviously playback. You cannot sound like you do on the cd while dancing like that. Even with great stamina you should hear his breath get deeper

Please let everyone know about a wonderful site that is up to say goodbye to Michael Jackson. It is www.wallformichaeljackson.com

TRUE! Notice the minute 3:56.
How fluent mistake!

wow...very cool. thanks for sharing & thanks for the other links. without those, i would still have a puzzled look on my face...lol

Psych - well said.
DrInequality - well said.
adelashkanani - get educated.
I'm not a fan of his music, but got a chance to see him live. There's no denying he was an amazing showman. R.I.P.

i agree with dudeman. its terrible he died, but at the same time lets not make this a circus. serious. he had some good songs, nevertheless, his prime time was long past. tragic, but common among the famous.

I have a massive boner

The shoe wouldnt be that hard to make, you add a little room into the heal of the shoe reinforce it then it would work fine but its still a great idea

Michael Jackson was awesome, a genius that over took the music industry by surprise.
Michael Jackson was misunderstood and his life was controlled by a controlling father .
I was very upset by his passing. I felt like I just lost a musical brother.

I love the song "Smooth Criminal"
The video was his best work. Creating the leaning
gravity effect was mind blowing.
It's to bad that his personal physician wasn't a medical genius !

Michael Jackson's music will live forever in my heart and the of his fans !

P Diddy had very precisely described the genius of Michael Jackson: "He showed that you can actually see the beat. He made the music come to life. He made me believe in magic."

Check other notable tributes paid to Michael Jackson by peers:

http://www.tributespaid.com/category/m/michael-jackson

MICHAEAL JACKSON WHAS TE REAL KING FOR MY

IK CANT LITTLE BIT THE MOONWALK EN I LOVE HIE DANCE EN SINGING END I CANT SINGIN PARTS OR HIS SONG THRILLER SMOOTH CRIMINIAL EARTH SONG BILLE JEAN BEAT IT

Ever since I heard MJ's song, Its the best voice to my ears. Ever since I saw his dance, till now and till my end he will remain the best dancer to me and I find his charm irresistible. No one can ever beat him. His art was flawless. he was a perfectionist. Great artist. Hats off! MJ I love you.

MJ was the best Music and Dance gift from GOD, who entertained the whole world and left us all to cherish his legacy for ever and ever. So long the universe remains, his fame will never end. I lov you Mike

You know ever since the guy died I've heard qa lot of negative comments about him. You guys need to take a good look at your own lives and re4alize that he is no different from us. He did some things I wouldn't have done but I still have no right to judge him because everybody has faults. I do give him grats because he did more for the world in one year than I've done my whole life. So stop hating the guy. You can hate what he did but you can admit that he was great on stage. You tell me how your child life was and you listen to his I bet there is a big difference...

Dudes, How can i get this shoes?

Damn that's pretty innovative I actually thought he was able to lean over like that haha.