Michael Jackson’s “Earth Song” music video opens with an establishing shot of a forest. This shot is used to show where the video will take place and the swooping of the camera makes the viewer feel like they are flying over the location which also helps to set a mood. Thirteen seconds into the video the trees are green and there is light shining through them which makes the shot brighter. The opening shot is close up to the trees which emphasizes the presence of leaves. This allows you to see that the bark is brown, strong and healthy looking. There is also a bird perched on one of the branches, basking in the sunlight which adds to the feeling of life. The trees are the focus of the image, taking up the foreground, midground and background, untouched by anything else. The establishing shot of the leafy, verdant trees gives the viewer an overall sense of peace and tranquility and informs you that trees will be an important piece of this music video.  

However, the next scene is a jarring departure from the establishing shot. Because of the opening establishing shot it is understood that this is the same forest from the beginning. Despite its shared location this scene is completely different. Forty-two seconds in, it features Michael Jackson in a long shot standing among a barren wasteland, with fire and charred, black trees in the midground, foreground and background. Gone are the leaves, the bark and the lively colors. Also, because most of the trees have been chopped down at this point they are no longer a large part of the shot but are instead only scattered among the fiery embers. They ones that haven’t been chopped down are no longer lush but are skeletons of what they used to be. No birds sit among the branches but instead there is Michael Jackson, a human walking through their remains.

Trees are a visual motif in Michael Jackson's music video for “Earth Song”. The two scenes in the beginning show a widely different portrayal of the forest where the trees are located. These two scenes are meant to be a before and after shot of the same location to show how humans negatively impact the world. The first opening scene is animated and bright with full, green trees filled with life. This represents nature before humans have touched it. However, when Michael Jackson comes into play and the trees have been violated by a human's presence the trees are dead, their once strong branches spindly and burnt. The others trees have been cut down all together and there is no longer an animal to be seen among them. They are no longer surrounded by sunlight by instead are touched by smalls fires littered throughout the landscape. This display serves to represent nature after humans have come into contact with it.  In Michael Jackson's “Earth Song” music video, trees are used to represent the effect humans are having on the environment.