Post by NatureCriminal7896 on Jun 23, 2021 2:57:02 GMT
When you're the most influential pop star of all time, you can get away with a lot. Michael Jackson already had eight mega-hit studio albums when he released HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I in 1995. "Scream", a duet with his sister Janet Jackson, appeared on the album's second album and became the first song in history to debut in the top 5 of the Billboard Top 100.
At the time, Michael had the biggest cache among artists and a sister who was also a superstar on her own merits. So the singer did what he wanted when it came to creating the music video for "Scream". And the sky was the limit.
The music video for "Scream" cost about $7 million to make. Where did all this money go? We're starting to find out.
See why this is the most expensive music video ever made.
The illusion of zero gravity. The most central feature of the video was the illusion of zero gravity, with the couple of brothers dancing upside down on the roof of a rotating spaceship. The special effects cost good money, making it look sharp and extremely realistic.
The ship was actually 11 sets. Building high-quality scenarios doesn't come cheap, and "Scream" required eleven of them to create the interior of a futuristic and giddy lysing spaceship.
With $5 million, the concept was expensive and bold, but that's what Michael and his team wanted. It was definitely worth it, and the style of the space age influenced the later videos of many artists, including TLC, Backstreet Boys, NSYNC and Britney Spears.
I was on a ridiculously tight deadline. Do you know the saying, "You can choose two: fast, good and cheap"? "Scream" was fast and good... Then it could be cheap. MJJ Productions set a five-week deadline from the date they approached it until the video's release. Film production is already an expensive ordeal, and for this to happen quickly, the costs of each element have doubled and tripled from their normal value.
... And it was for overtime. Streamlining production will significantly increase your costs; so if you go beyond that, you'll see exponentially more than you would have paid if you had decided to produce it on that schedule in the first place. The recording of the video took several days, causing the costs to skyrocket.
The wishes of the brothers. When you reach the pinnacle of fame that these two have, you can put your best friends on the payroll. It's a pretty enviable show! Michael and Janet wanted the moral support of all their loved ones and close by making this inspiring video, and Michael and Janet Jackson got what they wanted.
Assistants... And your assistants. Michael and Janet Jackson can't be Michael and Janet Jackson without a fairly substantial team of assistants. And all these assistants have assistants. And those assistants... Well, that's the idea. Direction, wardrobe, camera, lighting, sound, makeup, choreography, each of these departments independently had dozens of employees, so the cost of the video payroll was astronomical.
Breaking guitars. The price of the guitars that the brothers break in this video will punch anyone in the stomach with student loans. There was a seemingly endless stash of guitars on set for the sweeping parts of the video, and the bill reached $53,000.
The first-rate choreography. When you're two of the best dancers of all time, you need a top-notaline choreography to be able to show your talent completely. It took four choreographers to choreograph "Scream". The Jacksons have Travis Payne, LaVelle Smith Jr., Tina Landon and Sacha Lucashenko to thank for the high-energy choreography in this video, and the choreographers received a total of $40,000 for their work.
Michael and Janet's makeup. For $3,000, Michael Jackson'smakeupfor " Scream " was more expensive than most people's rent for a few months, and Janet's was more than double, reaching $8,000. And that's just for them to appear in black and white! But we have to recognize the make-up artist Klexius Kolby: they look like killers!
The visual effects. The remote control screens on Michael and Janet's futuristic ship rotate among a variety of different works of art, including Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollock and cultural sculptures. Don't forget the video screens on which each brother appears, the effect of flying through space outside the ship, and the animation used throughout. In all, the visual effects alone reached about $300,000.
— by Tifani Sueiro
At the time, Michael had the biggest cache among artists and a sister who was also a superstar on her own merits. So the singer did what he wanted when it came to creating the music video for "Scream". And the sky was the limit.
The music video for "Scream" cost about $7 million to make. Where did all this money go? We're starting to find out.
See why this is the most expensive music video ever made.
The illusion of zero gravity. The most central feature of the video was the illusion of zero gravity, with the couple of brothers dancing upside down on the roof of a rotating spaceship. The special effects cost good money, making it look sharp and extremely realistic.
The ship was actually 11 sets. Building high-quality scenarios doesn't come cheap, and "Scream" required eleven of them to create the interior of a futuristic and giddy lysing spaceship.
With $5 million, the concept was expensive and bold, but that's what Michael and his team wanted. It was definitely worth it, and the style of the space age influenced the later videos of many artists, including TLC, Backstreet Boys, NSYNC and Britney Spears.
I was on a ridiculously tight deadline. Do you know the saying, "You can choose two: fast, good and cheap"? "Scream" was fast and good... Then it could be cheap. MJJ Productions set a five-week deadline from the date they approached it until the video's release. Film production is already an expensive ordeal, and for this to happen quickly, the costs of each element have doubled and tripled from their normal value.
... And it was for overtime. Streamlining production will significantly increase your costs; so if you go beyond that, you'll see exponentially more than you would have paid if you had decided to produce it on that schedule in the first place. The recording of the video took several days, causing the costs to skyrocket.
The wishes of the brothers. When you reach the pinnacle of fame that these two have, you can put your best friends on the payroll. It's a pretty enviable show! Michael and Janet wanted the moral support of all their loved ones and close by making this inspiring video, and Michael and Janet Jackson got what they wanted.
Assistants... And your assistants. Michael and Janet Jackson can't be Michael and Janet Jackson without a fairly substantial team of assistants. And all these assistants have assistants. And those assistants... Well, that's the idea. Direction, wardrobe, camera, lighting, sound, makeup, choreography, each of these departments independently had dozens of employees, so the cost of the video payroll was astronomical.
Breaking guitars. The price of the guitars that the brothers break in this video will punch anyone in the stomach with student loans. There was a seemingly endless stash of guitars on set for the sweeping parts of the video, and the bill reached $53,000.
The first-rate choreography. When you're two of the best dancers of all time, you need a top-notaline choreography to be able to show your talent completely. It took four choreographers to choreograph "Scream". The Jacksons have Travis Payne, LaVelle Smith Jr., Tina Landon and Sacha Lucashenko to thank for the high-energy choreography in this video, and the choreographers received a total of $40,000 for their work.
Michael and Janet's makeup. For $3,000, Michael Jackson'smakeupfor " Scream " was more expensive than most people's rent for a few months, and Janet's was more than double, reaching $8,000. And that's just for them to appear in black and white! But we have to recognize the make-up artist Klexius Kolby: they look like killers!
The visual effects. The remote control screens on Michael and Janet's futuristic ship rotate among a variety of different works of art, including Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollock and cultural sculptures. Don't forget the video screens on which each brother appears, the effect of flying through space outside the ship, and the animation used throughout. In all, the visual effects alone reached about $300,000.
— by Tifani Sueiro