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What Is the Most Expensive Music Video Ever Made?

The video for the song "Scream," by Michael Jackson and his sister, Janet Jackson, is the most expensive music video ever made. Directed by Mark Romanek, it cost $7 million to make and features both Jacksons dancing on the walls and ceiling of a spaceship. It originally aired in June 1995. By comparison, the 14-minute video for "Thriller" in 1983 was a relative bargain at just $800,000.
  1. Sets

    • Romanek filmed "Scream" in 11 days, which averages to $636,000 per day. He also used 11 different "futuristic/sci-fi sets," which cost roughly $450,000 each, accounting for about $5 million of the budget.

    Computer Generation

    • The video featured a computer-generated spaceship and "morphing" art. The computer-generation also allowed the Jacksons to "walk" on the walls and ceiling of the ship.

    Guitars

    • According to Thelongestlist.com, $53,000 worth of guitars were broken during the filming.

    Make-up

    • It cost $3,000 just for Michael Jackson's make-up, also according to Thelongestlist.com,.

    Art

    • The video features "anime" art--Japanese animation--and clips of the anime-series "Akira," as well as morphing shots of Andy Warhol and the work of Jackson Pollock.

    Awards

    • "Scream" was nominated for Grammy and American Music awards in 1995, as well as numerous MTV awards.

Film Production

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