Michael Jackson ft. Janet Jackson – Scream
Michael Jackson ft. Janet Jackson – Scream (1995)
Directed by: Mark Romanek
The 4:46 minute music video for “Scream” was choreographed by Travis Payne, LaVelle Smith Jnr, Tina Landon and Sacha Lucashenko in May 1995, and Sean Cheesman, directed by Mark Romanek, with the production being designed by Tom Foden. Jackson did not create the “concept” for the video, which he had often done in the past, but left it to Romanek. Jackson later described the making of “Scream” as a collaborative effort. The song and its accompanying video are a response to the backlash Jackson received from the media in 1993.
Foden commented, “Mark had written the treatment and the general idea was that Michael and Janet were on this large spacecraft. And they were alone… They were getting away from Earth, and the different sets were the different environments on the spacecraft where they could have a little bit of fun and where they could relax. Production of the music video’s 13-piece set were restricted to a one-month period and is produced by Foden art directors Richard Berg, Jeff Hall, and Martin Mervel. Foden describes the assignment as a “military operation” explaining, “The idea was to give each of the art directors three sets: a complicated one, a not-so-complicated one, and one of the smaller, easier vignettes.” Typography in the video was designed by P. Scott Makela. Jackson was happy to work with his sister again, explaining that as they still had a passion for dancing it reminded him of “old times.”
In the video, Janet Jackson takes on a darker persona, previously unseen in her own music videos. Jim Farber of the New York Daily News described her as “Sporting a thick thatch of wig hair, and eyes darkened by coal-black makeup… sullen and arty… Janet, however, never looked tougher, or more in control.” In the video, a sign appears with the logo of the song’s title. The scene then changes a spacecraft traveling past Earth before the camera zooms in inside. Then, the lights came on and reveal Michael and Janet inside a small hole. Suddenly, the spacecraft zooms out through the outer part of the galaxy, sending them screaming. In the first verse, Michael is seen in the room where he is floating on gravity. Then, Michael is shown in a room with thousands of guitars where he breaks one while Janet sings the next verse. Then, it shows Michael dancing on the wall while Janet looks at her nail before playing a game of tag. Then, it shows Michael and Janet in a room where they are using a remote control by changing pictures of Gregory Peck, art painting, statues, etc. Next, it shows both Michael and Janet in the media room where they are playing a video game which Michael wins. Then, Janet sports a skimpy bikini in some scenes while at the core of the craft, grabs at her breasts, gives the camera a middle finger and simulates male urination where Michael is shown taking controls into some kind of Observation. (In the out-takes, there is a still color photograph of Michael also giving the camera a middle finger.) Meanwhile, Michael is seen in a white room while wearing a black robe where he is playing a Chinese person before screaming which breaks the glass above him. Then, Michael and Janet perform a dance breakdown. Then, it cuts back to the media room where Janet is dancing with Michael being seen on the television screen while Janet does the same thing with Michael. Then, Michael is seen playing a tennis game where he is using a robotic orb to break jars. The video has influences of Japanese sci-fi Anime – several clips of the Zillion anime series and the movie Akira can be seen in the background screens. The version of the video included on Michael Jackson’s Vision is uncut and contains the “just stop fucking with me” lyric, which was censored in HIStory on Film, Volume II.
The video premiered in the summer of 1995, on MTV and BET and the next evening on ABC-TV’s “Primetime Live” during Diane Sawyer’s interview with Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley. The interview was broadcast to approximately 64 million viewers. The video is one of Jackson’s most critically acclaimed pieces, Heather Phares of Allmusic described the video as a “stylish, interstellar clip.” James Hunter of Rolling Stone called it a contemporary video, “in which Michael and his sister Janet jump around like ’90s fashion kids trapped in a spaceship stolen from a Barbarella film set.” Jim Farber called it a “supercool black-and-white clip… The clip’s great allure is that neither of the siblings looks quite real. While the visuals hold barely any connection to the lyric, and seem to have no clear point, the weird look captivates.” He was of the opinion that while Michael Jackson outshines his sister in the vocals, it is Janet Jackson who gives the better performance in the music video.
In 1995, Scream gained 11 MTV Video Music Award Nominations—more than any other music video—and won “Best Dance Video”, “Best Choreography”, and “Best Art Direction.” Reacting to this, Jackson stated that he was “very honored”, explaining that he had worked “very hard” and he was “very happy” with the reception up to that point. It was also given a Billboard Music Award for best Pop/Rock video. A year later, it won a Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form; shortly afterward Guinness World Records listed it as the most expensive music video ever made at a cost of $7 million, although this was later refuted by the director. In 2001, VH1 placed “Scream” at number nine on their list of the 100 greatest music videos.
In 1997, “Scream” was remixed as “Scream Louder (Flyte Tyme Remix)” for Michael Jackson’s remix album Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix. The remix used elements from the Sly & The Family Stone song Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Again). Another official remix was produced by Naughty By Nature and was called, “Scream (Naughty Remix)” and has a new urban R&B instrumental beat & a rap verse by Treach of Naughty By Nature.
“Scream” was a creative influence on other music videos such as the 1999 release of the award winning “No Scrubs” by TLC. This influence was also present on the 2008 release of “Shawty Get Loose” by Lil Mama and Chris Brown. Reacting to the comparisons made between the videos, Mama explained, “I feel honored, because that was one of the initial goals, and I feel that it was executed well.” She adding that the emulation was intentional and that Brown was the only logical choice to step into Michael Jackson’s role. Ciara’s music video for her single “I’m Out” was heavily influenced by the video by referencing the all-white scenery and attire.
In September 2009, Janet Jackson performed “Scream” on the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards as part of a medley tribute to Michael Jackson, who died three months earlier. MTV General Manager Stephen Friedman stated “[t]his is not something that just came together—we’ve been in talks with [Janet] for a while… We felt there was no one better than Janet to anchor it and send a really powerful message.” She worked with several world renowned choreographers, including Dave Scott, Cris Judd, Brian Friedman, Wade Robson, Tyce Diorio, Travis Payne, Jeri Slaughter, Laurie Ann Gibson, Mia Michaels and Tina Landon, with her personal creative director, Gil Duldulao, coordinating the performance. Gil Kaufman of MTV commented “[w]earing a black-and-white, skintight leather dress with matching pants, Janet busted some of her and Michael’s signature moves, flawlessly re-creating her late brother’s steps as they were projected on the screen behind her.” Michael Slezak of Entertainment Weekly commented, “she worked that stage harder than an underpaid assistant doin’ overtime, and as tributes go, this was as energetic as it was heartfelt.”
