Development The music video for "Till the World Ends" was directed by
Ray Kay and filmed inside a basement in
Los Angeles,
California. On March 17, 2011, Spears posted on her Twitter account, "Day 1 of the #TTWE Videoshoot. Just wrapped my first big dance number. Taking a well deserved break people!" She also tweeted a picture of her on set, wearing ripped tights, a
Burberry Prorsum studded leather jacket and matching fingerless leather gloves. The
making-of was chronicled on the special
Britney Spears: I Am the Femme Fatale, which aired on
MTV on April 3, 2011, at 21:00 EST (02:00 UTC). In the special, Spears is seen watching the
playback, as she later explained, "[It is] just to make sure it's right and that the costume looks right and the dancers are together and we all look in unison. It's an energy and it looks fresh. It has a certain vibe with it and it makes sense." She also went on to describe the set as "grimy and gross [...] It was sweat and it was disgusting sometimes". At a point in the shoot, Spears changed her heels to
Ugg boots during the shots that did not show her feet, stating that "[Dancing in heels] hurts ... but it looks good. It wasn't a full-length shot, so a girl's about comfort when it's not showing." Spears said that she did not feel the need to top herself, saying that "I've made so many videos that I'm at the point that I genuinely want to enjoy myself, and I have such a good team of people with me. [...] I had never worked with Ray Kay before. I was really happy with the work we did." The video begins with the words "
December 21st, 2012" flashing on screen, the day that refers to the fulfillment of the Great Cycle,
Baktun in the
Mayan calendar. Spears appears strutting in an underground party wearing a studded leather jacket and stockings. Several people are seen running to a
manhole and enter the sewer system to arrive to the party. This is followed by a dance routine in which Spears is wearing a sequined bodysuit and a small jacket with shoulder pads accompanied by female dancers. During the video, there are scenes of buildings burning and debris falling, as well as intercut scenes of Spears in front of an illuminated background. As the second verse begins, she dances provocatively with her male dancers. In the last chorus, the sun rises while water is sprayed through the dance floor and the earthquake and meteor shower subside. The video ends with Spears coming out of a manhole wearing the red bodysuit and smiling. The director's cut premiered on April 6, 2011, at 03:00 EST (08:00 UTC). Kevin O'Donnell of
Spin compared the "Till the World Ends" video to "
I'm a Slave 4 U" and added that it takes elements of classic Spears videos, such as "scantily-clad dancers, tightly executed choreography, ridonkulously sequined outfits, and pouty, overly sincere close-ups of Spears" and "places them in an
apocalyptic, end-of-days scenario." Jocelyn Vena of MTV also highlighted the comparisons to "I'm a Slave 4 U", explaining that "the director's cut of the video is a sexy mash-up of Spears doing what she does best:
groping half-naked guys, giving the camera bedroom eyes and being sassy in a number of leather jackets and skintight bodysuits." Chris Gayomali of
Time stated that the video "[i]s sweaty, at times blinding, yet undeniably enjoyable, adopting many of its key elements from Britney's
coming-of-age 'I'm a Slave 4 U.'"
Matthew Perpetua of
Rolling Stone called it "a good, memorable video." Tanner Stransky of
Entertainment Weekly said it "is exactly what you’d expect for this song, and from Britney at this point in her career", and also complimented Spears for getting rid of the
product placement in the "Hold It Against Me" video. Wesley Case of
The Baltimore Sun stated that video "is typical 2011 party-starter — sweaty bodies, futuristic DJ-gear, well-timed faulty sprinkler system — but it captures the track's raging mood perfectly." Gina Serpe of
E! Online also compared the video to "I'm a Slave 4 U", saying, "[There's] nothing wrong with a little nod to vintage Britney. Plus, sweaty dancers in tunnels pulsing and writhing in sync to the music? Seems like as good a way as any to survive the apocalypse." Willa Paskin of
New York commented that Spears "tries hard not to make the same mistakes as the inadvertently depressing 'Hold It Against Me'. There's more dancing — though it's still largely arm-related — and much, much more smiling." The music video was nominated at the
2011 MuchMusic Video Awards in the category of International Video of the Year — Artist, but lost to
Lady Gaga's "
Judas". It also received two nominations at the
2011 MTV Video Music Awards in the categories of
Best Pop Video and
Best Choreography. Spears told MTV News she was "completely flattered" by the nominations. She lost Best Choreography to
Beyoncé's "
Run the World (Girls)", but won Best Pop Video.
Choreography cut The video is similar to the director's cut, but has a few differences. The choreography cut offers lengthier shots of Spears and her dancers, and much of the apocalypse storyline is edited out. The clip's ending is also different from the original: instead of emerging from the manhole Spears just looks into the camera, apparently still hiding in the underground party and hinting at a darker ending in which the world does end. On April 9, 2011, Spears tweeted that she had seen the final cut of the dance version, and was not sure which one she liked best. Ray Kay tweeted on April 14, 2011, that the original version of the video was better, "but it's fun to watch the choreography too." The video, titled "DANCE Till the World Ends" premiered on April 15, 2011.
Twister remix An accompanying music video for the Twister Remix of "Till the World Ends" was also directed by Ray Kay, and released on September 8, 2012. For the music video, Spears sported a $20,000 sports bra and black leggins from
Body Rock. It begins with four girls talking and resting in a dance studio. Once Spears enters the room and starts playing
Twister with the girls, the scenario changes to a stage with a colorful background, and they all start performing a dance routine to a remix of the song. After the song stops and the four girls are seen laying down tired, Spears turns around to them and say, "Way to rock the spots, ladies." ==Live performances and cover versions==