Burning Up - music video filming dates

[GregVsMatt 3,701]

Hi all - just a question 

I know the music video for Burning Up was added to MTV rotation on September 28, 1983 and was filmed in LA directed by Steve Barron and by her hair, took place after the debut album shoot by the dark roots - has anyone been able to pin down a date it was filmed?

[Jackie 8,072]

Good question! I wonder if @webo1958 knows?

[thegoldencalf 12,581]

I was just looking that up the other day. I’d love to know as well!

I think it was filmed in May

[Donna 16,443]

My guess would be the summer of 1983. Maybe July or August?  I say this because Madonna was determined to get Steve Barron to direct, who she knew directed Micheal Jackson's Billie Jean video which was released in March 1983.  He was on vacation when contacted to direct Madonna's video, and initially refused.  Fast forward to August 1983, she did a photo shoot with Curtis Knapp for her infamous first magazine cover "Island" magazine that came out in October of that year. And in many of the shots, her hair looks very much the same length with lots of dark roots, specifically this one:

 

[Donna 16,443]

It is possible May could have been the month since she did a photo shoot with Richard Corman that month, and her hair look very much like the video shoot as well.  

https://twixnmix.tumblr.com/post/169588872295/madonna-photographed-by-richard-corman-1983

That's when the infamous polaroids were taken as well:

[Prayer 14,364]

The fact the she almost DIED shooting the video still scares the s**t out of me. The director for "Rolling Stone" in 2015:

"We were doing shots of her at night lying in a boat as she was singing. We had a seven-ton crane that stretched out over the lake with a camera on it, me and a grip. I was arranging to go right out over the top of her so that we could look straight down on her. The boat was anchored into position and the base of the crane was sitting sloped on this little boat ramp with massive wheels. I was asking, "Let's get out right over the eyes" and we were about 15 feet above Madonna. I looked back at the ramp and the two back wheels had lifted off by about a foot and a half. No one had noticed. I looked back at it and yelled at the crane operator to stop. The thing teetered; just dropped backwards-and-forth, and he quickly jumped on the switch and started pushing us back, but he didn't move very fast because you felt if you made any kind of movement, it would have taken that crane down. We were right on the midpoint balance and we would've come down on her. She would have been 100 percent dead. It was so close, and I never told her that night because I didn't want to scare her. We would've been in a hospital for six months and she would've been dead. Definitely."

She always says that she's been protected by angels (and her mother?) many times in her life and maybe it's true.

[subversive 1,105]

.

[subversive 1,105]

1 hour ago, Prayer said:

She always says that she's been protected by angels (and her mother?) many times in her life and maybe it's true.

- Los ángeles me protegen. Ellos me dicen que tranquila, que todo saldrá bien.

- Los ángeles?

- Si los ángeles, y Dios. Y la Virgen.

[wtg1987 10,169]

1 hour ago, Prayer said:

The fact the she almost DIED shooting the video still scares the s**t out of me. The director for "Rolling Stone" in 2015:

"We were doing shots of her at night lying in a boat as she was singing. We had a seven-ton crane that stretched out over the lake with a camera on it, me and a grip. I was arranging to go right out over the top of her so that we could look straight down on her. The boat was anchored into position and the base of the crane was sitting sloped on this little boat ramp with massive wheels. I was asking, "Let's get out right over the eyes" and we were about 15 feet above Madonna. I looked back at the ramp and the two back wheels had lifted off by about a foot and a half. No one had noticed. I looked back at it and yelled at the crane operator to stop. The thing teetered; just dropped backwards-and-forth, and he quickly jumped on the switch and started pushing us back, but he didn't move very fast because you felt if you made any kind of movement, it would have taken that crane down. We were right on the midpoint balance and we would've come down on her. She would have been 100 percent dead. It was so close, and I never told her that night because I didn't want to scare her. We would've been in a hospital for six months and she would've been dead. Definitely."

She always says that she's been protected by angels (and her mother?) many times in her life and maybe it's true.

This would be a good story to have in her biopic 🥰

[webo1958 110]

Hi all

Curtis Knapp session was September ‘83 (confirmed by Curtis)

Burning Up was August ‘83 

 

xx 

[Blue Skies 1,304]

On 3/11/2023 at 6:03 AM, Prayer said:

The fact the she almost DIED shooting the video still scares the s**t out of me. The director for "Rolling Stone" in 2015:

"We were doing shots of her at night lying in a boat as she was singing. We had a seven-ton crane that stretched out over the lake with a camera on it, me and a grip. I was arranging to go right out over the top of her so that we could look straight down on her. The boat was anchored into position and the base of the crane was sitting sloped on this little boat ramp with massive wheels. I was asking, "Let's get out right over the eyes" and we were about 15 feet above Madonna. I looked back at the ramp and the two back wheels had lifted off by about a foot and a half. No one had noticed. I looked back at it and yelled at the crane operator to stop. The thing teetered; just dropped backwards-and-forth, and he quickly jumped on the switch and started pushing us back, but he didn't move very fast because you felt if you made any kind of movement, it would have taken that crane down. We were right on the midpoint balance and we would've come down on her. She would have been 100 percent dead. It was so close, and I never told her that night because I didn't want to scare her. We would've been in a hospital for six months and she would've been dead. Definitely."

She always says that she's been protected by angels (and her mother?) many times in her life and maybe it's true.

An old thread but has Madonna ever talked about this? 

 

I was going to start a thread on this but came across your post

[Roland Barthes 5,850]

On 3/12/2023 at 9:29 AM, webo1958 said:

Hi all

Curtis Knapp session was September ‘83 (confirmed by Curtis)

Burning Up was August ‘83 

 

xx 

You should definitely make a book.

[Donna 16,443]

27 minutes ago, Blue Skies said:

An old thread but has Madonna ever talked about this? 

 

I was going to start a thread on this but came across your post

I suspect since she didn't know at the time she was in danger and the fact the director didn't tell her, and she probably found out long after it happened, it wasn't a huge significance to her. 

Though, I do recall her and Mary Lambert commenting about the Lion on set of Like A Virgin.  The trainer asked if anyone was on their period at the time, and some were, but they went ahead and filmed anyway.  There was a definite fear that the lion may turn on Madonna or others on set. 

[Prayer 14,364]

54 minutes ago, Blue Skies said:

An old thread but has Madonna ever talked about this? 

 

I was going to start a thread on this but came across your post

She's never talked about it publicly/interviews etc. Maybe she didn't even know (the director confirms they didn't tell her then) or she just doesn't want to give energy to that thought.