Megaforce: Working with Madonna is like Working with the CIA
February 15, 2012 Interviews

Megaforce: Working with Madonna is like Working with the CIA

Megaforce, the producers of Madonna’s latest video “Give me all your Luvin'”, recently gave an interview to Swiss newspaper 20Minutes.

Here is a translation by Madonnarama:

About timing…

When we heard the news, we were very excited of course, but had to immediately start working.
The timing was very strict and we had to fly to New York very soon to shoot the video.
We were facing a well-oiled machine and had to find a way to be part of it, without being overwhelmed.

Shooting the video in New York…

Three police cars were continuously driving around the studio and bodyguards were in charge of the security on the set.
Whenever somebody took out a cell phone or camera, they were checking it.
During the whole process, we felt like we were working with the CIA. For instance, whenever we got pictures, they were telling us: “If we find this on the internet, we’ll know it’s coming from you.”
There was also a huge budget ($1.5 million) for the video.

Working with Madonna…

She is very involved in the project and gives her opinion on every decision.
Madonna has complete control. She wants to be the center of attention in the video. She’s very concerned with her looks in the video and wants to look beautiful.
We hadn’t planned to include the footage of her dancing in front of a wall, but she insisted.
We think it kills the narrative, because the final montage is not really our vision anymore. It’s hers.
She was impatient and wanted that everything revolved around her, but that’s it.
The second day of filming she left the studio early, because she had a photoshoot for her album cover the next day. We had to finish the last scene without her.
We expected her to be a diva, but she was more professional than anything else.

About retouching Madonna in the video…

Every female celebrity asks us to do some retouching on the video.
Extra lighting, more brightness, a bit of retouching of the figure are almost always included in every pop video these days.
Nicki Minaj had asked for her body to look like a plastic doll. She knew what her character should look like and did a great job. M.I.A. needed a bit more directing.
They both had a great connection with Madonna.
She was playing the mother role. Madonna sort of takes them under her wing and gives them advice.
It’s probably her way to stay in touch with the younger generation.

Some harsh words from Megaforce or could the newspaper have added a few modifications…
What do you think?


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