Sabrina Jordan - Burden the Heavens | Filming the Music Video

Andrew and I directed, produced, and filmed the Burden the Heavens music video across 8 months from November 2025 to July 2026. We filmed it to the demo recording... In between shoots, I spent day and night learning the ins and outs of DaVinci Resolve so that we could edit the video and we recorded & re-recorded and mixed & re-mixed the song until it became what it is. The first leg was Scotland in November 2025, where Andrew's sister, Kristen, joined us as our PA and BTS videographer, but she was so much more than that. The energy can be intense when we're filming (to be fair, making a music video in a foreign country independently on a tight budget with a 2- to 3-person team handling every creative and logistical role is... a lot) but Kristen brought such a light and enthusiastic energy to our trip and put into perspective how incredibly privileged we are to be able to make what we make. We felt so supported and are so grateful. It was 3am wake-up times and long, strenuous days in unpredictable Highland conditions, and it was also conversations over coffee and Christmas lights in Edinburgh. On the day we hiked to the needle, it was sprinkling as it typically does on the Isle of Skye. The weather forecasts showed heavy wind and rain, but no snow-conducive temperatures. Obviously, it did snow, and we later found out that it was the first major snowfall of the year. We couldn't have planned it if we tried, but I can't imagine the video without it. I'll never ever forget this trip. The second leg was in northern California, after a months-long wait to capture more snowy mountains. Finally, one morning in February 2026, we woke up to news of snow and dropped our recording plans to prep and make the 6-hour drive that day. We don't have much footage of this, but that night was one of the most harrowing of my life. We were able to secure a hotel in the area, and as we made our way there, we checked road and weather conditions consistently to make sure we were safe to continue. About an hour or so after sunset, an hour away from our hotel, we came to a mountain pass. Road conditions were still being reported as safe to drive with snow tires (which we had), and it was pitch black outside. It was snowing, but we decided to take it easy and make the drive (based on the weather forecast, we knew the snow would melt within a couple of days, so the option to find a different hotel and postpone the shoot was less than ideal). As we gained elevation, the snow fell faster and giant redwood trees leaned over the road from the weight of the snow. When a massive block of snow fell from one of the trees directly in front of us, we had to make the decision we had been avoiding. We carefully turned the car around and started driving VERY slowly down the mountain, and not 3 seconds into the drive down, we began to fishtail. With no guardrails on the side of the road, the only thing to stop a car from tumbling down the side of the mountain should it slide too far was a tree every 15 feet or so. By some miracle, the car stopped a few feet from the edge of the road, and we sat there for a few minutes to let our heart rates return to a normal pace. We INCHED down the rest of the way. It took us at least 3 times as long to get down the mountain as it took to get up. It was late when we found a hotel in the nearest town, so we booked a night and immediately went to sleep. The next morning, we woke up to news that both roads to our destination (including the one we had attempted the night before) were closed due to fallen trees. The next day, the roads were cleared and we were able to film in the snow as it melted over the following days. We are still thanking the stars that we turned around on the mountain when we did. For our final scene, we scouted a sea cave on the Oregon coast that was only accessible at low tide. We knew we would need as much time as possible to film in the cave, so we planned our last leg around the lowest tides of the year (the lower the tide, the longer it would be accessible). It was mid-June when we were finally able to make the 15-hour drive to the coast. We spent a week filming the last scene of Burden the Heavens and another project (shhhh). The low tides coincided with sunrise most of the days, so we were up at 3 am daily. We learned SO much about filming with fire on this trip and definitely want to do it with a slightly bigger team next time. Fire is a powerful creature. I read a quote the other day that perfectly encapsulates the feelings we felt while building this world: "What a privilege it is to be exhausted by an ambition of your own choosing." It truly is my greatest joy to bring art like this to life, and the ability to do it is something I will never take for granted. From the very deepest place in my heart, thank you for being here to give it a home. ~ ~ ~ #burdentheheavens #sabrinajordan #scotland #musicvideo #behindthescenes