I must be the last person in America to watch Beyonce’s stunning performance at the 2011 Billboard Awards, combining 3D projection mapping with live choreography.
In case you’ve missed it too, you can watch the full video at the end of this post: you will be amazed by the artistic and technical creativity, the passion, and the flawless execution skills of a singer who fully deserved the “Millenium Award” received that night.
Lots to be learned from the young star on the arts of being awesome.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF AWESOME
1. Be Who You Are. Quite a basic first statement, but pivotal for all the rest. Beyonce is not awesome by trying to be someone else, wearing a meat dress or some other form of silly stunt. She’s awesome by taking her own formula (outstanding dance performances) to the next level.
2. Exceed All Expectations. Of course, everyone expects Knowles to come with perfectly choreographed shows. But Beyonce dancing with her own 3D mapped clones on May 22nd? Above and beyond.
3. Leverage Innovation, Don’t Use It. Easy to see the latest tech fad and say “I want a 3D projection, I want Augmented Reality, I want a …”. But simply using technology is not enough – you need to leverage technology to amplify your identity. Beyonce leveraged 3D mapping to make her true craft shine brighter.
4. Don’t Be The First, Be The Best. There’s only one first “first”. And it’s frequently forgotten – too often weak attempts focused on the news factor of a technique. The true challenge is to do something at unprecedented standards of creativity and quality; here, Beyonce set a new bar for 3D mapping… beat that in your next marketing stunt, or don’t even try!
5. Entertain Till The End. 15 seconds into the show, the unexpected impact of a technology will wear off. You will think “wow, this looks incredible” but then “ok, now what?”. Beyonce’s show is awesome become it keeps it coming, signaling left to turn right, giving you a show with twists and turns until the end.
6. Aim For Disbelief. How did she do that? Amazing! Is this her or the projection? Part of the success is pulling “magic tricks” that will keep your audience guessing.
7. Plan Perfection (Or Stay Home). Work, work, work… until you’re sure your delivery will be 100% perfect. No space for improvisation in awesome, and Beyonce’s famous for being a workhorse when it comes to rehearsals.
8. Deliver With Passion. Love what you do it and show it by committing 100% in the execution. Didn’t it show she was just having fun on that stage?
9. Make It Look Easy. No-one needs to see the blood, sweat and tears shed in the preparation; when delivery time comes, let your audience enjoy an effortless performance.
10. Don’t Gloat When You Win. Enough said.
And now, the performance itself… enjoy, it’s awesome!