Creativity May 10, 2010
Does perfect entertainment strike the right chord?
On an evening shortly after the closing of the Vancouver Olympics (having relinquished control of the clicker box), I found myself watching a PBS fundraiser featuring doo-wop and pop vocal groups of the '50s and '60s. It struck me that they we're reprising hits (for many there was only one) from almost half a century ago. Hard to image anyone performing quite like they did when they were 50 years younger, yet there they were singing to a live audience without the aid of auto-tuning or the safety net of lip-synching.
Some of today's singers have used (or are suspected of using) the former. The ceremonies of the Vancouver Olympics relied heavily on the latter.
"Most live events are performed probably 90 per cent synched," according to David Atkins, executive producer of the Vancouver opening ceremonies. Protection from a bad mic, a botched lyric or a wrong note, the argument goes.
There were no pre-recorded performances by athletes however, and no synchronization of the Olympic torches as it turned out.
Granted, the PBS show was a recorded performance. Recorded, minor flaws intact. And the audience loved it. Maybe they couldn't hear the singers over the sound of their own voice. Maybe they unconsciously auto-tuned vocals to the sound of their youth. In any case, the odd missed note didn't matter. They still loved it.
I recall a concert by the Keith Jarrett Trio in which the pianist (who has several classical recordings to his credit) found one piano key marginally off-key. "Close enough for jazz," joked Mr. Jarrett, and on he played... brilliantly. As for botched lyrics, one of Ella Fitzgerald's most remarkable performances (in a lifetime full of them) was a 1960 recording of a Berlin concert in which she forgot the words to Kurt Weill's most famous song.
"Do not fear mistakes," said Miles Davis. "There are none." Of course the improvisational nature of jazz inspires such thinking. And a malfunctioning Olympic torch in the opening ceremonies turned into an impromptu skit that perfectly fit the self-deprecating humour of the closing ones.
So what's all this got to do with advertising?
Authenticity. It works. It lasts. It doesn't make you wonder whether what you experience is, well, authentic.
Creativity. It's not a wrong note. At least it doesn't have to be. It could be the start of a new song.
Mack The Knife
Lyle TurnerWriter/Producer
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