The 2013 Academy Awards telecast was a real winner this year, with Seth MacFarlane keeping things moving and interesting.  The highlight of the night came during a James Bond tribute, a sequence that I found very interesting.

First was a montage of scenes from James Bond movies.  It was well done, but I thought it was very "Over-Produced."  Over the clips they had added all kinds of graphics, Bond iconic shapes and images, and it was incredibly busy.  Honestly, with the wild capers and crazy visuals of James Bond moments, did this need more to keep our interest?  I thought that the added graphics just made it hard to watch.  It was too busy!

Interestingly, they followed this montage with a performance of "Goldfinger" by Dame Shirley Bassey.  In contrast to what proceeded, the producers had the great foresight to simply bring Ms. Bassey to the stage in a stunning gown and let her sing!  It was just her gorgeous voice, expressive qualities, and a great song.  There were no flashing graphics in the background, no crowd of dancers, no Cirque du Soleil acrobats swinging from the ceiling.  And it was, in my opinion, clearly the highlight of the entire telecast.

The simplicity of the moment made it work, made it special, and made it powerful.  They trusted her voice and her presence to carry the day.  It was a "wow!"

So as we work on productions and shows, let's remember that the bottom line is the music and the performance, and let's not get in the way of letting THAT shine.  Trust your performers and support them as needed, then get out of the way.  Thanks to the brilliant production team of the Oscars this year for knowing this and letting it happen.  We're all grateful.