YOUTUBE MUSIC AWARDS 2015 - WELCOME SEQUENCE
Purpose of the Project
In 2015 YouTube reinvented its Music Awards. Gone was the stage show; instead, YouTube dropped 50 winning artists and 13 new music videos simultaneously. To open the event, they needed something bold enough to reset perceptions and signal that YouTube was redefining what an award show could be. The answer was “Welcome to the YouTube Music Awards 2015”: a short film built from light itself, introducing millions of viewers to the event and marking the world’s first showcase of Laser Banding, created through weeks of collaboration between PRECISION and Autofuss.
Creative Vision and Process
PRECISION and Autofuss pushed the limits of lasers and cameras to invent Laser Banding—an in-camera technique that renders ribbons and planes of light as if they float in midair. Inside a darkened studio, high-powered lasers, haze, and a robot-mounted camera built an environment of tunnels and walls of light that actors could enter and activate. Filmed in real time, these living structures formed an “infinitely reconfigurable space” of pure lasers and fog, captured practically with no CGI.
Goals and Outcomes
For YouTube, the goal was to relaunch the YTMA as innovative and digital-first. The laser opener became the attention-grabbing statement piece that embodied that ambition. For the creative team, it was about exploiting a technical limitation to create a new artform. Laser Banding debuted as a new visual language, both experimental and cinematic.
Reception and Legacy
Vice’s Creators Project called the opener a video that used “retro laser technology in a totally new way,” predicting that “a dark room filled with laser holograms” looked like the future. Stash Magazine and Pangolin highlighted how the project invented a new visual vocabulary. Fans were intrigued by the hologram-like imagery, many assuming it was CGI—only to learn it was real lasers captured live.
At the time, few outside the industry realized they were watching the birth of a new artform. In hindsight, the project is widely credited as the public debut of Laser Banding—a technique later seen in high-profile pieces we’ve created, from Childish Gambino to Metallica. The YTMA video showed what was possible and set a benchmark for how lasers could be used not just as effects, but as storytelling.
Outcome
“Welcome to the YouTube Music Awards 2015” succeeded on every front. It gave YouTube a futuristic identity for its reimagined show, generated excitement around the campaign, and introduced the world to Laser Banding—a technique that turned empty space into architecture and helped launch a new visual language for music.
SEE IT LIVE
Book a studio visit to explore ideas in person, or request a quote today. We look forward to delivering signature laser moments for your next project.