--- title: Beyonce Formation Behind Scenes Interview Melina Matsoukas description: The "Formation" music video director sheds light on Queen Bey's boss style in a new profile about her work and the making of the video. canonical: https://time.com/4687680/beyonce-melina-matsoukas-emails/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-03-01T21:27:57.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:41:32.489Z og:title: Even Beyoncé Answers Emails in the Middle of the Night og:description: It's official: Queen Bey is a boss at all times. og:url: https://time.com/4687680/beyonce-melina-matsoukas-emails/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc7c2b35feeff22a5/6988bc9cfb4eacbe57890f5b/beyonce-grammys.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: The 59th Annual Grammy Awards og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Even Beyoncé Answers Emails in the Middle of the Night twitter:description: It's official: Queen Bey is a boss at all times. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc7c2b35feeff22a5/6988bc9cfb4eacbe57890f5b/beyonce-grammys.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Even Beyoncé Answers Emails in the Middle of the Night Because Icons Never Sleep > Sponsored content. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=0a6fa63d-0e50-4bee-b1f7-56574e1007f8&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1)  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Mar 1, 2017 9:27 PM UTC  Beyoncé poses for photographs backstage at THE 59TH ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS. Beyoncé poses for photographs backstage at THE 59TH ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS. CBS Photo Archive—Getty Images  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Mar 1, 2017 9:27 PM UTC A [new profile](http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/03/06/the-provocateur-behind-beyonce-rihanna-and-issa-rae) of the director of Beyoncé’s [award-winning music video](http://time.com/4664551/grammys-2017-see-winners/) for “Formation,” Melina Matsoukas, sheds some important light on the habits of Queen Bey the boss. As expected, the singer is a perfectionist and a hard worker, even reading—and responding—to emails in the middle of the night. According to Matsoukas, who’s worked with everyone from Rihanna to Snoop Dogg and formed a close relationship with Beyoncé and her [sister Solange](http://time.com/4630540/beyonce-solange-interview/) over the years of their collaborations, she only had a few weeks to make the [big “Formation” video](http://time.com/4211888/beyonce-formation-activism/), which would unveil a new, more politically incisive side to Beyoncé’s public image—and kick off _Lemonade_. After doing her research, Matsoukas sent Beyoncé a written treatment via email in “the middle of the night.” Bey’s response came back “within hours,” [the _New Yorker_ tells us.](http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/03/06/the-provocateur-behind-beyonce-rihanna-and-issa-rae) Scions never sleep. The production’s tight timeline meant Matsoukas had just two days to shoot Beyoncé on-set. In an artificial lake with a blue screen background, Matsoukas relates, she set up the singer reclining on a sinking police squad car. It’s an iconic shot that recurs throughout the video, echoing Hurricane Katrina’s aftermath. It also happened to involve cold water—but in a non-diva move, Beyoncé didn’t complain. Instead, she very subtly donned a wetsuit beneath her Gucci outfit, which probably makes this the most impressive use of neoprene in a music video of all time. “And Miss Tina is calling me, like, ‘You’re going to give her pneumonia, and she has to perform at the Super Bowl,'” Matsoukas relates of the stressful filming experience. Of course, Beyoncé went on to perform [with show-stealing aplomb](http://time.com/4211293/beyonce-super-bowl-50-halftime-show/?iid=sr-link3) just a few days later. Definition boss, down to the late-night email habits. 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