Ok, while their vocals might not have been what they once were, the show was good – and the visuals were terrific! I always enjoy seeing what they can come up with for the Super Bowl, since there is a specific set of challenges with the halftime show. If you haven’t gotten to see it apart from the game, take a look on YouTube before reading on.

Bold Simple Arrows

Clearly they have a large budget, but there’s one non-negotiable to all of it. The halftime break is a set amount of time, and they have to set up and tear down the stage and everything on the field within that time. Yes, there’s an army of workers, and some high-tech gear, but even though it’s a different scale, it’s much the same constraints we face with the church scene. Time is a constant we cannot avoid. I remember a couple years ago reading about the halftime show being 90 seconds out and there was no power to the stage…something about a stagehand holding two cables together for the 12 minute show…sound familiar?

This year, even though it had its over-worked and frantic moments, the show was one of the better in terms of total design concept and execution. UK-based LD Al Gurdon did a great job of using new-school tech (LED stage floor, anyone?) with an old-school feel with the lasers and some monochrome looks that worked really well.

My notes from the show:

Many fixtures, few focus points

• Multiple luminaires as one – Clearly there were quite a few fixtures around the entire stadium. But rather than set each individual unit to its own little purpose, sections of fixtures were focused to similar areas, and operated with effects as one unit. There’s power in simple moves just with the sheer number of fixtures.
 


One Color

• Simple color palettes – Much of the time, the movers were all the same color. Simple palettes created bold looks by using multiple fixtures. Plus, with the movement on the LED stage, it could have gotten out of control busy by doing too much with the movers. Less is more – even for the Super Bowl!
 
• Lasers – I’m not the biggest fan of lasers in entertainment lighting. I think they usually don’t live up to the hype. Most of the time I’ve seen them used they are used at a big build-up or the climax portion of the show, and it just falls flat for me.
  

  However, I have to say this time they got it spot on. Not only were they multiple colors, even the green lasers used in Baba O’Riley were done very well. No extraneous movement “just because” – it was simply a backdrop for much of that tune. And then later in the set, the lasers were done, and they didn’t come back “just because”. They had their place, they were tastefully done, and I liked them. The web shapes were great – all 3 dimensions were visible. I also liked the transition (although a bit frenetic) from the green web shaped lasers to different colored lasers (again saved for the right moment) to the movers going out of Baba O’Riley into the harmonica solo.

 
• Using the entire space – The WHOLE stadium was used as a canvas for the show. There was a giant stage on the field, with a TON of equipment, and still you could back up and look at the
  

  Light Everywhere

  entire stadium as the “stage.” Wide shots made it clear the show was designed with the attendees as much as the TV audience. In fact, my guess is the live show was SPECTACULAR from the “cheap seats” in Miami. And, if you look at the whole stadium, there were some simple “BIG” elements – movers on each of the upper deck rails, the LED stage, the lasers, the movers on the field – really there’s a handful of sections that worked together. Now, each section was made up of a large number of individual pieces of equipment, but there still was an overall simplicity to it.

   
• The LED Stage -
  

  Captain America would be proud

  Can’t overlook this, simply due to its size. But what I found fascinating was how the designers decided to keep the graphics so simple. It was wonderfully effective. Yes, partly this was due to the inherent low resolution of the setup, but save for a few more complex graphics, most of the show used large bold areas of color – and a LOT of white! I love “no color” uses, even with video/LEDs.

• Existing displays integrated into show –
  

  It was difficult to see on TV, but the existing LED displays that wrap the stadium were also a part of the halftime show. They had solid colors, simple patterns, and text at varying points in the show. Speaking of text…

• Text on LED screens… – Yeah, this part was weak. Seriously, if we don’t know the lyrics…”Whooooo Are You…. Who Who Who Who?”
  

  Who...am I?

  then we don’t deserve to sing along. But it was just, well, overly literal to actually put the GIANT text on the screens…and the mid-deck screens in the stadium as well… I mean seriously. Why didn’t they just put that text as a lower third graphic right on TV? Ugh.

PRG provided the lighting gear, and they usually write up good articles about their adventures. As soon as they have I’ll post the link. I’m sure it will include many fun behind the scenes photos and insight into the monster of a show.

As far as gear, all I really now for now is that the stage LED strips were Barco MI Strips – provided by XL Video. I’m betting there are more than a couple PRG Bad Boys around the stadium, too.

What about you? What did you think? Win or epic fail? I’d love to hear your comments too.