UK-based Emmy-winning lighting designer Al Gurdon of Incandescent Design was back on the field for the Super Bowl LVI Pepsi Halftime Show, with Roc Nation as executive producer. This marked his sixth Super Bowl, with past appearances including Madonna in 2012, Beyoncé in 2013, and The Weeknd in 2021. This year’s show had its own set of challenges, primarily not being sure whether the show would be performed in daylight or after sunset. Live Design checks in with Gurdon on the details.
Live Design: What were the biggest challenges in designing this year's show?
Al Gurdon: I think that the challenges are pretty similar year on year. The biggest being the need to build a set, a lighting system, and video product in eight and a half minutes. So, this tends to push us toward tried and tested solutions; namely a number of field carts rolled on by an army of volunteers under the supervision of the technical crew. The danger here is that with similar solutions the show might begin to feel a bit too familiar. So, in one sense, the biggest challenge is to use these methods but bring a fresh look which people don’t feel that they have seen before. Secondly, this show was absolutely on the cusp between day and night. Depending on how long the first half ran, we could have ended up with a show in full day or full night, with everything in between. This means that one needs to have a very clear understanding of how different ambient light conditions will affect pictures–including colours–and to have a strategy for how to deal with that at very short notice. As it turned out, we were doing exactly that in the last five minutes of the first half, because it was running very quickly, and we were having to adjust for more daylight than we had seen in rehearsals. This was absolutely not unanticipated, but something we knew we might have to deal with.
LD: How did you coordinate the lighting with the video images?
AG: As on any show, the lighting and video content need to feel an integrated part of the whole picture, so we worked closely with Drew Findley, either adjusting our lighting to match his content, or vice versa. It should always be a process of collaboration, and there is no ego involved because we both know that we work toward the greater goal of the show, rather than to show off our own areas. It was a very easy collaboration.
LD: What do you actually do on game day... How do you interface with the crew that gets it all set up?
AG: By game day, my work should be, and generally is, done. The show is time-coded, although a lot still has to be done, but it no longer needs my input, because all of my contribution has been in the planning, the programming, and the refinement of the looks in rehearsals. By the last dress rehearsal, that should really be it. On show day, I just have to show up, take the credit, and wait for the inevitable social media ‘death of a thousand cuts.’ I have a pretty awesome team of professionals around me, and by game day, they are running the show. My main creative collaborator Eric Marchwinski, assisted by Mark Humphrey, programming and running the lighting rig; Ben Green (experienced, capable, and authoritative way beyond his years ) managing everything on the field alongside an amazing veteran crew led by Alen Sisul overall and Jason Uchita on the field itself; and Harry Forster commanding a crew of 17 followspot operators.
(Photo: Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
LD: What was the overall look you were going for, given the white set, the twinkling map, etc?
AG: If the lighting feels 'within context,’ you can see the people you paid to see in the best possible light, they look a bit younger than they actually are, their environment makes sense, and you come away feeling that the show was exciting and dynamic and musically on point, then the lighting has probably done its job. I never want to do a standalone ‘light show.’ I don’t really feel that’s my job. Everything we do should support the viewer’s experience of the overall show. So, I chose the brightest shuttering fixtures for keying, strobes for punctuation, and Elation Proteus Excaliburs for a searchlight effect, which seemed to fit with cities in general and L.A. in particular.
LD: What makes this project interesting or fun?
AG: It is always a challenge and, unquestionably, an adrenaline rush as everything is being put together in those eight minutes and it’s totally beyond your control. I think the most interesting part is trying to come up with something that feels fresh and innovative and oh so scrutinized.
Related reading:
Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show Light Plots, Crew, and Gear List
Live Design's coverage of this year's Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show is sponsored by All Access.