Emmy winner and Super Bowl Halftime veteran, Al Gurdon of Incandescent Design in the UK was back on the show this year for the first time since Beyoncé performed in 2013. He faced such challenges as wind and rain, as well as the new fixed-stage configuration behind the end zone for an edgy performance by The Weeknd, which concluded on the field. Live Design chats with Gurdon on this massive undertaking in the midst of a global pandemic.
Live Design: This Halftime Show was different in that the stage was pre-built and not on the center of the field, is that the first time for that kind of configuration? How does it change the entire halftime show experience for you, in terms of the design process, choice of equipment, etc.?
Al Gurdon: I haven’t watched every one of them but, yes, as far as I am aware, it has always been performed in the middle of the field, and usually side-on. The global pandemic hugely changed what we could and could not do on the field. There was no way we could simply do a ’normal’ show, which puts an extra 500 or so staging volunteers and technical crew out there, so we had to find a way of minimizing this. The unusual layout of the Raymond James Stadium, with its large concourse areas at the back of the first level behind the end zones, offered us a natural performance area, with the opportunity to build something much more permanent than usual, reducing many of the limitations not only to structural size, but also to the way lighting and video product could be incorporated within it. The design concept evolved significantly throughout the process, as the creative process went head-to-head with the reality of fitting everything around a football game and the spectators and, although we were able to build a more permanent structure, the area had to be open to the public during the game, so at least parts of it had to be built in the six minutes between the end of the 2nd Quarter and the start of the show.
LD: How did you collaborate with Bruce Rodgers and Es Devlin and all the others on the creative team?
AG: Bruce has been designing the Super Bowl Halftime Show since about 1901 (congratulations on the centenary, mate!). What he doesn’t know about its unique challenges probably isn’t worth knowing, and I think of him as the rock on which the show has to stand. His creativity goes hand-in-hand with a thorough understanding of practical possibilities, challenges and solutions, and the ability and experience to deliver quickly and adapt to overcome obstacles. Es has worked with the Weeknd for a while, along with La Mar Taylor and Alex Lill, and has a great relationship and rapport with artists, as well as a clarity of vision and concept. When the design process is so much a battle between what one wants to do and what one actually can do, it’s really necessary to have someone there who never loses sight of the core concept, and fights to protect it. So, they complimented each other and together they made a formidable team. Director Hamish Hamilton is at the top of his field, and has been doing Halftime Shows almost as long as Bruce. The show exists for fifteen or twenty thousand people in the stadium, but over a hundred million on broadcast television and countless more on social media. His was always the voice that reminded us of that, and also that this was ‘A Superbowl Halftime Show’ which carried the expectations of its audience. We all talked together a lot throughout the process, and were inspired by the same things, and often came up with similar references.
LD: What about with The Weeknd, how was his design desire and artistic intent communicated. direct meetings, did you interact with his personal LD?
AG: The Weeknd’s core creative team were La Mar Taylor, Alex Lill, and Es Devlin. They were my conduit to the artist. I had no personal contact with him, which is neither usual nor unusual, and mainly a result of the architecture of the stadium, as it took at least ten minutes to get from front of house to the stage. Sometimes it’s just not necessary and sometimes it is. If we had needed to discuss anything there would have been no reason not to. Executive producer Jesse Collins was in constant contact, pulling the whole thing together, leading us and making sure we were all moving toward the same end point. Dave Meyers and Aaron Cooke, as EIC and supervising producer respectively, kept us all in touch with reality, not only with grace and good humor, but also with great respect for and investment in the creative endeavor.
Jason Baeri, The Weeknd’s LD, came onto the project a bit later, and I enjoyed the collaboration enormously. It can be a tricky and sensitive interaction sometimes, between the show lighting designer and the artist LD. I have been on both sides of that divide, and so has he, and I greatly admired his attitude and his approach. He came to us offering help, experience of the likes and dislikes of the artist, and direct communication between us in the same ‘language.’ This is an invaluable process when done right, with mutual respect, and lack of ego. Someone in that position communicates in both directions with an understanding of how the job works, and he played his part perfectly.
LD: Can you describe the architecture of the rig and how the set informed that?
AG: I had assumed in the early stages that this show would be a cut-down version of a normal Super Bowl Halftime Show, because of the current restrictions, but it turned out quite the opposite. We were keen to use the space behind the end zone, but The Weeknd also wanted to perform at least some of the show on the field, so we ended up needing to light both. Of course, it makes no difference how much time one spends on the field —if you have to see it, even for a few seconds, you need just as many lights. So, we had a full stadium rig AND a rig designed for the first half of the show on the concourse. Part of our visual inspiration, at least initially, came from both Blade Runner and Batman, and this suggested the need for practical lighting, internal lighting, and concealed fixtures to create shafts of light, and visible drifting smoke. These were all used as the real bedrock of our programming.
We needed to light the entire field, covered end-to-end with 300 dancers for the last two numbers, so I knew that I would need both illumination and dynamics into camera. I was keen to use the stadium’s new LED Fixtures in a dynamic way, as part of our show, so I brought in StadiumFX to work with us to integrate them into the show system when we needed them. This added both illumination level and added to the effect. We also had trusses sub-hung from all of the stadium positions, with wash, spot and strobe fixtures. It’s always important to consider the design through the camera lens, and understand how it needs to work for shots of all sizes and from all angles. I knew that I needed to get lights down into the frame, so we had lights all around the top of the first level, and on the field as well, although these had to work around all of the equipment on the sidelines for the football teams.
LD: Choice of fixtures, what were your workhorses, where and why?
AG: Conscious of the very high probability of rain ideally I would have used all waterproof fixtures, but with a rig of this size, one has to balance this advantage with other practical considerations, and we ended up with a mixture of both water-resistant and non-water-resistant fixtures. My stadium wash fixtures were Robe Robin 1200’s, the flown profiles were Elation Proteus Maximus, both of which were impressively bright, which is a real advantage when the throw distances are so enormous. On the field carts we had both PRG Best Boys and Bad Boys. Strobes were TMB Solaris Flares, and were pretty well everywhere. I’m not a big fan of what I would describe as ‘beam shows’ which can often be superfluous or at odds with the bigger picture or the needs of the performance, so I rely on strobes quite a lot for both illumination and for dynamics.
LD: What about coordination with the pyro—did they have their own fog systems? your use of fog and haze? Use of color?
AG: Bob Ross of Pyrotecnico was a great communicator and a helpful collaborator. He did have his own fog and haze systems, but we shared control of them. When CO2 was being used, specifically in ’The Hills’ when the smoke came pouring through the set, he had control, but at other times we took over, as it is very important to the pictures to get the level right, and I am in a better position to judge that as I am looking at everything through the lens.
Creative decisions about pyro need to be locked in much earlier than lighting, because once they’ve been ordered, and the money has changed hands, there’s not a lot of opportunity for a change of mind. So, the basic color scheme was agreed upon early on. Both Es and I are quite keen on a fairly monochromatic approach to pyro, and quite a bit of cool white and warm white was used. The thinking behind this is that they complement the other visual elements rather than needing to be self-contained. The advantage then for me as a lighting designer is that I have more flexibility to modify color if necessary, without creating color clashes.
The color treatment overall was inspired by The Weeknd’s promo videos, where he is often lit in strong colors rather than in white light. This was something he specifically preferred and with which he felt most comfortable. From the outset, we and he had wanted a more ‘filmic’ look, so for the first time on a Halftime Show we used mainly large-format ARRI Alexa cameras. Emelie Scaminaci was brought in as DOP to help us with this and to work with video controller JM Hurley to help coordinate the integration with the few Sony 4300’s under our own control and also the ‘game’ cameras in the CBS trucks. She had done this very successfully before on the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Shows, so we knew what to expect. The Alexa’s renowned tonal range gave us great skin tone, and was very accommodating to our heavily stylized color palette and intense lighting dynamics. This seems to have been a bit of a shock to some, and was not to everyone’s taste, but the more I review it, the happier I am with it, and the more convinced that it was the right choice. We certainly ended up with a very happy artist.
LD: Any specific challenges?
AG: Rain. Wind.
LD: How has the gear for such a show has changed since your last Super Bowl?
AG: Before this, the last Super Bowl Halftime Show I designed was for Beyoncé in 2013 and everyone reading this will probably be aware that the rental lighting equipment available has changed a lot. I think there’s a lot more choice of fixtures both small and large, and they their efficiency has improved enormously. I remember while designing for the Sochi Olympics in 2013/2014 we needed a shuttering fixture that would be bright enough at extreme throws, and there was nothing really which fitted the bill. We ended up using PRG Bad Boys with a customized gobo set to simulate shutters and create curves. Now there are several fixtures on the market which would have had all the brightness and functionality we needed had they been invented.
One more thing. A word about my team. They were amazing. Ben Green as my LD has an extraordinary maturity and confidence backed up with thought and experience for someone so young. Jeff Nellis offering sterling support and looking after the follow spot balancing and calling. Gaffer Alen Sisul and his team working tirelessly and cheerfully in the face of difficult weather, especially after the storm which hit Tampa the night before the show. Eric Marchwinski of Earlybird Visual did amazing work as lead programmer both at his pre-viz facility in Los Angeles and on site in Tampa, and was strongly supported by his Earlybird cohorts Mark Humphrey and Nick Coauette. Jason Rudolph programmed screens and was, as always, a cheerful team player with great depth of experience and technical know-how. Jon Kusner at 22 Degrees, as always, provided great help and support in putting the team together and with project management.’
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Check out Live Design's ongoing Super Bowl LV Halftime Show 2021 coverage here.