livedesignonline.com: Special effects provider Strictly FX of Chicago, IL, was an integral part of the Super Bowl XLVII Halftime Show, working closely with executive producer Ricky Kirshner of RK Productions, and production designer Bruce Rodgers of Tribe Design. “For this one, I think we were able to give them a lot more ideas than they were given in the past—they were accustomed to dealing with firms that only did pyro. We do all the effects—not just pyro—we can provide flame effects, CO2 effects and lasers. We’re also able to visualize our concepts, show them renders, as well as show them animations of all our cues,” notes partner and effects designer Mark Grega of Strictly FX.
7 comments:
This year's Super Bowl halftime show definitely blew me away; the effects were simply incredible. I was transfixed by the magnitude and definition of the effects, and also by their ability to add to the show without taking away from Beyonce's charisma (which is practically impossible) or overshadowing her. The design was brilliant - perfectly balanced and well executed. It's too bad Beyonce missed center stage when she was supposed to have ripples emanating from her body, but somehow even that didn't manage to be distracting for more than a moment from the daring special effects. It was a wonderful show of power and grace, and I look forward to seeing more of the work of Strictly FX in the future.
I really enjoyed this article. The half time show is another one of those things that doesnt really come to the forefront your mind when you think about design, but this one was amazing. I think it would be such an interesting experience to be part of the design team for a halftime show or a concert or the like, trying to relay the story of the music with visuals is such an intriguing idea to me.
This halftime show in particular was full of fantastic ways of story telling. In fact we watched it during Basic Design to analyze the semiotics behind it and there were so many. The part that really got me thinking was the tights that Beyonce and her back up singers/dancers wore. Hers were very light and the tights on the women on either side of her slowly darkened as you went down the line until the last girl was in black. It really reminded me how something so simple can be so powerful.
This halftime show was the first i remember not failing epically. I'm really glad the power waited until after the show to go out. I thought a lot of the FX's and media in the show were awesome. I will say that the guitar effect makes me nervous, because of what could have gone wrong. I'd be interested in seeing what safety training and engineering went into making it happen.
Reading through this article makes me feel like I have to go back and re-watch the half-time show. They described so many instances of pyro that I didn't pick up on the three times I've watched the half-time show. With so many different types of effects, that also means there are a variety of design conversations that need to happen with each. They describe having conversations directly with Beyonce, but I can also imagine that the corporation that is Beyonce (like Lady Gaga's House of Gaga) has contractual opinions over the design.
Is the show more of a platform for a Beyonce concert, or is it in the hands of the NFL.
As Ariel said there were so many instances of pyro technics that I cant remember. So I suppose they were implemented well enough to add to and not take away from the performance. The whole performance must have been perfectly planned to have those immense flames and then have no embers of make it to the audience. They also didn't set the guitarist on fire with her guitar which is also good. There always seems to be one thing that goes wrong in the heat of the moment live performance that is the superbowl half time show but not this time
What do CO2 effects encompass? Now I really want to rewatch the half-time show. The creativity and technology and general pyrotechnical know-how if astounding to me. This is definitely a product of the gorwn-up version of that one kid in elementary school who loved to play with fire. Also, I can't even fathom how much all this must have cost. The other amazing thing to me is that the entire setup was mobile and compactable to move it on and off the field. Well done, Strictly FX.
The half time show really blew me away. We've seen other pyrotechnics done in past half-time shows, but they usually consist of fireworks or flames, and that was it. These pyrotechnics truly showed the art of this profession. The 48' tall Pyro Girl was amazing, and I was very impressed at how well the pyro, lighting, and media designs worked together. I would have expected all the light from the pyro to change the look of the lighting and media for the worst, but I was pleasantly surprised. I think I understand why previous half-time shows did not use such elaborate designs. One: the technology is very new. Two: the design would impress the audiences more than the performance. For me at least, the design was better than the performance, but I admit, Beyonce came in a very very very close second.
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