www.livedesignonline.com: During the Super Bowl, Intel Corporation partnered with the NFL to create the first-ever live drone light show during a Super Bowl Halftime Show. As Maroon 5 began the song “She Will Be Loved,” 150 enhanced Intel Shooting Star drones floated up and over the field in a choreographed performance to the music to form the words “ONE” and “LOVE.”
7 comments:
When I first read the title of this article, I was a bit confused. Live Design has named this the first ever live drone light show, but I really don't think this is true. While larger events like the Super Bowl last year and the past winter Olympics have pre-recorded their drone shows, I have seen one live. Last year at Coachella, while Odesza was performing, Intel did a live drone show right above the stade. They started by drawing a UFO and then made the UFO "rain" little balls of. Light as if it was beaming someone up into it. And then they closed the show by forming Odesza's logo and making it rotate around. For this reason, I don't know why this is being called the first ever live drone show. That being said, this is probably the first ever one that was this public, but I still think the smaller shows deserve some credit.
Whenever I read the word “drone”, I always have to click on the article, because everyone is obsessed with them and I can’t understand why. On the other hand, this article actually made me understand a little but I don’t think this is the particular reason that people are obsessed with drones. I think it’s really cool that they turned off the inherent function of a drone and chose to work with just the flying abilities. I think this was a really smart way to mimic lanterns without fire and decreased danger, although drones also have errors. I can only imagine how much though and hard work was put into to even creating the concept, but eve executing something like this. This was the first ever live drone light show which is something I would’ve never thought could be a thing, and now it is. I love to see products be universal and the creative minds that make it happen.
Though I thought that Maroon 5's performance was rather boring and underwhelming, as well as the super bowl, these drones were pretty cool. I do echo DJ's comments about how this wasn't a groundbreaking feat at all, I mean it looked cool and it fit that it was lanterns but the technology is something that just wasn't a risk. What I would like to know about the drones is how much effort it takes for the drones to just make a shape in the air. Is it programmed? Do people fly it? Overall its cool and I'm curious about the use of drones as being a theatrical effect for lighting in more types f productions. If it can be used on such a major way in the super bowl to spell out "love", I wonder what could happen if they had a purpose in a textual theatrical setting, mostly I want to see a production of Peter Pan where tinker bell is a drone.
Personally I think this is a really cool concept to introduce, but I worry about all the things that could go wrong. What if a single drone malfunctions or runs out of battery and then knocks 20 others out of their pre prescribed paths. These drones just seem like disasters waiting to happen. I’m wondering where the halftime show in general is going because of this year's controversy. With so many stars declining to perform it makes me wonder is the whole game will be changed. Traditionally some spreformenrs arent even paid, it's supposed to be like a pritigue and honor thing for the “experience”, but I’m of the opinion that it’s silly to not pay people and expect them to keep wanting to do it. On a different note, it’s interesting to see if this is where entertainment lighting is going to focas next. Overall its cool technology but it seems a little dangerous
I think that the use of drones during a light show is really interesting. It can give the air a new kind of movement and look that isn’t attainable the same way with rigged lights. I can’t imagine what the programming and choreographing that went into organizing 150 individual drones and making sure that they’re doing what they want them to do. I wonder if now the use of drones in performance settings will become more common, and if they’ll start making their way into smaller venues such as theatre performances. I’m also wondering if Intel had any protocols should something had malfunctioned during a performance. The drones themselves aren’t very big, but if one comes crashing down onto a performer or an audience member, it could do a lot of damage. That being said, it’s probably a lot safer to use drones than actual floating lanterns. Overall, I think the effect was successful and the company executed it very well.
I was pretty unimpressed with the use of drones in this show. After seeing them being used at the olympics creating huge images of skiers and athletes, I thought it was pretty underwhelming seeing four letter words spelled out in the sky with straight lines. It just seemed a little amateurish after seeing the potential that they hold. On the same note, I thought it was really weird to make them look like the paper lanterns that the audience was holding. It just looked disjointed when there were lanterns stationary on the ground and then the same lanterns appeared in the sky with little to no movement themselves at time. I could not tell if it was CGI or what at first and it did not even look like they rose from the crowd so I really do not know what the point of that was. Just make them what they are! Don't try to decorate them to make them make more sense in the space. It just muddies the waters.
My mother has always been frightened of drones since they first started appearing. At some times I do have to agree with her how frightening they can be. I feel like they have grown very rapidly in the potential they have to do and in how sneaky they can be. I remember years ago seeing a video of a drone with a flamethrower attached to it. They could be instruments of death, or to spy on people, or they could even be manipulated by artist to create something entertaining like this! Rather than attaching a flamethrower or some sort of gun, attaching a LED light is much more friendly (and probably easier to do). Looking at the specs of this "performance," it is quite insane. There were 150 drones all synchronized (with their lights synchronized as well) flying around in space over the fans. If one drone was to fail, it could lead to many others failing and potentially harming the fans at the Super Bowl (again instruments of death). But the performance was really quite stunning, magically seeing orbs of lights float around space that was before very difficult to reach. Drones are a very diverse piece of technology that I hope will continue to make new technological advancements in the entertainment industry.
-Pablo Anton
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