WIRED: When you’re the person (at least partially) responsible for Left Shark, you have to think about every possible way Super Bowl audiences watch halftime shows. That’s one of the many things Bruce Rodgers has learned over the 16 years he’s spent as production designer for the mid-game performance during American football’s biggest night. “Never again,” Rodgers laughs when asked if he considered including blue fish dancers for Rihanna’s Super Bowl LVII performance.
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When watching the super bowl halftime show, it was immediately very clear how technically advanced it was. The flying platforms are obviously the first thing you notice and they definitely hit the mark. They look incredible, give the required “wow” factor, and set the tone for the whole show. It’s so cool to read about the behind the scenes and the why of it all. I had no idea that one of the main reasons that the performance was mostly on floating platforms was because they had to protect the field. That’s just not something that I normally would have thought of. I love thinking about the technical aspects of any show that I’m watching but this one was just out of this world and had so many parts to it that I wouldn’t have thought of if I hadn’t read about it. I can’t wait to see what future performances bring and what new methods and technologies will be used to create them.
(Just for the record, “Umbrella” came up on my playlist as I started to write this.) The platforms were absolutely sick. I never thought about the practical purpose they also served - that was super interesting to learn. The importance of the feel of the field makes so much sense — it’s similar to dance. The surface and spring of the floor is essential to a performance, especially in competition, when you’re not used to the floor you’re dancing on each time. It affects turns greatly. On another note, Super Bowl performances are always super interesting because of the bars that have been set. Lady Gaga and Katy Perry have set a gold standard, which means that every other performance is expected to live up to that level. WHY DID NO ONE HERE KNOW WHAT LEFT SHARK WAS?? Left Shark is legendary and I understand the trepidation for that to not happen again. It’s hysterical that the production designer still thinks about the effect that Left Shark left on halftime show performances forever. Its legacy lives on. That is just so delightful to me — it was truly world-shattering.
I was very much blown away by how technologically advanced this halftime show was. When I was watching the game live, I was thinking back to when I shadowed and worked with the lighting designer for the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium for a week leading up to a game. I was able to think about the tunnel (which I’ve walked in), know aobut how the grass rolls in and out of the stadium, and stuff like that. The thing that shocked me a little was how they didn’t use any Arizona designers or our IATSE Local, and the NFL completely brought in their own team for all the performance. But TAIT did a fantastic job with the platforms and the rigging. The logistics behind why they had to do raised platforms, have different tires, and the knowledge that they only have 7 minutes to load in and 6 to strike is really fascinating. Definitely a career goal of mine to work a Super Bowl halftime show.
When I first saw this Superbowl performance, the floating platforms had my jaw on the floor. I had never thought about how they set up the whole show in the time of one or two ad breaks and for shows with the technical magnitude and viewership of that of the Super Bowl, and that was wild to me. With how many lights, set pieces and people have to get on the field - it’s shown to be a tightly choreographed dance both on the day of and beforehand. I loved the lighting and set design of the show - and I thought it was super interesting how the use of real grass in the game really drove some of the thinking in the floating platform - to protect the grass before the second half of the game. It’s really cool how many CMU alumni worked on the show - TAIT did an amazing job. As other commenters have mentioned, I’d love to work a Superbowl show one day, they’re just so cool.
I actually didn’t watch the Super Bowl last Sunday, but after watching a clip of Rihanna’s performance, I was in awe of the technicality of the performance. The stage and the floating platforms look simple yet futuristic, which is an aesthetic I enjoyed. Upon reading this article, I learnt the importance and the science behind the grass turf, which was definitely that the halftime show design time had to figure out. I was also shocked by how fast the stagehands were able to put together the stage and strike it in so little time. I can only imagine the amount of time that went into rehearsal. While I’ve seen comments on the internet saying this is the most boring Super Bowl halftime show of all time, I disagree because I think the technological advancement and intricacy that go behind the creative and building process are truly incredible and set a great example for the industry. I understand for an audience perspective they rather see a bigger stage with perhaps flames, but as someone that knows how much has to go behind, I appreciate the performance greatly.
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