(09/02/2014) Millions of viewers worldwide had their eyes on MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Sunday, 2 February watching as the NFL's Denver Broncos and the Seattle Seahawks battled it out for the title of Super Bowl XLVIII champion. While the game itself left Denver fans a bit bored, the halftime show proved to be the most exciting part of the day. Super Bowl XLVIII was the most watched television program in U.S. history with 111.5 million viewers while the halftime performance was the most watched in the history of the Super Bowl drawing in a record 115.3 million viewers, passing the record 114 million who watched Madonna perform two years earlier.
The Super Bowl Halftime Show has some of the most stringent requirements in the business. Setup occurs in front of a packed stadium and in this case nearly freezing conditions all in just under a mere 8 minutes. With this sort of timeline, pre-production is not a luxury it's a necessity. A tight load-in and no retakes means the plan must be flawless so pre-production means pre-visualization. No surprise that wysiwyg has been the tool of choice for the last 5 years.
Lighting Designer Robert Barnhart from Full Flood designed the exciting halftime show featuring Bruno Mars and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. He worked with Tom Thompson from Prelite on the previsualization, who used wysiwyg R32 to realize Barnhart's vision. The 130 linear yard design (119 meters) included almost 1000 fixtures, 2000 feet (609 meters) of LED tape, a moving drum set, 4 on-stage lifts, video and 80,000 PixMob hats for the audience.
wysiwyg R32 was used to bring the halftime show to life long before the whistle blew. Thompson and Lighting Director Pete Radice did pre-programming at PRG in early January. Once the project team was on site in New Jersey, while they continued programming on the previz system throughout the week prior to the show, most of the time they were able to use the real rig.
Radice explains, We continued on wysiwyg while in New Jersey. We set up the system as soon as it rolled off the truck and continued on. By the time we got to the stadium we had most of the cue structure in place, but didnt have a time code track yet. Once we got that, I was able to work on that through our previz system, while the guys were doing the real work in the cold and snow. I also continued using the previz system after we were fully setup, so the crew could wring out the system without me bothering them while I took care of cue notes via previz.
Tom was great with handling changes for us. He even gave me control of the stage lifts so I could see the Color Blocks mounted on their faces, and of the PAR-46 trees so they could be seen at the appropriate time in the show. I would say the whole wysiwyg setup was well worth it. We arrived at the stadium with a patched system, focus positions built, and a cue structure in place. Not too long ago, that process wouldnt have begun until we arrived at the stadium.
The lights creating the audience backdrop behind the stage were set on 4 levels field level plus 3 levels on the audience balcony rails. Clay Paky Sharpys were located in both the balcony levels as well as in back of the LED panels behind the performers on stage. 220 Magic Panels were located on stage left and right in tight clusters with 12 Clay Paky B-Eye fixtures located on both sides next to the stage. PRG 4000 Spot fixtures were placed in the stadium catwalk upstage and downstage. Lighting was controlled by a PRG 676. The Magic Panels were fed video content by video director Jason Rudolph while the pan and tilt was done by Radice. The information was merged in custom PRG boxes and viewed in wysiwyg.
The 80,000 PixMob hats in the audience were used to show video effects using people as individual pixels. While PixMob used their own simulator for the video, Rudolph ran that content through wysiwyg while controlling video on a grandMA to cue with the lights.
Barnhart said, Working with Prelite and wysiwyg was a great situation. The Magic Panels especially took an amazing amount of channels plus all the screens running through the MA. wysiwyg took on around 160 universes. Working with Prelite helped us foresee problems prior to arriving on site, which otherwise could have been very expensive. Once the previz was moved to New Jersey, we could work with Tom over the internet if we moved any lights, so that was convenient. In addition, we got held up 2 days late from getting our hands on the rig due to weather, so the New Jersey Prelite studio really came in handy!
Thompson said, CAST was very helpful making sure we had current fixture files such as the Clay Paky B-EYE. They even provided a new executable file that extends to cover 200 universes. Prior to R321, wysiwyg was good for 100 universes, but in this day with Magic Panels fitting three to a universe, the 100-universe version gets eaten up rather quickly with a system like this. We asked CAST for more, citing fixtures that require over 100 channels each, and they responded quickly, giving us a new version two days later. Excellent service from CAST!
Peter Debreceni, Manager of Libraries at CAST explained about the addition of the B-EYE to the wysiwyg Library: The B-Eye has a rotating lens effect that is completely new for us and we are working on how to simulate it for R33. The Super Bowl used a very preliminary version that simulates the basic effects only. We occasionally get requests from Users that need a new or unusual object in the wysiwyg Library and we do our best to create what they need as quickly as possible. In fact, the B-EYE is so new that there aren't very many in circulation but ACT Lighting graciously sent us one to test here at the office.
The rotation effect creates 37 separate facets each spiraling around the beam so I had to painstakingly map them out. The tr
Most recent headlines
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
07/08/2025
July 8 2025, 22:30 (PDT) Tata Motors & Dolby Bring Dolby Atmos to Harrier.ev, R...
17/07/2025
Early Thursday morning, the U.S. Senate voted to cut federal funding for PBS and NPR in a bill that also included cuts for foreign aid. In a 51-48 vote, the act...
17/07/2025
GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland Pavilions across IBC2025 (12 15 September, RAI Amsterdam) feature a remarkable 34 companies, each providing unique, innovativ...
17/07/2025
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers today introduced its Content Provenance and Authenticity (CPA) in Media Study Group (S...
17/07/2025
NEW YORK Despite widespread concerns about a soft advertising market, NBCUniversal said it closed its 2025-26 upfront negotiation cycle with a record ad sales v...
17/07/2025
NEW YORK Television advertising remains an effective means to market and influence younger baby boomer and Generation X consumers approaching retirement age, ac...
17/07/2025
ALLENTOWN, Pa. & JERSEY CITY, N.J. Service Electric Cable TV and OpenVault have announced that the operator is deploying the OpenVault Proactive Network Manage...
17/07/2025
WASHINGTON Following up on his first major policy speech just two ago, Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr is promising to buck the usual summ...
17/07/2025
Luxembourg, 14 July 2025 - SES received the final regulatory approvals for the SES-Intelsat transaction, including the US Federal Communications Commission.
O...
17/07/2025
Berklee Alumni Nominated for 2025 Emmy Awards Twenty-three Berklee alumni received nominations across categories in sound mixing, sound editing, and compositi...
16/07/2025
It's Emmy nominations day, and Sundance Institute storytellers are basking i...
16/07/2025
Spotify's podcast editorial team is always on the hunt for shows and episodes that spark conversation, push boundaries, and keep us coming back for more. As...
16/07/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
16/07/2025
Join us at IBC this September and take control of your content. Discover how we're bringing a new level of purpose and precision to the application of AI in...
16/07/2025
Warsaw - Poland, June 24, 2025 - Nielsen, the global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics, has released its latest May All Screens Video Landscape...
16/07/2025
Bluey Tops Nielsen's Overall Streaming List with More Than 25 Billion Minutes Streamed from January through June 2025
Big June Vaults Squid Game into Top O...
16/07/2025
TV SIM, the SBT affiliate serving Esp rito Santo state in Brazil, has launched a transmitter upgrade initiative with the installation of a Rohde & Schwarz R&S T...
16/07/2025
Pebble, the leading automation, content management and integrated channel specialist, is turning its vision to the future of automation with its demonstrations ...
16/07/2025
Ikegami announces a new addition to its UNICAM-XE product range with the introduction of the UHK-X700RF wireless portable camera: The new version has the same f...
16/07/2025
Today, Amazon Web Services added TwelveLabs as a new model provider to Amazon Bedrock, delivering what could be the most significant breakthrough in enterprise ...
16/07/2025
NEW YORK Streaming platforms continued to dominate TV viewing patterns in June, with data from Nielsen's 50th monthly report of The Gauge showing that strea...
16/07/2025
MAHWAH, NJ Ikegami has introduced the the UHK-X700RF wireless portable camera, a new addition to its UNICAM-XE product range with the same feature set, operatio...
16/07/2025
LONDON IBC2025 organizers said global attendees will have access to a new feature that will integrate Amsterdam's GVB public transport pass into the officia...
16/07/2025
July 16th, 2025
Tribeca Films to Release the Acclaimed LARPing Doc WE CAN BE HEROES by Carina Mia Wong and Alex Simmons, Alongside a Slate of Festival-Favori...
16/07/2025
Deltatre Acquires Endeavor Streaming in Major Streaming Industry Move The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2025 By Brandon Costa, Direc...
16/07/2025
SVG Regional Sports Production Summit 2025: All Sessions Now Available to Watch ...
16/07/2025
Wednesday 16 July 2025
Sky and ITV today announced an extension of their long-standing partnership, which will see ITV's content and services remain seamle...
16/07/2025
Sky Sports lifts the lid on Lions life with hilarious behind-the-scenes mockumentaryWednesday 16 July 2025
To view this content, please enable our use of cooki...
16/07/2025
CULVER CITY, CALIFORNIA Apple TV+ today earned a record-breaking 81 Emmy Award nominations across 14 hit Apple Original titles for this year's 77th Emmy Awa...
15/07/2025
Independent media outlets in Brazil and Colombia are invited to apply for a new programme aimed at strengthening the long-term resilience of journalism in the f...
15/07/2025
By Lucy Spicer
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival...
15/07/2025
Spotify une fuerzas con DiDi, la app l der en servicios de movilidad, delivery y...
15/07/2025
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
15/07/2025
L3Harris put its CORVUS-RAVEN counter-small UAS capability into the hands of soldiers at VANAHEIM, showcasing its ability to provide passive signal detect, enha...
15/07/2025
Netflix Viewing Up 13.5% vs. May, Represents 42% of Monthly Gain for Streaming
...
15/07/2025
SAN FRANCISCO and BENGALARU, India Sangeeta Chakraborty has been named chief revenue officer at Amagi, a cloud-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) technology pro...
15/07/2025
As part of its mandate, the Advanced Television Systems Committee the U.S. organization tasked with developing advanced broadcast TV standards promotes ATSC 3.0...
15/07/2025
QuickLink, the leading global provider of multi-camera video productions and remote contributions, announces the launch of two innovative control panels Studi...
15/07/2025
Chris Kontopanos has joined leading high-quality microphone solutions manufacturer, DPA Microphones, as the company's new Regional Sales Manager for the Mid...
15/07/2025
Magnifi by VideoVerse, a global leader in AI-powered video automation, has launched a major platform upgrade built to simplify live and archival video editing f...
15/07/2025
Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, will preview its latest innovations at IBC2025, Stand 7.B21. This year's showcase highlights how...
15/07/2025
IBC2025 is set to transform the onsite experience for its global attendees with the launch of a pioneering new feature: full integration of Amsterdam's GVB ...
15/07/2025
Music, sport and technology collided in spectacular fashion as ASB GlassFloor powered the debut of Beats N Buckets, Germany's first Basketball meets Hip-Ho...
15/07/2025
The Collectv, the Emmy award-winning broadcast solutions and workflows consultancy - and winner of Broadcast Tech's Team of the Year is delighted to announc...
15/07/2025
SipRadius, the expert in secure, low latency media transport, will showcase how broadcasters and media companies can take control of fragmented IP workflows at ...
15/07/2025
Appear, the global leader in live production technology, today announced its strategic partnership with beIN ASIA PACIFIC, a leading multi-platform sports media...
15/07/2025
Company marks 15 years of innovation at the show
Broadpeak, a leader in streaming and monetization at scale, will return to IBC (Hall 1, Stand F83. RAI, Amster...
(09/02/2014) Millions of viewers worldwide had their eyes on MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Sunday, 2 February watching as the NFL's Denver Broncos and the Seattle Seahawks battled it out for the title of Super Bowl XLVIII champion. While the game itself left Denver fans a bit bored, the halftime show proved to be the most exciting part of the day. Super Bowl XLVIII was the most watched television program in U.S. history with 111.5 million viewers while the halftime performance was the most watched in the history of the Super Bowl drawing in a record 115.3 million viewers, passing the record 114 million who watched Madonna perform two years earlier.
