Behind The Magic of the Floating Platforms at the Super Bowl LVII
Our fifth appearance at the Super Bowl LVII Half-Time show looked a little bit different than prior years. This year, Rihanna & her dancers appeared on seven floating platforms illuminated by our technology over the State Farm Stadium. These platforms automated by TAIT over a gorgeous red set designed by Bruce Rogers were a first of their kind at the Super Bowl. This was also a novel way for us to be a part of this highly anticipated event compared to previous years when we would have had wearables for fans in the stadium.
To light up the platforms, we used our new wireless Nova product, our brightest pixel ever made. A total of 600 rugged LED NOVA’s were found in each of the 7 platforms creating a total of 4,200 units. A diffusing system was created by TAIT to overlay uniform colours throughout all platforms. Each pixel had a lasting charge of 25 hours, allowing the batteries to only be changed once during the two weeks of rehearsal leading up to the show.
The desired effect by the production team was to have colours and movement under the platforms at all times. With the execution of our grouping effects and our 12 Infrared controllers, we were able to create movement and different lighting patterns throughout the show. One of our challenges was to make sure the platform was lit up wherever it was, the IR reflection on the playing field allowed us to do that, even with the platform close to the ground.
An additional challenge that was brought to us, was to remotely control the LED tape placed on each platform. With our IR technology and our R&D team’s hard work, the invention of a new hardware device was done in less than 3 weeks to respond to this challenge.
We are super proud of our whole team, and the success of the Super Bowl Half Time show and grateful for the incredible people we got to collaborate with once again.
For more behind the scene information, check out this article about the wild logistics behind the Super Bowl LVII Half Time show.