There’s a visual glow — a kind of Electric Aura — around Toronto. It’s the energy of precision planning — a year ahead of time — that goes into a show with seven and a half minutes to set up, 15 minutes of adrenaline-pumping performances, and three frantic minutes on the clock to clear the field. The Canadian Football League celebrated the 100th championship with the SiriusXM Grey Cup Halftime Show Nov. 25. Along with 50,000-plus Toronto Argonauts and Calgary Stampeders fans on site at Toronto’s Rogers Centre, millions in Canada, the U.S. and beyond saw the Grey Cup and halftime show via TV and the Internet — making the event the most-watched Grey Cup and halftime show in CFL history.
“Electric Aura” wasn’t just the feeling that enveloped the event. It’s also the name of the Vancouver, BC-based production company responsible for the design of the show.
Electric Aura Projects production designer Robert Sondergaard and business partner/lighting director Jason McKinnon teamed up with producer Patrick Roberge of Patrick Roberge Productions and rental company Christie Lites to produce this event. This same group has collaborated on four Grey Cup shows along with other mega TV spectacles including Olympics ceremonies.
In the interview that follows, Sondergaard provides the details, but here’s a quick recap of how the 15-minute show played out. With guitar in hand, one of Canada’s most beloved musical icons, Gordon Lightfoot kicked off the spectacle on a bare, square platform on the field. Video screens behind him provided backdrop. Then the three adjoining stages behind him allowed additional artists their own space, starting with Vancouver, BC-based rock band, Marianas Trench, then Carly Rae (“Call Me Maybe”) Jepsen and her band, and finally Canada’s own Justin Bieber. He and his dancers effectively took over all three adjoining stages, with visuals punctuated by a pyro and a laser display designed to delight the stadium and broadcast audiences.
PLSN: Electric Aura Projects started in 2002 and this is already your fourth Grey Cup Halftime Show.
Robert Sondergaard: Yes, in 2005 I co-designed the show with my business partner Jason McKinnon (he was also the lighting director for 2011 and 2012) and the talent was The Black Eyed Peas. In 2010, the talent was Bachman Turner Overdrive and, in 2011, Nickelback.
What past events do you think led to your role with the Grey Cup?
At Electric Aura, we were fortunate to ride the Olympic wave, gaining experience and reputation along the way. In the five years leading up to the Vancouver 2010 Olympics I handled most of the large events for VANOC (Vancouver Organizing Committee). Some of those included lighting design for Imagine 2010: Canada’s Olympic Journey and the televised 2010 Olympic Mascot Launch; and production designs for Countdown to 2010 — the live TV show one year before the 2010 Olympics; and Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games.
Outside of the Olympics, other large projects I have worked on include production design on the Opening & Closing Ceremonies for the 2007 and 2011 Canada Winter Games, Opening Ceremonies for the 2003 World Weightlifting Championships and Rick Hansen’s Concert for Heroes.
How do these large-scale spectacles differ from designing other shows?
Shows of this size usually give you the time and budget to come up with new and exciting ideas. There is always the desire to wow the viewing public so you are always pushing the envelope.
Describe the design process for this event.
Producer Patrick Roberge wanted to tie the past together with the future and connect the Halftime show with the actual football game. These ideas have helped guide all of our decisions during the lead up to the show, from the selection of the talent to the stage design itself.
The Grey Cup went on a 10-week journey across Canada with 138-stops across 8,100 km (5,033 miles), traveling on the railway that helped build our country more than 100 years ago. Our show was the final stop on the journey.
To set the stage, we created three “boxcars” on the field built out of Martin LC panels. The boxcars start off with video displayed on them to look like they are train cars traveling across the country. During this portion of the show Gordon Lightfoot performed.
As we bridge the gap of time to the present, we lift the three ‘boxcars’ on TourLifts to reveal the talent of today, each one revealing a different act: Marianas Trench, Carly Rae Jepsen and Justin Bieber.
Why was Gordon Lightfoot’s stage
positioned separately on a small island on the field?
We positioned Gordon Lightfoot on the smaller stage out front as we wanted to use the video screens on the boxcars behind him to reinforce the link to the tour the Grey Cup took across the country by train. We started with a large video landscape to capture the vastness of Canada, which melded into a video of the train, which traveled across all five screens. We then incorporated historical CFL footage of some great games.
By placing Lightfoot’s smaller stage out front, we were able to have these images in the background of the wide shot, bringing it to the TV audience. (Appropriately, Lightfoot sang his song, “Canadian Railroad Trilogy.”)
How was each artist’s “boxcar” stage equipped to give them their own stage looks?
The boxcar design seemed like a logical way to stage the three acts. Because Marianas Trench had a band setup, Carly Rae Jepsen brought her band and Justin Bieber had dancers, it also made sense technically to go with three stages. This allowed us to leave them completely set up after sound check and offered an opportunity to have a different look for each performance. Marianas Trench had seven modules (supplied by Midnite Hour) each with a MAC Viper and four SGM X5 strobes; Carly Rae Jepson’s stage had eight modules with Elation Octo Strips II and Martin MAC 401s and a number MAC 401s on the ground — a vibrant LED look to go with her pop songs; and Justin Bieber’s stage was backed with Barco Mitrix panels to expand the video look for his section. We also used all the Clay Paky Sharpys and another 15 Martin MAC Vipers to accentuate Bieber’s performance, as well as four side towers filled with 32 MAC Auras to light the stage. Justin also had lasers and pyro, which came with his touring show.
What other time-saving designs did
you use?
We were able to fly everything except the set pieces that rolled out. We built a mother grid that flew at 150 feet above the field and suspended the boxcars, side towers and pyro/laser deck from it. We had to keep everything above 120 feet in its stored position to keep the in-house video screen clear for all seats as well as keep clear of the cable cam.
Describe the timeline from the start of Halftime setup to tear down.
We had 7:30 from the final whistle to the start of the halftime [show]. At three minutes in, we had to shut off the sports lights — they needed a minimum of 20 minutes to cool down before they could be re-struck, and we needed them back immediately after the performance. At the end, we were clear of the field in three minutes, although it took a little longer for the flying pieces to get back to trim. They moved at 32 feet per minute, so it was four minutes to fly everything out.
What about an equipment backup
system?
From a control side, we had four grandMA2 consoles networked together (two full, two ultra-lite), with one of them placed in dimmer beach in case the FOH snake was cut.
Our biggest worry was that the set pieces wouldn’t fly in — there were backups in place for that, including spare motion control computers and a manual override. We also made sure each stage had a number of fixtures arranged on it so we would still have a show in the case something got stuck.
We placed 200 movers (MAC 101s & Auras) in the seats, so we knew they would be working come show time. These units were mounted on levels 200 and 500 and were set data via Wireless Solutions W-DMX — we had spare transceivers in both the send and receive locations so we could quickly swap one out.
This was the fourth Grey Cup using Christie Lites. Describe your relationship with them.
I’ve had a long relationship with Christie
Lites, going back to the opening of the Vancouver office in 1992. They have been an excellent support for any show I have done in North America. Because of the structure of the company, I am able to deal with one rep, Chris Grant, who supports us on all of our shows across the Christie network. The official rental product line has been fantastic — it’s always the same packaging and prep standard, and when they are short in one city they can bring it in from other shops seamlessly.
A number of the operations staff began their careers as show techs so they understand the time constraints of a live show and how important reliability is. This attention to detail shows in all the interactions we have with Christie Lites staff.
You specified Martin lighting products,
including the MAC Viper and MAC Aura.
The Vipers are fantastic! The speed of the zoom/focus is amazing. The MAC Auras are my favorite fixture right now. Their output, zoom, speed of movement, color mixing coupled with their size and cost is unparalleled.
Why did you choose grandMA consoles?
The grandMA consoles are our standard choice for large events. Because we have multiple operators — Shaun Forbes programing for the first three acts, Christopher Kuroda operating for Bieber, and Jason McKinnon running white light — we need to have one control system that all three can work on. The grandMA’s networkability makes this possible. Also, Andrew Giffin from the Bieber tour is using the same console, so he was able to do a partial read of their tour show file and adapt it for our rig. This saved hours of programing time — which we didn’t have — on site.
How and why did you use Wireless DMX?
We (Electric Aura) supplied the W-DMX. We placed 200 MAC 101s and Auras on the front railings of (seat) levels 200 and 500. These fixtures are easy to power as they are low wattage, but it would be a challenge to get a hard data line there through the seats. Instead we transmitted five universes of DMX from dimmer beach to each location. We have a variety of antenna that allowed us to get the data up to the farthest corners without any problems.
Any butterflies at showtime?
There might have been a few, but I tried to stay focused on the tasks at hand and not think about the fact the show is being televised. It’s enough pressure knowing there are 50,000-plus people in the venue, let alone contemplating the TV audience. But once it’s all over and you hear from people from around the country, you appreciate the reach of TV. Often our work is only seen by a handful of people attending whatever show you are working on.
Do you watch the Super Bowl Halftime Show — America’s version of your Grey Cup?
The Super Bowl Halftime Show is the standard by which shows like this are judged, and so I always make a point of watching it — not to be influenced but to see what has or can be done. Every show has its challenges — venue, talent, storyline, budget — and these inevitably steer you in a direction that will be distinctive.
Grey Cup Halftime Show:
Crew
Lighting Company: Christie Lites
Video Company: Midnite Hour
Producer: Patrick Roberge, Patrick Roberge Productions
Production Designer: Robert
Sondergaard, Electric Aura Projects
Director of Production: Nik von Schulmann
Lighting Director: Jason McKinnon, Electric Aura Projects
Programmer: Shaun Forbes
Video Designer: Sean Nieuwenhuis
Production Electrician: Jason Bolger, Electric Aura Projects
Production Rigger: John Sabourin
Electricians: Ken Reckahn, Stephan Gustajtis, Drew McElary, Sergio Chavez
Hoist Operator: Hugo Jarry
Justin Bieber crew: Chris Kuroda: lighting operator; Andrew Giffin: lighting programmer
Gear
Christie Lites:
2 MA Lighting grandMA2Full consoles
2 MA Lighting grandMA2 Ultra-Lites
176 Martin MAC 101s
112 Martin MAC Auras
2 Martin MAC IIIs
6 Martin MAC XB Beams
24 Martin MAC 401s
24 Martin MAC Vipers
17 Clay Paky Sharpys
80 Chroma-Q Color Force 12s
4 Lycian 1295 ELT followspots
25 180’ Chain Motors
Midnite Hour:
100 Martin LC Panels
432 Barco Mitrix Panels
32 0.6m Elation Octo Strip II
32 0.3m Elation Octo Strip II
32 SGM X5 LED Strobes
Show Distribution:
24 TourLift 1000kg 32’/min with 160 feet lift + control
