The Backbone Behind the Show

When Things Go Wrong

However, only a small concert, issues can still occur. For instance, the sound cuts out and no one can explain what's going on. It could be several problems:

• An amp could fail
• A speaker could blow
• A lead may be intermittent (working only sometimes)
• Something could become unplugged
• A throw power switch could occur from electricity running into too many amps

Fixing it could be as hard as from finding out what's unplugged to "bridging a speaker to another amp" as my father said.

The Recovery

After what feels like a drink break between the bands songs, relief sweeps over as my dad reconnects the speakers, hearing them come to life with a slight buzzing. My dad's been doing this job for twenty years so it's easy to get away with a small error, although one can imagine the complexities of a performance, one such as big as super bowl, with up to 180 countries watching, over a stadium that can fit 73,000 people, where there's no room for mistakes (Deahl, 2018; Carline, 2018).

The Legends of Halftime

Shows held over the past recent decades include, Beyoncé, Madonna, Michael Jackson and Justin Timberlake (Chase, 2014). Within the article written by Dani Deahl, 'How the Super Bowl Halftime Show Gets Set Up In Just Six Minutes" (2018), there is an interview with Patrick Baltzell.

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He is the sound engineer for one of Americas most watched events in the past few decades... there is often someone unseen who has spent months making sure you can hear every word and note.

— Dani Deahl, The Verge

In answering questions to "The Verge", Patrick Baltzell exclaims for the half time show there's only 6 minutes to put an entire show on the field. To make this possible there is a long planning process involved, "that starts in June for a super bowl in February".

Behind the Scenes

To begin there is a survey of the site needed to be done to determine precise locations for the audio compound which is where all the speakers are placed, trailers that are offices, and broadcast trucks. What people witness is a performance smooth and fluent, the production of a century, running easily from their perspective. What they don't see is the workers behind the scene which make the show possible.

It takes hundreds of people and multiple companies. For example, the Super Bowl would also not be possible without the work of a company called 'Majic Productions' which handles the sound, video and lighting for all the concerts every day surrounding the big event (Hauer, 2018).

The Scale of Production

Again, there is extensive planning in advance for an event like this, "complete with site surveys, meet ups with other vendors" and attendance to "mandatory staff trainings". In an outdoor Metropolitan setting there are a lot of factors to consider. To deal with the cold, the weather and impact on operation, Majic Productions fabrication department custom made weather proof covers.

"Load ins" start in January while workers worked up to 16-hour days. "Crews will be a part of a variety of projects, from main stages to ice skating rinks" (Schuyler 2018).

As temperatures within Minneapolis in February drop below 20 degrees, staffers leave speakers out over night to test them, while precaution must be taken for keeping warm in sub zero temperatures (Hauer, 2018).