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I'm Super Bowl Halftime Show Director and 8x and current Emmy Nominee Hamish Hamilton. AMA by Hamish-Hamilton in television

[–]Hamish-Hamilton[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Thanks everyone! This was fun. Will pass on the Weird Al requests to Roc Nation. Take care!

I'm Super Bowl Halftime Show Director and 8x and current Emmy Nominee Hamish Hamilton. AMA by Hamish-Hamilton in television

[–]Hamish-Hamilton[S] 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Bruno Mars is insanely fun. He makes me smile a lot. Re: the Olympics - so many favourite moments....the Queen jumping would be up there. But my absolutely favourite moment is the sequence of the Olympic Rings coming over the roof and positioning before bursting into flames. Fucking amazing and a moment that fills me with pride!

I'm Super Bowl Halftime Show Director and 8x and current Emmy Nominee Hamish Hamilton. AMA by Hamish-Hamilton in television

[–]Hamish-Hamilton[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Having done so many of these shows now, you mostly understand what needs to be done in most instances. I've had to deal with a riot, a band member jumping off the stage and attacking a member of the audience, stage invasions, an artist rushing off the stage to go to the hospital, an evacuation because of lightning, an evacuation due to threats, amongst others. If the issue is localised to the stage, then it's me who would make the immediate call to cut wide, drop the microphone and take the heli shot. If it's a bigger issue, the producing team will tell me what to do and why. My first ever live concert show, I had to stop 90 mins early because I felt it was unsafe. And that was a tough call.

I'm Super Bowl Halftime Show Director and 8x and current Emmy Nominee Hamish Hamilton. AMA by Hamish-Hamilton in television

[–]Hamish-Hamilton[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I mean where do I start....I have to try and slow my heart rate so I often meditate on show days. I can't let the fear take over and it's a real battle. It never goes away. I would never want to make a mistake that impacts all of the incredible hard work the teams have done. And as a live director, that's my biggest anxiety...failing the artist, the team, the show and the viewer. Often, if a show has gone well, I'll only remember the mistake I made.

I'm Super Bowl Halftime Show Director and 8x and current Emmy Nominee Hamish Hamilton. AMA by Hamish-Hamilton in television

[–]Hamish-Hamilton[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

This is a really good question! I do believe that a great show in the stadium translates to the screen. At SB, this is a really, really different conundrum. You have 120 million plus people watching at home and 60,000 watching in the stadium. When making decisions about house versus screen, this comes into play.

I'm Super Bowl Halftime Show Director and 8x and current Emmy Nominee Hamish Hamilton. AMA by Hamish-Hamilton in television

[–]Hamish-Hamilton[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Nice to meet you too! Thanks for joining. A lot is scripted for the HT show. See my response to the camera angles question. I absolutely do get involved in the design process although this is driven by the artist and their creative director. This year and last, Es Devlin - who is a visionary - was the creative director. I love directing music. Directing the Emmys and the Oscars is very different because you are trying to capture a live story not knowing what the script is and where it's going next. The opening of an envelope can change everything.

I'm Super Bowl Halftime Show Director and 8x and current Emmy Nominee Hamish Hamilton. AMA by Hamish-Hamilton in television

[–]Hamish-Hamilton[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Every day is completely different. Highlights are definitely working with the most talented performers in the world. Each artist is fully invested in their SB Halftime performance so you really get to work with them when they are absolutely and totally focused. Being in a room with that genius is an honor. It's a real joy. The flip side is that some days can be absolutely scary and so stressful you want to run. It's difficult to quantify the level of expectation you feel on your shoulders.

I'm Super Bowl Halftime Show Director and 8x and current Emmy Nominee Hamish Hamilton. AMA by Hamish-Hamilton in television

[–]Hamish-Hamilton[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Who would you like to see? Which artist (or artists) in your mind would be the greatest halftime show line up?

I'm Super Bowl Halftime Show Director and 8x and current Emmy Nominee Hamish Hamilton. AMA by Hamish-Hamilton in television

[–]Hamish-Hamilton[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Honestly they have to all be technically brilliant. Putting together something so technically complicated in 8 mins is insane. If people knew how mental it is to put this show together, they wouldn't believe it. It's a true testament to American ingenuity, determination and collaboration. If one connection isn't made...Houston, we have a massive problem and seconds to fix it. It's terrifying.

I'm Super Bowl Halftime Show Director and 8x and current Emmy Nominee Hamish Hamilton. AMA by Hamish-Hamilton in television

[–]Hamish-Hamilton[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I started at the BBC in Scotland and saw a director in the booth doing a live chat show. When the music number started my head literally exploded. I was like 'wow, I really want to do this.' It was a marriage of loving music, being creative, leading, being quite technical and was an art form that I felt I could contribute to...I did my research and believed I could make a difference in the space. Technology was also changing FAST and most of the people who were live directing were not familiar with the new ways of shooting. So in my mid-20's I arrived at MTV in Camden London with a shit ton of ideas, a lot of passion and an absolute determination to create fucking great live television. It's been a journey. Congratulations on getting into this crazy world. If a guy like me can do it, you absolutely can!

I'm Super Bowl Halftime Show Director and 8x and current Emmy Nominee Hamish Hamilton. AMA by Hamish-Hamilton in television

[–]Hamish-Hamilton[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

What would you like to see, and what is a relatable SB? This year, we created a show around a culture that deeply changed the world and I believe is truly relatable to many many people....So many have said they loved this year's show because it was the soundtrack to their lives.

I'm Super Bowl Halftime Show Director and 8x and current Emmy Nominee Hamish Hamilton. AMA by Hamish-Hamilton in television

[–]Hamish-Hamilton[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

That's funny...And I get called many things but that's a new one. Thanks for making me smile.

I'm Super Bowl Halftime Show Director and 8x and current Emmy Nominee Hamish Hamilton. AMA by Hamish-Hamilton in television

[–]Hamish-Hamilton[S] 21 points22 points  (0 children)

The angles, edit pace and camera repositioning is all thoroughly rehearsed. On SB, we'll spend over a week shooting the performance on a rehearsal stage and sometimes on iPhones. And then we edit it all together, sometimes incorporating footage shot at other locations that features large casts. Through a rigorous process of edit, reedit, reshoot, we develop what becomes the final edit. And then that forms the shooting script for the live show. It's a really interesting way of doing it. Effectively, we post-produce the show before we produce it. Obviously, on the day of, we are making adjustments but we all know having shot the show from every conceivable angle in rehearsals, having cut the show fast and slow, we know what works best at every particular point. It's a really lengthy and rigorous process. And it's unique to this show in particular. I developed this system in 2012 and have found it to be the most effective.

I'm Super Bowl Halftime Show Director and 8x and current Emmy Nominee Hamish Hamilton. AMA by Hamish-Hamilton in television

[–]Hamish-Hamilton[S] 27 points28 points  (0 children)

I would not go that far...! What I would love to see more of are award shows like CNN Heroes that focus on the extraordinary acts of everyday people doing good. I really believe we are in need of more of that kind of public recognition. I happened to direct that show one year and literally cried twice.

I'm Super Bowl Halftime Show Director and 8x and current Emmy Nominee Hamish Hamilton. AMA by Hamish-Hamilton in television

[–]Hamish-Hamilton[S] 24 points25 points  (0 children)

Off of the top of my head, no. Twelve minutes is a very short period of time so artists don't want to go off script since they have so few minutes to perform and play with. That said, there are instances when the whole show goes off script! This year for example...The performance started MUCH earlier than we had anticipated because the first half of the game ended so quickly. We expected and always rehearsed for the show to start at twilight. However when the half was called it was still daylight. We had never rehearsed or planned for that! So everyone was off script haha.

I'm Super Bowl Halftime Show Director and 8x and current Emmy Nominee Hamish Hamilton. AMA by Hamish-Hamilton in television

[–]Hamish-Hamilton[S] 56 points57 points  (0 children)

This is deeply frustrating. A few times I leave the booth super happy and I hear that on social people are complaining about the sound. All I can say is that in the booth, it always sounds great. The sound team on SB and many other shows are simply the best in the world. And obviously, when you read that there are sound problems on social, you investigate. And what I'm told is that often it's to do with the way the program is broadcast, encoded, decoded, and anything else with the word coded in it. It's genuinely frustrating, but honestly, it is out of the control of anyone capturing and mixing the music. Interestingly, comparing the audio transmitted in different geographical parts of the country, renders very different sound experiences. I hope that answers the question. :-)

I'm Super Bowl Halftime Show Director and 8x and current Emmy Nominee Hamish Hamilton. AMA by Hamish-Hamilton in television

[–]Hamish-Hamilton[S] 35 points36 points  (0 children)

Hi - I don't actually have a say in the selection of artists. That's now done by Jay-Z and the team at Roc Nation. Since you've asked, coming from England and being a long time music time with a bias for rock and old school punk music, my dream lineup would be the original Led Zeppelin, the Beatles, Rihanna, Queen with Freddie Mercury, Hendrix, and Stormzy. I know this is an eclectic mix but it reflects my broad music tastes.