IamA guy who worked for Katy Perry's Superbowl halftime show AMA!

How much did you get paid?

I believe it was 8.09/hour. This is either the first or second year they paid for labor from what I understand.

wtf

Yeah I know. NFL is a non profit remember? eyeroll

1. How old are you?

2. What is your dream job?

3. Where can I get me one of those sweet shark costumes?

1. 35
2. Not working
3. If I knew I'd probably save that info for myself and dance around drunk while wearing it in my living room. EDIT: Show your interest here to get shark suits made

Did you get to fuck Katy Perry?

With my eyes, a few times.

Was Katy actually singing live? We couldn't come to a consensus!

She would speak in the mic right before starting a song. For example on Friday she said "Happy Friday everyone!" I have to think she wasn't because every rehearsal sounded just a bit different, including the Superbowl performance. In the end I am not sure.

Thanks for the honest response! I thought it was live because at some points she sounded a little off key (which of course is fine if you're singing and dancing live!)

She was definitely singing live but some songs had the prerecorder backing vocals louder than others.

In the stadium sounded nothing like it's digital counter part, but there were definitely some recorded non lyric parts.

Any wardrobe "malfunctions"?

Any special dress required inside the costumes?

Is Katy a Lizard or a Grey?

1.The first time Katy went up in the air for the song Firework, she kept adjusting her dress. After the song ended she said on the mic 'wardrobe I need to see you ASAP'.

2.I don't know about the beach balls, sharks, or palm trees but the people holding the light up orbs wore full body suits.

3.She's a sexy.

To get proper spacing you gotta do this:

Never heard firework (or much of her works), shame you don't know about the other suits.

Thanks.

Thanks! I tried messing with it but it didn't come out right.

Did you get to watch the game live before/after Katy's part?

Not in the stadium if that's what you mean. Before the show we watched it on TV right outside the stadium in a staging area. After the show we watched it where we parked our cars before being bused in. (We all met at a university and had police escort our buses to the stadium)

Hi! How many times did they practice this show in full before they went live?

The entire show with Katy, Lenny, and Missy was practiced 4-6 times. (I'm already forgetting it went so fast) We practiced setting up the stage and lighting four hours a day for eight days. On the first day of actual dress rehearsal a girl who was not Katy practiced all Katy's moves on the lion and the stage first. (I joked that this was because if the safety equipment failed, this random girl would get hurt instead of Katy)

Were the dancing sharks part of the plan from the beginning? They won the internet tonight.

I wasn't part of initial planning so am not sure. They were there for all the dress rehearsals. I liked the lion personally, although I wouldn't mind owning one of those snazzy shark suits.

how did they put the lion together and stuff? seems kinda complicated?

Primarily it's just a rolling platform, the legs are not involved in moving it whatsoever. Lots of people in full black body suits to push it forward and attempt to move the limbs realistically. Large scale puppeteering!

Exactly.

All I know is the guy who made the props for War Horse: The Play made the lion. 4 or 5 people pushed it while Katy was standing on it. 4 other people in black body suits moved its legs to make it look like it was walking. I never really saw how it reared up at the end of the song.

It's not a joke, that's exactly the reason they use stand ins for that.

Maybe, but she did the whole routine minus the singing. Headbanging Lenny's crotch, etc... Not sure it's all safety related, but maybe some of it.

In a war between cyborg donkeys and lizard people you are asked to organize a show to bring peace how would you do it?

Bring in women from Tijuana to calm the donkeys, thus creating world peace.

How did you get that job?

My mom had found out about it somehow (not sure how). I applied via www.superbowlproductions.com There are people that travel and do it every year for fun.

Among halftime support staff, who (in terms of coolest) ranks just above light pushers and who is slightly below?

It's all pretty cool IMO, being able to be apart of such an event. I was just doing grunt work, but to be a part of such a huge production in any way is pretty epic.

Did you get to meet or talk to Katy, Lenny, or Missy?

Unfortunately no... Lenny and Missy were only seen when their part in the rehearsals came up. I stood about 20 feet from Katy at one point while we were practicing. She was all business and surrounded by cameras and boom operators.

what's Katy Perry like in perfect lighting?

She looks exactly like she looks on TV. I was surprised.

What's your favorite type of sandwich?

Turkey cranberry or classic turkey club.

Like a thanksgiving meal

Mmmmmm...

What was your favorite moment of the night?

They never did the full pyrotechnic display during rehearsal, just bits here and there. Since that was the only surprise for me, that was my favorite.

Do you know where we can obtain one of those snazzy suits?

I WISH!

How is the movement of the stage on / off the field organized?

Is there a single person in charge of that or how did it work? (If you know)

Thanks for the AMA!

There are people with headsets spread evenly along the line. They relay orders to cart leaders. The cart leaders then tell us what we're doing. I imagine the headset people are taking orders from someone both physically and literally higher up then them.

Is Katy Perry nice in person? Is there anything you can share about Katy off stage?

She seemed nice because everything was going very well with rehearsals. I do not know if she turns she-bitch when things aren't going so well. When not in costume she wore her hair in a bun, had on a knee length skirt and black leather jacket. She had her dog Butters with her. She seemed genuinely thankful for us minions. She would wave and say random things on the mic before starting the first song in rehearsal. Edit: I have no idea how my reply became two comments. Thanks alcohol!

I can only answer by what the higher ups say. She was excited for the show and happy that everything was going smooth. So because of that, I understand that she was pretty friendly. She also held herself well and you could tell she had command of everything. I did not get to speak with her in person.

Have you performed with other artists/groups before? If so, which ones?

I have not, but it did spark an interest in me. I may look in to it further.

Was it hot inside the costume?

I just had to wear a long sleeve shirt that was provided to me and dark pants. I think you might be looking for this.

Seahawks, Patriots or impartial to the whole thing?

Also, what's the noise like on a huge event such as this?

I lived in Washington and Oregon for about 12 years, so I have been a Seahawks fan since about 1994.

As I came in to the stadium before the concert started I was actually surprised at how quiet it was. It felt like the crowd was whispering to each other wondering what the show was going to be about. For example, the lion came in hidden under black cloth. Being on the field I was very close to the speakers, so I may have just gone temporarily deaf. The crowd seemed the most responsive and loudest during the Missy Elliot songs.

Who was the sharks? Really who was it?

College kids and Katy Perry's dancers.

I noticed that some of the glowing balls were out of sync sometimes. Like, everything was red, and there'd be a single green ball.

I was really curious as to how those things worked... Did everyone have to turn them on at the same time, and maybe one person was just a little late?

Each person had a numbered device inside the orb that corresponded to their position on the field. I am not sure what kind of technology was used for the wireless communication.

Hi! I'm using my boyfriend's Reddit right now, but we stumbled across this post after I begged him to search Katy Perry for me

1. Did you meet Scott Myrick (one of the sharks)?
2. Do you know what the giant tiger was made out of? How did it move?
3. Would you work this job again (for any artist, not just Katy)?

Thanks, I'm a huge Katycat.

1. I did not. The performers were staged in a different area from us.
2. I can't say for sure, but check out my album to get a closer look at it
3. Yes production is very fun and I had goosebumps for the entire show!

Thank you so much for responding. As a Katycat you made my night!

Of course. If the Superbowl ever comes near you, look into it. It's a great experience!

How much did the set-up of the performance cost?

During costume changes did the wardrobe people meet her on the field? How long does a process like that take? Seemed pretty quick.

How long was the performance?

I watched a Youtube video but it was only 12 minutes long so I'm not sure if that's the entire video. Don't watch American football so...

1. All I know is millions of dollars. Check out my initial post for everything that was used.

2. Wardrobe people were already out there. Outfits were stored under the stage. It takes literally about 2-3 seconds to change outfits. This was done in two ways by making the costume extremely easy to take off, or wearing the new costume over the old one.

3. About 13 minutes.

What does Katy Perry smell like in person?

Katy Perry if you're reading this...my wife gave me permission to leave her for you....maybe we could just go on a date and chat, see where things go from there.

I have that same agreement with my girlfriend about khaleesi.

Who does she get to leave you for? My wife gets to leave me for Tom Hardy or Channing Tatum, I get to leave my wife for Katy Perry or Channing Tatum.

Mine likes old men for whatever reason (Harrison Ford, Sean Connery,etc), also LL Cool J.

I totally understand handsome men but Channing Tatum just does NOTHING for me, but my GF disagrees obviously.

Woman here.

I don't understand the obsession with Channing Tatum in the slightest. He has the generic "hot bod" and a relatively average face. He is attractive, but certainly not the god that many women seem to worship him as.

At least not in my opinion, anyway.

Such is the glory of our psyche. Diversity is the spice of life...

Somebody requested the shark to do a ama do you know them?

No they were staged in a different area than us.

What were rehearsals like? Btw thx for the AMA! ;D

We practiced pushing the stage and lighting carts outside on a football field for six days. We practiced setting up inside the stadium for the last three days, full rehearsal was done the final two days. Stage pieces went in first, then lighting carts. We walked to the AFC endzone while the electricians hooked it all up. When the last song started playing we ran back to our carts and pushed it out of the stadium ASAP. The first day of practice took 45 minutes to set up, the last day took four minutes, 45 seconds.

Who were you rooting for? What part of the show did you work on specifically?

Seahawks!

I pushed a lighting cart on to the field and back off the field. You can see the cart in my imgur album.

Follow Up: How many people worked on this total?

Any numbers I have are in my original post.

What was have you exactly done during the show?

http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2uhpal/iama_guy_who_worked_for_katy_perrys_superbowl/co8s7m7?context=3

How big of a fan of Katy were you before you knew that you were working on her halftime show?

Her songs are catchy and easy to get stuck in your head. I play some of her songs for my five year old daughter. With that being said she's not in my top ten or anything. Would I go to a concert? Sure...

What was the weirdest thing you had to do for the show?

Being that I was just a cart monkey (pushing equipment around), not much really. If I think of anything, I'll come back and edit this comment.

Do you even like working here?

Yes?