Following Usher’s quintessentially Vegas Super Bowl Halftime Show, Apple has released a short behind-the-scenes film that documents the performance’s creative process – with every moment shot entirely on iPhone.
Weaving documentary footage with clips from the live performance itself, Apple describes the short film as “the epic show, like you’ve never seen it before”, taking a deep dive into this year’s halftime show from its inception to the final performance. The 10-minute documentary offers an intimate glimpse into the halftime show, featuring unique angles that were left out of the live broadcast.
With director Mike Carson behind the camera, an impressive 40 iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max handsets were used to bring the film to life. It opens with clips from the show’s early development stages, including dance rehearsals to sound checks, and captures Usher’s incredible work ethic and determination; “if you put in the work, people will respect what you do”, he says at the start of the film.
From intimate footage of Usher’s high-intensity workouts to physical therapy sessions, the documentary shows that being a halftime headliner is no walk in the park. Behind the live performance is an intricate creative process that the audience doesn’t usually see, and which Apple places at the forefront of the film, revealing the beating heart and deeper elements of Usher’s halftime show.
While the documentary’s behind-the-scenes aspect is insightful and compelling, the iPhone-shot angles of the actual performance give us a whole new perspective on the show.
The film cuts back and forth between rehearsal and performance, with the multiple iPhones capturing the live performance from stationary perspectives, as well as more dynamic shots captured by phones attached to the dancers and musicians.
By featuring close-ups of dancers, stunt performers, and musicians, Apple’s documentary also highlights more intimate details of the performance.
Since Apple Music joined the NFL family in 2023, this is the first time that a halftime show sponsor has shone a spotlight on the process behind what has become one of the world’s biggest music showcases. It takes an army of highly creative people to put together a performance like the Super Bowl Halftime show – one that not even Usher could pull off on his own.
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