Al Gurdon

Last updated
Al Gurdon
NationalityBritish
OccupationLighting designer

Al Gurdon is a British broadcast lighting designer and consultant. He specialises in large scale televised music shows and events including the MTV Awards, the Eurovision Song Contest and the Super Bowl half-time concerts. Gurdon was the Broadcast Lighting Designer for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2012 London Olympics.

Contents

Gurdon has a BA Hons in Film and Photography from the Polytechnic of Central London, now known as the University of Westminster. [1] He has had a long-standing working relationship with television director Hamish Hamilton.

Awards and nominations

Al Gurdon was awarded an Emmy [2] at the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards 2014. [3] He won in the category of Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Variety Special for the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games Opening Ceremony. He was the Lighting Designer in a team with Peter Canning, Michael Owen and Ross Williams (Lighting Directors).

Along with three other key members of the lighting team, Gurdon was also nominated for an Emmy at the 65th Primetime Emmy Awards, scheduled for 22 September 2013 in Los Angeles, for Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Variety Special, for their work on the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony. Gurdon was nominated as Director of Photography, and the three other nominees for the ceremony are Patrick Woodroffe (Lighting Designer), Tim Routledge (Moving Light Programmer) and Adam Bassett (Lighting Director). [4] [5] [6]

Gurdon was also nominated for an Emmy is the same category (Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Variety Special) for the Super Bowl XLVI Halftime Show starring Madonna. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daytime Emmy Awards</span> American TV award

The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), the Daytime Emmys are presented in recognition of excellence in American daytime television programming. The first ceremony was held in 1974, expanding what was originally a prime time-themed Emmy Award. Ceremonies generally are held in May or June.

The Sports Emmy Awards, or Sports Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), the Sports Emmys are presented in recognition of excellence in American sports television programming, including sports-related series, live coverage of sporting events, and best sports announcers. The awards ceremony, presenting Emmys from the previous calendar year, is usually held on a Spring Monday night, sometime in the last two weeks in April or the first week in May. The Sports Emmy Awards are all given away at one ceremony, unlike the Primetime Emmy Awards and the Daytime Emmy Awards, which hold a "Creative Arts" ceremony in which Emmys are given to behind-the-scenes personnel.

The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime Emmys are presented in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming. The award categories are divided into three classes: the regular Primetime Emmy Awards, the Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards to honor technical and other similar behind-the-scenes achievements, and the Primetime Engineering Emmy Awards for recognizing significant contributions to the engineering and technological aspects of television. First given out in 1949, the award was originally referred to as simply the "Emmy Award" until the International Emmy Award and the Daytime Emmy Award were created in the early 1970s to expand the Emmy to other sectors of the television industry.

Jamie King is an American creative director, choreographer, and producer. His work directing concert tours for pop stars has grossed over $2 billion.

Hamish Hamilton is a British director. He has directed the Super Bowl halftime show annually since 2010. He has also directed the Academy Awards and the MTV Video Music Awards, and worked with music artists such as Mariah Carey, Eminem, Madonna, The Who and U2. He has directed the opening and closing ceremonies for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games as well as for Tokyo 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Super Bowl XLVII halftime show</span> 2013 show headlined by Beyoncé

The Super Bowl XLVII halftime show occurred on February 3, 2013, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans as part of Super Bowl XLVII. Beyoncé headlined with special guests Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams from Destiny's Child. It was critically acclaimed, becoming the then second most watched show in Super Bowl history with 110.8 million viewers, behind the previous year's Super Bowl XLVI halftime show record.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Super Bowl XLVI halftime show</span> Halftime show of the 2012 Super Bowl

The Super Bowl XLVI halftime show took place on February 5, 2012, at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana as part of Super Bowl XLVI. It was headlined by Madonna, who became the first sole female headliner since Diana Ross in 1996. It featured guest appearances by LMFAO, Nicki Minaj, M.I.A. and CeeLo Green. Including collaborations with Cirque du Soleil, choreographer Jamie King as music director, and multimedia show producer Moment Factory, the show was critically acclaimed, setting a Super Bowl halftime show record at the time of 114 million viewers, higher than the viewership of the game itself.

Tim Routledge is a British lighting designer, creative designer, and lighting director who works in television, music concerts, outdoor events, award shows, and variety shows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Foley</span>

Jerry Foley is an American television director and producer. He directed the Late Show with David Letterman from 1995 until the end of the show's run.

Robert Dickinson is a television lighting designer. His career, spanning decades, has focussed on awards shows, music shows, game shows, talk shows, and special events, which make up his over 1500 on screen television credits. In 1990 Dickinson founded Full Flood, Inc., a consortium of lighting designers and directors of photography for the multi-camera television industry. Dickinson has been involved with many high-profile shows, including the Academy Awards, multiple Super Bowl Halftime Shows, multiple Olympic Opening Ceremonies, the 2010 Shanghai Expo, among others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Super Bowl XLIX halftime show</span> 2015 live show in Glendale, Arizona

The Super Bowl XLIX halftime show took place on February 1, 2015, at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, as part of Super Bowl XLIX. It featured American singer Katy Perry, with singer Lenny Kravitz and rapper Missy Elliott as special guests. The halftime show was critically acclaimed, and its broadcast on NBC attracted over 118 million viewers according to Nielsen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Super Bowl LI halftime show</span> Halftime show of the 2017 Super Bowl

The Super Bowl LI Halftime show took place on February 5, 2017, at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, as part of Super Bowl LI. Lady Gaga headlined the show, with no special guests, performing a medley of her songs, including material from her then-most recent studio album, Joanne (2016). The performance was met with critical acclaim and is currently the most nominated Super Bowl halftime show in Emmy Awards history, winning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lighting Design / Lighting Direction for a Variety Special.

The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lighting Design / Lighting Direction for a Variety Series is awarded to one television series each year. Prior to 2011, the award was bestowed as Outstanding Lighting Direction for Variety, Music or Comedy Programming. Separate awards now recognize series and variety specials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Flannery</span>

Daniel Flannery is an American artist, creative producer, theatre director, scenographer, film/television director, director of photography and lighting designer.

The British Academy Television Craft Award for Best Photography & Lighting: Fiction is one of the categories presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) within the British Academy Television Craft Awards, the craft awards were established in 2000 with their own, separate ceremony as a way to spotlight technical achievements, without being overshadowed by the main production categories. According to the BAFTA website, for this category the "eligibility is limited to the director of photography."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Children's and Family Emmy Awards</span> American TV award

The Children's and Family Emmy Awards, or Children's and Family Emmys, are a part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), the Children's and Family Emmys are presented in recognition of excellence in American children's and family-oriented television programming. The first ceremony took place on December 10 and 11, 2022, at Wilshire Ebell Theatre, Los Angeles. Awards for children's programming were previously presented at both the Daytime Emmys and the Primetime Emmys.

The 74th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards honored the best in artistic and technical achievement in American prime time television programming from June 1, 2021, until May 31, 2022, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The awards were presented on September 3 and 4, 2022, at the Microsoft Theater in Downtown Los Angeles, California. A total of 99 Creative Arts Emmys were presented across 93 categories. The ceremonies were broadcast in the United States by FXX on September 10.

References

  1. "Spotlight on Al Gurdon". Offscreen magazine. 1 April 2011. Archived from the original on 19 March 2012. Retrieved 21 July 2013.
  2. "Television Academy". Emmys.com. Retrieved 2016-12-06.
  3. "Nominees/Winners | Television Academy". Emmys.com. Retrieved 2016-12-06.
  4. "London 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony". Emmys.com. Retrieved 21 July 2013.
  5. "Emmy Awards: Hugh Bonneville fights Damian Lewis for acting award". BBC News. BBC. 18 July 2013. Retrieved 21 July 2013.
  6. "Emmys 2013: Complete list of nominees". Los Angeles Times. 18 July 2013. Retrieved 21 July 2013.
  7. "Super Bowl XLVI Halftime Show Starring Madonna". Emmys.com. Retrieved 21 July 2013.