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Anatomy of a Rig – Mike Grabowski’s New Year’s Eve at Times Square

Posted on February 4, 2025

Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve with Ryan Seacrest… 

Admittedly, it’s quite a long name for a single television broadcast. But, the five-hour special, which glows from TV screens at 18 million households every December 31 as the clock approaches midnight, merits the giant-sized moniker.  

After all, there aren’t many of us who can’t instantly picture in our minds the affable Seacrest standing on his colorfully lit elevated platform in the middle of Times Square with his glamorous guests, towering skyscrapers all around them, and a massive, happy crowd below. This NYE image is indelibly imprinted in our collective psyche, almost like fireworks on the Fourth of July. 

Of course, as everyone in the entertainment lighting and production industry knows, behind every carefree, glamorous festive image, there is a frantic beehive of activity, often set against steep challenges that bring it to life. 

The Lighting Design Group’s Mike Grabowski, Production Director of the New York portion of the New Year’s Eve show talked to us about how the 2025 edition came together.  Grabowski, who has been lighting NYE at Times Square since 2005 (first with MTV and later with Dick Clark’s group, offered some interesting historical perspectives, on the changes that have taken place at the program, which like all “timeless institutions” has thrived through constant change. 

 

You’ve talked about how the weather is always an issue in this project.  This year, you went to an all IP65 rig for the first time. Besides having all outdoor rated fixtures, are there any other precautions you take against the weather? Do you carry backup units? A back up console?
“It’s better to avoid trouble than get out of it, you know? That’s been our philosophy for a while. We carry some backups of everything, despite going IP. Stuff happens, right? Things get dropped, banged up in trucking, or sometimes, just fail. So, while spec’ing the right fixtures for the environment is the first step, having a plan to replace them is essential. We run with a live tracking backup console. 

“The other nice thing is that we are on the 5th floor setback of 1540 Broadway, so we have separate and discreet consoles over there. There is a bit of indoor storage up there too, so it gives us a safe place to store sensitive items… even though it’s not the easiest of places to come and go from.”  

We know setup time is very tight, since you can’t shut down Times Square. Can you give us an idea of how setup unfolds? What are the things you do?
“The amazing gang from Mountain Staging sets up all of the stage infrastructure in the days leading up to the broadcast. We arrive early in the morning on the 28th and get to work. A lot is hung on the railings, so part of our initial work is assessing if verticals or supports are in slightly different places than planned for.  

“The 28th is a quick build and planning day. We have to get infrastructure up. Usually tents, power, and first layers of lights. 1540 Broadway goes in simultaneously. The 29th is typically finishing hang and finessing cable and reacting to what we see on camera. We start looking at things that afternoon. Sometimes on the 28th, which was true this year, there is a lot of rain, which means it’s slow going — or wet going. Having IP rated gear isn’t just good for the show, it’s also useful for the setup. Plug up the ports, and you don’t have to worry about setting up in adverse conditions.  

“Finally, the 30th involves finessing things during the day and rehearsing with talent in the evening. Then, the 31st is show day!” 

Do you have an opportunity to change anything once you’ve setup?“Our crew — Joey Cartagena, Paul Braile, Ryan Philips and Cypress Staelin have helped make us nimble in that regard. Everything is tied and taped down securely, but ‘swap-ability’ is paramount. There were years where we had non IP rated strip lights in our verticals…and it poured. We started losing cells, and the gang prepped in a way that we were able to swap it out in a commercial break. Amazing work by our leads and Local 1 team. Now…that is a significantly lower concern.”  

How far in advance do you start planning for this event? How and when do you decide which fixtures you are about to use? “I usually touch base with the team around September. We all like the look but we always want to look forward to what can enhance the look, while maintaining the vibe.  I usually have great vendor partners like Chauvet — Alex, Jordan, Scott, and the whole team are great at keeping me in the loop of new things, but also products that are appropriate for what I need.” 

How much rehearsal time do you have? “A lot and a little! It really depends on the weather. Ideally, we are rehearsing by the evening of the 29th. Usually that’s Glenn Weiss and his team starting to work through blocking, location, screens, etc. But where it becomes complicated…we only have limited nighttime hours to look at things and program.”

We know the platform that Ryan is on is about 12 high, how big is it?  “The whole platform is only 20’ wide and 16’ deep, including the stairs. We have out little tent next to it and a 16’x16’ jib/camera platform on the other side.  We have 2 stages at 1540…one is super small. 6’x8’. Our North Stage is 12’x16’…but both are beautiful perches overlooking it all.”   

 

What’s the biggest challenge about lighting this platform?
“For all the flashy and pretty stuff, we need to maintain a high quality beauty light despite the adverse conditions. All the flashy stuff is fun, but ultimately, we have high profile talent, both in Ryan Seacrest and Rita Ora, and all of our guests. We need to make them look beautiful, as well as create beautiful backgrounds.”

  We talked about IP-rated fixtures earlier. You began using IP65 fixtures some years ago, but have been very deliberate in adding them. Why is that?
“When I took over this job, it was exclusively incandescent and HMIs, and it was the year Ryan Seacrest took over as the primary host, that we began shifting to LED’s.  Prior years out there, I had worked with MTV and incorporated a lot more dynamic LED’s. In 2012, there was an appetite for a visual change and we switched to LED’s. It brought its own challenges, as they, at that time, were more delicate that HMIs and incandescent fixtures.  

“It was  Sarah Jakubasz, who set me down this path of slowly getting this rig to an IP rated place. She was a longtime collaborator-for over 21 years-and insisted we started going down the IP rated path. But, as she always reminded me, it had to be done very deliberately.  

 

“The other thing Sarah was insisted on was that we pay attention to make sure that the units were just not rated for getting wet, but also for very cold conditions. At the time we began swapping things over, not all of them were rated for adverse cold conditions. Times Square on NYE you need to be prepared for both conditions. Because of her insight, we’ve been so slow to migrate everything over to IP rated. We want new and pretty and interesting, but we need it to WORK in what is sometimes fairly adverse conditions.” 

How many (or about how many) people are involved in setting up andrunning this rig? “In addition to our gaffers and programmers, it takes our team of about 12 amazing Local 1 hands two days to setup Military Island. It’s about six hands for our 1540 stages. Night of, there is a bigger than expected team. Obviously, gaffer, and programmer in both spots, but we also have “roving teams” who carry handheld lights with Ryan and Rita as they roam Times Square. So, there are six more folks to cover that — two for Ryan, two for Rita, and two to run batteries and be relief.  

What is your favorite part of your job in this project? It’s cheesy, but it’s the people. The whole team from Dick Clark Productions are always amazing collaborators…but I also get to see folks I don’t get to see all year. The camera folks, technicians, utilities, and the show staffs on all of the other stages are amazing to go and see. It’s really its own version of a production Thanksgiving!”