Still, among the speeches and testimonials, it hasnt all been so traditional.
The music acts have been placed throughout the program, keeping delegates at peak energy.
He wouldnt talk about rumors of Beyonce or another big surprise.
Kamala Harris is shown live on the screen from a speech in Milwaukee during the second day of the DNC on TuesdayGetty
RICKY KIRSHNER:(laughs) Are there any surprises?
We might have a little sparkle here and there, but why mess with success, right?
Like, I think there is a strong tradition in that moment.
And, thats what the focus should be on.
If people are looking around to see something besides our candidate, we havent done our jobs well.
Are we going to see a cake?
KIRSHNER:(laughs) Thats not that easy to pull off, believe it or not.
Even if I sent someone out to buy a cake, its not that easy to get through security.
Many, many years ago, someone asked me, what do you think will be the best moment?
And I said, you never know in something like this.
I think some of the speeches were great.
I really lovedthe Doug speechthe other night.
I thought is was so warm and loving.
Obviously, when you have people like Oprah, you know, thats gonna score.
Walz last night was amazing.
DEADLINE:Organizers have gotten some flack for running late, past primetime.
KIRSHNER:Well, thank you.
We do the best we can.
Tonight, were going to go for better time.
On the on the other side of that, at the end of today youve got a headliner.
So I say, the closing act is pretty good so stick around no matter what time it is.
Is there a bridge too far in your opinion on pulling this off?
We cant do a band setup.
We have our own house band.
We dont have a closed band.
We cant hide so were not looking to do that.
Im wanted this to be a party, a real party.
Everyone hasnt seen each other in eight years, since the 2016 convention in Philly.
So, we started doing that.
Then were like, lets make it musical.
And I think we got some messages in there actually along the way, if you paid attention.
DEADLINE:Where did the inspiration come from to really rock it out?
DEADLINE:The king of Super Bowl halftime shows was inspired by the NBA?
Yes, the graphics flying on the ribbons and the graphics on the music.
And I did not expect it to go there.
The funny part was unexpected, like how into it Lil Jon was.
DEADLINE:Were you surprised by that?
Then, I worried can it last for an hour?
I dont know, and it did.
As you say Dominic, Ive done a lot of big shows.
Then we had three live remotes.
We went to Oakland at one point, went to Minnesota at one point.
I just got to say: my crew did an amazing job.
DEADLINE:Oh, really?
KIRSHNER:Oh yeah.
Now its pretty easy to plug and play on the internet.
So thats certainly evolved tremendously.
It looks like a beautiful movie screen behind you.
You know, things like that have really evolved.
DEADLINE:The non-tech aspect of it.
We didnt even think like that.
But thats our business.
Is it a balance?
KIRSHNER:Its absolutely a balance.
And especially since we havent been together in eight years, the rooms pretty energized on every speech.
And you know, when we play, we win, the chants start going organically sometimes.
Understanding that you might not see our cameras.
DEADLINE:This might sound too nerdy, but how big a production is the DNC for you?
KIRSHNER:Oh, its pretty large.
We have probably 250 people or more on production staff.
Thats not including local union labor stagehands, another 100 or so.
Theres a bussing operation thats moving 5000 delegates.
I mean, just to go out and feed people is a full operation.
Just to get a credential system up and running is a full system.
Then there are all the political people.
So, we are a small piece within a very, very large, complex system.
Bruce Rogers designed our set, Bobby Dickinson lights it, etc.
Weve worked for five months just to make it look that good.
In the Super Bowl, with the halftime, youre a small part of a football game.
DEADLINE:Speaking of push and pull, just over a month ago, this wasJoe Bidens DNC.
Now it is squarely Kamala Harris convention.
What that a big shift for you and your team?
You know, this thing doesnt get built in the day.
So, a lot of that was already down the road.
Were there some videos and stuff that had to be redone?
Yeah, thats part of the messaging.
A lot of the messaging stuff comes from them, and I think we have a good partnership.
DEADLINE:On a practical level, how does that work?
Let me give you an example.
We didnt want them to just come to the lectern, we wanted to let them tell their stories.
So, we said to the messaging team: Let us help you stage it.
It was like, how do we stage this in a beautiful way?
Now, we cant go to black, like a theater.
So, we bring then up one by one in the spotlight.
What did our graphics look like?
What are those pictures of the backdrop look like?
All of that evolved in the last month as the candidate situation evolved.
Which brings us to the big night tonight, which I think youll enjoy.
