Grammy FOH Platform Start-up

Climbing down to the FOH dimmer platform to turn on all moving lights and dimmers.

[@squidcaps4308]

My experience with riggers: total dickheads when the gear is still up. 30 seconds after the last support tower is firmly on the ground, they are the best guys in the world. First i thought, "nah, it's just my boss" but it turns out, it's a lot of them and i think i know why: the stress is tremendous, you got people lives on your hands. There simply is no room for mistakes. When the responsibility stops, then you see the real person and turns out, they are the best bunch. My hats to all of you guys, utmost respect.

[@jamesrbrindle]

SquidCaps very true, i'm still gaining hours but find myself in a mental position of no messing about. You are setting up lifts for tonnes of equipment, do it wrong, something will break or stress.

[@westrig180]

If you only work on one crew what you say may be true, but you're only getting a micro snapshot of a much larger field. Overall its not that way. While there is a great deal of stress it stays undercover because once you allow it to get to you its time to leave the biz. I work alongside many and run a crew of some pretty awesome men and women riggers. Granted a few have abit of attitude. BUT all of them are some of the nicest people you'll meet on a gig. Just remember: the quiet ones are the good ones. The one's who boast alot ? stay away from them.

[@TheWitchOvAgnesi]

I think he's just saying the riggers are focused and keeping a sterile environment, which I have also seen working as a production manager. He may have had his eyes opened when he started doing this work. You're both saying the same thing. Amazing work you guys do! Not for the faint of heart.

[@thelast929]

Gotta love the beams @ Staples!

[@sonus289]

a riggers mind a world is very different than our ground stacks

[@Seanalbertt]

Dude hats off to the riggers. The show quite literally doesn’t happen without these guys.

[@BrianRussTVC]

It's so nice to know that everyone has the same problems with sensor racks...

[@wesleychapman8842]

LIGHT RIGGERS HAVE BALLS HATS OF TO YOU

[@mgsg50]

Haha when he gets on the second ladder going down I'm just like NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE

[@charlesschofield9314]

I do often question whether in some instances it would be easier on the rigger to abseil down that distance as I feel from the rigging that I have done it is often the nicer way of doing it. Grated I have not done big arena rigs only large tent rigs.

[@FVDaudio]

Eternamente agradecido del trabajo realizado por ustedes, trabajo que no ven las personas pero que si no lo hace nadie no hay show!! Gracias!!

[@DontFeedTheTrolls]

Greetings from SLC, UT local99. I'm not a rigger yet but i'll be learning soon and I really enjoyed watching this video. Thanks for the upload!

[@Hailingfromcork]

Local 99 here! Can't wait for this month's training! So excited.

[@benji5890]

You know what? I'll just stick to the sound board...

[@alexxie2600]

Super excited for more videos from you! There just aren't enough stagehand gopro videos out here!!

[@ipissed]

Stagehands are piss boys that forget to adjust the mic height for the different guests because that and fetching coffee is too much multitasking. Way to insult a professional.

[@kwamesha3477]

Thanks for this video Geoff. I live to learn and do this stuff. Wish I'd been there.

[@jantsbenzproaudio]

I can't believe it I am a small lights and sounds owner all I can say is that's a lot of cable😆

[@anorris1212]

I tip my hat to you. Highest level I have worked on is 3 foot stage.

[@chamacotv1927]

Great job, sound technicians! -From a lighting tech

[@antaudio2255]

Geoff are you a Dave Rat guru? What a responsibility! Thank you for sharing this awesome vid! ...-Ant...(Future tech/live sound kind of dreamer)

[@aakburns]

Greatest Job in the world.

[@holdensmith8434]

aakburns I’ll tell him you said so! I bet he’ll be happy to hear that

[@praestant8]

Oh gawd, VL racks... It’s like the Stone Age.

[@Drumology4]

I get anxiety from watching this

[@holdensmith8434]

Drumology4 I do to but I know he’s safe and has not gotten harmed 😊

[@matchismo]

I get anxious watching this.

[@sloanketterm4n32]

1:37 my heart stopped.. just casual free climb down the worlds thinnest ladder!

[@andrewdetenon8305]

Thats cool dude! Epic shots!

[@jairalzate3949]

Good Riggers are a big important part the crew ... they do a lot for all departments... !!

[@markdemelo7643]

Wow wow wow i can't even begin to know wth all the shit even is. But i will say this, this guy definitely knows wtf he's doing, plus some. That's so badass ,u don't see stuff like this every day. Awesome video brother thanks a ton,god bless & be safe.

[@Seanalbertt]

And the crazy thing is there’s tens maybe hundreds of thousands of techs just like this guy that do it every single day with most of the world not having a clue what we do, and if we do it right they’ll never know.😉

[@TehNish]

Floating sensor racks? what a brilliant idea.

[@geoffsmith4714]

Yup. Saves a few thousand feet of multi-cable. Two feeder runs drop out of the catwalk feeding two transformers on the floating platform. No need to drop 40 to 95 cables out of the sky. And the platform allows building the rack land on the ground first.

[@RaffaeleSansone]

+Geoff Smith I have to admit, while watching the video I absolutely had no idea what you were doing. But how come you could not set up everything on the ground and then just lift it up?

[@slowgold20]

+Raffaele Sansone they did. he was basically going up to the platform to turn everything on.

[@officialpoa3171]

+Raffaele Sansone Some things can not be turned on until other connections have been made and depending on the rig configuration of the whole show you might have to do what he did. Plus IF FOR ANY REASON there is a change once things are up. etc

[@andrewcolwell2989]

Geoff Smith What type of cables were you using? Dmx or xlr

[@holdensmith8434]

Hello uncle Geoff, when do you think you could upload next this is really cool! (I know I’m late but I’m rewatching it)

[@d_brts6642]

Amazing dude!

[@CharlesBlackburn]

i got a whole excavator bucket of nope for that... I love climbing but. nope... just nope LOL

[@tommih597]

OMG!!! That's a ton of equipment.

[@kvong615]

that has to be a nightmare to tear down... the spaghetti of wires...

[@mattysmith17]

kvong615 if it's a anything like the things I've helped out on (I'm only an amateur, only a few small events) then even though it looks a mess each cable is very organised and - relatively - easy to pull out. may look like a mess but it almost certainly isn't especially at this level!

[@kierankay100]

best part of the job

[@matthewharr1]

Awesome man!

[@DustOfTheNorth]

Good video, a real pro.

[@TheWitchOvAgnesi]

Anyone else have sweaty palms watching this...?

[@livedjmixes]

Title should be "hairy elbows and knees tying shit together" video, hahaha!

[@Leo_Berger]

Nice song

[@TheDgafLo]

Another day in the office

[@jjthomas1357]

Will we see more videos soon?

[@abecoulter18]

Got sweaty palms watching this.. how do you do it

[@inalavalamp]

When you first started rigging/training, how afraid of heights were you? I imagine that more exposure made you less afraid, but what else did you/do you do to be more calm? Was there a point where you started to not get afraid? Do you have any tips or rituals that you do so you don't get tired quickly, or freak out? I guess a major thing too is not dropping pins. Thanks for any tips and advice you might have.

[@E3CB]

You have to take deep breaths, that helps.

[@jamesrbrindle]

inalavalamp helps to not rush, focus on the near item rather than the horizon, do not cut corners or ever have no arrest connection at any time. You have a minimum of two anchors so you can swap directions of travel on the grid, i think Geoff's had four. I'm still gaining experience. Last tip never work solo in a venue.

[@geoffsmith4714]

I've been climbing stuff since I was a small child. No rituals or secret breathing exercises needed. I just make sure to stop by the restroom before going up. I've never been phased by heights. I trust my safety gear and I make sure that I'm ALWAYS attached to something, always. I've climbed truss as high as 280 feet at The Lions stadium in Detroit. At that height the ground is really irrelevant and not even in my field of view.

[@TheWitchOvAgnesi]

Admit it... you gave us glances down at the floor to give us vertigo!

[@lototele4787]

this is where the money is!!

[@geoffsmith4714]

Yea, the money is nice but doing a job you love is priceless!

[@nickharvey5149]

Why would the racks be flown? Is there no back/under stage space for them?

[@matthewknuckles2840]

Thats high

[@AsianJBlazian]

Never knew back then rigging can be so complex 7:21 What are those? it looks like a server rack just for moving heads? *technology really changed from back then. Now theirs palm sized dmx interfaces.*

[@dcarmich00]

It looks like a PRG/Vari-Lite APS-6 power supply rack for those luminaires.

[@AsianJBlazian]

@@dcarmich00 ah I see, very interesting.

[@apexmike849]

I wish I were young enough and fit enough to do this. :-(

[@philippaul6408]

My dream job

[@tarascott58]

are those fiber cables at 6:40 and what are you plugging them into?

[@geoffsmith4714]

Yes those are fiber cables. We run three redundant data streams to all of our 7 different rack lands. There are two lighting board oops that control different lights within the same area of the rig. One data stream for each operator and one spare line that can run either data stream. We could run the whole show on one fiber but we like to break it up a bit in case there is a problem. The fiber lines are being plugged into 3 separate switches which each have their own node and a portion of our S-400 racks.

[@Kiirjava]

Might be tight on space for a future production.. floating dimmer beach could be a real possibility. Anyone know who manufactures the platform? I've seen some around, but this one looks awesome.

[@westrig180]

Its not really a specific purpose designed plat, it can be 12" or 20" truss with decks/handrails securely mounted on top. This is more than likely a Kish Rig where they have specific hardware to do this setup .its been done this way for decades as needed.

[@Anvilshock]

Datz nutz!

[@JohnvL]

XD, my highest rig was only 8 meters hahaha. Very scary this.

[@everderentdrums5329]

I think I should change to be a rigger, not a lighting tech haha. This stuff is so cool compared to what I get to play with.

[@LipnitskyOrchestra]

Yes!

[@ronniezzzz]

higher and higher

[@jllmmjj]

how many dimmers did you use?

[@thisiskhodiak]

Epic

[@StageVisualLX]

1:53 are you clipped on to anything at this stage when you are doing the climb down that must be narly the adrenaline on that steal ladder

[@ramorales90]

Craziness

[@rwmundy8449]

Was this a Kish project?

[@CailanHmfc]

What's he clipped into when climbing the rigging ladder down?

[@Jakewallenda]

Auto arrest

[@__Leon__]

+Cailan Campbell 14:56 you can see hes hooked on a paralel line

[@thepyrotechnicpenguin4846]

and i though lighting decks were scary...

[@andrewcolwell2989]

How do you get a job doing this

[@Rottwiler44]

Lord Thantos by learning the trade, being the best there is, and knowing a few guys. Look for your local IATSE group and go talk to someone.

[@techfactory4114]

For which do you need all these racks up there?

[@joshcurnes5006]

To power lights

[@apexmike849]

And control and monitor them.

[@krsboy2735]

Imgaine how much cables there are and imagine you forget to plug in some cables.

[@DPDPDPDP]

So one dimmer for one light ? does it work like psu on computer ?

[@joshcurnes5006]

Kind of, yes. There are different dimmers and relays for different lights.

[@AsianJBlazian]

@@joshcurnes5006 Technology really did changed, now i see a lot of lighting designers using grand ma boards or something like that

[@joshcurnes5006]

@@AsianJBlazian What do you mean by that? They're most likely using an MA board.

[@MrRza1987]

2 clips for reserve

[@Starstreastudios]

I know its been awhile since you uploaded this - but what console(s) was this show run on? MA? ETC? I saw the sensor dimmer packs so I figured ETC

[@joshcurnes5006]

99% sure GrandMA

[@malabeans5676]

What was it like climbing down a ladder like that for the first time?

[@geoffsmith4714]

Ha! My first wire ladder climb was a 60 foot climb from the bottom going up. I didn't know to not pull yourself up with your arms. I got about 40 feet up and my arms locked up. Yes, I was scared. What did I learn? 1st, have a carabiner on your chest to clip yourself to the wire ladder if you need to rest. 2ed, use your legs to push yourself up or down the ladder. Don't use your arms for pulling or lowering. Your arms should only hold you to the ladder. Let your legs do all the work.

[@apexmike849]

+Geoff Smith Awesome advice.

[@SashaShafranko]

Geoff Smith Me too i got serious arm pump. My first was 70' down. A bit scary the first 3 to 5 steps then i said to myself "you idiot you can do 15 20 chin ups, pull ups what are you worried about...trust your self plus a yoyo was hooked to my harness D...My biggest mistake was i went down it the normal ladder climbing way instead of from the side as you did climbing. Big difference. Great vid brother

[@Gggggghhvvbbb]

APS racks in 2014🤦

[@SLIDRRCOM]

Very impressive, not a job for the faint hearted that's for sure! We've featured you on our site! www.acupofreal.com/1/post/2014/02/a-terrifying-job.html#.UvE-9PldWSo

[@abecoulter8550]

no thanks ill pass and stick to being on the lighting console