Short clips from the load in of the show and maintenance.

[@ZadieBear]

Wow! This video sure makes me miss my younger years (mid- 80's) working as a master electrician for a theater near Seattle. I loved all the work, the maintenance, the shows, & the last minute problem solving. Keep making these videos of the stage work, I do love them!

[@A2000MHz]

Love it! I would love to see more of the troubleshooting, teardown and repair of these stage lights! When I go to a concert or sporting event I'm just as entertained by observing the technical side of the arena and show as the show/event itself…

[@JerryEricsson]

Man lighting has sure changed since 1976 when I worked with The Old Guard Commo section, we did all the lighting for the Spirit of America and Torchlight Tattoo shows in Washington DC for the bicentennial. All we had were old Leco's and Fresnel type lights as well as carbon arch spotlights in several sizes and shapes with different gels that we could introduce in the lights as needed. It was great fun though, one of my favorite parts of being in the US Army.

[@spikekent]

Fantastic insight Clive. Those lights are a LOT more technical than I realised. I'd love to see a strip down video on them. The view is spectacular.

[@thedoctor907]

love these videos. I am head maintenance tech at the small company I work for. Its interesting to see how someone else does the job, even if it is done exactly the same. Though I am currently trying to fix three original mac 250's. they are doing my head in.

[@gubbin909]

As a lampie in training it'd be lovely to see some more light/sound tech stuff.

[@mariohendriks1]

We're living in an age where lamps have more computer power than the Apollo rockets had.

[@jfbeam]

So does my wrist watch.

[@JJayzX]

Toilets too.

[@gavinhell4597]

I'm am a fully qualified 2391 spark and am currently the volunteer lighting tech at the local theatre. Learn more from your videos than I do there. Let me work for you 😁👍🤘✌️

[@gavinhell4597]

P.s I'm a passionate photographer too. flic.kr/p/GHFDJe

[@johnclavis]

Big Clive keeps equipment alive!

[@IanScottJohnston]

Hi Clive, must admit I used to love the load-in when I used to work as a soundman. Can't same the same for end of the evening though! PS. I see you were born 4-days before me in '65 whoop whoop!

[@JohnAudioTech]

Great to be employed in something you love doing. BTW, I remember Clive ~20 years ago in the sci.lighting Usenet group with Don, Vic and the boys.

[@charliedobbie8916]

Absolutely fascinating! Don't worry about the wind, a bit of noise is worth it for content like this.

[@SpikeBlighty]

Cracking insight into modern lighting rigs. Please post some more. Time permitting. Cheers

[@real_arbuckle]

Don't see this everyday. Those lamps are a great deal more complicated then I would have expected. Thumbs Up!

[@davidpenninckx4833]

i like these spontanious videos about lighting

[@xordinaryman8771]

It's really nice to see some of the stuff you do in your day job. It looks like interesting

[@trevk8233]

You showing your work is freakin awesome! Never stop!

[@JayH7745]

Clive you are "the man" way up there workin on very cool stuff that fascinates the hell outta me. Watchin your work vids always makes me smile and then I remember when I was young and doin drive-thru entercom fieldwork in Hutchinson KS. (Nothing compared to what you do!) But my boss at the time back in1982 use to tell me if anyone offers ya free food just sit down and enjoy it. I crave meatball sandwiches when I see ya workin! LOL You live a very interesting life dude! I wish I could meet you and all your fans! Keep the awesome videos comin! Always entertaining!

[@dtvking]

Ice-cream & cup of tea! Sounds good to me. Great video Clive, thanks

[@itastain]

I would love to see more on lighting fixtures

[@tomtenberge]

Always fun to see you at work, I wish my work was that interesting

[@simonrawle7885]

nice to see a day in the life of Clive

[@petecoo1978]

can't believe it's that time of year again.

[@JPilot2]

G'day, Clive! Thank you so much for sharing some very quick clips from the main load in, subsequent troubleshooting on rogue lights, and the maintenance required to get them back to 100% operation! Cheers! :-)

[@JVerschueren]

Beard is windage adjustable...

[@mick7sp]

Beard doubles as a wind sock.... for direction and strength. :)

[@wartoc3708]

The effects folks use him as a wind sock to make wind adjustments. He's on 24hour emergency standby at the local airport as a stand-in.

[@Darieee]

Man is clive having a blast up there - great view included !

[@DovahDoVolom]

Is that at the tattoo in-front of the Edinburgh Castle? I went down there for vacation around the end of June! very beautiful place.

[@roxthedumbhyena]

Please do more of these videos!

[@cyberhornthedragon]

and here we see the regal an majestic bigclive its incredible beard blowing wonderfully in the wind as we all gaze in wonder

[@destinodk]

that majestic beard blowing in the breeze.. my knees are turning jelly :D great video mate, fun to see what you are up to

[@jayja45]

Interesting approach to giving water resistance to the Socapex connectors.

[@bigclivedotcom]

+jayja45 It's essential here. The rain comes from every direction. A good amount of time is spent waterproofing it properly with a closed end and open end that allows drainage and ventilation.

[@johnfrancisdoe1563]

bigclivedotcom For both rain and wind purposes, wouldn't it help to put plexiglas covers on the outside of the gantries. Doesn't have to be airtight, just slow down/divert the elements 5 feet upwards.

[@greenaum]

I think the hazard of them coming detached, blowing off, and killing someone, particularly perched up that high, would make perspex sheets more trouble than they're worth. Even soft plastic getting tangled up in someone's feet / face / beard would create a risk someone might slip and fall.

[@davidclark3603]

Thanks for the video. I wish I knew lighting. Those fixtures look fascinating. I work with live sound but would love to know more about your work!

[@RIXRADvidz]

it's ''Take Your Fans to Work Day''.....I like it when we get to tag along for the day...

[@hfxchris6885]

Would love to see these lights when they're all powered up and running!

[@tufftraveller4784]

Cool view fella, better than my place of work any day.

[@BurpleRX7]

Clive quite a few truckies have recently got into documenting load ins and doing timelapse videos whilst on tours or big events, one may pop up one day, i know there are quite a few timelapse builds of tours such as muse, coldplay etc all my efforts of doing a live touring vlog failed miserably purely due to time constraints but people like pete hayes and dan scott have managed to do it quite successfully

[@bigclivedotcom]

Time is the biggest factor. As you'll know from experience these shows tend to go from arrival to full-on installation instantly and remain at hyper speed until finished.

[@BurpleRX7]

bigclivedotcom oh I know my friend, my tour of FOH a few years back was incredible, A production such as this is incredible in itself in any location but when you put it in the castle....... jeez. Top marks to you and your team

[@ElectraFlarefire]

The effort is appreciated!

[@3Dparallax]

Haha, loving the beard in the wind, perhaps a mic in there might work as a wind attenuator.

[@ikorbln]

As i say before, like your vids from work, thx for this.

[@48snapper]

Very interesting stuff and what a beautiful view. At the risk of sounding like a Rycote sales person, whatever you are shooting on they have one to fit!

[@MusicalBox]

Didn't hear much. I'll try again in a couple of hours, hoping there will be less wind :)

[@CameronB1412]

Clive can you do more vlogs and videos on your job, its interesting. Should get a gopro chest mount and vlog that way so you can still do work

[@CM_CM_]

What qualifications do you need/schools do you need to attend to become a technician?

[@NivagSwerdna]

Nice video... and a very fun time to be in Edinburgh. Enjoy!

[@RobertRoberts329]

@bigclivedotcom Are you a specialist electrician at the Tattoo or does everyone who works on the tech stuff like hanging the lights, etc, fix the equipment as well?

[@bigclivedotcom]

most lighting technicians are expected to repair lights to at least module level. But you tend to have a geek on the crew who will take it further or deal with the more complex issues.

[@Jokkocze]

That first look in the truck reminds me of some good times working as event crew..

[@TheShooben]

This was quite exciting and interesting to watch!

[@tohopes]

278K subscribers? That's like 5C subscribers. You're above freezing.

[@paulyh4531]

very interesting clip , I used to put in fibre optic light boxes in years ago in bowling alleys and such for a local firm and EVL if you heard of them . Watch all your vids many thanks 👍

[@SpaceMountainLarry]

I work with a company that uses PRG Best Boys for several events and I've noticed that when they're used for something simple such as randomly tracing a gobo slowly across the room, most of the time, their movement is not fluid, no matter what axis they're moving in. It seems to "stick." Is this common with all Best Boys at a very low tracing speed?

[@bigclivedotcom]

+SpaceMountainLarry I believe you can use timing channels to give independent fluid movement without relying on the desk.

[@CHEESYhairyGASH]

Clive, do you think there will ever be a time where this set up will be made possible without wires?

[@JanicekTrnecka]

Mista Dobalina Nope! wire is a wire and for a long period will be the best option. Although wireless dmx is quite easy and reliable ...

[@1a3b5c7d8e]

Even if everything was made wireless we still wouldn't trust it

[@ElectraFlarefire]

You need to run power anyway, might as well run signal at the same time. On a local bridge they tried using wireless DMX, six months of glitches later, they went through and wired it all up and 2 years later, not a single public problem.

[@gordonlawrence3537]

Cant help wondering if reliable DMX over power lines can be achieved without it costing an arm and a leg.

[@xenonram]

Of course there will be a time. The tech is already there, just no one has implemented it properly. It's not really that big of a feat. Do you think in 1910 someone said, "do you think there will be a way to talk to a specific someone, across the globe, without any wires?"

[@PuddingWhispers]

Great video!

[@dammonbutler6951]

How many failures do you tend to get over the run of the tattoo? Is it just a few 'dead on arrivals' each year or do you get a few bits cr*p out during the event too?

[@bigclivedotcom]

+Dammon Butler A few give issues during the run. I swapped out two units today and serviced four modules.

[@SuperAWaC]

looks like a pretty chill job to have

[@ChrisMuncy]

I love these types of videos. Hopefully you can do more of them.

[@jk9554]

Chris Muncy Agreed. This was a very interesting video (not that his other videos aren't). More of that please :)

[@TheUnnamedGent]

Clive is best boy! I have no idea what I'm talking about!

[@spikeydapikey1483]

You need a dead cat for your mic!

[@vigstrom]

he could make use of the beard?

[@HuntersMoon78]

A dead cat will muffle the sound, especially if you shove the mic up the cats arse.

[@ealingbadger]

www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/360721-REG/WindTech_MM_1_Fur_Fitted_Microphone_Windshield.html

[@guyh3403]

omg LOL

[@maicod]

I do however prefer live cats :)

[@ZylonFPV]

How much does one of those lights cost? Looks expensive!

[@bigclivedotcom]

+Zylon FPV They are in-house lights designed and built by PRG for their own use. Jaw-droppingly expensive, but designed to pay their way with near continuous use around the world.

[@ZylonFPV]

bigclivedotcom cool! The power supply looks really beefy. How many watts do they draw in use? Do they run off 230v?

[@MarcusfotosDe]

I was intrested in this too. There is a PDF on the PRG website with a lot of info on the bestboy. It says: Max. 4.5A at 240 V, 5A at 208V, 10A at 110V. Auto-sensing voltage input range is 90V-264V, 50/60HZ

[@MarcusfotosDe]

www.prg.com/~/media/Files/German/prg-eigenprodukte/Best-Boy-4000-Datasheet.pdf

[@maicod]

Interesting to see the inner workings of the spot. Last year I believe you were more hesitant doing that because of proprietary reasons.

[@johnfrancisdoe1563]

Maico Make that last month, actually.

[@bigclivedotcom]

I'm being a bit lax and naughty now.

[@maicod]

we like that mood :)

[@MrRantWhy]

Do you use art net on any of the lights? Or do you come hognet to a DP8000 on the catwalk?

[@bigclivedotcom]

We use a Hog 4 with it's remote DMX output modules feeding out to a series of buffers on the rig and in the castle.

[@MrRantWhy]

bigclivedotcom Is there a reason for going with Hog and not MA or ETC? I like Hog but it seams like a big company that you work for would go with MA just one principle. or Is Hog more popular there?

[@sophiecutler9741]

Love it mate!! Cannot get enough of these videos!!! (Especially having had some experience with lighting and sound on a small scale with school and church...) And that beard, so majestic

[@xenonram]

Hey Clive, you need an external mix for your phone. And a dead cat for your mic. And you might as well get a remote display so you can easier see what you're filming in the rear facing camera. You might as well bring along a boom mic too. Hell, even hire a film crew. To summarize, if you don't like the wind, don't watch. I don't know why in hell someone would expect him to carry this kind of stuff (ext mic and wind sock) around at all times, in case he wants to film a few minutes of impromptu footage per year. If he was always filming outside, yeah. But he's not. He films If Outside shot -> don't watch (pretend like it was never posted) If Inside shot -> watch

[@greenaum]

Might be good enough to get a Bluetooth headset and stick it in foam. Or a semi-proper mic, with foam, into a Bluetooth standalone transmitter. You can get em for 17 quid. Would make sense, filming from a phone. Actually you could probably nick, I mean "field-test", a proper quality mic, if you're posted as a lighting guy, right?

[@codered11343]

Love the Best Boys. Them and the Bad Boys are some of the nicest lights to work on compared to Martin lights. Are you guys running GroundControl for the side spots?

[@tayman1721]

IndianaZoidberg have you worked with the new best boy long throw, the things are absolute beasts.

[@bigclivedotcom]

+IndianaZoidberg This show is using local operation of the 12 Bad Boy spots with the handle kit.

[@scottfirman]

Sounds like you have a pretty much guarenteed job there. One thing I have learned about electronics is not if they fail,more like when they fail,and they will fail. So I take it you have several units as rotational stock so in a pinch you can just pull and replace. I know a few guys that would kill for a job like that. You have earned that position by going through the rungs of the ladder that we know as life,that and being in the right place at the right time. Some specialty jobs like that are not something just anyone with an electrical engineering degree can handle. Having some background in other fields along the way help to get you there. Too many younger guys think they can easily walk into a job like that,no problem,then fail.

[@bigclivedotcom]

We do keep several spare lights, and do a swap if needed. Then we repair the original during the show.

[@marcoantgomes]

Thanks for the Video Clive!

[@mattigi]

i have to know, what kind of shows do you do? are they music concerts, plays, sporting events?

[@railotaku]

This is a Military Concert - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Edinburgh_Military_Tattoo

[@mattigi]

cool, what about the other 365?

[@andrewseeds1713]

REMT runs pretty much every-night for a month...

[@sarkybugger5009]

A bit blowy up there, Clive. At least it's stopped raining... ;o)

[@Gazgit555]

That's unusual. Windy on top off Edinburgh

[@beauclark2199]

Excellent work and video my friend.

[@djmorgan5708]

I love to get into this sort of thing Setting gear up, the guys down here were i live only work as small teams of like 4 or so, so jobs don't come up.

[@NeilVanceNeilVance]

Intriguing! ... those goldenscan style units look so damm expensive to maintain.

[@bennyboi0115]

Please do more videos like this

[@ADR69]

Headphone warning; lots of wind at some point

[@themaconeau]

Do they test the intelligent lighting before shipping it to site?

[@bigclivedotcom]

Theoretically yes, but.......

[@themaconeau]

Say no more :P :D

[@bigclivedotcom]

+Mac·au I'm not too bothered. Fixing stuff keeps me busy.

[@wizardorlegend]

Big Clive have you worked out the current draw of all the lights.

[@bigclivedotcom]

It's tricky because they use switching power supplies and lamp drivers, so the power factor and harmonics are significant. But we have a 1.2 MegaWatt substation to power them all.

[@greenaum]

Is there a bloody great enormous pair of wires (or triplet + 1) running out to somewhere, that carries the whole entire load? Or if not that maybe a duplicated pair for backup? Basically please tell me about the enormous cables I am imagining.

[@greenaum]

Also, since the ultimate loads are resistive (the lights, right? Even if they're LED or arc it's still resistive no?), doesn't it all balance out, and all the randomly different phases and whatnot of the PSUs cancel each other out over the larger scale, so it just ends up looking mostly resistive? A power factor very close to 1?

[@greenmansaiani]

I would love working with you, i work in a tiny service in italy and i love electronics in general, for me just working with 4 of those movin head would be terrific!

[@bruce7sv]

I didn't know prg was all the way over there I work for em here in Vegas

[@MikeOrkid]

DMX controlled?

[@amypond5726]

"we need more lighting" X GON GIVE IT TO YA

[@bigclivedotcom]

In this case, yes. We have a large number of DMX universes.

[@MikeOrkid]

bigclivedotcom I wasn't sure if the big boy lights ran on DMX or if there was different connectors/coding. Thanks for the awesome videos.

[@RWBHere]

Fascinating. You all deserved the ice creams after being up there having to put up with the views. Someone has to do it, of course!

[@SiskinOnUTube]

Poundland have a bit of catching up to do.

[@fishsick]

Was that a wild Swampy in the red top?

[@bigclivedotcom]

+farranut That was indeed a wild Swampy.

[@spex357]

Is that a mic shield your growing on your chin? :-)

[@nobodynull4085]

Didn't know you were a stagehand! Awesome

[@sirdigalot1978]

intelligent lights pah! we did those effects with students and cider!

[@bdf2718]

A brief glimpse of Thunderbird 3 at 0:22.

[@ToonOfLancing]

Fascinating insight: Thank You.

[@malthomas987]

bit windy up there?

[@MrSlientdeath]

what show is this?

[@PinBallReviewerRepairs]

Oh the lights are so cool! :) Don't think I could do that job though me and heights don't really like each other I freak out if I am that high up. xD

[@keithflockhart]

meant to say. love the videos. well explained

[@sonixthatsme]

What is the show about?

[@bigclivedotcom]

Nobody really knows. It's just a huge military thing with explosions, jet fighters, tanks and more explosions.

[@umbrellahole]

How much do those lights cost (USD)?

[@tayman1721]

DigidyDOG Gaming I have worked with PRG best boys on a few gigs and the funny thing is I have never been able to get an answer to that question. Thai is mainly due to PRG being a very interesting company compared to most lighting manufacturers because they are also a concert and event production company. They won't sell you their fixtures and it's difficult if not impossible to even acquire them unless your production is being managed by them. They have a big enough pull in the making to build their own gear, so there is no retail price on them. That being said it is probably in the ballpark of $10k- $15k for a PRG bestboy

[@jeffflowers5489]

The new Bohemian Rhapsody movie shows "robotic" lights a lot like the ones in this video, but it was supposed to be on the Live Aid stage in the 80's. I don't think they were around back then.

[@bigclivedotcom]

The lighting forums were tearing into the lighting for not being in keeping with the period.

[@jeffflowers5489]

bigclivedotcom I probably would not have noticed if not for your videos. The rest of the movie is pretty accurate.

[@InstantMix]

No more issues with PRG not liking you showing the internals of their luminaires? also jesus didn't realise you could hear the princes street trams from up there, that must get irritating quickly

[@AmusementLabs]

Lol, they're looking at you like: "FUCKING HELP!!"😅

[@crocellian2972]

Time & inspiration permitting, a video back "home" explaining what we just saw would be most welcome.

[@blackbackLP]

Do you work for PRG ?

[@johnfrancisdoe1563]

BlackBackLP No, just this one annual show. When the circus leaves town he goes back to doing other electrical work. At least that's what I gather from his other videos.

[@superhands290]

Clive I'm from edinburgh and knowing I was so close to you is painful!!! please do an edinburgh meetup!

[@bigclivedotcom]

There is going to be an Edinburgh Meetup during the Fringe. Probably on a Sunday. I'm checking out potential venues right now.

[@nerdydev]

bigclivedotcom read "I am on a bar crawl"

[@stanpatterson5033]

Loose nuts. They'll getcha in the end !

[@MeiklesAndDimes]

Love these videos!