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00:01We live in a fast-paced world where everyday things are getting smaller and smaller.
00:11But it's still the really big things that power our world to keep us moving forward in a very big way.
00:21Coming up on Really Big Things.
00:24I get an up-close look at the Goodyear blimp.
00:28What could be cooler than that?
00:30Got a chance to fly it?
00:31Me being serious?
00:32Then meet the Caterpillar A36G.
00:35It's a gigantic trash compactor on wheels.
00:37Now what's the biggest danger out here?
00:39Tipping this thing over.
00:40You ever done that?
00:41No.
00:42Please don't do that.
00:43Later.
00:45What does it take to become the next really big thing in Vegas?
00:48Well, for starters, how about seven moving stages, 4,700 speakers, and something called the Wheel of Death?
00:56What the hell is he doing?
00:58We'll go behind the scenes and take a look at Ka by Cirque du Soleil.
01:01It's big.
01:02Yeah!
01:03Look!
01:04Up in the sky.
01:05It's a bird.
01:06It's a plane.
01:07It's...
01:08A Goodyear blimp?
01:09In case you didn't know it, I'm a huge sports fan.
01:21I'll pretty much watch any game that's on.
01:24But nothing fires me up more than the big game.
01:27And as far back as I can remember, it's not a really big game unless the Goodyear blimp is there.
01:32Now the blimp is more than just a floating attraction at sporting events.
01:36In fact, over the years, it's become part of our popular culture.
01:39But why?
01:40What is it about the blimp that makes us stand there and point and ooh and ah and watch it?
01:47Perhaps it's because this thing is so big.
01:49Measuring in at 192 feet long and 60 feet tall, it can weigh as much as 13,442 pounds.
01:57This is one big balloon.
01:59I'm fired up, baby.
02:00Let's go.
02:02Nowadays, the Goodyear blimp is a staple at major sporting events.
02:06However, this was not always the case.
02:08The first Goodyear blimp was built in 1925.
02:11During World War II, the Navy used the blimps to fly out over the east and west coast to spot enemy submarines off the shore
02:19and to guide naval ships back into the port safely.
02:22In 1962, the military disbanded the blimp fleet and Goodyear took over again.
02:28Since then, the role of the Goodyear blimp has gone from one of protector to a giant advertising balloon in the sky.
02:34With a massive LED board that consists of 82,656 LED lights,
02:40the Goodyear blimp can display advertisements during the day and night to thousands of viewers down below.
02:46To get a better understanding of how this thing works,
02:48I hooked up with Bob Erhausen and the crew of the Goodyear blimp to see how this big balloon flies.
02:55I'm here now with Bob Erhausen, who's the head of public relations, right?
02:59Yes, Matt. Thank you.
03:01Where does the word blimp come from?
03:03Back in the war, they were called B-type limps.
03:06It was a limp airship, non-rigid.
03:11It caught the name blimp, B-type limp, blimp.
03:15I think we should call it Polyester Innovative Motion Proactivity.
03:20And then the acronym would be PIMP.
03:23I'm going to stick with blimp.
03:25You be the blimp, I'll be the pimp.
03:27Okay.
03:28Obviously, this isn't the only one, right?
03:30There's got to be more.
03:31We have three.
03:32The newest airship is called the Spirit of Innovation.
03:34It's in Pompano Beach, Florida.
03:37Wow.
03:38And we have the Spirit of Goodyear in Akron, Ohio.
03:40Okay.
03:41And the Spirit of America here in Carson, California.
03:43So there's three Goodyear blimps right now.
03:44Three Goodyear blimps that travel throughout the country.
03:47I got you.
03:48The new airship here based in Carson, California.
03:50We'll cover the West Coast, Matt.
03:51From San Diego all the way up to British Columbia.
03:54Any events that are in route, we will cover.
03:57And as far east as Phoenix.
03:59So in a normal flight, you know, from California to Seattle,
04:02it takes about two, two and a half hours.
04:04How long would it take the blimp?
04:05Five days.
04:06Five days?
04:07Five days if we don't have any weather in route.
04:09You need three miles, visibility, and you need at least 1,500 feet of ceiling.
04:14If you don't have those, you're grounded.
04:17Okay.
04:18Winds could be an issue.
04:20So if the winds are, say, 20 to 25 miles an hour or knots, we may not fly that day.
04:27So how high could it actually go?
04:29Our maximum is 10,000 feet, but we don't fly at that, Matt.
04:32Obviously, the purpose of the Goodyear blimp is to be seen.
04:36Right.
04:37So we fly at, generally speaking, about 1,500 feet and about 35 knots.
04:41All right, I'm excited.
04:42Thanks for having me, Bob.
04:43Well, thanks, Matt.
04:44Coming up.
04:45Let's go.
04:46The balloon gets a big bounce.
04:47So this is the big bounce and we're off?
04:48This is the big bounce and we're off.
04:49We're off.
04:50Oh!
04:51Man.
04:52Do you have anything, like, really big that I could run over?
04:57This camper's gonna go from seven feet high to about seven inches.
05:01And later, see how a gigantic 280,000 pound flying stage brings a Vegas show to life.
05:16Carlos, what's up, bud?
05:17What's up, Matt?
05:18Just kind of a man in the ship here for you.
05:20So can you kind of walk me around this thing and show me how everything works?
05:24Sure.
05:25No problem.
05:26First of all, start with the back end.
05:27Sure.
05:28What should I know about what's going on back here?
05:30Well, those rings you're holding are our rear tail lines.
05:32They kind of hook up ropes to them and they'll have the crew hold them in place in case we're
05:35doing maintenance or something and we need to keep the tail from moving around.
05:38If I would have held on to those things, I would have...
05:40You'd be in the air right now.
05:41You'd be in the air right now floating around too with it.
05:43So coming down this way, it looks like there's actually the top of a trash can lid right here.
05:48Yeah.
05:49What's that?
05:50Those are the air valves.
05:51Inside, there's two airbags that we inflate and deflate.
05:55As the helium's expanding, so it's pushing the airbag flat and the air has to escape from
05:59somewhere, so it escapes from those two valves.
06:01So when they open it, the air comes out?
06:02The air comes out from the airbags.
06:04But as the ship cools off, as the helium cools off, it starts to shrink.
06:07So to prevent the ship from going limp and getting wrinkles on it, we start inflating
06:10those airbags to take the space up to make the ship nice and tight.
06:15What's the deal with one wheel?
06:17That's all you need.
06:18That's all you need is one wheel for landing?
06:20Yeah.
06:21Well, the ship's...
06:22The helium's keeping the ship right side up and the weight of the car is keeping it
06:26centered at the bottom.
06:27So yeah, it's perfectly balanced on that one wheel.
06:31So is there anything else that I need to know?
06:33This thing?
06:34What's this?
06:35It's a weather radar system.
06:36Really?
06:37There's a weather radar system in here?
06:38So along with these bags, the ballasts are in here too, huh?
06:42And how much do these weigh?
06:44Each one of those weighs 20 pounds.
06:45So explain this mass to me.
06:46Is it deep into the ground or how does it work?
06:49Yeah, it's actually bolted onto a cement pad that we have in here.
06:52And every piece gets interlocked all the way up to the very top.
06:55So if this is bolted into the concrete, is it necessary to have, you know, 24 cables hooking
07:00this thing down?
07:01Yeah, we keep it like...
07:02When the wind hits, this thing wants to move around.
07:04It's to keep it nice and supported.
07:05I mean, the cables also kind of help push the mass down and just keep everything nice
07:09and sturdy.
07:10You kick knowledge, Carlos.
07:12I appreciate it, man.
07:13No problem.
07:14Thanks again, brother.
07:15Now that Carlos has shown me around, it's time that I pony up and help the crew get this
07:21thing off the ground.
07:22Pull.
07:23Pull.
07:24Since the blimp is a directable and steerable airship, the pilot plays a crucial role in
07:29the taking off and landing process.
07:31By manipulating the ship's position with the propellers, he can get this balloon airborne.
07:35Check.
07:36Check.
07:37Slack.
07:38Power.
07:39Both of the blimp's engines were built for pliability and designed to sustain a constant
07:47RPM, giving the blimp an average cruising speed at 30 miles per hour.
07:52Part one is done.
07:54Takeoff is down.
07:55Now we got to get her back down and land.
07:57All right.
07:58So the blimp's coming back in right now.
08:00The instructions that I got is that Sion, my man up front, he's going to grab the rope
08:04first.
08:05He's going to pass it to Dustin.
08:06Pete passes it to Pete.
08:07Pete passes it to me.
08:08So here we go, baby.
08:09I want to be an Airboard Ranger.
08:13The exterior of the blimp is an extremely durable polyester fabric.
08:18With no interior metal structure to keep its frame, the blimp depends on its nose cone
08:23for its durability.
08:24The nose cone is one of the few external rigid points of the blimp.
08:28Battens stiffen the nose to distribute stress throughout the blimp.
08:32Without the battens, the nose could be easily damaged.
08:35Since the blimp is in a constant state of hovery, it's important that the nose cone is attached
08:39to the mast so it doesn't blow away.
08:42And once this baby is locked into the mast, I can finally go for a ride.
08:47Captain Matthew?
08:50In the flesh.
08:51How are you doing?
08:52You ready for this?
08:53I'm very ready.
08:54This is the pilot, Captain Matthew St. John, co-pilot Matthew St. Rogers.
08:59Let's board.
09:00Excellent.
09:01Let's go.
09:02Just like the two engines, the propellers are custom built.
09:05And unlike traditional airplane propellers, these babies can go in reverse to aid in the
09:10takeoff and the landing process.
09:12Also, the gondola or passenger cabin has the capacity to hold the whole crew of six and
09:17the pilot.
09:18It's made of aluminum and fabric and welded onto a steel tube frame.
09:22Measuring just under 23 feet long and weighing in over 3,000 pounds, it's time to take this
09:27big balloon to the sky.
09:29All right, Captain, so what are you doing right now?
09:32We have at my right-hand side an elevator wheel and controls our pitch up and down.
09:38If we want to climb, we'll pull the wheel back.
09:41If we want to descend, we'll push the wheel forward and it just manipulates the vents on
09:44the back of the ship.
09:46At my feet, you have rudder pedals.
09:48If I push the right rudder pedal, the ship will turn to the right.
09:50I want to turn left with the left rudder pedal.
09:53Does this thing, does it just run off helium or is gas involved?
09:56Gasoline is what the engines burn.
09:58Each engine puts out about 210 horsepower a piece.
10:01They'll give us about maybe 53 miles an hour top speed.
10:04So what do we need to do to take off on this thing?
10:07I'm going to give the signal for us to come off the mast.
10:12That means come off the mast.
10:13Exactly.
10:14And we use a lot of these old Navy hand signals.
10:17Back in the day, when they first started operating airships, radios weren't that great.
10:21So they relied heavily on hand signals.
10:23So right now, I mean, are we using like the bounce technique?
10:26How does that work?
10:27How do we get out of here?
10:28Because there's no runway and we take off.
10:30What are we doing?
10:31We're going to do the bounce.
10:32It's what they call an upship.
10:33They're going to bounce the gear on the ground.
10:35The recoil is going to propel us up in the air and then I'm going to go full throttle.
10:38Get us up in the sky.
10:40Really?
10:41So if you guys are ready.
10:42Here we go.
10:43There's the bounce.
10:44Yeah.
10:45So this is the big bounce and we're off?
10:46This is the big bounce and we're off.
10:47Everybody loves the Goodyear blimp.
10:58Perhaps the most famous part of the Goodyear blimp is its camera, the GyroCam 360.
11:04Using state of the art lenses and a gyro stabilized television mount, this powerful camera can
11:08see over 30 miles on a clear day.
11:11The technician on board controls the camera's movement and brings the home viewers the stunning
11:15images one associates with the Goodyear blimp.
11:19This is great, man.
11:20Would you like a chance to fly it?
11:22Me being serious?
11:23Yeah.
11:24Are you kidding me?
11:25I'm serious.
11:26I'd love to fly it.
11:27Just remember what I told you.
11:28The point is to stay about 1,400 to 1,500 feet and that's pretty much it.
11:31I'll just give you some little tips.
11:32All right.
11:33Ready for this?
11:34I'm ready to get some.
11:35Alrighty.
11:36Whoa.
11:37It's in the captain's seat now, baby.
11:38You know what I'm telling?
11:39You can do the 180.
11:40We'll turn this around.
11:41You're going to kick the left pedal.
11:42So how sensitive are these pedals?
11:43I'm kicking harder.
11:44Harder, harder.
11:45There you go.
11:46All the way in there.
11:47Oh, wow.
11:48There you go, kid.
11:49Flying the Goodyear blimp.
11:50Hey!
11:51What we're going to do is we're going to drop down 1,000 feet once we get over close to
11:52the base.
11:53We're going to pull the engines back.
11:54Do a, what they call a way off in the air.
11:56We're going to find out how much air we've pumped in the nose and the tail to make sure
12:01we don't have too much in either one so that when we come in to land, we're going
12:06to find out how much air we've pumped in the nose and the tail.
12:11We're going to have too much air we've pumped in the nose and the tail to make sure we don't
12:13have too much in either one so that when we come in to land, we don't strike the tail or
12:18we don't strike the nose.
12:19Should I hop out and you hop in now?
12:20Yeah, I'll tell you what, we'll go ahead and do the switch.
12:22We'll do it just like last time.
12:23There we go.
12:24I'm actually looking forward to this landing.
12:27So it's going to be pretty quick.
12:29We're going to go straight down.
12:30Yeah, we'll get down.
12:31We're going to pretty much go to the angle of the field, cut inwards.
12:34Noebus.
12:35One of the hard things to think about is you have a tail sticking out behind you.
12:40So when you're turning, you have to make sure you want to hit that pose.
12:43You don't want to hit this tree.
12:44Yeah.
12:45Because you're bringing the blump down, you have to be wary of what your tail's doing
12:49out there.
12:50Yeah, I would think so.
12:51Look at everyone's watching us land.
12:55You are intense when you land this.
13:01Thanks.
13:02I'm going to give the signal to go back onto the mast.
13:09Now he's going to put over the crew for us.
13:11So even now that the cruise men have ropes on each side, you're still playing a huge part
13:15of this, right?
13:16I'm trying to help them out as much as possible.
13:18So now at this point, are you locked on?
13:21What do you have to do now?
13:22Right now, what they're doing, now they've been what they call a pennant line that hung
13:25down from the nose.
13:27A pennant line, they just threaded through the mast head and now there's a guy on the
13:31opposite side of us pulling us in closer to the mast.
13:35Well, that was our flight.
13:36We're locked up.
13:37Success?
13:38Success.
13:39We'd like to honor you with this little present.
13:42Oh, look at that.
13:43It's a memento of your experience here at the Goodyear blimp base.
13:47Thank you very much.
13:48Put it right underneath your...
13:50You are a good man.
13:52That's a problem, isn't it?
13:55There we go.
13:56How about that?
13:57I got my wings, baby!
13:59That's awesome.
14:00Good job, man.
14:01Thanks, man.
14:02I appreciate it.
14:03You guys were awesome.
14:04Thanks.
14:05Thanks a lot.
14:06Awesome experience.
14:07The three Goodyear blimps fly year-round across America and log over 6,000 hours of flight
14:13time.
14:14From the grounds crew to the publicity department, the blimp runs like a well-oiled machine that
14:19has delighted and serviced millions of people over its 80-year history.
14:23When it flies by, people gather.
14:25Parents are often seen hoisting their small children onto their shoulders just to catch
14:30a glimpse.
14:31And when you've experienced one of the most beautiful sights in flight, you realize that
14:35you've seen something really special.
14:37Or in other words, something really big.
14:42You know, I heard somewhere once that garbage never sleeps.
14:46And in fact, the average American produces 1,500 pounds of garbage each year.
14:52One way of disposing of all the garbage is the local dump.
14:55But how do you maximize space and compact the endless amounts of trash?
15:00Well, here at the Bennis Sanitary Landfield in Bakersfield, California, they have the answer.
15:06It's the Caterpillar 836G, a steel tooth monster trash compactor on wheels.
15:12And in case you're having trouble locating me in this segment, I'll be the chubby guy in the
15:17fluorescent green clothing.
15:18Woo!
15:19There are many ways to dispose of trash, and the landfill is one of the most efficient.
15:27Every year, Americans produce the equivalent of 82,000 football fields buried 30 feet deep
15:33in trash.
15:34Without landfills, well, we'd all be walking around knee-deep in our own garbage.
15:39Clapping up our trash man, baby!
15:42Woo!
15:43Here's to you and what you do!
15:51Not long ago, this level area looked like this.
15:54A hole.
15:55200 feet deep and a half a mile wide, lined with heavy-gauge plastic.
16:00The heavy plastic layer protects the ground water under the landfill.
16:05A layer of dirt protects the plastic.
16:08Trash is compacted onto the dirt layer.
16:10Then more dirt.
16:12Then more trash.
16:14Until the hole is completely filled up.
16:17It's layered.
16:18Like a big lasagna.
16:21All right, Sam, you need some help?
16:23I'll make it.
16:24We good?
16:25For a fat man, I'll do all right.
16:27Me and Sam are in the big belly tree.
16:29This is Sam McNeil.
16:30He's the site superintendent, which means what?
16:32Which means I'm responsible for this whole operation here.
16:35How much garbage comes through here on a daily basis?
16:38They figure 1,800 tons a day.
16:40Actually, we've got about 2,000 tons.
16:4214,000 tons a week going in that?
16:45It's going to take five and a half years?
16:47That just seems, I mean...
16:48Well, that's where the convection comes in.
16:50You're talking about the Caterpillar 836?
16:51Right, the 836.
16:52So, break me down with some dimensions on this thing.
16:56First of all, how much does it weigh?
16:58It's an awesome machine.
16:59It's 114,000 pounds.
17:0157 tons.
17:02It's 30 feet long.
17:04It's 15 feet high.
17:0615 feet wide.
17:07Wheels are approximately five feet high.
17:09They weigh about 5,000 pounds a piece.
17:12So, I mean, talk to me about the wheels.
17:13You've got those huge teeth.
17:15They're seven inches long.
17:16They chop the trash.
17:17That's what they do.
17:18They chop it up.
17:19Ah, the mighty footprint of the Caterpillar 836 G.
17:24My hand is bigger than your average hand, and it doesn't even come close.
17:29So, the footprint that this thing makes is probably 12 to 14 inches long and about 8 inches deep.
17:35It's like Bigfoot.
17:36We've got to come over here now and take the air filter out.
17:42The 836 is the bread and butter machine at the landfill, and maintenance is the number one priority.
17:49You are Julio Robles, the maintenance guy, right?
17:51Yeah.
17:52So, let me get this straight.
17:53You do all the maintenance on this.
17:54When does your day start?
17:55It starts at 5 in the morning when I come in to turn on the light plants and get everything ready.
18:00Do you have to do this every single day?
18:02Yeah, it's an everyday job.
18:03You've got to check everything every day.
18:05So, this is the transmission, and we're talking some major fluids to check.
18:08Because you don't see no red line.
18:10Transmission, 22 gallons.
18:12That's where we check the oil.
18:13Crank case, 16 gallons.
18:15So, that is a really big radiator.
18:1830 gallons of coolant.
18:20This is where we pump the fuel right there.
18:22209 gallons of diesel fuel.
18:25Hydraulic fluid for the blade and steering, 36 gallons.
18:29And need I mention the dust and the dirt that coats everything?
18:33Thanks to Julio, the 836 starts out clean every single day.
18:41Three quarters of a million dollar machine and 523 horsepower.
18:45I think I'm ready to go to work.
18:48This is Ron Segura.
18:49You're going to tell me exactly how to drive this thing, right?
18:51Right.
18:55Should I be wearing a hard hat?
18:58Not if you're in the cab.
19:00So, I mean, what's it like to sit back and control this thing?
19:04I mean, you've got all the power in the world right at your fingertips, huh?
19:07It feels neat.
19:10It's a big toy.
19:11You know, a man's toy.
19:12Yeah.
19:13But it's very dangerous at the same time.
19:16So you always have to keep attention of all your surroundings.
19:20Right.
19:21What's the biggest danger out here?
19:22The biggest danger?
19:24Besides hanging out the door while you're going over garbage.
19:27Would probably be tipping this thing over.
19:29You ever done that?
19:30No.
19:31Please don't do that.
19:32No, I don't want to do that.
19:33You can just feel the power that this thing, there's nothing it can't handle, huh?
19:37It's pretty unbelievable.
19:38I'm excited.
19:39Each truck carries about 10 to 15 tons of trash.
19:44This dozer will push between two and three loads in one push.
19:49So I'm running over at least five tons or more of trash in each pass that I make.
19:54By the end of the day, you'll see this side looking like that back there.
19:59How many times you have to go over this stuff before it looks like that over there?
20:03The ideal way is three to five times.
20:07Three passes of the 836 can crush five feet of trash into one foot of space.
20:13That's one big powerful crusher.
20:20I think I'm ready to take the controls.
20:25Oh, you can totally feel the power now, man.
20:29It's funny because you feel the power.
20:31You know that there's nothing that you can't go over.
20:33This is a great feeling.
20:37It's almost better than...
20:38No, it's not.
20:40But it's pretty cool.
20:46Be honest with me.
20:47For a first timer, how am I doing?
20:48You're doing pretty good.
20:49Pretty good?
20:50Except for that scared surprise look in your eye.
20:54I've never done this before.
20:55It's like riding a roller coaster for the first time.
20:57You guys are normally...
20:58On steroids.
21:00Nothing can stand in my way.
21:03Cause I'm running it over today.
21:06Keep an eye on that dozer right there.
21:09That dozer better keep an eye on me.
21:10This is awesome.
21:11Do you have anything like really big that I could run over?
21:15Well, the next thing we're going to do is run over a camper shell if you want to run that over.
21:20No way!
21:21Can I do it?
21:22If you feel up to it, Matt, we could do it.
21:23Come on.
21:24I feel up to anything.
21:25Look at this eight foot tall camper is a big thing.
21:26But the Caterpillar 836 G is a really big thing.
21:27And I'm going to smash it down.
21:28Boom!
21:29Boom!
21:30Yeah!
21:31Yeah!
21:33Woo!
21:34Yeah!
21:35Woo!
21:36Yeah!
21:37Boom!
21:58Yeah!
22:01Woo-hoo-hoo!
22:07Well, my work here is finished.
22:20I only handle the big stuff.
22:22Those guys down there have to finish packing 1,800 tons of trash into 13 cubic yards of
22:28space, then cover it all up with dirt, because at the end of each day, every bit of trash
22:33has to be covered.
22:35Then they'll start it all over again tomorrow.
22:42Coming up...
22:43Oh, my God.
22:44I go through a training session with a bunch of world-class acrobats.
22:47I'm gonna climb that.
22:49Oh, yeah.
22:50I should fit right in.
22:51Oh, you're so lucky you're not a man.
22:53This does not feel right.
22:56Oh, my God.
23:05Las Vegas, Nevada.
23:06When you think about the different types of entertainment in Las Vegas, one of the first
23:11things that comes to mind are the live shows.
23:12And when talking about Vegas shows, look no further than Cirque du Soleil.
23:17Cirque du Soleil has been performing innovative, jaw-dropping productions for over 20 years.
23:21And their astounding show called Ka at the MGM Grand is no exception.
23:26Ka is one of the biggest and most original theatrical events ever staged.
23:30Ka tells a thrilling story of good versus evil.
23:34And in the end, reconciles brother and sister, sea and sand, earth and sky.
23:45What is Ka?
23:46Ka is a really big thing.
23:49Let's take a look.
23:50Hello, Matt.
23:52JT.
23:53How are you, bud?
23:54Good.
23:55So, what's your title here?
23:56Head of Automation at Ka Theater.
23:58What is automation?
24:00Automation are the pieces of the show that move.
24:03We use industrial control technology to move large pieces of metal.
24:07Some of them are attractive and some of them are just stage lifts for moving the performers
24:12around.
24:13The director's vision for this was a void.
24:16And the way we create that void is by taking all the platforms away.
24:20And at different times, we use the different decks or lifts or platforms to bring groups
24:25of artists to different scenes in the show.
24:27We are standing in the void, the stage.
24:30Those railings right there are the edge of the stage.
24:33On the other side of that is the audience.
24:34We are in the lower basement right now.
24:36That's 25 and a half feet below performance level or what the audience thinks is ground
24:41zero.
24:42So, how high does this thing actually go?
24:43Because I'm looking up at what I think is about 12 stores.
24:45Well, we're at minus 25.5.
24:48The deck actually goes up to plus 41 feet.
24:51So, that's 66 feet of travel of the main stage deck.
24:54And you have performers moving, obviously, but you also have machines moving in the show?
24:58As well.
24:59We have machines that weigh anything from 5 pounds to 280,000 pounds in the show.
25:04So, you have 280,000 pound machines that move?
25:06Just one.
25:07Which one's that?
25:08That's the gantry crane that moves vertically 66 feet through the show.
25:14Sometimes it appears as a beach scene.
25:16Sometimes it's a rock climbing wall.
25:18Other times performers are diving off of it.
25:20So, it's like a moving stage?
25:22That's correct.
25:23Looking at that thing, it actually looks like a giant TV screen.
25:26Well, for us, it's not only a performance surface, but we project video and do shadow puppets
25:31on there as well.
25:32Let's go up and have a closer look.
25:34We're moving it one foot a second vertically on a lift that will support 50,000 pounds.
25:41The first time we see it vertical in the show, there are a couple of artists that are taking
25:45a respite on their journey and they stop in front of their lantern and project shadow puppets
25:51on the screen.
25:52At other times in the show, we project scenery on here and it has an interactive touch surface
25:57on it as well.
25:58So, we can put a picture on there that will actually follow the deck as the deck moves
26:03and we can actually have that picture change while the artists are running around on the
26:07deck depending on where they are.
26:10We project a rock face onto it and there's a climbing scene where the artists are climbing
26:14up the deck while it's spinning around and they're diving off and so forth.
26:17And they climb what?
26:18Those little copper things I'm looking at, those actually come out, right?
26:21Yeah, those are actually chrome molly rods that pop out.
26:24They only move 18 inches but they move at 15 feet a second.
26:27So, they seem to pop out instantly.
26:28Right.
26:29And they're in reaction to artists pretending to shoot arrows at the stage.
26:32You were saying before, it's like kind of a touch screen too, right?
26:36It is that as well.
26:37Right at the end of the show, there's a scene where the deck is vertical and the artists
26:41are in a battle scene where they're running up and down the deck and every time their feet
26:44hit, they affect the video projection system.
26:47It's not programmed at all.
26:48It's a completely interactive surface.
26:50So, wherever their foot is within a six-inch area, that reports to the projection system.
26:55And then the projection program can decide what to do with that information, whether
26:58it wants to be blue or red or rocks or ripples or whatever.
27:02How can it be like so fast?
27:03Like as soon as his foot hits it, there it is.
27:06Ethernet.
27:07We have wireless Ethernet coming off the deck for the projection system.
27:11So, there's actually Ethernet inside of this stage?
27:14There's three networks in the stage alone, one for machinery, one for lighting, and one
27:18for the projection.
27:19This is the only stage of its kind?
27:21I think so.
27:22There was also a 30-square-foot tatami deck that serves as a B stage, sliding open like
27:29three drawers and allowing scenes to cross-fade.
27:32So, in addition to the two moving decks, there's also five lifts.
27:36Two stage right, two stage left, and the center stage that I'm standing on right now.
27:41All of them can move at different times in the show or at the same time.
27:44It doesn't matter.
27:45The gantry crane stage is also referred to as the sand cliff deck.
27:50During a beach scene, the stage tilts and the sand falls off the deck into the basement
27:55below.
27:56The sand is actually ground-up cork, which can easily be recycled and it doesn't seep
28:00into the machinery.
28:01Tony!
28:02How you doing?
28:03I'm Matt.
28:04Nice to meet you.
28:05Nice to meet you also.
28:06So, what?
28:07You're the master rigger here?
28:08I'm the head of riggering.
28:09What are you guys doing?
28:10Getting ready to set one of the two nets.
28:13Each one of the nets fills the whole footprint of our lower basement where we're at right
28:18now.
28:19Right.
28:20One is without an airbag.
28:21The other net has an airbag that basically fills the whole footprint of this room in.
28:27The nets are for artists to fall on, right?
28:29100% acrobatic safety nets.
28:31They're not for technician fall protection.
28:33It's 100% acrobatic fall protection.
28:35And then how come some have airbags under them of sundown?
28:3870-foot free falls.
28:3970-foot free falls have the airbags under them.
28:44We wouldn't be able to withstand that type of a fall with this net, so we add the airbags
28:49onto it and airbags have 14 separate cells so we can hit multiple falls without losing
28:56the whole airbag.
28:57When you do it during the show, do you have to pull the net out, put it back?
29:00Like, how does the whole process work during a show?
29:02So, each one of the nets has nine high-speed winches.
29:06That's what you got here with the blue line.
29:08So, blue line is for the tatami net, the one that we have out.
29:11Red line would be for the sand cliff net.
29:13Each one of the nine nets has at least one person manning it.
29:16If we're coming from the upper basement lines, we have additional people up top.
29:20If they're up, we have the airbags if we're using the other net.
29:24I think there's about 20, 24 fans that blow up the other airbag.
29:28They're on USB power, which means if we lose power into the showroom, the fans stay blowing
29:34for awhile gives us a little bit time to rescue in case we have an issue.
29:38What we've done is we've created a catcher's man so that there's no way to make it from above
29:43down into anything that would hurt somebody.
29:45We have a lead rigger who calls when he's ready for jumpers to go into the net.
29:50That's a call that you'll hear on headsets that were ready for jumpers.
29:56Nets are inspected every single day, twice a week.
29:59We really give it a real good look over to make sure of what's going on, what damage is going on.
30:05So obviously the performers trust you guys, the riggers, with their life.
30:09You care about them as much as you care about yourself and that whatever affects them affects you.
30:15In all of our portals in the grid, an artist will walk up to you, we'll clip them into cables,
30:19we'll send them down a hundred and some odd feet in the air.
30:23It's dark and we do it as hidden as possible, which means they can't see anything just as if the audience can't see them.
30:31There's a trust right there. It takes a lot to clip onto a cable and step off into nowhere land
30:36and assume that whoever just did that for you knew what they were doing.
30:40So what's going on right now is Tony is rigging me up for the training of the battle scene.
30:44The battle scene is a huge part of the performance.
30:47Am I going to be like flying across the air?
30:49Oh yeah.
30:51Alright.
30:52Well you look small, fit and limber.
30:54Hi.
30:55Are you Laura?
30:56I am.
30:57I'm Matt, how are you?
30:58Nice to meet you.
30:59So you're going to be your, this is not a very flattering suit might I add.
31:03You are going to be my, or I'm going to be your training partner right?
31:07Exactly.
31:08So what does that entail?
31:09So that means we're going to get up on the wall, you're going to practice going up and down at different speeds, stopping.
31:13I'm going to go on that.
31:14Oh yeah.
31:15You're joking.
31:16Are you being serious?
31:17This is the best part of the whole show.
31:18It's the most fun.
31:19No, I'm excited but I just really don't see how I could climb that thing.
31:21Oh you will.
31:22So we're going to.
31:23It's just like playing a video game.
31:24Okay.
31:25And a lot of ab work.
31:26Really?
31:27At the same time.
31:28Good thing I have a keg instead of a six pack.
31:30So we're going to climb that wall.
31:33Right.
31:34Like what am I supposed to do?
31:36I'll just take you through, we're going to go up and down, maybe do some flips, maybe do some jumps,
31:40crossing over and under some of the basic elements of the act.
31:43You know, we aren't going to be too hard on you.
31:45We want to make sure you can walk tomorrow.
31:47Okay.
31:48You might not walk later today.
31:49Go easy on me.
31:50Maybe.
31:51Maybe.
32:07Oh my God.
32:10Come on.
32:11Dude, there's not even a net.
32:12I thought if I fall there's going to be a net there.
32:15For the performers to appear to defy gravity, they're supported on high speed winches.
32:20Each performer controls their own movement through a radio controlled handset device.
32:26The winches are capable of running up to 14 feet per second.
32:30They could also accelerate and decelerate in just three quarters of a second.
32:35I won't click right.
32:36Sorry.
32:37Stop.
32:38Okay.
32:39Now put your feet right here.
32:40Why is that spinning?
32:41Put my feet where?
32:42On the wall?
32:43Holy moly.
32:44There.
32:45And you guys are confident in this, huh?
32:48Do one click right once again.
32:51Stop.
32:52Good.
32:53Now put your feet here.
32:54And lean your back.
32:55Back.
32:56So it looks like you're standing.
32:57Oh, okay.
32:58No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
33:01I'm like a...
33:02Like both feet up.
33:03Here, here.
33:04Yeah, like this.
33:05I'm like a fat Spider-Man.
33:06Right?
33:07There you go.
33:08So now...
33:09I think I did those crunches, girl.
33:10Yeah, see?
33:11Oh, my God.
33:12Oh, my God.
33:13Oh, my God.
33:14So am I.
33:15Is that a good resting spot?
33:16What the hell is the decelerator button?
33:17Okay, there we go.
33:18All right.
33:19Sounds good.
33:20All right.
33:21All right.
33:22Oh, you're so lucky you're not a man.
33:24This does not feel right.
33:25There you go.
33:26One, two, three.
33:27Oh, .
33:28Nice.
33:29Yeah.
33:30All right.
33:31Same thing down.
33:32One, two, out.
33:33Good.
33:34What?
33:35What?
33:36Yeah.
33:37Oh, my God.
33:38Oh, my God.
33:39Oh, my God.
33:40Oh, you're so lucky you're not a man.
33:41This does not feel right.
33:42There you go.
33:43One, two, three.
33:44Go.
33:45Oh, .
33:46Nice.
33:47Yeah.
33:48All right.
33:49Same thing down.
33:50One, two, out.
33:51Good.
33:52What?
33:53Yeah.
33:54Oh, my God.
33:55And...
33:56One, two, out.
33:57Good.
33:58What?
33:59Yeah.
34:00Oh, my God.
34:01One, two, three.
34:03Angels.
34:04Yeah.
34:05Angels.
34:06Laura.
34:07Yeah.
34:08Thanks a lot.
34:09Adrian.
34:10Hi.
34:11How are you doing?
34:12I'm Matt.
34:13Nice to meet you.
34:14Nice to meet you, Matt.
34:15Hey, so you're the head trainer here?
34:16Is that right?
34:17Yeah, I'm the head coach.
34:18I'm responsible for pretty much everything you see on the show.
34:21What is going on right here?
34:23This is the Wheel of Death.
34:24It's a really old traditional discipline, actually, circus discipline.
34:28And it's designed to bring the oohs and the ahs and the wows.
34:33These guys are four or five generation Mexican traditional circus performers.
34:39This particular piece of apparatus, as you can see, why it's called the Wheel of Death.
34:44If they fall, are they just going to hit that stage or...?
34:47Yeah.
34:48Well, they've been doing it since they were kids, so it's kind of in their blood.
34:52What's going on here?
34:53Is that the dance of death right there?
34:55This is York.
34:56He's one of our main characters.
34:58And he's basically just practicing walking in those shoes because they're actually really difficult to walk in.
35:04And for him to work in, so he needs to come in every now and again and train.
35:07Look at that.
35:08He looks dangerous.
35:09Super dangerous, super focused.
35:11He's the bad guy in the show.
35:12Well, I didn't think he looked like a good guy.
35:14No.
35:15He's got the bad guy look.
35:16You look like a good guy.
35:17No, no, no, no.
35:18I'm the head coach.
35:19I'm the bad guy.
35:20Our biggest issue here with the training is that some of them are just you can't do anywhere
35:24else but on the stage.
35:25Right.
35:26So space is a real premium for us.
35:27What we try to do is we try to get at least one of those trainings in a week, but that actually
35:32doesn't happen very often, so at least once a week.
35:36And then we try to do supplementary training in the same way.
35:39What the hell is he doing?
35:41Yeah, that's the part of the show where he just puts the smack down.
35:46Tell me, why is it important for these guys to train as often as they do?
35:57Because it's not called the Wheel of Death for an athlete.
35:59That's a great union.
36:04Can we watch this for a minute?
36:05Yeah, no problem.
36:06Nice.
36:07The crowd features a cast and crew of 300 people that include 80 artists from 18 different
36:13countries, all working at the top of their craft.
36:16In the sound department, half a million watts of power pumps surround sound through 4,700
36:22speakers, including stereo speakers in every chair in the theater.
36:26So how long has systems been like this going through Ethernet or something?
36:29Because it wasn't like this five, ten years ago.
36:31Oh no, this is all new.
36:32This is the first system that I've ever worked on that's like that.
36:35That's what gives us the incredible versatility.
36:37It's two and a half million control points on this board, which doesn't really look that
36:40big, but it's because everything has a page and this console up here represents something
36:45that we can do to every single channel.
36:47So if this were a standard board, it would be about as big as the entire opening of the
36:54proceeding you're looking at here.
36:55In the control booth, the stage manager along with her team of technicians manage the presentation
37:00of Ka with a computer-based interconnection of production elements that is unequaled in
37:05the theatrical world.
37:08Video projection, lighting, camera, and sound are all combined to create an atmosphere that
37:14rivals any science fiction fantasy.
37:16So you've got all this stuff going on.
37:18How about cameras?
37:19Do you guys incorporate cameras in it?
37:21Yeah, absolutely.
37:22In fact, we use them with a variety of things.
37:24One, we use them to understand what's going on because sitting from up here, there's no
37:27way you can actually see all the stuff that's going on on stage.
37:30We also use color cameras, we use infrared cameras so we can see in the dark when all the
37:35lights are dark out.
37:36Really?
37:37Yeah, absolutely.
37:38Because if it gets too dark, what are you going to do?
37:39You can't see what's going on.
37:40So infrared helps us to see a lot of what goes down.
37:42We also use infrared cameras for the video projection system.
37:45By using that, we actually have it as part of the interactive stuff.
37:49When things move or we see actual changes from one frame of video to the next, it'll
37:54actually create effects.
37:56Water effects where we get bubbles and stuff.
37:58One of the things we had during the show.
38:00So it looks like somebody is underwater and as they move, we'll have trails of bubbles
38:04come up above them.
38:05Yeah, it's pretty cool.
38:07Coming up backstage, backstage.
38:09We'll go behind the scenes of a live performance.
38:12Oh yeah.
38:13There's also an 80 foot snake.
38:15What the hell did you do that for?
38:21In the show.
38:22Uniquely talented musicians play the original soundtrack music of KA live for every performance.
38:39every performance.
38:42I'm in the orchestra room right now which is located in the basement of the theater
38:46and the reason that they have it down here
38:48is because this is the only Cirque du Soleil show where the orchestra is not on
38:52stage because
38:53this is the only Cirque du Soleil show that has a storyline. It's a controlled
38:56atmosphere
38:57and the orchestra plays exactly to what is going on on stage.
39:01It's pretty amazing.
39:09In the wardrobe department, 70 specialists worked more than 35,000 hours to produce
39:14the first full set of Kaa costumes at the Cirque du Soleil headquarters in Montreal, Canada.
39:21All costumes, wigs, hats and shoes are custom made for the 75 Kaa artists.
39:27All the Cirque du Soleil shows and all the stuff you've done in the past 20 years, how does
39:31Kaa measure up to all those other shows?
39:34I will tell you that I probably, and I tell this to my people all the time, I never get
39:37to work on such a big production and pretty much get the things that I do.
39:40The Cirque du Soleil is first rate.
39:42We get the best equipment, we get the best materials, we get the best hair, we get the
39:46best talent to work on a show this size.
39:48So, you know, we're very grateful that we can come in here and have the tools that we
39:52need to do the show each night.
39:53And a lot of times you come from a theater where you have to do something on a budget.
39:59You know, we're to some limits unlimited in what we get to do.
40:04And as far as the show, we probably will have one of the biggest costume budgets in the world.
40:08The makeup designer creates the look for each stage artist who then applies their own makeup,
40:14which takes 45 minutes to two hours to complete.
40:17On each step, we take a picture and we write in the side what kind of brushes they have
40:23to use and how they have to use the brushes to do the makeup.
40:28So because the artists, they're doing the makeup by themselves every night.
40:32How long does it, will it take him to, from start to finish for this?
40:37For me, that's take 45 minutes when I'm doing a step-by-step because I have to stop.
40:41That's like half an hour of makeup to do for me, for them, the first time that they start
40:47to do that, that could take two to three hours the first time because they stop and they have
40:53to learn everything.
40:54And many of them, they never take brushes on their hand before, so they have everything
40:58to learn.
40:59Now on to the part of the show where personally I think is the most fun, the props, and this
41:04is John.
41:05How are you doing, John?
41:07I'm doing all right.
41:08You'd probably have as much fun back here as I would if I worked here, huh?
41:12Certainly, certainly.
41:13Wow.
41:14We have a lot of fun.
41:15So these are unbelievable.
41:18I've been around theater, I've seen a lot of shows, a lot of props, but this by far blows
41:23away anything I've ever seen.
41:25Tell me about this.
41:26This is one of my favorite parts in the show.
41:27All right.
41:28It's the 80-foot snake, right?
41:29Yes, 80-foot long snake.
41:32The head actually only weighs five pounds.
41:34It's a beautiful thing.
41:35What is that, foam?
41:36It's orthopedic foam made by Michael Curry up in Portland, Oregon.
41:40He does an amazing job, really intricate work, really fine detail.
41:45This is a really big snake.
41:47During the show, how many people are inside of this thing rigging it?
41:50There is actually one rigger inside of it and he is manipulating it.
41:56He's actually sitting inside here just like this and he whips out the tongue like-
42:01What the hell did you do that for?
42:03Oh, sorry you weren't ready for that.
42:06So there's one guy in there that does this?
42:08Yeah, actually he is in this harness right here.
42:12So he wears this harness and he's inside the snake.
42:16There are two bars inside there.
42:19You can see like two handlebars.
42:21Yeah.
42:22You can pick this thing up, move it around.
42:26Okay, I'm standing here with Eric.
42:33Eric is the technical director.
42:35This is the part of the show.
42:37Please, all tatami artists to your positions, thank you.
42:40Right there.
42:41This is the part of the show where we're going to pull back the curtain and take you backstage.
42:45Everyone has to wear black, just like they do in every other theater performance, obviously
42:48because it's going to be dark backstage.
42:49We're taking you back.
42:50Let's go.
42:51Okay, we got you all wired up.
42:52Let's go.
42:53Eric takes me up to the seventh floor of the Kaw Theater for a whole new perspective.
42:57So this is my favorite scene.
43:00This is the forest scene.
43:01This is the forest scene.
43:02This is, like I said, we have the 13 riggers, four artists and two coaches.
43:06The riggers are all assisting the artists, plus they're watching.
43:09Here comes the double stick bug.
43:12They're watching to make sure that none of the lines get tangled, twisted, anything like
43:16that.
43:17Here comes the snake.
43:19Here comes the snake.
43:21The rigger is crawling into the head of the snake right now.
43:24He's in.
43:27So there is somebody inside the snake body right now.
43:35Here are the bungee jumpers.
43:44It's now safe for the bungee jumpers because the swing poles are complete.
43:50There really is no business like show business.
44:09Cirque du Soleil's performance of Kaw is an amazing experience.
44:13And it starts with the construction, to the automation, to the pinpoint choreography both
44:18on and off stage, and the acrobatic originality that can only be described as wow.
44:23It's not just a really big thing, but it's a one-of-a-kind happening that has raised the
44:28creative bar to unprecedented heights.
44:31Awesome.
44:33Good stuff.
44:35Good stuff.