Big Man gets help from Genie

The creators of a giant puppet soon realised that they would need access to the 8 m (26 ft) man throughout the performances and approach Terex AWP for help.

Big Man Walking is a Scottish project designed to promote the arts. Created by The Puppet Lab and Puppet Animation Scotland and funded by the Scottish Arts Council, the giant will stride across Scotland visiting five different communities, each of which will create festival of arts events to celebrate the Big Man's arrival.

The project's main aim is to involve a network of local authorities and artists from each of the five Scottish communities (Isle of Bute, Kirkcaldy, Buckie, Invergordon and Inverclyde); all of which have played a key part in planning their own celebrations to welcome their guest. During the opening performance the project team awakens the Big Man and introduces him to the communities.

Jon Clarke, Associate Producer for the project said, "We approached Terex AWP because Genie is a leading brand in the access industry and we needed a product we could rely on due to the nature of live performances,"

Part of the performance involves the dressing of the giant puppet, so the production team turned to Terex AWP for help in accessing different points of the Big Man. After consultation, a Genie Z-45/25J RT was selected.

The articulating Z-boom's 16.07 m working height and 7.37 m up-and-over clearance provides the production crew with the flexibility to access the puppet safely in a variety of different settings. During the opening sequence in each community, event actors use the platform to unveil the Big Man from a cocoon and also to reach his shoulders and attach armor. In some of the community events the boom has also been incorporated into other parts of the performance. In Kirkcaldy, a Town Crier was lifted up in the Genie Z-45/25J RT to come face to face with the Big Man to welcome the friendly giant to the community and introduce him to the spectators.

"Each community event differs with varying acts and environments which made the Z-45/25J rough terrain Genie boom the perfect choice for this application," said Mr Clarke.

You can join the Big Man on his journey by visiting http://members.bigmanwalking.com/