Thursday, March 1, 2012

"Big M" big headphones at Faulkner park











This is the first set up of the headphones in Melbourne

"Big M" Big Headphones










Late last year we started making plans to build a large set of headphones that would be used in part for a TVC and also as an actual monument that was to sit in various locations around Australia. I was employed by "The Otto Empire" to design and construct this mammoth beast.
The finished structure sits at over four and a half metres tall and has a foot print of twelve by twelve metres. We had to make it so it could be broken down and transported and then erected in urban locations that were yet to be determined. We started with a steel frame which we then clad with plywood . The final cladding was to be done with empty "Big M' cartons, all 30 thousand plus of them. Each carton had to be glued and stapled into position so that they would not come off in extreme weather conditions. The base of each Earpiece middle section was engineered to sit on large steel girders and to hold 3.4 tonnes of ballast on each side.
Once completed the headphones were taken apart and loaded onto 2 semi trailers so it could be transported to a park in Melbourne and erected for the Television shoot.