Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Acrophobia.

This is topic Acrophobia. in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Stephen Furley (Member # 1277) on 03-16-2010, 03:35 PM:

I have severe acrophobia; I don't like being even a couple of metres up a ladder, and simply freeze if I go much higher than that. I can go a bit higher on scaffolding, but I still don't like it.

On Sunday I discovered a forum for Steeplejacks; there are hundreds of pages of it, including some interesting photographs of some of the work they have done.

On this page:

web page

the second picture is the view looking down 300 feet from the chimney of Slough Power Station, about 35 miles or so from London.

I'm very glad that it's not me up there, but scroll down to the next picture, and see what the steeplejack is actually standing on! How can they do this?

I had to Tinyurl the link as the original URL was too long for it to work properly.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 03-16-2010, 04:20 PM:

It's all a state of mind, really. Just imagine if you were standing on the same platform, but that there was a solid floor two inches below it. Would you be afraid? No likely. Would you slip and fall to the floor? Probably not. It is no different being up high, as the likelihood of falling is the same if you have that same state of mind. If you are nervous, then the likelihood of falling increases since you are jittery and whatnot.

As for myself, I am not fond of heights. What I mean by that is that I do not like them initially, but after I am up for a minute or two I get used to it and I am fine.... usually to the point of enjoying it. Going up a Genie lift or whatnot is initially disconcerting, but then it seems pretty awesome rolling around.

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 03-16-2010, 04:29 PM:

There was a girl who worked for me as a Work Study who was severely afraid of heights. She wouldn't even walk down the glass enclosed staircase in one of our main academic buildings. She would literally freeze. One time she got half way up a ladder and I had to carry her down.

Strange thing was that she liked to get drunk and ride on the big roller coaster at Cedar Point!

Personally, I don't mind high places as long as there is a solid footing. I'm not comfortable about being near the edge of a roof but, if I have to I can deal with it.

But if I am on a wobbly platform, forget it!

Posted by Hillary Charles (Member # 769) on 03-16-2010, 04:34 PM:

Last year, I had the good fortune to meet photographer Peter B. Kaplan, who is famous for his incredible photography from very high places. He said that he was terribly afraid of heights, and that's what drew him to his subject matter. He forced himself to overcome his fears to ply his craft. You can find out how well he did here.

Click onto "Stock Images" at the top of the page and then scroll down to "Height Workers."

Fair warning Stephen! Some of those images make me dizzy--and they're not even in 3D! [Big Grin]

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 03-16-2010, 04:47 PM:

Not seeing anything that says "Stock images". Just click here instead. I am not fond of the fisheye look. That was made me hate IMAX all those years ago.

Randy, I had a similar instance where I had to carry a girl down a ladder while she was looking for the "marquee stretcher" that we had all new employees look for. She climbed up to the marquee but was freaked out and unable to come down.

Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 03-16-2010, 04:54 PM:

Me too. Not fond of heights, though by working on stages for 20 years I got used to it.

People used to kid me about it, asking, "How can you be a pilot and be afraid of heights?!"

In an airplane (even better in a helicopter with its views below one's feet) I loved the sensations of height. I guess the difference was due to no physical connection to the ground to give scale to how high up you were. And unlike the often wobbly ladders, Genies, and scissor lifts I worked from on stage, flying machines always felt solid and stable to me.

Being up high on things like stage catwalks, bridges, coves and other anti-pro positions never bothered me. In fact I used to love the false sense of security one could get when walking on beams above a suspended ceiling. I admit edges of tall buildings are a bit disorienting to me. But when I used to help give ground tours at the Grand Canyon, standing on the edge there never bothered me. Again, seems to be a matter of stability and scale.

"Marquee stretcher"... Love it!

Posted by Hillary Charles (Member # 769) on 03-16-2010, 05:12 PM:

That's weird Joe, because my link shows it clearly next to "bio." But thanks for making it easier anyway. [Smile]

I love the stuff at the top of the WTC and Empire State Bldg., fisheye or not. [Razz]

But I can't imagine being there myself. Maybe there's a name for this condition, but when I was at the observation deck of the Empire State, the thought occurred to me to climb over the fence. It scares me to think that even entered my head and wonder how much stronger that thought must be before it would become an action. Because of that, I'm uncomfortable in open decks.

Posted by Stephen Furley (Member # 1277) on 03-16-2010, 05:50 PM:

Hillary, I'm not seeing 'Bio' either, but that link seems to go to a different page each time. I did manage to find the pictures though.

Somebody published some pictures they had taken with a 10x8 inch camera from the top of the towers of one of the big bridges, I think it was the Golden Gate.

I've done some stage rigging long ago, but always from scaffold towers; I couldn't do it from ladders.

Posted by Hillary Charles (Member # 769) on 03-16-2010, 05:57 PM:

Quick question Stephen, what you're seeing at the top of the page I linked?

I'm seeing his name, and then beside it different departments marked, "Login, Search, My Lightbox, Stock Images, Bio, Help, Contact, Prints" Now a different photograph appears each time I logon, but the heading remains the same for me.

I'm wondering if my computer's going wacky!

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 03-16-2010, 06:47 PM:

Someone needs to tell the gent his website is whack! I don't see BIO, either. Here is what I see:

Seriously, whoever designed this website is a horrible human being who was clearly conceived by mistake by his/her parents. It is ugly, not well formatted and the images are teeny tiny even when expanded. I see this a lot on photography sites. Even when watermarked, they are afraid to show you decent-sized representations of their work.

Posted by Hillary Charles (Member # 769) on 03-16-2010, 06:54 PM:

Ah I see! Well at least "images" is there. Could we be seeing it on different browsers? And yeah, I wish the pictures could be made bigger as well. Regardless, the guy himself is very nice. I seem to recall that in spite of his body of work, a few years ago he had to be treated for epsiodes of vertigo. [Eek!]

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 03-16-2010, 08:06 PM:

I'm sure he is a great guy and from what I can kind of tell, the pictures look pretty good as well. I love the Statue of Liberty ones.

I am using Firefox 3.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 03-16-2010, 08:24 PM:

I'm pretty much with Randy on this one - I'm fine with heights as long as I have some solid footing, and something to hang onto.

My least favorite thing is climbing the scaffold to change the lights in the theatre ceiling. But I'm good as soon as I get to the top and can place one hand on the ceiling to steady myself.

Posted by Stephen Furley (Member # 1277) on 03-17-2010, 06:38 AM:

In Firefox I get the same as Joe, in IE8 on Windows I get Bio etc.

Posted by Mark Lensenmayer (Member # 134) on 03-17-2010, 08:26 AM:

There was a TV show called WORLD'S GREATEST FIXES a couple of years ago. The guy on the show was a professional rigger, so he was used to heights. He had skills so he could actually help on the jobs.

They did a replacement of the antenna on top of a 2000' TV tower. That was no small job.

I recall another show that showed 2 guys doing an inventory on the Empire State Building. They shut off the power up there and these guys had to climb up to the top and record every wire and antenna. AND, they had to do it in 4-1/2 hours. They had a camera operator with them and on a helicopter circling the tower.

Posted by Hillary Charles (Member # 769) on 03-17-2010, 08:44 AM:

His site must look different on Firefox (I'm using Explorer). Good thing at least the pictures come across. Coupled with his stories behind many of those shots made the total effect even more pronounced.

It must take a special breed to do such high work like antenna maintenance and such. Definitely not for me!

Posted by Galen Murphy-Fahlgren (Member # 4535) on 03-17-2010, 11:35 AM:

Heights have never bothered me, regardless of stability of what I was standing on. I used to work in a steel mill in a fairly ordinary industrial space, with the usual square windows along the ceiling. Well, part of my job was replacing broken panes and opening and closing the panels that opened as the seasons changed. I usually replaced missing panes from an extension ladder precariously balanced amongst the piles of steel coil on the ground. Once, when closing the windows, I decided to do it from the crane box on the overhead crane, which involved leaning all the way over the edge and reaching out and hooking something around the window handle to pull it in. This was only 25' or so to the ground, but I know plenty of people who can't stand even that.

Posted by Stephen Furley (Member # 1277) on 03-17-2010, 12:34 PM:

Did anybody watch 'Man on Wire?

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 03-17-2010, 12:44 PM:

I have heard of that and really want to see it. Is it on Blu-ray?

Posted by Stephen Furley (Member # 1277) on 03-17-2010, 12:54 PM:

Probably; it's certainly in DVD. I went to see it at the place where I used to project; it wasn't new then, and I bought the DVD afterwards, and that was probably about six months ago now. I think the film was 2008.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 03-17-2010, 12:54 PM:

A couple of summers ago they had some guy painting the flagpole on our courthouse dome. I didn't envy that guy! Sitting on top of a pole attached with 87-year-old bolts.

Posted by Hillary Charles (Member # 769) on 03-17-2010, 01:33 PM:

Those who know of FM inventor Edwin H. Armstrong most likely know of his penchant for climbing around on top of his broadcasting towers.

Posted by Ian Parfrey (Member # 5122) on 03-17-2010, 01:59 PM:

They are great pictures, Hillary!

I'm intrigued by the cage sphere Mr Armstrong is perched upon.

Would that be a lightening arrestor or a capacity hat of sorts?
I've seen many hats on antennas that take the form of flat, spoked discs, mostly on AM broadcasting arrays but my antenna theory isn't good enough to know whether hats are able to be used on FM arrays-or indeed if they can be spherical.

Antenna design is a fascinating subject as is the maintenance thereof. I have heard stories of engineers suffering RF burns while working on live antennas and wonder if this is a common practice?

If so, it can't be a healthy situation to be in. These guys really deserve any danger money they can get.

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 03-17-2010, 04:18 PM:

We showed "Man on Wire."

That's the guy, Philippe Petit, who walked between the Twin Towers in NYC.
He's a great acrobat but I still think he's a bit loopy. [Wink]

Posted by Hillary Charles (Member # 769) on 03-17-2010, 04:26 PM:

Ian, I think you're correct, that sphere is a lightning arrestor. Those are likely AM towers. Armstrong did lots of work in AM before FM. His famous FM tower in Alpine N.J. still stands (and came into use after the WTC broadcast gear fell on 9/11). In the Ken Burns documentary, "Empire of the Air," there are also photos of Armstrong hanging like an acrobat from his Alpine tower.

Randy, I remember Petit's WTC stunt! And I recall thinking he was loopy back then too. [Smile]

Posted by Mitchell Dvoskin (Member # 751) on 03-17-2010, 04:49 PM:

> His famous FM tower in Alpine N.J. still stands (and came into use after the WTC broadcast gear fell on 9/11)

It does indeed still stand. After Armstrong was forced out of business, it was abandoned for a while, and then the tower was owned by Columbia University which used it in the 1960's to receive seismic information transmitted from devices NASA put on the moon for them. It believe it is currently owned by Cablevision. Not sure it was used for Television broadcasts after 9/11. I know there was talk of that happening, but most of the NYC stations ended up just moved back to the Empire State Building, where they broadcasted from prior to moving to the World Trade Center. In fact, some of the stations still had backup transmitters still in place at the Empire State Building.

As for Philippe Petit, it think he got the idea from...

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 03-17-2010, 06:50 PM:

Anyone who walks a wire between the twin towers is loopy. I heard that the police came up yelling at him to get down and he sat down or laid down on the wire between the two buildings! I haven't seen the doc yet.

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 03-17-2010, 10:19 PM:

Yes, he toyed with the cops. He came within a few feet of the other side then turned around and headed back to the middle. He did sit and lay down on the wire a couple of times.

The cops threatened to use a helicopter to pluck him off the wire but nobody stopped to think that the downblast would have blown down and killed him. In the end they just used logic: The guy can't stay out there forever. Just put a cop at each end of the wire and wait him out.

During all the interviews with Philippe and in all the old footage the guy seems a little odd. At the beginning of the movie he just seems a little flamboyant or eccentric but, by the time the movie gets under way you will start to realize that he is more than a half a bubble off-plumb.

It's a fairly straight documentary. If you don't like that kind of movie you will quickly get bored. But if you can hang on it is interesting to find out how he did it. Go ahead and rent it but don't expect an action packed thriller. [Wink]

I was not in NYC when it happened but I remember seeing it on the news. It was in 1974. I was 9 years old.