Robe - LEADERBOARD - Feb 2025
Doughty - Banner - ABTT (27 May - 5 June)

Business

Details
Bookings are now well underway for the seminar and workshop programme planned for the PLASA Show. This year the emphasis is very much on knowledge with those signing up gaining an insight into how new technology is creating new opportunities, how individuals have pulled together highly complex projects, why integration is so important and how they can achieve more by picking up tips and techniques from others.

In a programme of seminars sponsored by Installation Europe, audio installation and integration is the theme under which issues of networking, control and the benefits of converging technologies are explored. Tuesday sees a Theme and Leisure Masterclass, presented by Leisure Management, in association with the TEA and TiLE, which focuses on how the leisure industry exploits special effects, lighting and audio technology to create unique environments to enhance the visitor experie

Details
Canegreen has underlined its position as a leading concert sound company - and one of the biggest Meyer Sound users - by specifying a 40-cabinet Meyer Sound Labs M3D Line Array system for this year’s Capital FM Party in the Park for the Prince’s Trust in London’s Hyde Park. The system was supplied by Meyer Sound Labs’ UK distributor, Autograph Sales Ltd. A total of 24 international acts, including Tom Jones, Ricky Martin, Gerri Halliwell, Jamiroquai, Usher and Wyclef Jean, entertained an estimated 100,000-strong crowd through a Canegreen-specified system that comprised 16 M3D cabinets per side on the main stage, with a further eight M3Ds and six M3D-Subwoofers behind the mix tower. This impressive rig was augmented with eight Meyer SB-1 parabolic soundbeam systems, six MSL-2, 36 x MSL-4, six MSL-6 and 24 x 650-P Subs, confirming that the new Meyer system is compl
Doughty - Banner - ABTT (27 May - 5 June)

Details
PLASA Media has learned that Smoke Design, the Bolsover-based manufacturer of a range of silk flame effects, haze generators, fragrance systems and smoke generators, is experiencing problems. Financial recovery and restructuring agents, Silver Altman, have written to all the companies who have conducted business with the company, informing them that a meeting of creditors will take place in Nottingham on 4 September. Those who attend will receive a statement of affairs and will be asked to nominate one or more insolvency practitioners and, if necessary, to establish a liquidation committee. The company was founded in 1996 by David and Sylvia Taylor.

Details
The first Broadway show to use the grandMA console from MA Lighting will be the upcoming production of Thoroughly Modern Millie which opens at the Marriott Marquis theatre early next year. Warren Flynn will be programming the grandMA for lighting designer Don Holder, who is expecting to use almost 60 moving instruments, all controlled by the grandMA. Flynn chose the grandMA console due to the variety of new and powerful features which he would normally not have access to, such as full tracking backup via a network. Flynn, who is a relative newcomer to the grandMA, was philosophical on the subject of learning a new console: "Making a transition to a new console is never easy. However, with the help of AC Lighting it has been as painless as possible."

Bob Gordon of AC Lighting considers this a landmark in the evolution of the grandMA's popularity. He comented: "It's

Details
David Atkinson Lighting Design has just completed an extensive design for the National Football Museum in Preston on behalf of Land Design Studio.

The museum was split into two areas, the first being ‘Finney’ - an area which covered the invention of the game, its development over the last 150 years, and what the future is likely to hold for both players and supporters.

Finney was designed with a high proportion of complex graphic panels which were either flat or multi-layered. Atkinson spec’d a light from Commercial Lighting Systems, which utilized twin 36W compact fluorescent lamps. To this he added barndoors and a filter holder to wash the various graphic panels. To add definition and depth to some of the multi-layered panels, he fitted T5 encapsulite tubes to the reverse of the panels. The exhibits were lit with low voltage profiles, floods and fibre optic source

Details
Marquee Audio has supplied one of London’s longest-established audio-visual companies with a full audio inventory based around Martin Audio sound reinforcement. Owned by Eric Bastin, Projection & Display Services are shortly to change their name to Avcom, to bring it into line with their other companies. And they will celebrate by being able to match the capability of their full motion picture and video size presentations, with a comparable sound spec. "Our sound inventory was in need of replacement so we decided to do something about it," stated account manager, Robert Morrison. With an eminent pedigree in concert touring in his native New Zealand, Morrison remembers picking up part of Delicate Productions’ Martin ‘Philishave’ system, when the legendary Supertramp tour in the 1970s ground to a halt in LA. Prior to that he had relocated to London for the

Details
New York City-based City Theatrical Inc recently received a $47,700 state grant for employee training and professional development. The grant, awarded by the New York State Workforce Investment Board, is specifically for training workers in manufacturing industries. City Theatrical will use it to pay for training that will increase its manufacturing efficiency and improve its sales and marketing. The company is using the grant funds for training in every department - engineering, manufacturing, sales and financial - so it will affect all aspects of the company. The grant covers the cost of the training, books and other materials, and salaries for staff who take classes during business hours. All training will be completed in the next year. City Theatrical's application was one of 145 the New York State Department of Labor received from manufacturing companies.

Details
The transtechnik group has been commissioned by SZM Studios GmbH (Munich broadcasting centre) to install a whole new lighting system as well as Voyager automatic positioning systems in their Munich-based SZM Studio 6. This overhaul of the 350sq.m studio (a project worth EUR 1.43 million) is scheduled to be completed by August 2001.

The project involves fitting 114 monopole hoists including 2kW Fresnel lens spotlights (Arri Studio) to the studio's 19m x 14m grid ceiling. A Voyager system will control the vertical positioning of the monopoles, which will be supplied via 2.5kW channels. Due to the large number of monopoles, there will be no need for any horizontal positioning. However, since the studio ceiling is currently too low for a standard monopole installation, a special structure has had to be designed to hold the monopoles. This allows for a height gain of 1m. For lighting the st

Details
Edwin Shirley Staging provided two identical stages for this year’s V2001, the national summer music festival that takes place in two separate locations in Essex and Staffordshire. This year’s festival featured a host of acts, including the world-famous bands Texas and Red Hot Chilli Peppers.

The two V stages, constructed using ESS's Lite tower system, boasted an impressive 52m wide façade and were assembled in just four days. The 14m high, 10-towered structure with an ESS inflatable roof was specially designed to provide support for the massive sound system and the two 32sq.m Screenco video screens which flanked each stage. Texas and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers also required their own rigging, and ESS had therefore to ensure that the roof grid was configured for the demanding set changes, including the addition of an extra video screen.

The festival hosted 48 artists ov

Details
When the BT Cellnet Conference was held in July, organisers Colebrand Design commissioned Indigo Design & Build to handle part of the venue preparation, including the staging. Because the BT Cellnet conference consists of a number of smaller events, the staging needed to be versatile enough to be constructed in different shapes depending on the size of the event. The natural choice for this element of the project was staging expert Maltbury and so Indigo purchased13 modules of Maltbury Metrodeck to complete the job, each varying in shape and size, ranging from 0.5 x 1m to 1 x 2m blocks. Metrodeck is Maltbury's own mid-weight staging system and has proven especially popular in venues where manpower and storage space is limited.

Details
Vertigo Rigging continues its association with the fast-moving world of automobiles. The two-show Vauxhall Vivaro event, staged to mark the launch of a new Transit-sized van, took place at the National Agricultural Centre in Stoneleigh, Warwickshire. The biggest challenge for Vertigo, according to project manager Paddy Burnside, was the rigging of the massive amount of weight involved within the venue’s point loading constraints of 75kg per-point-loading. All trussing had to be raised on Superlifts, transferred and deaded off with steel wire rope. Thirty-six steel wire rope bridle lengths were needed to secure the lighting trusses in the correct places above each display van, and these were calculated in advance using CAD facilities, and made up in Vertigo’s yard.

Vertigo were on site seven days from get in to de-rig, supplying and rigging all the trussing needed for over-s

Details
New developments are all set to keep The Showman’s Show as one of Europe’s leading outdoor events exhibitions. The show organisers have announced several changes to the Show’s format for the 2001 event, which takes place on 17 and 18 October at Newbury Showground. The changes have been implemented to ensure the show reflects the changes within the events industry and meets the requirements of modern day exhibitors and visitors.

The most striking change is the new format for the Arena in the centre of the exhibition. For the first time in the history of the event, the ring will take on one theme that will appeal to a wide range of event organisers. In the past the Arena has hosted a range of entertainment aimed predominantly at the traditional show and gala market, but organiser Stephen Lance believes that even that marketplace, like the Showman’s Show, is evolvi

Details
Straight out of Edinburgh, into the West End and on tour around the UK, August and September are proving busy months for Stage Electrics. Nine 45ft trailers were on the road heading for the Edinburgh Fringe in early August, providing lighting and power distribution to over 33 of the venues, including the Assembly Theatre, Komedia @ Southside and venues for Guilded Balloon. In fact, the company is the largest technical supplier to this annual three-week event. The company has also provided Martin Professional MACs, generic lanterns and control to the Fame transfer from Victoria Palace to the Cambridge Theatre in the West End, as well as generic lanterns and a Wholehog II to the Shaftesbury Theatre for Peggy Sue Got Married. SE’s special projects department installed and commissioned a four-axis automated flying system for Peggy Sue Got Married which opened on 20

Details
PSL Concert Touring and PSL Lighting were both contracted to supply site video and lighting for Ministry of Sound at Knebworth 01. Over 15 large screen projectors, 300 lights and several miles of cable went into producing one of the largest dance events of the year, comprising not only the main stage featuring headline act Jamiroquai, but also 12 dance arenas and a cinema tent. The two teams, headed by Scott Russell and Stephanie Jefcoate at PSL Concert Touring and Mick Scullion at PSL Lighting, worked together to bring stunning visual effects using some of the latest equipment recently purchased by both companies. One of the largest portable production units ever used in a festival setting and supplied by PSL controlled the video and five cameras for the main stage and allowed the two 4 x 4 LED screens to each display different effects at the same time, while the recently purchased Barc

Details
Tannoy Professional has named sister company, TGI/Tannoy North America Inc, as Distributor of the Year for 2001. Based on technical ability, customer service and support levels, as well as growth in turnover, the award was presented to TGI following outstanding performances in all three areas. Tannoy's sales and marketing director, Derek West, told PLASA Media: "Tannoy Professional saw excellent growth in worldwide sales during the last financial year, increasing turnover almost 50%. We have an unwritten rule that sister companies cannot win the Distributor of the Year Award but when we judged the results, one market clearly stood out as the major contributor to that growth. Combine this with their dealer and product support, which has always been second to none, and we had to tear up the rulebook and present TGI with the Distributor of the Year 2001 award."

Tannoy has also p

Details
Located on a wooded hillside overlooking the beautiful cathedral city of Winchester, King Alfred’s College was founded in 1840 and today is home to over 5,000 full and part-time students. The fastest growing area of work is in Performing Arts, and the college has made substantial investments in its core infrastructure in recent years. Seven years ago, land was bought to develop the West Downs Student village. To satisfy the need for extra teaching space for performing arts, the College restored the old West Downs Preparatory School, a Grade 2 listed building. This enabled the College to create three new performance areas and eleven seminar rooms, as well as a 300-seat theatre and arts centre. The project also involved the provision and installation of new lighting and audio systems that could be adapted to meet the diverse needs of the performing arts courses, student societies and

Details
Screenco Holland installed an exploded screen at the recent Festival Beachrock in Belgium, at the request of one of their clients. TCC (The Concert Company) had asked for nine 25mm LED modules to be scattered randomly around a 3 x 3 high resolution 15mm LED screen as part of the production for the band, K’s Choiche. TCC’s Willem Loos and Rene Zelders masterminded the overall production while Screenco Holland were responsible for all technical production - including the live camera feeds - and the PC from which the graphics were produced. The effects were generated through a MIDI keyboard and VJ software, provided by Screenco. Screenco’s Jeroen Jongenelen said: "This was the first time a band has used LED modules in such a creative way during a festival in Holland. This is a completely new way of using screens and one which we can expect to be adopted increasingly i

Details
Spirit Design, founded earlier this year by lighting designers Danny Evans and Justin Adams, has teamed up with Dave Bryant and Mike Townsend, following their recent departure from Midnight Design. They join an already expanding team with Maxie Knowles having come on board as general manager in May, and Damian Dowling, who joined in July, in place as business development director. Bryant and Townsend have joined at a critical stage in the development of the company, which hopes to be able to announce in the coming weeks a team of associate designers, who will play an important role in the future growth of the company, and further increase the already formidable design team.

Since it doesn’t own any equipment, Spirit Design can source the most relevant kit for a project and as it has a wealth of international experience within the company, can back this up with high levels of tec

Details
Ten years after receiving its first Emmy Award for the Vari*Lite Series 200 automated lighting system, and seven years after being presented with its second Emmy, for the VL5 wash luminaire, Vari-Lite has won another gold statue from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. "Winning three Emmy's over these last 10 years has been a truly wonderful experience, and we're honored to receive this prestigious award," said Rusty Brutsché, chairman and chief executive officer of Vari-Lite. "It's a compliment to the extremely gifted, hard-working and dedicated people who have made Vari-Lite such a success during the past 20 years."

The Academy will present the Dallas-based company with an Emmy for Outstanding Achievement in Engineering Development during the engineering awards presentation tonight. This marks the first time the company, which celebrates its 20th anniversa

Details
Sennheiser presented a total of five Sennheiser Student Achievement Awards and £2500 in prize money at this year’s LIPA Graduation ceremony. Sennheiser UK managing director Paul Whiting presented the awards during the ceremony in the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, conducted by lead patron Sir Paul McCartney, principal and chief executive, Mark Featherstone-Witty, and members of the Council and Trust. The winning students, all studying for or graduating with Sound Technology BA Degrees and Theatre Performance Technology DIPHEs, were nominated by peers and tutors for outstanding work in the course of their studies. Winning projects ranged from radio drama production, to songwriting, recording and production and theatre stage management, and included work from first and second year, as well as graduating students. Included for the first time were specific Sennheiser Awards for the TPT

Details
Logic System Pro Audio returned from Singapore in July having exhibited at the PALA show for the first time ever. A joint venture with Del Salado Entertainment Pte Ltd, the show proved a huge success and has already spawned several new orders and a great deal of interest in the brand which is new to the region. During his stay, sales manager Dean Davoile was taken to see ‘Bali Rock’ the first Logic System installation in Singapore. The venue features a dance area with a quieter ‘chill out’ zone on the upper floor. The sound system comprises IS8’s running full range supplemented by IS24 sub bass units. Lawrence Chee, owner of Bali Rock enthused "I have been impressed with the system since day one and it still amazes me the level and quality of sound I can get from such compact and discreet cabinets."

Details
Production Resource Group L.L.C.(PRG), a leading provider of entertainment technology products and services, has announced a plan for one of its divisions to aggressively promote and develop its core entertainment production services business. Over the past 23 years, the PRG family of companies has grown into the leading entertainment technology resource from a collection of small organizations - each a pioneer in its own right - that thrived through their passion for theatre and live performance. The branch offering custom scenic fabrication and related services is embracing its roots with the restoration of its original name and management.

For approximately two years, Harris Production Services and Scenic Technologies, the original, founding companies of PRG, had been bundled and branded with more recent acquisitions as Entolo, with the intention of more effectively promoting PRG's

Details
The Illuminated Video Workshop, the Screenco-led consortium that presented two days of innovative show magic at Three Mills Island studios last winter, is set to stage the successful workshop again at the PLASA Show. Situated in the ‘AV Gallery’ of Earl’s Court’s Top Deck, Screenco’s Mike Walker has pulled together the same top-flight technical support teams from the premier event. WAlker explained: "Judging from the number of calls from people who had been unable to attend the January event, the reputation of that two-day spectacular had really spread further than we could ever have imagined. We have been inundated with calls from people, who realising that they had missed out on something special, asking whether we would ever be running it again."

Walker’s first calls were to Edwin Shirley Staging, who agreed to provide their lozenge-shap

Details
On the 28th August, PSL will be moving all of its London rental divisions (except for PSL Central) into new customised 70,000sq.ft premises in Potters Bar. The new facility has six loading docks, specialist-handling facilities, a customer demonstration area and purpose-built offices. The companies amalgamating under this one roof will be Presentation Services Limited, including Exhibitions and Concert Touring, PSL Multimedia, PSL Lighting, PSL Set & Stage, PSL On-Screen Creations, PSL Proquip and PSL LED Screen.

It is PSL’s intention to create a true rental and staging company offering customers a wide range of presentation staging services from one building. All of the individual divisions will continue to trade in their own right and be staffed with people trained in their own disciplines. The front-end project management team will have full access to all of the services suppli

  1. WYSIWYG Wins Emmy Award
  2. grandMA enters the Canada Summer Games
  3. Baroque, Derby, with RCF
  4. Stage Electrics at Sidmouth Festival
  5. JHS Event 2001
  6. Lightmoves Wins Aussie Littlite Distributorship
Page 490 of 1802
Astera - June 2025
Sennheiser - June 2025

Latest Issue. . .