UK - Sony Entertainment Television Asia recently staged its Boogie Woogie International Finals at the Sheraton Skyline Hotel at Heathrow. Hawthorn's main challenge was to create a suspended stage across the Sheraton's 11m wide swimming pool. Martin Hawthorn, managing director said: "Its not often we tell our crew to pack their swimming trunks, but on this event it was a must, as the stage was rigged from the swimming pool!"As well as the stage, Hawthorn also provided full lighting and sound for the live studio audience as well as for the TV broadcast.

The lighting had to take account of the daylight from the glass roof at the beginning of the event, and then accommodate the fading light as the event progressed. Hawthorn's sound engineer Jon Curnew had the unenviable task of balancing sound against the pool acoustics. Jon commented: "The combination of the high roo

Prolyte showed the C-ONE series of hoists. Available in three types, ranging from 250 to 1000kg, the C-ONE hoists offer the same standard features as the regular Prolyft Performance range, but with the addition of special BGV-C1 compliant options such as double brake system, dual limit switches, electronic under- and overload protection, including slack chain detection and a design factor of 10:1. A complete range of BGV-C1 compliant controllers is also available. Prolyte was also promoting the KYLo (Know Your Load) load calculator programme - a free service which can be downloaded from the company's website. Finally from Prolyte was a new hybrid coupler, the CCS6-610, a patented system designed for the 30 and 40 series truss.

LTM attended its first ProLight & Sound show, and exhibited its comprehensive range of Lodestar motors and Ibex programmable hoist controllers. High integrity hoisting systems were shown, including equipment to BGV C1 German safety standard. Special features included double brakes, load-sensing and multiple limit switches, variable speed units and manual or computerized controllers to monitor safety features and drive the equipment.

Also showing was the new compact CM Prostar hoists. The higher speed version will climb at six or 10m/min. A new 250kg SWL@ 4m/minute version was also shown. Ibex's Programmable Hoist Controller is fully computerized and the Programmable Hoist Controller Plus adds even more power and versatility, with an enhanced control panel and integrated Ethernet port. Up to 10 controllers may be linked together, providing control of up to 240 hoists. PCs may also be co

Manfrotto introduced a redesigned range of coupler clamps which offer improvements in performance and safety, as well as reduced weight. The clamps in the new Eye Coupler range all feature full TÜV certification.

UK / USA - David Edelstein, MD and founder of track systems specialist Triple E Ltd, is to ride a Harley Davidson across the USA as part of The Long Beach Long Riders charity cross-country motorcycle ride in aid of the charity Broadway Cares/ Equity Fights Aids. Sponsored by Triple E's US distributor, Rosebrand, Edelstein is the only British member of the 11-strong team of technical theatre professionals.

Founded in 1988, BC/EFA is America's leading industry-based AIDS fund-raising and grant-making organization. By drawing on the talents, resources and generosity of the theatre community, BC/EFA has to date raised over $100 million for people with AIDS, HIV and HIV related illnesses. The 2005 Long Beach Long Ride begins on 26 June, and Edelstein and co will traverse over 1,300 miles in three days, from Washington DC to Hays, Kansas. He told us: "This is a fantastic opportun

UK - Mojo Barriers has acquired Pit Stop Barriers from Eve Trackway, which sees all of the stock of steel, aluminium front of stage barriers and the bar barriers moving to Mojo Barriers UK new premises. In addition to existing stock this means the company has over 7.5km of front of stage barriers available to hire.

In a move signalling a significant shift change, the original founders of Pit Stop Barriers (Jim Gaffney and Jon Slater) became partners in Mojo Barriers UK in March (2005). They have been working alongside Mojo Barriers UK's long standing manager Kevin Thorborn since then to establish a new head office and storage facility in Essex.

The new Pit Stop equipment will bolster the complete Mojo Barriers UK product range available from its two offices in Essex and the Midlands; already boosted in April this year when it completed the acquisition of indoor touring special

USA - Two draft standards - BSR E1.22 and BSR E1.23, dealing with fire safety curtain systems and theatrical fog, have joined the two draft rigging standards available for review on the ESTA website. These two new documents will be available for review until the end of 19 July, 2005.

BSR E1.22, Entertainment Technology - Fire Safety Curtain Systems, is one of the newly posted standards. It describes the materials, fabrication, installation, operation, testing, and maintenance of fire safety curtains and fire safety curtain systems used for theatre proscenium opening protection. This is the second public review of the document, and is a radical reworking of what had been offered before. It is a serious attempt to avoid offering a cook-book description of a fire safety curtain system and to instead specify what it is supposed to do. That is, it doesn't tell yo

USA - Rigging expert Jay O. Glerum of Jay O. Glerum & Associates Inc will present a full-day Rigging Fundamentals Workshop on Thursday, November 10, 2005 in Orlando, Florida. The course is presented by the Seminars and Training committee of The ESTA Foundation, in association with Lighting Dimensions and Entertainment Design magazines. The course will take place from 8:30am to 5:30pm at the Rosen Plaza, ESTA's official hotel for The Entertainment Technology Show-LDI2005.

The course will cover the essentials of rigging, as follows: 1) The Physics and Metallurgy of Rigging - How loads exert a force on a rigging component; Types of forces; How the molecular structure of the component resists a force; Stress and strain of materials; and Allowable deflection.

2) Hardware Selection and Application - How hardware is load rated; Appropriate design factors for hardware selection; Sourc

UK - British Harlequin plc will be again be at the ABTT Theatre Show 2005 (15-16 June, Royal Horticultural Halls, London), showing a wide range of examples from its extensive range on Stand 122. Visitors will able to compare dance floor coverings and systems, plus there will be expert support on hand to provide guidance and advice. Commenting on prospects for this year's show, marketing manager, Monica Arnott said: "We are always very encouraged by the quality of the people attending ABTT. Not only do we meet many of our existing customers here, but we always gain many interesting new enquiries."

Harlequin's worldwide operations serve the dance community at a number of levels with important recent projects including the new Copenhagen Opera House, the French National Dance Centre (CND) in Paris and Jazz at the Lincoln Center in New York. Harlequin floors have also been

Verlinde showed its new innovation on the SM10 variable speed hoist and promised that pricing would not be more than 25% above that of a standard hoist. The company hopes to launch the product at PLASA 2005 as a complete range of half- to two-ton hoists with a speed range between 0-16m per min.

Verlinde also produce the CyberHoist motors under license, and on stand were representatives from the Lightcompany - the first German company to invest in the award-winning CyberHoist/InMotion 3D motion control system developed by XLNT Advanced Technologies. Lightcompany, based in Neuss, Germany and A.T.S. France of Reims in France have recently taken delivery of their CyberHoist/InMotion 3D systems, joining Flashlight of Holland, Flashlight/APR of Belgium, Vertigo Rigging of the UK and Italstage of Italy as European rental operators of fully compatible systems.

UK - British Harlequin plc will be exhibiting at the ABTT Theatre Show (15-16 June, Royal Horticultural Halls, London). Commenting on prospects for this year's show, marketing manager, Monica Arnott said: "We are always very encouraged by the quality of the people attending ABTT. Not only do we meet many of our existing customers here, but we always gain many interesting new enquiries."

Harlequin's worldwide operations serve the dance community at a number of levels with important recent projects including the new Copenhagen Opera House, the French National Dance Centre (CND) in Paris and Jazz at the Lincoln Center in New York. Harlequin floors have also been in demand for the growing trend for special events such as 'Constant Speed' - a continuous dance performance on London's Jubilee line between Canary Wharf and the Waterloo Eurostar Terminus - and at 'Art plus Danc

UK - Mountview's Technical Theatre students will be presenting an exhibition of their work at the Candid Galleries, London EC1 on Thursday 9 and Friday 10 June 2005.

The exhibition covers all areas of technical theatre and is described by the organizers as "a wonderful opportunity for our students to showcase their talents and skills for prospective employers. The exhibition will be of particular interest to anyone connected with or curious about technical theatre work or training."

Mountview's BA (Hons) Technical Theatre course covers five main disciplines: lighting, sound, construction, design and stage management and the exhibition promises to reflect the broad range of skills the students have developed during their training.

Mountview claims to be the only drama school to offer a two-year fast-track degree course in technical theatre, providing "the pract

UK - The first European showing of Slingco's Vortek rigging system will be at at ABTT 2005 in June. Vortek is a complete theatrical rigging system designed and manufactured by Hoffend in the USA, represented in the UK by Slingco. The hub of every Vortek system is a patented brake, specifically designed for theatre applications. This continuously applied, variable-load, back-up brake totally is claimed to eliminate overspeed brake and "shock-load" type problems.

The brake is connected to the drum, and operates independently of any electrical or drive-train system. Says Slingco, "In the event of all other elements in the drive-train system failing (including the gearbox), with the Vortek back-up brake, everything stops within 3mm. The mechanical Vortek back-up brake also remains fully functional in the event of a power failure."

Vortek also features overload

UK - Ground-breaking technology devised by audience interaction specialist AnswerBack Interactive has enabled Celador International's Who Want To Be A Millionaire? Live to hit the road this summer. Growing Who Wants To Be A Millionaire's 'fastest finger first' from 10 players in a television studio to thousands in live venues across Britain is a challenge AnswerBack MD Paul Krisman has been delighted to meet. He explains: "This is an absolute first and there are a number of vital factors we have to ensure just can't go wrong - from the players' point of view 'fastest finger first' is absolutely essential. We've managed to build technology that can identify the fastest response to within a thousandth of a second. There can be no room for doubt or error. It was quite a technical challenge."

Discussing the scales of the challenge he continues: "In our l

UK - The HSL Group is to exhibit at ABTT for the first time. HSL is currently supplying lighting to some major UK theatre tours including Blood Brothers, Joseph & His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar and Tommy, as well as servicing other major arts events like the Holland Park Opera Festival and providing equipment to TV studios across the UK. HSL is also sponsoring the Bar in the mezzanine level of the Lawrence Hall throughout the show."

HSL is now streamlined into three divisions. HSL Rental is "fully committed to ongoing investment in the latest technology to offer lighting designers and specifiers all the cutting-edge creative tools". HSL Rigging provides bespoke rigging solutions to corporate, theatre and live music events and HSL Sales & Distributions is the sole UK and Irish distributor for Community Loudspea

Germany - ChainMaster, one of the world's most successful manufacturers of chain hoists and chain-hoist controllers, has been supplying equipment for a number of major projects and productions, including the Spain Summer Tour, which is using 13 500kg VarioLifts and a computer controller furnished by the manufacturer's Spanish distributor.

Meanwhile, ChainMaster has added two more prestige German venues to its reference list, having installed a chain-hoist system for the video cube in the SAP Arena in Mannheim in collaboration with Sauernheimer (due to the enormous weight of the load, four 6000kg computer-controlled VarioLifts with a backup system were needed here) as well as producing the three 500kg BGV-C1 chain hoists delivered recently by Focon Showtechnic to the Mercedez-Benz museum.

Chainmaster has also announced that two more event service providers have recently

UK - A CyberHoist / InMotion 3D motion control system has been specified for Coldplay's forthcoming 'Twisted Logic' world tour, which opens on 9 June with a sold-out show at the Olympia, Paris. Two months of European stadium and arena shows in June and July are followed from August onwards by a North American tour. The shows will come hard on the heels of the imminent release of the band's acclaimed album, 'X & Y'.

The tour's visual design is by Bryan Leitch and Nick Whitehouse. Siyan, co-owned by Bryan and Nick Valdez, will provide lighting production for the European shows in association with Flashlight Rental of Holland, while lighting for the North America dates will be a co-production between Siyan and PRG. Flashlight, part of the Ampco / Flashlight Group, will also provide the CyberHoist / InMotion 3D motion control system for the complete tour.

(Lee Baldock)

UK - Summit Steel will be exhibiting at ABTT for the first time, aiming to raise its profile within the theatre industry. The company's expansion plans include developing more relationships with theatre and performance orientated projects. "ABTT is an ideal opportunity for meeting potential clientele, illustrating our services and raising our profile in the world of theatre," says a spokesman. In addition to its range of truss, hoists, ground supports, including its SmarTmasts and rigging hardware, Summit is specifically highlighting its Kinesys Elevation movement system at the show.

The Kinesys - Vari-speed System for high capacity lifting solutions is billed as "a dynamic, fully programmable vari-speed hoist and winch control system, complimented with 32 double brake CM Lodestar Hoists capable of running at speeds of up to 21m/min." The system provides accu

UK - To celebrate the launch of its new range of versatile access tower products, Instant Planet is hosting a series of free 'best practice' Working at Height seminars across the UK, specifically for users of access towers. Estate management and Collection maintenance are central to the smooth running of heritage sites and museums, and with a number of tasks carried out at height it's essential that staff are provided with appropriate safety training. To help, Access Tower Specialist Instant Planet is offering a series of free seminars addressing the implications of the new HSE Working at Height Regulations.

Falls from height and particularly from ladders, are responsible for the majority of accidents and serious injuries within the work place, with as many as 50 deaths and 4,000 injuries sustained across all industry sectors in a single year. Looking in detail at how to conduct

Hall Stage will host Swedish company Visual Act at next week's ABTT show in London. Visual Act will demonstrate its Advanced Wagon system, which allows for cable-free horizontal movement of any type of stage element. The wagons use a laser locational system to position loads of up to 600kg - to millimetre accuracy - without any tracks or guides on the stage.

Visual Act recently provided all the stage & flying automation equipment for the Eurovision Song Contest finals in Kiev. The staging for the event, one of the most advanced ever, included 46 separate moving components. VA control was used to create a range of stage configurations and dynamic scene changes during each act.

(Jim Evans)

UK - Following the Muziektheater in Amsterdam, The Royal Opera House in London is the second theatre of international fame that has replaced all current fly bars, as part of the complete theatrical installation, for an installation based on the ProTrac system from Prolyte.Prolyte distributor White Light brought the two parties together after they were informed that the Royal Opera House was looking for a new fly bar installation.

A regular fly-bar does not have the required strength if the uniformly distributed load needs to be upgraded from 300kg to 500kg and the point load from 40kg to 150/200 kg. Therefore, the single round tube is often replaced with ladder beams, usually made from steel. ProTrac offers a better alternative than these steel ladder beams, being specially designed to meet the demands from a modern theatrical environment and the CE compliance for lifting equipm

UK - Lifting, and rigging sales specialists Lift-Turn-Move launches its new Equipchaine electromechanical chain lifting device into the UK at ABTT 2005. The device has been specifically designed for theatrical applications. The Equipchaine is an electromechanical chain lifting device that has been specifically designed for theatrical applications. Each device consists of several modular elements connected together to suit the structural environment. Several chain drop positions are linked by the same drive mechanism that can be used to lift lighting bars, stage sets and curtains of various lengths.

Equipchaine is appreciated by theatre consultants and architects throughout Europe; it has been installed in a diverse range of over 130 theatres and multi purpose spaces. Existing applications range from single to 40-device projects. Using simplifies any structural problems, as it fi

UK - Stage Electrics is promoting new products from Prolyte, Apollo, Teclumen plus its own brand Encore at this week's ABTT show.

In March 2005 Stage Electrics was appointed UK distributor for Prolyte trussing, Stage Dex Staging and Prolyft chain hoists. Both Prolyte H30 and X30 trusses are light to medium duty and offer strength flexibility and compactness.

"The relationship with Prolyte has been a natural development for Stage Electrics. We have made a large investment in inventory but the wide range of products they offer and the quality of their manufacturing meant that it was an easy choice to make." said Adam Blaxill, head of purchasing at Stage Electrics.

Ed Gamble Business development manager Ed Gamble adds, "Customers have been extremely receptive to the Prolyte range, both the durability and the design features of the products make them intuitive to

UK - Theatre Royal Newcastle has been awarded training partner status with Stage Electrics. The award, say Stage Electrics, is in recognition of the Theatre Royal hosting and promoting industry specific training days to entertainment workers from all over the country.

In February this year the Theatre Royal hosted two days of intensive training workshops on behalf of Stage Electrics, which included courses on electricity at work and pyrotechnics safety awareness. As Brian Cleary, business development manager for Stage Electrics explains, support from organisations like the Theatre Royal is key to raising awareness across the industry of important health and safety issues. "We think it is very important to raise the standards within our industry and recognise the skills people have achieved."

He continues: "We have a wide range of courses on offer and it's great

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