Rigging / Staging

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14 March 2016

PowerAssist technology is new to the theatrical rigging industry in that it eliminates the need to rebalance counterweights on line sets. While counterweight/motor combinations have been available in several forms for many years, PowerAssist uses an innovative padded rope that fits into the existing head block, which works in combination with a roller chain and toothed sprocket to balance the weight of the batten, virtually eliminating the possibility of slippage or accidental release, says the company.

"In our 120-plus years in business, J. R. Clancy has developed many innovative products for the rigging industry - and all of them are designed with safety and security as our foremost priority," said Bob Theis, president of J. R. Clancy. "PowerAssist is

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14 March 2016

A Dataton Watchout system was used to provide the graphics animation and video overlays through to Lighthouse processor LIP-KX to the screen. Customers were thrilled about the quality of the 16mm panel, say Gearhouse.

With 5,000 nits brightness, high contrast ratio and 16mm pixel pitch, R16i/o-II panel is ideal for both indoor and outdoor applications, say Lighthouse.

(Lee Baldock)

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14 March 2016

The production, directed by Geraldine Connor and produced by David Lascelles features a cast of over 100 and commemorates the Bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade, drawing vividly on the colour and vibrancy of 'carnival' in Trinidad, Tobago and Leeds to deliver its powerful message.

Summit was asked onboard by Leeds-based production company TechSpec, headed by Graham Nixon, who are responsible for all-things technical. Nixon says, "I was researching the best options for sourcing the structure that we needed to stage the event - and all roads led to Summit."

Jay Call was Summit's project manager for the show

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14 March 2016

Although - unusually for 2007 - the weather managed to stay fine for the entire duration of the build, festival and load out, the site of this chilled-out event provided Star Events Group with a number of challenges.

Bestival takes place at Robin Hill Country Park, a well-known local tourist venue that nestles in a scenic valley, featuring woodland, lakes and winding paths. This year the event expanded to take in part of an adjacent farm, but a major concern for Star Events Group team of 12, led by Andrew 'Bomber' Phillips, was the undulating nature of the terrain.

"All the structures we built were on sloping sites. There wasn't one that was on flat ground," says project manager Phil Addyma

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14 March 2016

Audiomotion is a multi-award winning studio specialising in the provision of motion capture services to the game development, film and television industries. It has a string of high-profile production credits, including work on the Gladiator motion picture and Citroen C4 Alive with Technology TV commercial.

The company had been using a scaffold system to position 50 motion capture cameras in their 6,000sq.ft studio, but was looking for a more practical truss solution as they expanded into full performance capture for the next generation of high definition gaming, film and television content.

Audiomotion's Matt Rank comments: "In the studio, we're constantly changing the camera setups for different jobs, so having the Litec grid makes it m

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14 March 2016

A full size rink will showcase the battery powered Ice Bumper Cars and visitors to the company's stand will be able to experience the new family entertainment on ice. The responsive joystick controlled cars are suitable for drivers ages four and up. Cars can spin 360 degrees to go in all directions to pursue their targets, backwards and forwards and cannot be boxed into a corner. Ice Bumper Cars are exclusive to Stage Electrics in the UK and are available for rental or sales.

Part of the demonstration ice rink will be covered by one of Stage Electrics own Arc Roof structures in case of inclement weather.

Also previewing at the show will be the smartStage 45 and smartStand 122. The smartStage 45 is

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14 March 2016

Mike Murphy, Clancy executive vice president, said , "With the explosive growth of automated rigging and controls within our industry, and Damon's 25 years of theatrical and packaged hoist knowledge, we are thrilled to have Damon as a member of our team. Damon's commitment and enthusiasm align with Clancy's mission to 'Make our Partners Successful' by providing them with the proper tools and the support they need to understand the value and advantages of automation in schools and professional theatres."

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

University College of Dance is the only school of its kind for dance and neocircus in Sweden. It features a variety of courses and a lively atmosphere of challenge, innovation and experiment plus a meeting place for the arts, sciences, theories and concepts - old and new.

Right from the off, the project architects and theatre consultants agreed that a tensioned wire grid system above the full area of the theatre space was the safest and best way forward. They contacted Slingco as Europe's foremost designers and experts of this specialist technology.

Slingco received the enquiry from Dick Hasselblad of Tater-Konsult Hasselblad, who was wo

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14 March 2016

Hawthorn's managing director, Martin Hawthorn comments, "Rex Howard was an obvious choice to consolidate our position as a 'one-stop' technical solutions company. Following our acquisition of Core Creative back in March we now have a successful and established base in London and the purchase of Rex Howard allows us to build on that and further expand our London presence, as well as increasing our Drapes inventory."

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

Gavin Weatherall comments, "This new expansion within the broadcast industry sees TRP's Flywire division enter one of its most exciting times. Spidercam has an extremely impressive CV to date and we are very pleased to be the UK partners and given the bookings we have so far I am sure we are going to see further growth in this area of our services."

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

Located in a former Bryant and May match factory, the state-of-the-art 80 sq.m studio was designed to give each programme a distinctive look and feel. Stage One started by laying a laminated floor, which was inlaid with stainless steel strips, helping to separate the space into several distinct areas.

Centre studio, a seating area was constructed, comprising of a 4m diameter manual revolve upon which was sited four light boxes, two custom-built settees (in LFC red) and a Perspex and laminate central table.

In order to provide a variety of backgrounds for the various camera angles,

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14 March 2016

For the busy receiving house, operated by Live Nation for Sunderland City Council and subject to a £4.5 million refit in 2004, the new curtains were "the icing on the cake" according to technical manager Mel James. The last set of new front curtains was installed in 1972.

The project was managed by James Wheelwright with Neal Cartwright, sewing workroom manager, overseeing the manufacturing process and working painstakingly on the final design, including making two site visits to ensure every minute detail was correct. Neal also co-ordinated the physical installation.

Joel's brief was to bring the

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14 March 2016

The crane, originated by Hayes' show director/designer Willie Williams, is based on a real origami bird made by Hayes and was a major set centrepiece of the performance. It was built by Total Fabrications, who asked Fineline onboard to deal with automating its five moving parts - the head, beak, tail and wings.

The crane was cleverly disguised as part of the projection screen until the final quarter of the show when it was dramatically revealed - unfolding origami style - to its full measurements of 6.8m high and 8.2m wide with the wings open.

Fineline's Dave Harris worked closely with Total's Mervyn Thomas on the project. Charlie Kail was brought onboard by Williams as consul

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14 March 2016

ColorX was selected to cover a floating pontoon catwalk in Vienna's Amalienbad art deco swimming hall. The event was on behalf of the Foundation for Breast Health which presented a 'Pink Ribbon Night'. Every possible area of the Amalienbad was used for drama, music, dance and swimming performances. Fashion house Popp & Kretschmar used top international models to present exclusive designs from renowned Munich designer Ella Singh during a 15 minute fashion show.

"ColorX vinyl flooring is proving to be a fantastic new addition to our established range of television flooring," said Le Mark's managing director Stu

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14 March 2016

Barry Baker and his team will discuss the changing nature of health & safety for events, includingthe Control of Noise At Work Regulations 2005 which came into force in April last year and how it has impacted on live music events. The team will also cover Working At Height Regulations as well as future trends that will affect event organisers.

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

As part of its continuing efforts to expand and improve its workshop, Tomcat will offer two new and improved curriculums. The Hoist and Truss Workshop will include instruction on basic and advanced maintenance and troubleshooting techniques as well as basic and advanced instruction on truss design, usage and theory.

The Rigging Workshop will include basic and advanced instruction rigging practices and principles, fall protection as well as advanced instruction on truss design, usage and theory. Both courses will be offered during each of the 2008 sessions.

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

The rigging contract includes 85 manual counterweight sets with chain compensation; 12 automated variable speed point hoists with a top speed of 400 fpm; a J.R. Clancy Shamrock 2500 control system; a motorized house curtain running at 6 - 360 fpm; three speaker cluster winches and rigging; a motorized, steel-framed Zetex fire curtain; and a chain hoist and controls. J.R. Clancy will also supply adjustable acoustics

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14 March 2016

The Peppers, for example, took 21 500kg VarioLifts, eight 800kg VarioLifts and four VarioTrolleys with them on their latest world tour, whilst the Beastie Boys opted for six half-ton VarioLifts.

The musicals Wicked, The Elvis Story, Night Fever and We Will Rock You as well as the NHL All Star Game, the Juno Awards Presentation, the Canadian Country Music Awards and the East Cast Music Awards - not to forget the Tattoo Military Music Show - are other high-profile productions in which chai

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14 March 2016

Jenny Knott, product manager for Rosco Scenic Products who is an experienced scenic artist from the US will be leading the workshop. There will also be the chance for delegates to get their hands dirty with the coating products including the new CrystalGel.

The workshop will run from 10:30 to 17:00 and is free of charge. Sara Alarabi, training manager from Stage Electrics, comments: "We are very pleased to be hosting the workshop and encourage anyone interested to register to attend sooner rather than later, we have already had a good level of interest."

(Jim Evans)

Details

14 March 2016

The hoists - all three tonne Liftkets - are utilised to fly five separate rectangular acoustic roof panels, each suspended by 10 hoists. These each move individually with up to 4m of vertical travel, the idea being to create a fully flexible acoustic space offering the optimum sonic environment for a wide variety of performances - from choral and orchestral works to experimental and electronic.

Each panel weighs approximately 15 tonnes. The internal aluminium ceiling structure consists of a trussing grid designed to take a weight of up to 100 tonnes - including all the panels and motors.

Kinesys' Dave Wea

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14 March 2016

Alpha One of Germany will be showing their complete range of Falcon fixtures, including the new Falcon 6,000 Xenon unveiled recently at the PLASA Show.

FinnLight will introduce the Space Bag Accessory for the Toplight. This device ceates a "Space" type pattern overhead light. The Toplight and Space Bag Accessory are designed by Emmy Award-winning Director of Photography, Bruce Finn.

GDS' Blues System has been widely adopted as a solution for architectural lighting problems of all kinds. Blues' low-voltage, solid-state LED fittings are compact, low profile, durable and IP rated. They offer many mounting options,

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14 March 2016

The event, part of the London Games Festival, was produced by Live Nation, who called on Stageco to build a double stage, linked by a catwalk, two band roofs (previously used by Johnny Halliday and Bon Jovi) and two extensive screen support structures.

Live Nation's production director John Probyn felt that Stageco had performed an exemplary job under tough conditions. "Trafalgar Square is not the easiest place to stage an event," he says. &q

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14 March 2016

For the new Los Angeles venue, designed to be a hybrid of concert hall and 7,100-seat arena, it was imperative to be able to place lighting far over the audience area as can be achieved at an arena show. However the sloped floor under the raked seating, necessary for the concert hall usage, means that there wasn't any space to assemble a truss grid that could be flown.

Q1 Production Technologies worked with Paul Flanagan of AEG, the developers and operators of the venue, to develop a solution that comprised of a rolling rigging system utilizing Total Structures' catwalk truss.

Details

14 March 2016

"For some time we have been aware that there is a huge potential market for our automation services in Australia, Asia and across the whole of the Southern Hemisphere," said Jim Tinsley, technical director of Stage One. "As a consequence, we have spent a great deal of time researching this expanding market and we felt the time was right to set up a company dedicated to developing business in these geographical areas."

Qmotion Australia will be led by Greg Gowans, an experienced automation specialist. He was originally a client of Stage One when they worked together on the Melbourne