Rigging / Staging

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14 March 2016

With the show a year on since its redesign, the one-floor, two-hall layout has been refined and expanded to allow for new and returning exhibitors, say organisers PLASA Events Ltd.

And with new products topping the 'wish list' of the majority of visitors, there's no doubt that PLASA08 will definitely deliver, according to show director Nicola Rowland. "There's a real buzz building around the wide range of technologies and expertise on offer at the show and how these can be applied across the industry. It's a unique chance to see how projects are being delivered, how lighting, sound and AV systems are bei

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14 March 2016

The Main Stage consisted of one of Serious's 15.6m, four-arch Supernovas - their new steel framed heavy load bearing structure launched earlier in the year. The Supernova offered 16m of stage depth, a trim height of 11m and six tonnes of weight loading per arch for sound, lighting and video production.

Serious also supplied all the stage decking for this, plus two 3.6 x 2.4m 'cowshed' extensions stage left and right, to house monitors and dimmer areas. They built 12m high satellite P

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14 March 2016

"Our staff was given a comprehensive briefing, so they knew what to be aware of and how any occurrence should be handled," explains AP's national sales manager, and head of security for the event, John Phillips. "We had a highly experienced management team on site and with the implementation of certain road closures in the area, the entrances to which were manned by our staff, the likelihood of unwanted factions gaining entry was immediately limited so the public could

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14 March 2016

The expanded thirteenth V Festival sold out in hours and the public encountered a new look site, with five stages and a new main stage arena featuring headliners Muse and The Verve. Promoters Maztec worked with production management Nine Yards to reconfigure the event and accommodate the additional 10,000 fans.

Power Logistics has supplied the event since the company started, but this year Project Manager Dave Oxley worked particularly closely with production manager Claire Sampson planning the site months in advance to ensure the increased power requirements were met in all of the new areas.

Oxley managed a team of 14 staff who over the two week build period installed a huge temporary power infrast

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14 March 2016

The Guardian controller range has been extended and six of these units will be displayed. A briefcase controller has been developed for direct control hoists with 4 or 8 channels. Local controls are fitted into the brief case and an optional pendant with Go and Emergency Stop is also available.

LTM have manufactured motor/ hoist controllers for many years, constructing systems for both direct control and low voltage controlled hoists. The Guardian controller range has steadily grown from the first simple 4 channel units to incor

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14 March 2016

Promoter Coz We Can enlisted the services of AP Security for the event. "Since first working with AP four years ago, we have built an excellent relationship," says Coz We Can's Dave Suter. "I get on very well with AP's national sales manager John Phillips and that good relationship is mutual between the companies - our staff works very well with theirs and vice versa.

"Most importantly, their approach to health and safety dovetails very neatly with ours and we have complete trust in each other."

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

As well as the seating, Arena Seating supplied a 24m wide public staircase, 20m long, and provided the main big screen scaffolding support.

Arena Seating's project manager Martin Clark was responsible for a build which saw over 10,000 plastic tiered tip-up seats installed next-door to the O2 Arena (5,169 in the Coach Park and 4,974 in the Car Park, with an additional 50 wheelchair positions). A further 9,226 seats were built at Peruvian Wharf on the opposite bank; in all a temporary venue of nearly 20,000 capacity was installed for spectat

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14 March 2016

FogScreen is offering AV Rental companies a special incentive to purchase the FogScreen One projection screen. The PLASA 08 show offer is a 2 x One projection screen at a reduced cost, together with Partner Program Gold membership in a chosen territory. For integrators, FogScreen One is especially interesting since it enables the creation of l

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14 March 2016

TRP were commissioned by the Kylie tour management to provide all the flying effects for the show which sees three different sections of performer flying and a six-screen LED back wall. TRP provided a 14 winch system to automate all the moving pieces which was specifically designed for this high demanding European tour.

Kylie herself flies in twice during the show, the automated screens parting to reveal her descending onto the stage on huge flying set pieces. With a complex rig of both static and tracking systems the whole solution completed a mammoth 33 venues in just over 3 months.

Gavin Weatherall, director of The Rigging Partnership comments: "

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14 March 2016

Managing Director of The Q2Q Group Koen van Geene stated that he was" thrilled to be able to take on the sole UK distribution rights for such innovative and modern products".

Eurotruss is one of the leading suppliers of aluminium truss systems on the international market. It offers a wide range of aluminium truss systems Both Eurotruss and Q2Q will be present PLASA 08.

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

Libra comes in the form of a Crosby shackle with a load sensing pin. Currently 3.25 tonne and 4.5 tonne versions are offered, both with a 5:1 safety factor. A Libra loadcell can either be connected directly to a Kinesys Elevation 1+ giving feedback about the motor being controlled by the Elevation, or daisy-chained together with other Libras and connected to an interface unit positioned on the floor.

A PC is connected to the interface via USB or Ethernet, and all the loads can be clearly viewed onscreen using Libra's free software. The software package also contains numerous other features including the logging of weights, warning and overload settings for both underload and overload, multiple grouping options and the

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14 March 2016

Totalling nearly 200 drapes of varying sizes, it's the Sowerby Bridge based company's largest single contract to date, with the work being delivered in four phases.

J&C Joel project manager Tony Griffiths, worked closely with ACCL production manager Gail Wroth to design curtain requirements for the various areas.

In the main 10,000 capacity Arena itself, the space needed to be turned into a variety of flexible formats including a complete 'black box', the traditional end-on stage D-shape format, in-the-round and sub-divided as a series of individual smaller performance spaces - all with curtains.

The main c

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14 March 2016

MRL Productions will specialise in providing a complete sound, lighting, video and staging technical service to the corporate event, theatre, fashion show and concert sector.

Their biggest contract to date has been with Great Leighs, the first new racecourse that has been set up in the last 80 years.

John Holmes' new venture - situated between Braintree and Chelmsford - hosts night racing as well as a large number of corporate functions for which MRL has been providing sound and lighting. This includes the opening night when Alexander O'Neal performed in front of an audience of 600.

The company has already developed a cutting-edge hire fleet. This

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14 March 2016

Once a year the little town of Towersey in Oxfordshire, with a population of 400, becomes engulfed with festival-goers, keen to soak up the five-day festival's atmosphere. Towersey is now in its 44th year, and has again attracted the cream of folk and acoustic music artists including The Commitments, who opened the show during the August Bank Holiday weekend. The festival also includes a showground, a wide range of trade stalls and catering venues. Daily visitors to this year's festival topped 2,500, with a further 3,500 choosing to camp.

Stage Electrics has been heavily involved with the festival for 15 years, and is also a main sponsor. Steve Heap, director of the festival comments: &q

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14 March 2016

Part of the festival included a giant screen installed at the foot of Nelson's Column, which played scenes from the Beijing Olympics. The screen showed everything from the opening ceremony in Beijing to the closing ceremony, and the handover to London and captured all of Team GB's successes. The festival had plenty of Chinese inspired performances to accompany the Olympic theme with acts and performances from the Flying Dragon Circus and the Yellow Earth Theatre. Many of the artists taking part in the festival used digital imagery and art as part of their act.

Stage Electrics worked

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14 March 2016

The newly formed Harlequin Asia Limited, a subsidiary of British Harlequin, is based in Sheung Wan, Hong Kong.

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

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14 March 2016

Adrian Brooks, managing director of Litestructures, said, "I am delighted to announce the contractual completion of the deal with Impact Products, which we expect to be worth well in excess of £10 million over the next few years. Impact has a complete infrastructure in place to fully serve our mutual customers and we look forward to a highly successful partnership."

Impact offers Litestructures' products with immediate availability from stock in its Northampton base, supported by a national network of trade counters as well as fully automated on-line purchasing platforms on its webshop.

Litestructures is known for its wide selection of lightweight yet st

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14 March 2016

Tour News - With a canon of classic songs, unbowed enthusiasm and his musical faculties still sharp, Stevie Wonder has opened his first European tour for a decade. The US star took fans at Birmingham's National Indoor Arena on a two-hour journey through almost 50 years of songs that helped shape soul and pop. A sold-out crowd of 13,500 saw him play with a 10-strong band and four backing singers, including his daughter Aisha. Wonder, 58, now visits Manchester and London before other European cities.Festival News - Amy Winehouse has played her last scheduled show of the year

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14 March 2016

Currently, even the most sophisticated automation systems struggle to match the superior dexterity and subtlety offered by a manual flying system. However, as the use of manual flying systems is not practical, theatrical flying tends to be managed by large arrays of automated systems, costing Producers and Directors dearly in terms not only of programming and rehearsal time, but also in terms of artistry. Qtrack provides the answer, say Stage One.

Providing complete freedom of move

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14 March 2016

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

Alan Thomson, a leading figure in the industry and formerly a director of PRG Europe, has joined Unusual to manage this new venture.

Alan brings over 30 years of experience in the provision of technical solutions within the entertainment industry and will be a valuable asset to Unusual.

Alan Jacobi, managing director of Unusual confirmed: "This is a major investment for the company. There is no doubt that the market in the Middle East continues to grow with an increasing demand for proven expertise in temporary and permanent rigging installation projects.

"Unusual Dubai will replicate

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14 March 2016

This year's distributor award was received by Xaxier Drouet of Axente, while the award for special contribution went to Jan Siemons of Relight.

According to Fokko Smeding, Axente won the Award due to "their long-term and non-relenting promotion of the Prolyte products in France". Axente has been Prolyte distributor for almost 15 years and has grown steadily over those years.

Jan Siemons of Relight received the award for special contribution for his dedication to the Prolyft products and critical and in-depth product testing and reviews.

Displaying three new products at the show, the rotating stage, the mammoth truss and the Stage DEX support frame for multi-level stages, Prolyte reports much interest from visitors.

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

The Serious team of 18 was led by Steve McConnell and it took approximately five days to erect the various structures.

The main Open Air Stage comprised a three-bay version of one of Serious's new Supernova roofs - also featured at Glastonbury, Latitude and other festivals this summer. This version of the Supernova offered 22m x 14.4m of stage space. It was customised with an 18m Orbit D-End built on to the back and utilised as a 9m changeover area.

The back area of the stage was joined to the main roof by an interconnecting sheet, and the entire structure was covered in white skins, matching the vibe