Rigging / Staging

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14 March 2016

The doors - positioned stage left and stage right - each measure 7.73m high by 6m wide and open and close to allow set trucks with giant heads of the singer to enter and exit the stage.

Kinesys was contacted by the tour's set technical manager Nick Evans and head rigger Jerry Hough and asked to come up with a neat and safe automation solution for quickly opening and closing the doors - that had been mechanically engineered by Tait.

The particular challenge with operating these doors is they are required to tilt back 6 degrees before raising 7m to fully open.

The mechanics of the system were designed and engineered by Tait's Pieter Denijs and Jerry Hough and features a

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14 March 2016

"Taking on the distribution of the German Movecat maintains Jands philosophy of only representing premium world class products," said Paul Mulholland, Jands managing director. "Germany is renowned for making the best mechanical products in the world and Movecat maintain this tradition and arguably provide the best designed and manufactured chain motor in the industry."

"The integrity of the company, the quality of the product, and its value for money and ease of use will excite the market," said Peter Grisard, Jands national manager - projects.

Jands Staging recently supplied 32 500kg Movecat chain hoists for the ANZ stadium in Sydney.

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

Julian Chiverton, sales director, said, "At Doughty we constantly look to improve our methods of manufacture. This investment enables us to engrave higher quality details and logos on our clamps and provide a custom service free of charge in the process."

He added: "Safety is a number one priority at Doughty and our products have always carried the date of manufacture for traceability, safe working load (SWL), TÜV where applicable and the Doughty logo. With the laser engraver these details are clearer and more visible than ever bef

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14 March 2016

"Local One is very excited and proud of our success in the great number of our members who have been certified as ETCP Technicians over the last couple of years," said Local One I.A.T.S.E. president James J. Claffey, Jr. "We believe that this achievement demonstrates our commitment to educating and training our members to provide the best service possible to our many employers, as well as enforcing, enhancing and protecting the traditional jurisdiction of Local One."

Claffey added, "Congratula

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14 March 2016

SHoW Baby 5 now has five SHoW IDs, allowing systems to be scaled up to multi universe broadcasts by using more than one transmitter, or as a way of avoiding interference from other SHoW Babys in the area.

SHoW Baby 5 is still plug and play. Each unit is a transceiver and by plugging a DMX cable IN, it automatically selects itself to be a Transmitter. If nothing is plugged into the DMX IN port, it selects itself to be a receiver.

SHoW Baby 5 is the same price as the original SHoW Baby and is compatible with all existing SHoW Babys in the world.

There are still seven indicator lights on the front of the SHoW Baby, four for signal strength, one to designate whether it is a transmitter, one to designate whether it is a receiver, and a data present light. In th

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14 March 2016

The Astera range features handheld LED controllers for all types of user, from the simple infra-red controller (ARC1) with limited features to the more advanced radio frequency controller (ARC2) with a greater range and extensive control. The AsteraTouch improves the current range with its visibility and enhanced usability. Due to the seven-inch, 1024x600-pixel captive touchscreen, the often complex Astera control system is simplified into easy stages, but more importantly, it still maintains the comprehensive control and customizabilit

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14 March 2016

Brilliant Stages' general manager, Tony Bowern was tasked by the tour's production manager, Wob Roberts, to oversee the design, construction and delivery of elements including a series of replicas of Robbie Williams' head, on-stage tracking solutions, a multi-tiered main stage with protective roofette and a curved header topping the massive back wall.

In collaboration with a number of key partners, including fellow Prolyte Group subsidiary Prolyte UK, Brilliant delivered an exceptionally conceived and constructed product to the specifications of artistic designer Willie Williams and the late stage architect Mark Fisher.

"Tony transformed our requirements into an enormous construction schedule which co-ordinated t

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14 March 2016

Contracted by Production Resource Group, L.L.C., (PRG), Stage Technologies teams in the UK, the US and Australia worked closely with Global Creature Technology to supply the automation system which controls the eponymous ape. The automation package includes over 12 tonnes of steelwork, motors, winches, and cable management systems, which give the Kong puppet its sweeping movements; enable it to lift and rotate; and allow it to travel up, down and across the stage. The on-board winches control the height and rotation of the body, and allow Kong to fly in, leap, gallop, stand, etc.

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14 March 2016

Multiple iPads can be set up by an admin user to give numerous musicians personalised monitor control without affecting each other or the FoH main mix. A musician's own aux monitor mix is assigned and locked into the 'My Mix' layer, and a selection of input splits dedicated to the individual musician can be added. Similarly, all other instrument send levels can be assigned to any of the three extra layers, allowing unique personal monitoring configuration. The range of accessible settings is defined by custom permissions for each layer.

When in User mode, the musician is presented with simple-to-use access and control of their aux m

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14 March 2016

The 52 students currently taking the second annual degree course (validated by The University of Bolton) at the Wakefield training centre enjoyed training sessions, masterclasses and hands-on product demonstrations by leading companies and personnel during their month-long Staging Module.

General manager of Brilliant Stages, Tony Bowern, did his first ever educational talk. He explained: "I discussed the processes that we use to convert designers' dreams into reality involving project management, engineering, design, procurement and manufacturing. I feel it is important to pass on my knowledge of stage set building so it can give the Academy students a clear insight into what is req

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14 March 2016

The success of the projects shows that Black Light has the expertise to be involved in ground-breaking projects involving key decision makers in both government and education.

"The projects have been a great success and the schools are delighted with the equipment we installed," says Black Light's head of company development, Phil Haldane. Haldane explains that one of the key reasons for the project's success was that Black Light met with the end-users early on in the process. "We re-specified certain elements of the project in light of the feed

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14 March 2016

Staged in the MediaCityUK Piazza, the series of events are planned around the summer's major sporting events, and recently featured the Women's European Football Championships. A comprehensive technical solution was provided by the Blitz team, featuring all-weather staging and audio systems, and IP rated power distribution for the entire site to cover every eventuality. Video support included a miniature HD outside broadcast system, enabling relay of VT, off-air and live camera images to MediaCity's big screen.

John Crompton, project manager for Blitz Manchester, commented, "Delivering the perfect solution required careful consultation with all parties involved, including the FA and the

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14 March 2016

Arctic Monkeys, Dizzee Rascal, HURTS and Chase & Status all performed headline shows with production support from the stage & set, equipment rental and studio complex based in Wakefield, West Yorkshire.

The rental company welcomed Glastonbury's Friday night headliners Arctic Monkeys to the 17,664 sq.ft rehearsal studio for six days full pre-production in June where the band and crew made use of the 14 en-suite bedrooms on site to work round the clock.

Production manager Ian Calder oversaw the production build, which incorporated two huge letters 'A' and 'M' clad in LED lighting on stage, to represent the band's name, part of a show that frontman Alex Turner later hailed as "one of the best gigs we've ever done".

LS-Live was

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14 March 2016

"The increased breadth and depth of the company will provide clients with an extensive palette of cutting edge technologies, which will include eChameleon, Navigator, F:Light, Sculptor toolkit for 3ds Max, plus a comprehensive range of winches and staging solutions for concert touring, theatre, corporate events, film and television and permanent installations.&qu

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14 March 2016

Originally a lyric theatre, and long term home to the Royal Shakespeare Company, the theatre is now called upon to host a far greater range of international touring productions as well as its own in-house productions. As such the entire flying grid and system needed replacing to keep up with the growing demands placed upon the theatre's technical team.

Ashley Pickles, theatre technical manager (systems and maintenance) at the Barbican Theatre said, "This is a major project for us, removing not just the existing flying grid and system but also some of the gallery and proscenium bridge structures in order to expand the width of the stage and gen

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14 March 2016

Alongside the awards dedicated to extraordinary individuals, four companies and three theatres will go head-to-head for the two company-based awards that are up for grabs: the Hire Company of the Year Award, and the 'Spotlight Accounting' Receiving Venue of the Year Award.

An additional award is dedicated to the theatre that has demonstrated the most effective awareness of venue sustainability and will be chosen and presented by leading industry specialists, :entertaining sustainability.

Voting is open to all members of the theatre industry and organisers are promoting each of the nominee's on the TTA websit

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14 March 2016

The stock includes the entire range of equipment previously available from Aliscaff Ltd who traded as Alistage.

The new company opened for business at the start of July and will be offering a newer streamlined service, with competitive pricing, as well as an option for full technical production support along with Centre Stage who currently operate within the live sound and lighting hire sectors.

Alistage Ltd can be contacted on 01279 406 270 or by email at sales@alistage.co.uk

(Claire Beeson)

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14 March 2016

The Martin Jem Ready 365 Hazer uses advanced water-based fluid, which gives a comparable performance to industry-standard oils, producing the ultimate transparent haze, suitable for concerts, events, TV studios, theaters, clubs, cruise ships, theme parks and more.

The Jem Ready 365 Hazer houses advanced technology, including automatic shutdown with battery backup to prevent clogging and running out of gas by producing limited haze, even if gas pressure is lost. This allows the user to exchange the gas cylinder quickly without loss of effect. The Jem Ready is gas-efficient, sipping small amount of fluid per use and leaves no residue or smell.

The easy-to-use, plug and play system requires minimal setup time, runs nearly silent and

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14 March 2016

Using the LoadGuard brand of chain hoists, participants had the chance to strip down a machine to its separate component parts before rebuilding it and operating the hoist successfully. Going through that process gave attendees the opportunity to review and build on their technical competencies. From general el

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14 March 2016

Segeren, who played a key role previously, when Le Maitre Special Effects was set up as the original distributor for the North American market 20 years ago, before the company began operating directly as Le Maitre USA LLC in 2011.

Having spent the past 12 years working for several top distribution companies in the entertainment industry, selling lighting, sound and fog equipment, most recently at Erikson Pro, Segeren has established himself as a successful industry specialist.

Commenting on his appointment Segeren says, "I am absolutely delighted to be re-joining Le Maitre. It is a world class manufacturing company; a leader in pyrotechnics, fog machines and paper effects. The company has a stellar reputation for innovative products, R&D and superior customer se

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14 March 2016

Now the substation has been converted into an events location and provides the setting for a wide variety of event productions with up to 1,600 guests. From meetings, conferences, parties and fashion shows to receptions and car presentations, any number of different types of event can be staged in the new location.

The venue was fitted with media equipment by Movecat partner Ambion, the installation featuring inter alia a total of 16 Movecat Plus-C 250-4 D8 Plus chain hoists with incremental encoders and the new LME load measuring eyelets in dual chainfall operation with safe working loads of 500 kg per drive.

The use of the fully integrat

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14 March 2016

Dream Sets was the chief technical supplier and an influential creative force on this production, commissioned by VL Productions to supply the full technical for the show, all except for the sound which was taken care by Audio Logic.

"You can create anything you want with the right people," said Robert Hoey from Dream Sets. Dream Sets subcontracted AV Unlimited to supply the video elements of the show including video mapping which played a massive part in this year's awards. MGG supplied additional lighting gear while LaserX worked their magic

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14 March 2016

The state-of-the-art 1,400 seat venue has been built to provide an alternative space whilst the main theatre building is redeveloped as part of the Chichester Festival Theatre 'RENEW' project.

The Theatre in the Park venue plays host to Cameron Mackintosh's Barnum. "This is a great project to be involved with" commented Entourage Live managing director Andy Bartlett. "It's key that we work with all parties and stakeholders on a project of this size. We're working with the tent and site designers, production management, company management and the show's producers.&quo

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14 March 2016

"The endorsement by venues of qualifications such as this will help to further improve competency and safety standards across the industry. The NRC is another step towards meeting the rigging industry's aspirations of consistently high levels of competence and safety," says Nicky Norman, senior production and technical manager, ACC Liverpool, home to BT Convention