General

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14 March 2016

1000 creative and cultural employers were asked to assess CCSkills and pinpoint areas for improvement. The survey showed there continues to be strong support for a Sector Skills Council specific to the creative and cultural sectors - with over 80% of employers endorsing CCSkills.

Two thirds of creative and cultural businesses highlighted that the creative and cultural industries have specific, specialist needs and training should be more specific to these needs.

The most commonly cited reason for the presence of CCSkills was the need for a strong 'independent voice'.

A strong majority recognise the impact CCSkills has had on skills development; 79% of organisations fe

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14 March 2016

Philip Norfolk of MA Lighting, which showed its new MA2 control surfaces, commented: "We've seen an excellent mix of students as well as serious clients, users and operators - a really broad spectrum of visitors. There have been good visitor numbers, high levels of interest and an excellent environment . . . and the time to spend with these people. Fo

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14 March 2016

Designed to allow long distance transmission of digital audio signals through 75Ω coaxial cables, the transformers are made using rugged but compact metal housings and are available with male or female three-pole XLR connectors to BNC receptacles.

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

The Abu Dhabi home-grown company fought off competition from a number of global event companies, to win two of the evening's most prestigious awards: Best Fair/Festival/Concert category for the George Michael and Alicia Keys Live in Abu Dhabi concert held in December last year, in addition to the Best Sporting Event for the Capital World Tennis Championship, Abu Dhabi's first international tennis tournament held in January this year.

The two Middle East Event Awards wins come in addition to a recent slew of awards Flash celebrated winning including the Event Organizer of the Year title from Sound and Stage Magazine Middle East. In addition, the company's New Years Eve spectacular Shakira Live in Abu Dhabi won the Favouri

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14 March 2016

After Margaret Thatcher abolished the GLC, Livingstone went on to become an MP for the Labour Party. In 1999, he stood for nomination as the Labour Party candidate in the London mayoral elections, but despite popular support, the Blairite Frank Dobson was selected. Not one to take things lying down, Livingstone chose to stand as an independent candidate and, as a consequence, was expelled from the Labour Party in 2000. However, he bea

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14 March 2016

Culture Secretary Andy Burnham said they were located in deprived areas that had few other youth facilities. "These fully-equipped spaces will make a big difference for young people who are looking for somewhere to practise, spend time and find an outlet for their creative skills," he said.

The scheme is being co-ordinated by fo

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14 March 2016

Ron Bonner says: "There will be some top quality equipment and expertise on show with Steve Williams of Nippy Industries providing the stage, Martin Hawthorn of Hawthorn Theatrical promising the vast array of Clay Paky lighting and Brian Grant agreeing to provide a top-spec PA from Britannia Row. Ric Salzedo at Avolites is agai

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14 March 2016

Between 5,000 and 10,000 workers, including lighting technicians, stage constructors and video and sound specialists, will be asked to complete a training course to gain their safety passport.

The training course is one of several introduced into many business sectors by Safety Pass Alliance (SPA), based in Southam, Warwickshire.

Tim Roberts, health and safety co-ordinator for the Festival, said: "We are keen to promote a pro-active safety culture for the Festival, and we feel the SPA safety passport is an appropriate health and safety qualification for contractors and their employees working at the Festival site.

"We have run trial courses for about 200 core staff, and now we are gearing up to deliver the

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14 March 2016

Individuals must meet eligibility requirements to take the exams and applications must be turned in to the ETCP office for approval. Once a candidate is approved, he or she will receive a letter with information on scheduling the exam. The eligibility requirements, candidate handbook and application materials can be found at http://etcp.esta.org.

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

UEFA announced that the dates for the Champions League schedule last December. Because 2010 is also a World Cup year, the Champions League final will not be moved to a later date. It is therefore most likely that the E

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14 March 2016

"The Middle Eastern market has been expanding exponentially in the past few years," explains Goboland managing director, Ivo Dielen. "The volume of business this has created for us has necessitated the opening of a branch 'on the ground', so to speak, so we can bring a more customer-facing service to our new clients here in the Middle East.

"The projection of gobo images onto the exterior of buildings is a powerful advertising tool which has become a tour de force here. The number of projects and advertising ventures which incorporate gobo projection has seen t

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14 March 2016

Riggs has many years experience in the conference and events market, having worked for many of the major players in the industry. "We only supply and recommend experienced and reliable staff and everyone on our database is vetted to ensure they meet our strict criteria," he says.

"We also provide clients with freelancers C.V.'s and PL insurance. We do not charge freelance staff to find them opportunities but do invoice a small fee to production companies to cover our costs."

Skills covered by the service include: general audio visual technicians, specialists in video and audio, lighting technicians and designers, cameramen, video editors, project and p

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14 March 2016

Melody Development's chief technician Chen Ziqian usually conducts the seminars, held by turns in the different provinces of China. The recent workshop took place in March at Jinan Shandong province. Chen Ziqian presented the HK Audio product range to 120 attendees, focusing especially on the HK Audio Contour Array system and the HK Audio P:RO series. The presentation's highlight was a live demo of the systems and individual cabinets' audio performance that left quite an impression on the audience.

Melody Development is very satisfied with the results of the worksho

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14 March 2016

This award is presented to an outstanding firm in East Tennessee that has clearly shown leadership, innovation and quality. Past winners include Scripps Networks and Pilot Travel Centers.

Chairman Michael T. Strickland said, "All of us at Bandit Lites are humbled by such an honour and promise to continue to earn the accolade. We are truly blessed to have the great opportunities we have and will continue to be a business that everyone can have pride in."

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

Rod Stewart, who started busking in Paris, told the BBC: "You don't have to be a great singer or the best musician, you just have to entertain people." Stewart, who has survived thyroid cancer and will attend the launch but not perform, said: "Busking is what music is all about - just getting out there and singing or playing for the sheer joy of it. And if you can earn a few quid for Cancer Research UK - a few quid that might just help to save someone's life - what could be better?"

Busking Cancer began in 2007

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14 March 2016

The new unit has meant that all the storage and customer areas have been re-arranged so that they now have a demonstration area for their Aquagraphics water screen where it can be viewed by potential clients, together with storage and a demonstration area for the new high voltage special effects equipment.

There are also larger storage and maintenance areas for the ranges of confetti and special effects equipment enabling them to carry an increased stock holding. All contact details remain the same.

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

Blast on Tour is a programme of workshops and activities supporting the development of creative skills in 13 to 19-year-olds which takes place in and around the BBC Blast Truck and performance marquee 'village' which is established at each new site.

The flightcase project included a selection of standard and custom cases from 5 Star to cover a number of areas in the whole physical Blast On Tour set up, including the first-point-of-contact registration and reception area.

"We needed a special set of cases for this," explains Tony Kavanagh, operations manager for Blast On Tour. "They needed to look good and accommodate all the necessary equipment, tools and mater

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14 March 2016

The award-winning hit show is based on a poignant book by Michael Morpurgo and has reopened to resounding success. The book was inspired by a conversation with a First World War veteran in Morpurgo's home village in Devon, and relates the extraordinary journeys of Joey, a horse sold to the cavalry, and his inconsolable young owner, Albert, who sets outs on a mission to rescue his much-loved animal companion from the trenches and killing fields of war-torn France.

War Horse was designed with the drum revolve stage in the Oliver Theatre at the National in mind; however, when the production moved to the New London Theatre, different stage dimensions and dynamics had to

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14 March 2016

Rosco and GobosFactory have united their efforts and resources and, combined with its existing market share for custom gobos in France, this acquisition now gives Rosco a solid position in the French gobo-market.

GobosFactory are the French market leaders for custom gobos. Their manufacturing capabilities will now be expanded with Rosco's worldwide production processes. With the high demands of the live events- and television market, Rosco/GobosFactory are well equipped to meet these high-quality demands and significantly reduce delays f

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14 March 2016

Edwards began as a service technician for installation company Design Intervention in 2000. In 2002 he joined VLPS (PRG Lighting) at Greenford and went on to serve as a senior Vari-Lite technician working on site across the UK, Europe and the Middle East. His experience has included theatre, corporate events, television and concert touring, with highlights including the MTV Europe Awards, The Brits, The Baftas, Live Earth, The Royal Variety Performance and most recently the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow.

At Panalux, Edwards will be project managing a wide range of shows for the Broadcast & Event Division's growing portfolio of clients including studio-based and outside broa

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14 March 2016

A multi-room operation, O2 Academy Birmingham will have an overall building capacity of 3,859. The three venues can operate independently as well as simultaneously and will feature "state of the art in-house production". The main auditorium has a capacity of 3,009 and artists already confirmed to play this autumn include Bloc Party, The Maccabees and Dizzee Rascal.

Commenting on progress to date, AMG operations director Richard Maides say

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14 March 2016

"Point Source Productions has always serviced its own hire equipment and, in the past, we have serviced our customers' equipment on a more or less ad hoc basis, fitted in around our existing work schedules," says hire manager, Ian King. "But a large increase in demand over the past year has shown us there is a distinct need for a dedicated service department."

Equipment servicing can take place either at the client's own premises or those of Point Source Productions and can be tailor made to suit each customer.

"Many schools, for example, have their annual Portable Appliance Testing done by electricians who have little knowledge of theatre equipment,&

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14 March 2016

The new site has video content, showing the PSCo technical team in action as well as details of the company's upcoming showcase events, product information for the 108" Sharp LCD, Orion Infinite Plasma and Samsung large format display range and an area to contact the training team directly for details of upcoming courses.

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

Scenic designer Douglas Schmidt has created an elegant stage waiting to be brought to life by dancing snowflakes, while colleague Beowulf Boritt's card is a challenge for theatre lovers, filled with props to identify from some of the many shows he has designed.

Photographer Andrew Hefter is back for a third year with a card featuring the ghostlight as a beacon of hope against a brilliant night sky. Tim Hunter Design has used a large canvas with the Behind the Scenes ghostlight to remind us that the holidays are the time to care for each other and for those less fortunate.

There are several ordering options. Meeting the minimum order of 250 cards, you can personalise your card with a company logo and a