General

Details

14 March 2016

Originally planning to teach primary school mathematics, 'Tappy' (as he is affectionately known) was enticed to switch direction to the theatre, after a visit in 1996 to see Phantom of the Opera at Manchester's Opera House, and being bowled over by the technical wizardry.

He cut his teeth at the Middlesbrough Little Theatre, before joining Basildon Towngate Theatre as a general technician. Work quickly followed, including a Belgium ice show, Open Hand Theatre Company, Liverpool Everyman (chief technician) and a stint on Eclipse at Blackpool's Pleasure Beach.

A move to Stoke-on-Trent's Victoria Hall proved fruitful, when he was also offered the chief electrician's job at the city's newly opened Regent Theatre, where he remained for four years b

Details

14 March 2016

With HD broadcasting now common, Cover It Up has found that by exploiting the variances in the opacity of their fabric stock, draping and soft goods coverage can be maximized to provide more acutely defined edges, bringing greater depth to the set design, along with other production solutions.

Each textile has its own texture, light transmission and reflection quality which is much more noticeable with HD. Cover It Up's Elliot Sennett says, "We worked hard with the WWE production team to ensure that our grey and black wool serges work together. It's amazing how even a different

Details

14 March 2016

John Metcalfe, Isle of Wight Council's assistant director for economic development and tourism, told BBC News: "The festival is hugely important to the island, especially to Newport. We estimate it is worth at least £10m spent in the Newport shops, and that is just from people from off the island visiting for the festival. If we put on top of that the money spent by the organisers with island businesses and or

Details

14 March 2016

A key supplier over recent years, Hawthorn has now been awarded the contract to provide all of the in-house rigging service to Millbrook Events. The development continues the growth of Hawthorn's venue rigging service packages which offer a combination of design, support and full equipment testing to their clients.

At the same time Hawthorn will replace the existing truss in Concept 1 with a bespoke curved section following the shape of the building and the feature lighting throughout both Concept 1 and Concept 2 is currently being upgraded to LED fixtures. This will allow the structural elements of the buildings to be lit to suit the client's requirements without the cost and time involved in replacing gels.

Martin Neale, head of events and marketing at Millb

Details

14 March 2016

Goboland UK has introduced the 'Credit Crunch Custom Gobo'. For the next six months, customers can take advantage of this offer which aims to help with customers' production costs in this difficult economic climate. The 'Credit Crunch Gobo' is made from an alternative, non-coated, metal to the high grade Black Steel of Goboland's existing gobos. It is easier to etch and retails at £27.00 for the first gobo with copies at £6.00 each.

"The idea has been met with great enthusiasm," says Goboland UK director, Vicky Fairall. "Customers appreciate the additional option to our Black Steel custom gobos and see it as an extra facet to their - and our - production capabil

Details

14 March 2016

Creative & Cultural Skills feels that there is an urgent need to align this with the existing government targets for Apprenticeships, and this now looks possible, with subsidy available to support wages through the Future Jobs Fund, and the Learning and Skills Council continuing to support the cost of training. Creative & Cultural

Details

14 March 2016

The company announcement says: "Litestructures Live is a unique, one-stop-shop facility, unifying three previously distinct areas of operation, Hire, Stage and Set, and Litestructures Studios, merging them into a single, powerful entity. Add into the mix on-site custom design and manufacture and you have the most capable, flexible, experienced and user-friendly force in the concert, touring and events marketplace. In short, Litestructures Live is a division formed by fusion."

The launch took place at Gibson Guitars showroom in London. After a speech and introduction from Julia Jones, Litestructures' consultant in the south, the evening kicked off with musical entertainment provided by Scottish band Our Lunar Act

Details

14 March 2016

Showsec has secured the festival since it's inception in 2003, this year supplying over 600 trained and licensed staff. They ensured the safety and enjoyment of 75,000 rock fans through three nights of music from the leading rock acts, headlined including Faith No More, Slipknot and Def Leppard.

Showsec operations director Simon Battersbsy commented: "The new site brought new challenges, but was a better site for the crowd and for us to work on. Download attracts really keen music fans who like any festival want to move from stage to stage to enjoy the music. Our aim is to facilitate this with ease of movement and minimal stress. The new site engendered itself to this festival: it pro

Details

14 March 2016

Details

14 March 2016

The backdrops come in various sizes ranging from 10ft x 12ft right up to 40ft x 20ft. They have tie tapes and can also be suspended from our free standing pipe and base support system, offering lots of flexibility in hanging to suit every venue.

Themes include: Olympics, Underwater, Circus, Forest, Carnival, Nautical, Pirate, Motor Racing, Football, Tennis, the Jungle, Christmas/Winter Wonderland, 60's, 70's, 80's, plus topics such as Venice, Egypt, Paris, Rio and Africa.

Hawthorn's new battery powered LED up lighters are suitable for lighting the backdrops without the need for cables or power as they are self contained and last for up to 10 hours, offerin

Details

14 March 2016

"It¹s great to be joining an organisation with such a strong reputation for service and innovation, and with a 30 year history of successfully meeting the needs of audio and broadcast professionals," says Parr.

As media organisations continue to decentralise their operations away from the capital, Parr will be located in the Midlands part of an ongoing commitment by HHB to better serve its customers in the provinces.

"It¹s always been important for us to meet with our customers on site, and basing Adam in the Midlands makes HHB much more accessible to broadcast, post and recording facilities in Birmingham, Manchester and beyond," states HHB sales director Steve Angel. "We feel confident that our r

Details

14 March 2016

Under the new agreement, LynTec and SurgeX will now be cross-pollinating their software and hardware engineering departments with the goal of delivering improved solutions for professional applications.

LynTec president Mark Bishop said, "Our customers have been asking for integrated power control and electrical protection systems, and there is no one we'd rather bring these solutions to the table with than SurgeX. The combination of our respective technologies will set the standard for professional A/V system power platforms moving forward."

Michael McCook, SurgeX founder and new business development consultant, added, "These two innovative companies have come together to collaborate on the most critical aspect o

Details

14 March 2016

With detailed information and photos for every model of each product, the redesigned site should make it easier for customers to find exactly what they need, said Wybron president Keny Whitright.

"We're really passionate about colour here at Wybron, so it makes sense for our Web site to reflect that, with lots of colourful photos and graphics," Whitright said.

The redesigned site also offers some new features, including an online chat programme that allows customers to connect instantly with a Wybron customer service representative.

The site also will soon feature tutorials for Wybron's products, giving a detailed look at how to use each one - something that should prove beneficial for lighting novices and experts alike, says the company.

(Jim Evans)

Details

14 March 2016

Subscription based, eSET's searchable database provides the user with the terminology they need to understand and to be understood wherever their work takes them. In addition to the terminology, assessments for each discipline are provided as well as the means to create your own resources for learning and teaching.

For industry professionals, it is a quick reference for new (or very old) terms. For teachers and students eSET is an additional text that clearly defines what is important to teach and to learn and, with

Details

14 March 2016

Chief executive, Steve Porter, said: "Michael Jackson was an iconic figure in the music industry, a global inspiration to songwriters and performers everywhere as well as the ultimate showman himself. He leaves a gaping hole in the music world."

Tributes can be sent via www.prsformusic.com/michaeljackson(Jim Evans)

Details

14 March 2016

At the launch, Mark Ager said a few words to thank all the contributors and those who had helped to make the book a reality: "This book has been part of a focus to help educate the market about automation and its uses and possibilities. Although John [Hastie] and I are credited as the authors, this book has been a collaborative effort by a whole host of people, both inside and outside Stage Technologies. So much of the knowledge contained within is the distilled wisdom of colleagues

Details

14 March 2016

On August 8th in a field in Horam, East Sussex, Gary Moore will top the bill, supported by Mo Foster and local legend Ray Russell. There will also be a special guest appearance by Geno Washington of The Ram Jam Band fame and Chris Difford from Squeeze.

Vibes from the Vines '09 follows the first hugely successful festival in 2006, when organizers raised an impressive £32,000 for Cancer Research UK. This year, with a much bigger show and substantially improved production facilities organizers will be loo

Details

14 March 2016

Part of Production Resource Group (PRG) since October 2008, Essential Lighting works within the corporate, exhibition, live event and hospitality sectors, providing lighting and Scenic LED equipment, digital media and visualisation services. The company has three divisions serving the production industry and lighting designers as well as other lighting companies through a dedicated dry hire team.

As part of the restructuring of PRG UK's management earlier this year, Martin Locket moved from his role as managing director of Essential to become group CEO. He commented: "Martin Lubach has bee

Details

14 March 2016

Production Resource Group UK's CEO, Martin Locket, added: "David brings considerable skills and experience to lead the team at PRG Distribution. He will be developing and expanding the opportunities for the business as we build on the success of the brands we sell".

PRG Distribution is the European master distributor for Vari*Lite automated lighting fixtures, and also distributes products from Lycian, Pathway and Seachanger, amongst other brands.

March wil

Details

14 March 2016

The cup lift for the England women's team was enhanced by further CO2 jets and large scale streamer effects using 14 streamer cannons, each holding 1 kilo of streamers.

For the cup lift for the winning Pakistani men's team MTFX also provided the CO2 jets and arena streamer effects, together with a display of pyrotechnics comprising comets, mines and jets and their new five-way Firedance system to provide a colourful choreographed finale.

(Jim Evans)

Details

14 March 2016

Leading the programme will be the 2009 Gottelier Masterclass presented by last year's Gottelier Award Winner, John Stadius of Soundtracs/DiGiCo. Stadius is a highly respected name in audio circles, and will describe his early days in the industry, the formative years of analogue console design, the move to digital, the influence of the SHARC processor and how the latest generation of chip technology has removed historical restrictions on console design leading to new possibilities for the future. This Masterclass will take place at the show on Monday 14 September at 3.00pm, just in advance of the PLASA Innovation Awards Ceremony that evening.

2009 will also see the return

Details

14 March 2016

The company was employed on 18 events across multiple sites, including three of the UK's highest profile music events, Glastonbury Festival, Hard Rock Calling in Hyde Park and Take That concerts in Manchester.

On one of the busiest live music weekends of the year, Eat to the Beat were found at the hub of the Glastonbury Festival, providing backstage catering to the Pyramid Stage and The Other Stage. There they served 6,600 meals to the crew, and many artists specifically requested additional after-show catering in backstage and dressing room areas.

In London, Eat to the Beat teams at Hard Rock Calling served 7,000 meals to the production team alongside Upbeat Event Design who were responsible for artists

Details

14 March 2016

"This project saw six years of meticulous planning, design, consulting and 'green' engineering and to have our role recognised by leading US trade awards for the California Academy of Sciences is an outstanding achievement. We're also delighted that many of our key partners and friends were also able to join us in celebrating the award wins at InfoComm," says Blair Parkin, managing director at Visual Acuity.

"These partners included the California Academy of Sciences as well as Thinc

Details

14 March 2016

The world's largest museum of design and decorative arts plays host to a series of talks and presentations by world-class design practitioners the calibre of William Dudley, British stage designer, costume designer, video designer and 3D animator, who has most recently designed the sets and costumes for the Broadway musical The Woman in White, produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber. He is joined by lighting designer Rick