Rigging / Staging

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14 March 2016

The company is supplying all technical infrastructure, co-ordination, site and production management for this mind-boggling task, working closely with show producer Major Sir Michael Parker and the Golden Jubilee Weekend Trust. Unusual has employed over 250 sub-contractors and mounted a major logistical exercise to ensure the event - being broadcast live worldwide - is a well-oiled operation. To this end, the company has been interfacing with various authorities including Westminster City Council Special Events, the Metropolitan Police, Royal Parks, the GLA, the WRVS, London Underground, London Ambulance, St. John Ambulance and the British Red Cross.

The event i

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14 March 2016

(Ruth Rossington)

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14 March 2016

ESS’ US team has just completed a Memorial Day Concert, honouring US soldiers, at Auditorium Shores in Austin, Texas. Grammy Award winners Asleep At The Wheel and Travis Trite headlined the day, performing on an ESS Orbit 15m stage. A second ESS stage hosted five bands billed to provide a backdrop to a traditional Texan barbecue ‘cook-off competition’. In true Texan style, 30 accomplished contestants arrived with their barbecues toed onto the site by trucks and prepared their fayre over 24 hours throughout the course of the event. &

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14 March 2016

For the last number of the show, all five members of the band took to the air in flying harnesses. Star Rigging had put the members of Westlife through basic training before the tour began to ensure they were safe and confident in being hoisted 30

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14 March 2016

ESS is providing a similar tower configuration to the one used successfully at this year’s Aintree Grand National to allow the host broadcaster to be able to follow the races by flying a television camera across a suspended line held under tension by ESS’ ballasted towers. John Wilson, ESS’ senior project manager tasked with delivering the trackside solution, has been travelling between Epsom and Finsbury Square in the centre of London during the set-up period, whilst also overseeing an ESS building installation in the City for Bloomberg, the blue chip financial information business. Both installations were completed as ESS were putting the finishing touches

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14 March 2016

Since time was of the essence, the designers at Total Structures set to work on the proposed form, adapting tried and tested designs and using well known fabrication techniques to create a visually pleasing structure. The canopy tapers down from the rear hinge to a point, with the top chords curved to enhance the elegant form. The truss skeleton is covered with fabric with spaces for lighting fixtures to spotlight the new models with spectacular effect. The canopy is built at ground level and then lifted on chain hoists to trim height. The rear of the canopy is attached to a grid structure above the dividing wall through a hinge, allowing it to be rotated to the required angle.

(Ru

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14 March 2016

Billy Tubb of APAC, an Albuquerque theatrical consultant, teamed up with Eric Kennedy, a local freelance lighting designer, to design a modern lighting rig which would incorporate both static and modern moving light fixtures for the events centre. The upstage and downstage trusses were specified as conventional pre rig truss, whereas the grid over centre stage area comprises Intelligent Pre-Rig Truss (IPRT) with straight legs radiating from a central circular hub, to form the Zia, the state symbol of New Mexico.

The circular IPRT provides the support for a small projection screen for gobo images and the whole g

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14 March 2016

South Ayrshire Council provided the project management. The Pilewind winches enables the Gaiety’s busy technical staff to raise, lower and position four of the stage lighting bars quickly, efficiently and safety. Before the Pilewind winches were installed, the Gaiety crew was reliant on old hand winches, and hauling ropes to position each lighting bar. This took considerable time and physical effort. PCM’s Pilewind winches, operati

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14 March 2016

Twenty artists appeared across two stages, whilst 48,000 heavy metal devotees partied hard as Castle Donington was reclaimed by the new generation of rock fans. As well as protecting the bands, the 25-metre Vertech stage protected the PA and monitor system (supplied by Audio Rent), the huge lighting rig (supplied by Light & Sound Design) and gave the production team plenty of room to prepare equipment to ensure the tight schedule of 10 bands was kept on time throughout the day. The main stage area was then extended with Vertech PA towers, which flanked the stage and housed 28 tons of Clair Brothers’ PA. Outside of these were the screen supports housing Screenco’s LED screens, and cre

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14 March 2016

(Lee Baldock)

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14 March 2016

The company embarked on the process after discussing with clients what key properties would provide assurances to them regarding working with businesses in the future. It became apparent from this research that a growing number of clients from the private and public sectors, based in the UK as well as the other international markets served by ESS, that the ISO QA standard provides an acceptable objective measure of how a business deploys its services. As with all ISO-accredited businesses, ESS will undergo regular audits by a

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14 March 2016

Aerial Rigging also supplied Pro Stage of America earlier this year an MPT-roofsystem of 47' 4" x 42' x 30' 5" (12 x 10). Blake Ferry, president of Pro Stage West and Pro Stage of America commented: "We have been working with Prolyte truss for some years now. We have become very spoiled because the truss using conical connectors goes together so quickly, which has saved me a lot of time and money on the set up of a production.

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14 March 2016

ESS delivered a 20m Orbit stage, called the floating stage as it was positioned in the Thames facing back to the riverbank, as well as producing a 14m wide, four-bay clear-panelled Superstructure building christened the ‘Transparium’

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14 March 2016

LGH Rigging services manager, Bob Dean, commented: "We were very pleased with the progress of the job. We reacted very quickly to the FA’s request and were very happy with the result. It’s a shame that we didn’t feel the same about the result of the England match!"

The erection of the flag was featured on the National Television News, as was the tearful

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14 March 2016

Graham Drew headed up the Star Hire crew who had to cope with the summer’s inclement weather and the soft ground of Hackney Marshes that meant production schedules were stretched. "The whole production team work

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14 March 2016

In 1997 he became RUG’s director of production, managing all aspects of the company’s producing arm. Martin’s role at Vertigo will include overseeing the project management department, supervision of the larger contracts and aiding in the day-to-day management and running of Vertigo, an extremely busy hire and service company.

(Ruth Rossington)

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14 March 2016

The two new hoist controllers build on the success of the Programmable Hoist Controller launched at PLASA two years ago. The Programmable Hoist Controller Plus adds even more features for the most demanding applications, including an Ethernet port allowing linking of controllers and remote PC control. The HC8 complements the range, providing control of eight Lodestar or Verlinde style hoists, together with the new safety features now required for hoist control systems in the entertainment industry.

Ibex’s new audio product - Sonix MP3 - is a professional audio sound store, with a versatile range of triggering options. Audio files, using the high quality MP3 format, are played from inexpensive, high capacity CompactFlash memory ca

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14 March 2016

"What makes this system so unique is that it is surrounded by water on three sides and a portion of the towers are actually underwater," comments Tomcat design manager, Keith Bohn. The two upstage towers go through the stage and rest in 15ft (4.6m) of water. Custom bases were designed to accommodate the uneven floor at the bottom of the lagoon. The underwater towers consist of steel with multiple coats of two-part epoxy paint. All chords are capped and kept air-tight to help resist corrosion. All four towers interact with the stage for

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14 March 2016

LDPS NZ will concentrate on the company’s core business as a performance venue technical consultancy. The team specialises in all aspects of design including sound, lighting, multi and mixed media facilities, audio-visual and stage technology. Working in the Southern Hemisphere will also give LDPS the opportunity to expand it's service to sports facilities, in particular the design of public

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14 March 2016

The issue dates back two-and-a-half years, when it became apparent that the continued use of the 3-pin connector for Lodestar hoists would not be possible. Although the connector was extremely well suited to the application in many areas, for safety reasons, it was felt that the use of the earth pin as a conductor should preclude its future use. This resulted in extensive discussions involving the manufacturer of the Lod

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14 March 2016

Metrodeck Ultra is based on, and fully compatible with, the ever-popular Metrodeck staging system. The combination of a polished aluminium frame and a specialist ply/foam board means that Metrodeck Ultra not only looks good, but is also light and easy to handle. Pro-Alloy, Maltbury’s latest demountable staging system, has an attractive polished aluminium frame and an anti-slip phenolic-coated plywood top. Each unit combines lightness, durability and strength (a 2 x 1m unit can handle 7.5kN/m²) with modern elegance, making it ideal for use in conferences, venues, arenas and hotels. Manufactured to comply with European standards, Maltbury’s Morgan Trussing tried-and-tested system offers a range of truss styles and sizes to meet a wide range of requirements. The system

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14 March 2016

Both Australian production companies have chosen similar automation systems, each of which include numerous award-winning Big Tow Winches and the Acrobat control console both ideal for touring applications. Oliver!, which opened in May in Sydney to critical acclaim, will shortly be joined by Witches of Eastwick, which starts previewing in Melbourne in August. The latter uses Stage Technologies' Pathway - a specially developed software application which allows objects (in this case the three witches) to move

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14 March 2016

The first version is RMS Touring, a software package designed especially for handling rentals of touring-companies. This version is excellent for companies that have large quantities of equipment out for longer periods. Together with the crew- and transport-planner, it gives full control over all touring-rentals.

Next is RMS Conference, designed for renting AV-equipment to conferences, hotels, etc. This version focuses on aspects like keeping track of serial-numbers, short-term rentals (even on an hourly base is possible) and maintenance schedules. RMS Exhibition is a version, which deals with the specific problems of exhibition rentals. Easier p

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14 March 2016

In addition, there is a host of other new products on show, including 63mm Mammoth Clamps, panel clamps and Quick Trigger clamps, new TV Quick receivers, Par can floor plates, Easy Lift wind-up stands and locking elbow assemblies. Then there are new RAT Music Stands, safety bonds and flyrail cleats.

If the additional products from Doughty aren’t what you’re looking for, then your needs may be fulfilled from the company’s new 60-page catalogue, packed with fittings and accessories from the ‘mind over metal’ specialist.

Doughty can be found on Stand D10