Rigging / Staging

Details

14 March 2016

The set features truss circles, including one 50ft OD medium duty circle, one 19.5ft OD medium duty circle plus one 16ft OD light duty circle. Tomcat also provided eight custom variable TAB connections for these circles and 32 custom motor pick-up brackets will help make a number of other lighting effects around those circles possible.

Speaking of lighting effects, eight custom 4ft x 6ft light frame pods will provide even more visual impact. These pods were manufactured with special tran

Details

14 March 2016

The unique and versatile Vortek Point is lightweight, self contained, portable and rugged, and ideal for theatrical and entertainment type applications, says the company.

Features include a speed and lifting capacity of 0 - 180 ft/min at up to 1200 lbs of lifting capacity or 0 - 90 ft/min at up to 1400 lbs of lifting capacity - with additional load/speed combinations available. A standard travel distance (for vertical and horizontal mounts) of 65 and 100 ft is available, and the wire rope is available in both 3/16" (5 mm) & 1/4" (6 mm) gauges.

Vortek Point Hoist modules can be attached to a single I-beam (replacing chain hoists), or wheeled to a position on the grid, with dual zero fleet angle lift lines droppi

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14 March 2016

Initially, Maltbury MD Philip Sparkes visited the church to assess the needs of the choir. Tiers were required, but they would have to fit neatly between the organ and choir stalls and take account of a marble altar platform at the back. The stage would also need to store compactly, as it would have to be kept in an outhouse behind the church when not in use. The requirements were very precise.

Frequent communication over two years produced a customised Metrodeck stage. The resulting tiers fit perfectly between the existing fixtures in the church, creating a fully demountable performance

Details

14 March 2016

The show's automation supplier Stage Technologies has been working with Delstar Engineering and Stage Services on this project to make a number of significant changes to the original control system to cater for the touring production. The challenging design modifications were necessary to create a transportable set and also adhere to restrictions on the removal of stage flooring in the receiving venues.

The magical flying car was previously flown by a large mechanical arm that raised the car through the stage floor. For this touring production t

Details

14 March 2016

In total, the cases hold 400 strips of iColor Cove. They are based on the popular 'Light Industrial' specification and were designed by 5 Star's Phil Lawrence working to a brief from RML's Steve Wells.

Light Industrial is becoming popular due to its expedient weight - made possible due to the carcass being constructed from 6mm plywood - and the strength is not compromised as the cases use the same basic fittings found on the heavier Industrial specification.

RML's black laminate exterior and full corporate branding were also part of 5 Star's brief. Each case houses 20 iColor units in two areas, one set of 10 in the base while a further 10 in a removable tray. Both areas of the case incorporated CNC r

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14 March 2016

Bruno Garros, general director of MPF had realised for some time that he needed to find a partner company to handle an increasing number of requests from clients to assist in selling their used equipment, freeing up vital capital, and allowing them to invest in brand new Martin equipment.

Garros says: "We looked at the market and knew if we were going to refer our customers to someone, we needed to find a partner who could represent us with a high degree of quality and professionalism. GearSourceEurope with their partner in the US, GearSource Inc. have almost four years experience selling used equipment from their highly developed

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14 March 2016

The client had an idea to recreate the atmosphere of his favourite nightclub, 'B.E.D' (located in Miami, USA), in a marquee in the grounds on their house. MLsoundadvice manager Gareth Jones originated the overall design based on obtaining descriptive 'key-words' from the client on their likes, dislikes and interests.

Drawing on his creative side, Jones's design solution included multi-level raised areas that turned into, and focused the guests' look towards the stage. The areas included a discrete 'bed' VIP area for the hosts, a second VIP area for family with contemporary furniture and a circular pink bar, all flanking a chequered dance floor. His technical expertise generated a real nightc

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14 March 2016

The world's press and a galaxy of VIP guests were invited to the bash on a private island off the coast of Bahrain. Oil lamps lit the way down a kilometre of carpet to the venue where everything Arabia is famous for was on show.

A Gearhouse team was in charge of technical production, and their producer, David Plail, brought in Vertigo Rigging to stage the dazzling entrance of a Red Bull Racing car and a Scuderia Toro Rosso machine, which swept through the air on hidden wires to arrive on stage as if on a magic carpet.

Vertigo was briefed to fly and track the two replica Formula 1 cars

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14 March 2016

The beacon is a light-box about two storeys high. Paul Hamilton, the technical manager for Berkeley Homes explains: "In consultation with the London Borough of Southwark we envisaged this representing a 'beacon of regeneration' for the area as a whole. Arup Lighting proposed and designed the barometer scheme and worked with Architainment Lighting, the UK distributor for Color Kinetics, to select the fixtures and the Pharos LPC to receive data triggers from the barometer."

The Pharos LPC controls the colour of the beacon depending on atmospheric pressure readings from a digit

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14 March 2016

The annual MusikMesse International Press Award ceremony (MIPA) now in its seventh year is one of the most anticipated events at MusikMesse; Europe's largest professional music industry tradeshow located in Frankfurt. MIPA is widely regarded as the most prestigious music industry awards with fifty eight magazines from all over the world nominating three products in each of forty categories before finally choosing each category winner.

Digidesign's ICON D-Control worksurface received the award for the best product of 2005/2006 in the Mixing Desk (High End) category beating other nominees AMS Neve88D and SSL AWS900. In the final awar

Details

14 March 2016

Stage Technologies will supply and install the complete stage automation system. This will be the first non Princess ship to be fitted with Stage Technologies second generation BigTow 2 winches and TanJent guidance system, which guides a fly bar through its travel from the upper to lower limit, not just the top half of the travel as often seen on board ships.

The stage will b

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14 March 2016

These speakers will be complemented by a number of international players - including Himanshu Burte from India, Sergio Pascolo from Italy, Martien van Goor, Louis Janssen and Gerbrand Borgdorff from the Netherlands, Gerry van Hezewyk from Canada and Duncan Webb, John Coyne and Peter Rosenbaum from the US. Representatives from many other countries will be involved in the debates and discussions about the form of auditoria, backstage facilities, uncomplicated spaces for drama, and theatre building on a budget. Present booking from overseas r

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14 March 2016

In addition to being asked to review the document t

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14 March 2016

The Easi-Build Pipe and Drape system comprises heavy bases with adjustable telescopic horizontal and vertical aluminium poles and can accommodate any drape. The system is neatly packaged for easy transportation in boxes or carry bags requiring minimum labour at maximum speed in any location.

"Our Easi-Build Pipe and Drape system is aimed at all customers. Never before has it been so quick and simple to erect a temporary drape structure," says Steve Tuck, managing director at Blackout.

(Chris Henry)

Details

14 March 2016

Kinesys were asked onboard by Total Fabrications' Chris Cronin, who designed and built the 14m wide by 8m deep structure that moves several times during the performance and is in full view of the audience throughout.

The platform needed to move up and down as well as tracking upstage and downstage, so Kinesys supplied five of their Velocity drives and a laptop running their proprietary Vector software.

The four two tonne winches - one in each corner of the structure - were supplied by TFL and travel at up to a quarter metre a second, the platform is tracked by a single motor and line shaft system and is controlle

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14 March 2016

Two technicians attending the course were the recipients of the Nicholas Van Wijk Bursary. These bursaries are the kind gift of Heather, widow of Nicholas van Wijk who spent most of his working life in the West End Theatres. He was Master Carpenter at the Aldwych Theatre in London from 1994 until his death in October 2003. Nicholas always laid great store in passing on his stage technical knowledge to the next generation. The recipients of the bursaries were Christoph

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14 March 2016

The Blue Room now boasts almost 4,000 members, with over 110,000 messages posted since its official launch in January 2003. With over 4.5 million hits each month, the Blue Room has proved very popular. "The introduction of a Wiki is something which we've been working on for a while. We saw that the Blue Room was becoming, in part, a repository for a vast assortment of technical knowledge and advice, and an online encyclopaedia seemed like the next logical st

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14 March 2016

Stardraw.com has delivered all its products exclusively through its website since January 2002. In addition to the initial installation of long-established design/documentation tools like Stardraw A/V and Stardraw Lighting 2D, users employ the website to download program updates and to access libraries of more than 50,000 high-quality sym

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14 March 2016

Steve Dolan, senior project manager, said: "This project provided a very interesting graphics challenge, as from the basic visual artwork we needed to produce graphics that met the constraints of television advertising standards and that weren't blatantly advertising the programme's sponsor."

Advertising agency Stream commissioned Stage One to build the sets, which covered the space of one entire indoor football pitch, at the

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14 March 2016

Heath received his MFA from The Penn State University at State College, PA, in 2003. He has technically directed over 30 theatrical productions and has designed lighting for more than 100 events. His background includes experience as a rigger, master electrician, sound engineer and crew chief. On the pre-production side of the table Heath has over fourteen years' experience with multiple CAD programs working with general layouts, build draw

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14 March 2016

Contracts won with cruise and ferry lines can be among the most lucrative in the world: there is currently $14.2 billion being invested in new-build activity and numbers in the cruise ship orderbook are at their highest since 2002. There is also renewed strength in the region's shipbuilding industry and the refurbishment and re-equipment sectors are also experiencing a growth surge.

The presentation, led by Seatrade MD Chris Hayman, will cover the opportunities that exist for PLASA Members in the cruise sector and the value of attending the Seatrade Med exhibition in Naples in October where f

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14 March 2016

The first Supplier H&S Forum took place in March of this year and was extremely well received by the Jack Morton Event Production Team and its rigging services suppliers. Representatives from Vertigo Rigging, Summit Steel and Blackout were all invited to the forum to discuss in detail proposals to ensure compliance with the Work at Height Regulations and their impact on t

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14 March 2016

Proven to 250kg with dual suspension lines attached independently of both motor and ball, the new swivel carries the load with complete safety, leaving the rotator to concentrate on rotating. The company will be showing these and other ideas at the AC Lighting North Trade Show in Leeds (25-26 April) and the ABTT Trade Show in London (14-15 June).

(Lee Baldock)

Details

14 March 2016

The main brief was to incorporate a cable shield or 'mini loom box' for ensuring that the cables can be kept neat and tidy along the rear of the case when in use and when packed away. Loom boxes are a standard feature on 5 Star's large audio mixing console cases, and so it was logical to incorporate this element of the design into the final layout. "Pioneer wanted a practical and good looking system case to compliment the small footprints of both the CDJ and DJM units," explains John Barsby, 5 Star's product development manager. "The loom box needed to be large enough to take the cables and compact enough to keep the case dimensions within the agre