Rigging / Staging

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14 March 2016

Less than a year ago, Star Events Group came up with the inspired idea to create a mobile orbit dome stage. The idea was to provide the outdoor event scene with a versatile stage that has all the benefits of the Orbit roof's high weight loading capacity and elegant aesthetics, combined with the flexibility and quick build times of the mobile trailer stages. The final result was a 13m dome stage that can be built from start to finish in around five hours by just five crew. The erection of the roof is simple and quick and the PA system can be suspended from the two cranes that are an integral part of the stage, positioned either side of the unit, negating the need for expensive forklift hire and PA towers.

Helen Ma

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14 March 2016

Through a growing stock list which has with the entertainment industry in mind, all the leading brands are brought together onto one site, including: Petzl, Troll, Miller and Bacou-Dalloz. Whilst items can be directly purchased by credit card on the site, TRP also run a telephone advice line and phone shopping service.

TRP also specialise in performer flying and a section of the site is dedicated to the large range of hire and sale stock of performer flying equipment and service

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14 March 2016

Making its third appearance - after becoming a huge success among participants over the last two years - will be the Advanced Workshop. This two-day workshop covers a variety of interesting topics on hoist motors and truss design and is meant for those who have already completed Tomcat's four-day workshop and/or those with extensive experience working with motors and truss in the field. Advanced workshop dates are 23-24 February, also in Midland, Texas.

(Lee Baldock)

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14 March 2016

"The most versatile attachment to truss on the market", according to Vertigo, Flightdeck is a flexible, modular and lightweight system, designed and engineered by Vertigo Rigging and available exclusively to Vertigo's rental and sales clients. The system is available complete with load-bearing hand rails for safety, and can be supplied with access hatches if required. The Standard Flightdeck system comes in 1m x 2m deck sections, and bespoke sizes can be fabricated on request.

The company says Flightdeck is available from stock

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14 March 2016

Having been trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Gemma has been involved in the theatre entertainment industry for over 10 years. She has extensive experience managing technical departments both onboard a multitude of Carnival cruise ships and as technical coordinator ashore in Carnival Corporation's headquarters in Miami. Subsequently, as technical sales manager for Harbour Marine Systems' Miami office, she has interacted with many cruise lines, theatre facilities and manufacturers. Her extensive experience in management and sales has given her firm foundations from which to develop this new role within Stage Technologies, say the company.

(Lee Baldock)

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14 March 2016

Judged on the grounds of their 'Innovation' alone, the nominated products are closely assessed by a panel of expert industry practitioners, chaired by L&SI magazine's Technical Editor, James Eade. There are nine awards available in total - eight Awards for Innovation of equal standing, plus an Award for Environmental Impact, which

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14 March 2016

Despite some unexpected crowd disturbance that took place during the first England match, Canary Wharf Group took the decision to keep the screen tower, and its huge screen provided by XL Video, in situ to broadcast the forthcoming events such as Wimbledon, Royal Ascot and other popular BBC programmes and events.

Sian Astrop, manager of Arts & Events for Canary Wharf Management Ltd said: "The screen and screen tower together looks like a huge television in the

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14 March 2016

This was the Laureus World Sports Awards Welcome Party for 800 VIP guests from the realms of Sport, Cinema and Music. Some of the famous people in attendance were His Majesty King Juan Carlos of Spain, actors Teri Hatcher and Morgan Freeman, and Edwin Moses who represented the Sports interest.

"Blackout provided StarLED starcloth and new pipe and drape system which were instrumental in providing the flexibility needed to achieve another dimension within the confines of the space," said designer Adrian Smith. "They also helped to create a setting for both formal and informal seating areas to suit the various moods that we invoked."

The use of Blackout's s

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14 March 2016

The Retford based company had a giant two metre square snakes and ladders board on the back wall of their stand. Visitors were invited to test their knowledge of the LOLER regulations as they progressed up the board. Completion of the game with all questions correctly answered wonthe player one of a number of prizes from new rigging gloves to head torches, Frogs, to Rope Assemblies unique rigging multi-tool.

Having counted the number of prizes given out at the end of the show, a knowledgeable 200 people had played and won.

"We were delighted to win this award, it was quite a surprise when our name was called out at the ABTT Dinner. Many thanks t

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14 March 2016

Incorporating ten 5000 capacity green-field sites, the 21 concerts over 10 weekends feature four different formats of entertainment - a Queen / Abba tribute night, the Blues Brothers party, a Rat Pack tribute and a Glenn Miller Band. The shows are tailored to attract families and holiday-makers across the region.

Tour production manager John Radford is working with a team of up to 28 people and three 45 trailers of equipment plus a selection of site vehicles, landrovers, people carriers and cars. Other key personnel include Jono Rose (technical project manager/lighting designer) Jon Rimmer (site manager), Chris Vass (sound design), Brian Clear

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14 March 2016

This was the hottest ticket in town, quite literally with the soaring temperatures in the intimate venue packed with 2,100 fans. The band showed why they're still at the top with a set comprised of classic tunes spanning the bands four decades inter-dispersed with new material from the soon to be released Wire & Glass rock opera.

Leeds University recently appointed Showsec to manage crowds at all of the shows at the famous Student Union Refectory venue and associated events (such as the recent Tetley Hall Ball) for at least the coming two years. Showsec worked at the venue through the nineties until four years ago.

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14 March 2016

For the London Moonwalk, Hawthorn provided lighting, staging, rigging and power distribution for the whole site, plus a sound system for the interior of De Boer's pink 8,500.00sq.m marquee, which was large enough to host over 15,000 bra-clad walkers for a pre-marathon pasta party.

Hawthorn's rigging specialists installed Prolyte ground support truss which supported over thirty 6m long banners, as well as PSL's LED videowalls. "We are thrilled to be working on the Edinburgh and Bristol events and look forward to continuing our relationship with Walk the Walk over the coming years," said Hawthorn's MD, Martin Hawthorn.

"Moonwalk is

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14 March 2016

In addition to being asked to review the document to see if it offers adequate advice, reviewers are asked to look for protected intellectual property in the draft standard. ESTA does n

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14 March 2016

Described by the judges as "magic in maple", the full award citation reads: "This building has been delivered on an exceptionally tight budget but is none the poorer for that. Set in the green belt and within earshot of the M25, the hall is conspicuously located in a prominent position on a site that slopes gently away from the loose collection of school buildings strung along the skyline.

"The Hall is the building. Externally, it is simple, econo

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14 March 2016

The first items on the list are a series of Dance Towers - an item that has become a favourite with production electricians and has been used in productions like The Lion King, The Producers and Wicked. On stage left and stage right, three hanging towers plus one rolling tower provide an endless number of lighting positions. Unistrut installed in each tower allows the designer to position lighting instruments anywhere in the tower and an adjustable centre pick-up point on top of the towers ensure that the towers remain straight after the equipment has been loaded.

The second part of the order is the front-of-house catwalk truss. Six 10' sections of truss (custom built spans of 30" X

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14 March 2016

Specialising in conference and live event production, as well as AV equipment hire and sales, CPL has seen massive growth recently. During this frenetic period, they were forced to consider all the facets of their business; from office and warehouse space to the modernisation of the old paperwork systems used to track and invoice its kit.

Increased investment in equipment meant the manual paperwork system began encountering problems - items were mislaid or left on site with no obvious way to trace them, as manual administration systems became time-consuming and laborious

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14 March 2016

Promoter Live Nation's production director for the shows, John Probyn says: "Showsec mixed well with crowds, production teams and artists and maintained a good, safe atmosphere for all of the shows at Hyde Park this summer."

Showsec's Simon Battersby and Steve Reynolds managed up to 400 staff for the Foo Fighters and Hyde Park Calling concerts, headlined by Roger Waters and the Who, when they looked after the pit, backstage and artists areas. They also managed crowds and security for the whole site for the five nights of the Wireless Festival.

(Chri

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14 March 2016

The aim is to make employers, trainers, youth workers and teachers, and young people themselves, aware of the risks they face in the workplace and what they should be doing to mitigate them. WiseUp2Work is sponsored by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and supported by the National Youth Agency and the British Chambers of Commerce.

National WiseUp2Work Day is being staged at a time when many young people are embarking upon their careers or starting work experience placements, and are at the highe

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14 March 2016

The idea was to create a festival style atmosphere with two different stages, but all within an indoor environment. To achieve this, Blackout worked closely with Andy Redhead, the main production manager for SJM Concerts, who was responsible for the overall design and layout. The main area which featured the stages and the catering points was deliberately left open to create an atmosphere where people could sit at the bars and watchthe bands. The event was visited by 26,000 people over the weekend, and among the acts appearing was My Chemical Romance, and Lost Prophets.

Kevin Monks, Blackout's project manager said that attention to detail was important. "We enclosed the stage areas, and

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14 March 2016

Julie McNally of Spitfire Productions has been producing an evening of classical music at Stoneleigh for 11 years and throughout this period has used Star Events Group (formerly Star Hire) as her only staging PA and Power supplier.

McNally says: "I always get terrific support from Jane [Jane Russen - director Star Mobile] and her team throughout the planning process. The whole 'classical show in parkland' type event has taken off so much in recent years, we are competing heavily with similar shows that have sprung up nearby. But we believe the setting at Stoneleigh, and our superior firework displays, are what audiences still appreciate."

This year Spi

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14 March 2016

The £4.5 million project, designed by architects the MEB Partnership from Oxford, has seen the creation of a 343 seat flexible space - which can also be configured in thrust and in-the-round formats - to service the school's own busy Performing Arts Centre department's productions as well as those of visiting companies, assorted local 'am dram' shows plus conferences and events.

Funded by the Seckford Foundation, which is dedicated to the young and the old of Woodbridge, it's a professional

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14 March 2016

This year saw Tez Sheals-Barrett make her debut as Star Events Group project manager for the event. The first show in the series featured the Foo Fighters, who played to an 85,000-strong crowd on 17June. "We arrived in Hyde Park on 10 June to start the main stage build, allowing just five days in advance of production arriving on site!" says Sheals-Barrett.

"We had a lot of involvement with the band's production team due to the specific nature of the numerous structures they required. These included a specially designed thrust to allow Dave Grohl to run from the stage to the front of house towers and we had crew on hand throughout to make sure they got exactly what they want

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14 March 2016

The aim of the event was to recognise staff achievements and successes over the past year. The theme was based on the musical Grease and featured cheerleaders, a Greased Lightnin' Band, and an American style convertible car.

Five halls at the ExCel Conference and Exhibition Centre were completely wrapped in Starcloth from Blackout creating an environment that was transformed into a tribute to the 1950s. 75 motors and 460 metres of lighting, AV and sound trusses were provided along with an 8m diameter truss circle. Four giant projection screens dressed to look like Drive-In Movie theatres were rigged by Blackout along with giant iconographic images from the

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14 March 2016

The simulation includes high quality graphics and sound and the entire system is housed in a custom built 'Super Tour' flight case with racing seat, steering wheel and pedals. The 'Speed Challenge' will take the lap times from each hour of the show, and the visitor with the quickest time walks away with a 5 Star 25th anniversary, limited edition briefcase. More than that, the overall quickest time over the four days will receive a £2,500 voucher to spend at 5 Star Cases.

5 Star will also show a selection of cases from its various ranges, including the recently upd