Rigging / Staging

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14 March 2016

Local resident Mark Stoves invited Maltbury to advise on the staging as part of a major refurbishment plan. MD Philip Sparkes made a site visit to view the hall and a Metrodeck package was agreed on which offered a wide range of stage and tiering layouts for the space.

After only a few months the hall is buzzing with activity once again. As Mark Stoves says: "Since purchasing the Metrodeck, the Hall has seen a significant increase in the number and variety of new events and its success has exceeded all expectations."

Then, shortly before Christmas, Jenny Harvie of local Dalry School saw a performance at the hall and like

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14 March 2016

Lighting designer Alex Reardon worked with Upstaging to meet the various artistic demands of the show. The tour features the TV show American Idol's "Final 10" contestants with the design process beginning, by necessity, long before the finalists were chosen. Thus Reardon had to design the show based on themes rather than personalities.

Furthermore, without knowing who the performers were, a certain "talent contingency" existed, placing even greater demands on the tour's production aspects. Reardon specified a Kinesys motor control system to move the show's lighting rig during the show, providing added design flexibility and also some unique effects.

"With a limited bu

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14 March 2016

With the show floor packed on Monday morning, PLASA Events also announced its acquisition of the A.C. Lighting North trade show, bringing the PLASA Events' team's expertise and drive to this fast-growing event for the north of the UK.

PLASA 07's radical new layout saw an easy-to-navigate, one-floor event occupy both Earls Court 1 and 2, combined with lower noise limits and a smoke-free atmosphere - plus exhibitors' determination to make the most of the new opportunities with brand new stand designs. The massive growth in innovative video a

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14 March 2016

Among the projects was fitting a Kawai MP8 electronic grand piano into the shell of a classic instrument. The classic piano, also made by Kawai, was shipped directly to Fineline's warehouse in Bristol from the factory in Japan with no keys or strings. Liaising closely with Muse backline technician Des Broadbery, Fineline's Dave Harris then took delivery of a Kawai MP8 electronic grand piano, which had to be fitted inside the original.

The grand piano was carefully inserted into Fineline's 5-axis router, where the key bay was machined into the correct shape to receive the MP8 keyboard. The MP8 was then stripped right down to its component parts and mounted correctly into the grand

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14 March 2016

2007 has been Summit's busiest year to date, with highlights including being appointed as house riggers for the newly opened O2 Arena in June. This alone prompted an immediate need for additional experienced staff.

At Summit Frost will be dealing with a selection of key projects and working alongside existing account handlers Jon Bray, Chris Walker and Jay Call.

Jon Bray comments: "We're naturally delighted at having someone of Simon's calibre onboard, and look forward to a great working relationship."

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

"We're pleased to be named as a 2007 EXCITE award winner," said Adam Stone, president and CEO of D-Tools. "We have developed SI 5 with the singular goal of making the best software in the industry, and our main objective is to deliver that innovative solution to enhance our customers businesses. We are truly honoured to be recognised for our company's achievement."

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

Albert O'Neil, manager of conservatory support at Mount Royal oversaw the rigging renovation that included the installation of eight variable speed PowerLifts and a SceneControl 500 console at the school, which always needs to balance creating a strong teaching environment and budget concerns.

"Staying on top of technology is critical for technical theatre students," explains O'Neil, "Broadening the scope of available, viewable technologies ensures that students are not brought up only in the past and are open to developing technologies and trends. Yet, we are mindful that we must teach students equipment that they will find in the field and not every thea

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14 March 2016

The show is based on the 1999 Emmy award winning, six part series Walking with Dinosaurs that originally aired on the BBC. Tomcat reports that it joined creative forces with Upstaging and Fader Higher (Jake Berry) to create some custom lighting pods for the tour.

Each of these pods is secured to a cross of truss on top of a tower. The cross consists of a 'spine' truss (9' 6"/2.9m in length) plus two smaller trusses that attach to the spine's centre. Each of these crosses are supported by a vertical truss that is attached to the underside of the spine truss resulting in a total assembly that is 81.5" (2.07m) tall. The ac

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14 March 2016

Manufactured from pressure die cast aluminium the Twenty Clamp has been designed to eliminate truss damage usually associated with Steel Hook Clamps.

This neat and compact clamp has a SWL of 20 Kg and can be secured to tubes of 48 - 51mm diameter with just two turns of the Doughty knob. Luminaries are secured via a captive M10 or M12 bolt in the base of the clamp.

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

LD/set designer Paul Normandale and lighting director Glen Johnson have carried Wholehog 3 consoles on a number of tours the past few years.

Says Johnson: "Its Only Natural (referencing a popular Crowded House song title) that I would choose the Wholehog 3 console again for this tour after my faultless year with it on James Blunt."

UK's Lite Alternative provided the two Wholehog 3 consoles, along with two Playback Wings, a full-size Expansion Wing and 2 DP 2000s. Upstaging is the lighting contractor on the US tour.

"Crowded House have a catalogue of 100-plus songs with over 70 programmed in the console," Johnson explains. "While I am given a set list every night of 20 songs, it is rare for them to keep to the set, an

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14 March 2016

DarkSide sales director Simon Ellison worked closely with the venue to complete the project. "This permanent curved system is a real innovation in theatres, and makes lighting set-up a much safer operation," said Ellison. "Previously, the industry option was a temporary life-line. These are great for straight lines, but can't work around the curves of a balcony. So you've had technicians risking their safety by clipping on and off truss or, worse still, balcony handrails - which are completely untested for strength or their ability to cope in a fall situation."

DarkSide's solution is three twin line permanent systems

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14 March 2016

Lighting designer Vince Foster created a breathtaking centrepiece for the 4,000 revellers - a moving LED chandelier structure featuring 100 PixelArt video battens and 50 PixelLine 1044s. Over 100 Pixeline 1044s highlighted the enormous ground support truss and another 50 provided a chevron video wall on the live acts stage.

Foster enthuses: "PixelLine 1044s are one of my favourite LED fixtures and are constantly specified in my designs. I am very impressed with the new PixelArt video batten, the resolution is outstanding, creating further design flexibility."

To enable the guests to see the trains going in a

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14 March 2016

These sections include an up-to-date product listing, which includes information on Blackout's new Rigging Mast and Gabled Truss products; a list of the services provided, from sales and rental to temporary and permanent installations; a look at the people who make the company tick; and an in-depth image gallery showcasing some of Blackout's most recent projects. There is also a contacts page with full details of the company's London and Paris offices, and a recruitment page.

Steve Tuck, Blackout's managing director comments: "The old website was fine up to a point, but we wanted something that any potential customer would find easy to navigate, even if they were from outside the events industry.

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14 March 2016

Paolo Dozzo, sales manager for the Vitec Staging Division - Tomcat UK's parent company, commented, "Remo is experienced in sales, marketing, customer support and communications, all of which have built him a lot of respect within the industry. We are pleased to have Remo on the Tomcat team."

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

Headed up by crew boss Jeroen Tap, Mojo Barriers also installed barriers around the mixing positions and delay towers in the crowd.

Mojo Barriers provided the band's aluminium Mojo Barriers for the shows in the US earlier this year and will continue to supply The Police with their product for the upcoming shows in the US, South America, Australia, New Zealand and Asia.

"Major tours like The Police

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14 March 2016

PowerAssist technology is new to the theatrical rigging industry in that it eliminates the need to rebalance counterweights on line sets. While counterweight/motor combinations have been available in several forms for many years, PowerAssist uses an innovative padded rope that fits into the existing head block, which works in combination with a roller chain and toothed sprocket to balance the weight of the batten, virtually eliminating the possibility of slippage or accidental release, says the company.

"In our 120-plus years in business, J. R. Clancy has developed many innovative products for the rigging industry - and all of them are designed with safety and security as our foremost priority," said Bob Theis, president of J. R. Clancy. "PowerAssist is

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14 March 2016

A Dataton Watchout system was used to provide the graphics animation and video overlays through to Lighthouse processor LIP-KX to the screen. Customers were thrilled about the quality of the 16mm panel, say Gearhouse.

With 5,000 nits brightness, high contrast ratio and 16mm pixel pitch, R16i/o-II panel is ideal for both indoor and outdoor applications, say Lighthouse.

(Lee Baldock)

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14 March 2016

The production, directed by Geraldine Connor and produced by David Lascelles features a cast of over 100 and commemorates the Bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade, drawing vividly on the colour and vibrancy of 'carnival' in Trinidad, Tobago and Leeds to deliver its powerful message.

Summit was asked onboard by Leeds-based production company TechSpec, headed by Graham Nixon, who are responsible for all-things technical. Nixon says, "I was researching the best options for sourcing the structure that we needed to stage the event - and all roads led to Summit."

Jay Call was Summit's project manager for the show

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14 March 2016

Although - unusually for 2007 - the weather managed to stay fine for the entire duration of the build, festival and load out, the site of this chilled-out event provided Star Events Group with a number of challenges.

Bestival takes place at Robin Hill Country Park, a well-known local tourist venue that nestles in a scenic valley, featuring woodland, lakes and winding paths. This year the event expanded to take in part of an adjacent farm, but a major concern for Star Events Group team of 12, led by Andrew 'Bomber' Phillips, was the undulating nature of the terrain.

"All the structures we built were on sloping sites. There wasn't one that was on flat ground," says project manager Phil Addyma

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14 March 2016

Audiomotion is a multi-award winning studio specialising in the provision of motion capture services to the game development, film and television industries. It has a string of high-profile production credits, including work on the Gladiator motion picture and Citroen C4 Alive with Technology TV commercial.

The company had been using a scaffold system to position 50 motion capture cameras in their 6,000sq.ft studio, but was looking for a more practical truss solution as they expanded into full performance capture for the next generation of high definition gaming, film and television content.

Audiomotion's Matt Rank comments: "In the studio, we're constantly changing the camera setups for different jobs, so having the Litec grid makes it m

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14 March 2016

A full size rink will showcase the battery powered Ice Bumper Cars and visitors to the company's stand will be able to experience the new family entertainment on ice. The responsive joystick controlled cars are suitable for drivers ages four and up. Cars can spin 360 degrees to go in all directions to pursue their targets, backwards and forwards and cannot be boxed into a corner. Ice Bumper Cars are exclusive to Stage Electrics in the UK and are available for rental or sales.

Part of the demonstration ice rink will be covered by one of Stage Electrics own Arc Roof structures in case of inclement weather.

Also previewing at the show will be the smartStage 45 and smartStand 122. The smartStage 45 is

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14 March 2016

Mike Murphy, Clancy executive vice president, said , "With the explosive growth of automated rigging and controls within our industry, and Damon's 25 years of theatrical and packaged hoist knowledge, we are thrilled to have Damon as a member of our team. Damon's commitment and enthusiasm align with Clancy's mission to 'Make our Partners Successful' by providing them with the proper tools and the support they need to understand the value and advantages of automation in schools and professional theatres."

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

University College of Dance is the only school of its kind for dance and neocircus in Sweden. It features a variety of courses and a lively atmosphere of challenge, innovation and experiment plus a meeting place for the arts, sciences, theories and concepts - old and new.

Right from the off, the project architects and theatre consultants agreed that a tensioned wire grid system above the full area of the theatre space was the safest and best way forward. They contacted Slingco as Europe's foremost designers and experts of this specialist technology.

Slingco received the enquiry from Dick Hasselblad of Tater-Konsult Hasselblad, who was wo

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14 March 2016

Hawthorn's managing director, Martin Hawthorn comments, "Rex Howard was an obvious choice to consolidate our position as a 'one-stop' technical solutions company. Following our acquisition of Core Creative back in March we now have a successful and established base in London and the purchase of Rex Howard allows us to build on that and further expand our London presence, as well as increasing our Drapes inventory."

(Jim Evans)