Rigging / Staging

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14 March 2016

Alpha One of Germany will be showing their complete range of Falcon fixtures, including the new Falcon 6,000 Xenon unveiled recently at the PLASA Show.

FinnLight will introduce the Space Bag Accessory for the Toplight. This device ceates a "Space" type pattern overhead light. The Toplight and Space Bag Accessory are designed by Emmy Award-winning Director of Photography, Bruce Finn.

GDS' Blues System has been widely adopted as a solution for architectural lighting problems of all kinds. Blues' low-voltage, solid-state LED fittings are compact, low profile, durable and IP rated. They offer many mounting options,

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14 March 2016

The event, part of the London Games Festival, was produced by Live Nation, who called on Stageco to build a double stage, linked by a catwalk, two band roofs (previously used by Johnny Halliday and Bon Jovi) and two extensive screen support structures.

Live Nation's production director John Probyn felt that Stageco had performed an exemplary job under tough conditions. "Trafalgar Square is not the easiest place to stage an event," he says. &q

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14 March 2016

For the new Los Angeles venue, designed to be a hybrid of concert hall and 7,100-seat arena, it was imperative to be able to place lighting far over the audience area as can be achieved at an arena show. However the sloped floor under the raked seating, necessary for the concert hall usage, means that there wasn't any space to assemble a truss grid that could be flown.

Q1 Production Technologies worked with Paul Flanagan of AEG, the developers and operators of the venue, to develop a solution that comprised of a rolling rigging system utilizing Total Structures' catwalk truss.

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14 March 2016

"For some time we have been aware that there is a huge potential market for our automation services in Australia, Asia and across the whole of the Southern Hemisphere," said Jim Tinsley, technical director of Stage One. "As a consequence, we have spent a great deal of time researching this expanding market and we felt the time was right to set up a company dedicated to developing business in these geographical areas."

Qmotion Australia will be led by Greg Gowans, an experienced automation specialist. He was originally a client of Stage One when they worked together on the Melbourne

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14 March 2016

K2 will again be in action with Unusual Rigging's Revolution winch, following a very successful event staged in LA by TMB in October, designed to show the capabilities of these two products working together.

K2 offers a real-time 3D programming view so the objects are moved on the screen via a graphical interface by the operator - while the computer does the calculations.

The flexible nature of K2 makes it suitable for any number of environments, from concert touring to film, from theatre to TV, says the company. Recent US projects include Genesis, American Idol and Dixie Chicks.

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

The super-middleweight fight attracted a global television audience and the biggest indoor crowd that the UK has ever seen. Welshman Joe Calzaghe returned to Cardiff in front of home fans for his 21st title defence, during which a unanimous decision declared him reigning champion once again, retaining his title and the WBO crown he has held for over 10 years.

Sports Network, organisers of the event, maximised the number of seats for the sell-out crowd, while Arena Seating provided nearly 10,000 extra seats for the fight.

Mike Goodall, of production company Ringcraft Boxing Services, contracted Arena Seating to provide an additional 8,800 t

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14 March 2016

CABLEnet is a completely custom tensioned wire grid system, designed and engineered to fit the exact space and specifications required by the venue - making it unique to the US market, says the company.

The CABLEnet system is created by weaving and tensioning high tensile steel cable within a frame, which is then hoisted to the required level in a theatre or concert hall and fixed to the building. This creates a totally safe 'virtual floor' on which lighting, audio and AV technicians and riggers can work in complete confidence.

Almost invisible from ground level, the grid also has the key benefit of creating no shadows when lighting fixtures positioned above it are shone through to the stage, studio or auditorium below.

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

Ian Tregaskis, head of events for Stage Electrics reflects: "The sun may have shone during the show, but the night before the rain was torrential, the efficiency of our aluminium fold out ice rink system coped easily with the excess water and the rink was frozen solid on Wednesday morning.

"The 'real' ice rink came as a surprise to many visitors. You could see on the faces of visitors as they walked by that they weren't quite sure, it was only when they touched the ice they believed it was real."

The regular demos of the smartStage 45 and smartStand 122 also attracted the crowds who were very impressed with the short set up times and simple construction, says the company. The smartStage 45 is a stage t

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14 March 2016

Fineline was commissioned by Phil Martin of Bath-based Theatrical Props to build the basic elements of the planes, which were rough cut and shaped from epoxy model board by the CNC router.

The project was managed by Darren Wring. It was the first time that Martin has used the Bristol-based company, who were recommended to him by a colleague. "They were very friendly, helpful and attentive" he comments.

Each of the eight Spitfires needed to accommodate a small function. They also each needed to have a wingspan of 650mm and be constructed from a robust material that could be re-engineered to add future functions. They are finished in a high gloss gold, applied thr

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14 March 2016

The LumaLift architectural lighting hoist makes it easy and safe to lower lighting to an accessible level for re-lamping, cleaning, focusing and maintenance in lobbies, atria, arenas, gymnasiums, convention centers, auditoriums, churches, factories and warehouses, says the company.

"With all of the versatility and dependable automation available in the theatrical rigging industry, it's only natural that the ability to raise and lower lighting in a simple, safe, cost-effective manner would come to architectural settings as well," said Mike Murphy, executive vice president of J.R. Clancy. LumaLift is designed specifically for architectural setting

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14 March 2016

All three steel track ranges from Halls have been proven under the most demanding pressures over the last 50 years and can be found in hundreds of venues across Britain & mainland Europe.

Working closely with key partner, Thern Inc, Hall Stage North America will be showing the full catalogue of theatre products, including hoists, winches, roller systems & grid blocks to suit any venue rigging requirement.

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

Kelley will be based mainly in Telluride, Colorado, however she intends to spend a large amount of time on the road visiting both old and new customers alike.

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

The JumboLifts, each of which has a lifting capacity of up to 3,000kg, will be used to manoeuvre a chandelier in the 55m-high lobby of the new building. When the clinic opens, it will be possible to move this twelve-ton 'jewel in its crown' at variable speeds.

The 500kg VarioLifts are destined for a different purpose: moving the clinic's lighting trusses. These lifts, which conform to the BGV-C1 code of practice and are notable for the exceptional precision and reproducibility of their movements, will be subject to the direction of a comp

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14 March 2016

CyberHoist USA, part of Tomcat Global Corporation, will provide a comprehensive sales, service, training and rental customer support operation for the USA and Canada from its base in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Mitch Clark, president of Tomcat Global, said: "The future is looking incredibly exciting for the CyberHoist marque in North America. It's by far the best designed, fastest, and most flexible motion control system out there, as well as one of the quietest systems on the market. CyberHoist meets what our clients in the touring, theatre and corporate show markets have been asking for. I think they will be delighted to get access and full support, based r

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14 March 2016

The launch was produced by Flux Events for London & Continental Railways (LCR) under the technical direction of John Farquhar-Smith. The executive producer was Jon Teeman, with Mark Fisher providing creative direction.

Arena Seating's key role was to provide a temporary seating grandstand three metres above the level of the platform, with the additional challenge of having to position the structure over an eight metre de

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14 March 2016

"Geneally speaking it's like a car rental company that offers different models of similar grade. FOH engineers normally prefer a certain PA system and at Satis&fy they can now offer three alternatives: the Y-Axis, V-Dosc and X-Line." Satis&fy's business developer Werner Renz continues to explain the grounds for purchasing a third large format PA system: "I heard the Y18 the first time at a concert in Switzerland and I was

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14 March 2016

Hawthorn's MD, Martin Hawthorn, commented: "We are delighted to have acquired Rex Howard and we are all really enjoying working with their clients in the TV and Film industries. It is a great complement to our theatre and corporate event work, and we look forward to increasing our joint stock of drapes on an ongoing basis."

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

"I chose Brilliant Stages because their stages are always beautifully built. They present you with good 3D drawings at the design stage, which means alterations can be made early on and there is far less to change during production rehearsals," says Vaughan. "All the components fit together accurately and quickly which is vital in allowing me to fulfil our tight touring schedules."

The initial structural design was carefully thought ou

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14 March 2016

The smartStage 45 is a mobile stage trailer with a characteristic lean-to roof and a set up time of only 30 minutes. It offers a tandem axle and overrunning brakes and the roof is lifted using an electro-hydraulic system with remote control. The stage conforms to the temporary demountable guidelines of 5kN/sq.m and was launched by Stage Electrics at the Showman's Show in Newbury in October 2007.

Stage Electrics has supplied the lighting and sound equipment for the Exeter event for the last three years, previously the official switch-on team performed from a traditional modular stage system, ground support truss and a tarpaulin roof.

Project manager for the event, Simon Foster explained: "Access into the area is very

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14 March 2016

Attendees learn safe and efficient rigging techniques for sound, lighting, video, scenery, and special effects. The methods taught apply to theatres, circuses, arenas, stadiums, schools, hotels, museums, conference centres, outdoor venues, and studios.

The Atlanta class is combined stage and arena rigging, taught by Bill Sapsis and Harry Donovan. The Seattle class is combined stage and arena rigging, taught by Jay O. Glerum and Harry Donovan. The Las Vegas and Chicago classes are intensive arena rigging classes taught by Harry Donovan.

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

The project is being co-ordinated for Summit by Jon Bray - whose history with the band dates back to the early 1990s when they first burst onto the UK pop scene. Bray is working in close collaboration with the tour's production riggers Jez Craddock and Phil Broad, production manager Chris Vaughan from The Production Office, production designer Ray Winkler from Stufish plus all the other contractors including Capital Sound (audio), PRG (Lighting) and XL Video/CT (video).

One of Summit's major tasks for the tour was to produce a comprehensive rigging plot covering the requirements of all technical departments, and realise Stufi

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14 March 2016

The stand was the result of a collaboration with three other international companies - UK-based Stage One, specialists in automation systems, stage machinery and set creations; Anglo-French draping and material specialists Blackout and lighting, LED screen and sound rental house, Lumière et Son Paris.

The stand and the live show presentation on it were designed by Fabien Martineau of Scenographism, who was also integrally involved in the R&D of the new OnlyView 3D product launched by ETC at the show.

The show centrepiece was a revolving cube, projected onto with video controlled by OnlyView 3D. This was Martineau's brainchild for demonstrating the versatility and scope of the system, on which he collaborated with ETC France'

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14 March 2016

On the back of the success of PLASA07, many companies have increased their stand size and several have doubled their space, setting PLASA08 on course to be the major industry event of next year. The success of the 2007 show has also been a catalyst for drawing back former exhibitors and generating strong levels of interest from new exhibitors, impressed with the professionalism and energy of the event.

The show management team has identified a range of new initiatives to develop and strengthen visitor attendance and is also focusing on a number of key areas for further development.

"One of the key messages that came across very powerfully from

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14 March 2016

The first containers arrived at the loading doors of the Esplanade on Sunday 21 October. With two full days of hard graft, all the equipment was unloaded and put into position backstage; the show deck was laid down with the floor-track winches already installed inside and the Performer Flying sliders were motored up into the air by Chain Hoists on lengths of truss.

For the next three days, Stage Technologies' engineers set about commissioning the automation sy