Rigging / Staging

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14 March 2016

Class size is limited to 20 students, however should demand necessitate an additional course will be added for Wednesday 19 August and Thursday 20 August.Unlike prior Columbus McKinnon training schools this course will now include a written certification examination, with successful students receiving recognition as being a CM-ET (Columbus McKinnon Entertainment Technology) certified entertainment hoist technician.

Appropriately qualified students passing the course will also obtain 16 renewal credits towards ETCP rigging examination re-certification. Suited to both touring and in-house repair technicians

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14 March 2016

With HD broadcasting now common, Cover It Up has found that by exploiting the variances in the opacity of their fabric stock, draping and soft goods coverage can be maximized to provide more acutely defined edges, bringing greater depth to the set design, along with other production solutions.

Each textile has its own texture, light transmission and reflection quality which is much more noticeable with HD. Cover It Up's Elliot Sennett says, "We worked hard with the WWE production team to ensure that our grey and black wool serges work together. It's amazing how even a different

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14 March 2016

Accompanying the InterAmerica SkyDeck system is Tomcat's Sky product. Sky is a ladder beam truss product with a sturdy spigot connection. It is designed for light, medium and heavy duty applications over short and large spans. It utilises a 'Star Connection' system or can also be connected direct and has a range of accessories making it ideal for building grid structures and modular trusses. Its ladders ar

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14 March 2016

Fokko Smeding, founder and shareholder of Prolyte, will stay active within the company, offering the management his professional vision and plans for the future. "Being able to put daily operations in capable hands, leaves me room to do what I'm best at," states Smeding. "My involvement with Prolyte will remain significant, laying out plans for the future holds a big challenge for me, all the more because this business is a thrill to work in."

Gert Felten was able to experience the many facets of Prolyte in his previous position as production manager and can rely on the support and k

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14 March 2016

Spotlight celebrated its 40th birthday last month with a series of open days. Augusto Andraghetti, Spolight's president said: "The partnership between Spotlight and VMB is based on a similar strategic mission - our work, over the past 40 years, has been focused on continuous improvement, technical innovation and customer satisfaction, in order to always be a step ahead in providing solutions for the performing arts."

Spotlight exclusively distributes a number of brands including Arkaos, ADB, Compulite, Chainmaster, Eurotruss, Litestructures, Kleu and now VMB.

VMB's export manager Ben Sinclair comments: "I am looking forward

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14 March 2016

The company announcement says: "Litestructures Live is a unique, one-stop-shop facility, unifying three previously distinct areas of operation, Hire, Stage and Set, and Litestructures Studios, merging them into a single, powerful entity. Add into the mix on-site custom design and manufacture and you have the most capable, flexible, experienced and user-friendly force in the concert, touring and events marketplace. In short, Litestructures Live is a division formed by fusion."

The launch took place at Gibson Guitars showroom in London. After a speech and introduction from Julia Jones, Litestructures' consultant in the south, the evening kicked off with musical entertainment provided by Scottish band Our Lunar Act

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14 March 2016

Showsec has secured the festival since it's inception in 2003, this year supplying over 600 trained and licensed staff. They ensured the safety and enjoyment of 75,000 rock fans through three nights of music from the leading rock acts, headlined including Faith No More, Slipknot and Def Leppard.

Showsec operations director Simon Battersbsy commented: "The new site brought new challenges, but was a better site for the crowd and for us to work on. Download attracts really keen music fans who like any festival want to move from stage to stage to enjoy the music. Our aim is to facilitate this with ease of movement and minimal stress. The new site engendered itself to this festival: it pro

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14 March 2016

The backdrops come in various sizes ranging from 10ft x 12ft right up to 40ft x 20ft. They have tie tapes and can also be suspended from our free standing pipe and base support system, offering lots of flexibility in hanging to suit every venue.

Themes include: Olympics, Underwater, Circus, Forest, Carnival, Nautical, Pirate, Motor Racing, Football, Tennis, the Jungle, Christmas/Winter Wonderland, 60's, 70's, 80's, plus topics such as Venice, Egypt, Paris, Rio and Africa.

Hawthorn's new battery powered LED up lighters are suitable for lighting the backdrops without the need for cables or power as they are self contained and last for up to 10 hours, offerin

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14 March 2016

Water Sculptures has been in collaboration again with celebrated choreographer Kim Gavin and renowned production manager Chris Vaughan, for Take That's Circus stadium tour.

For the band's Back for Good number, performed on the stadium's central satellite "B" stage, a 7m high screen of water appears from jets concealed within the stage floor, which shields the boys from their screaming fans. As they walk into and out of the water screen, the water disappears and re-appears as though by magic.

Six tonnes of water are stored in tanks under the stage, which during the three minute performance showers the nearby crowds. Although they ar

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14 March 2016

Sunbaba supplied over 800sq.m of digitally printed Ultramesh for AEGON International, which is a combined men's and women's tournament. Three panels were used to brand the main stadia consisting of one for each side and one for the rear, which was made up into one single section. The panels were secured by the edges being connected by heavy duty bungee cord to stretch the panel across the structure while seamless welded flaps hid the bungeed edges so that the tensioning system wasn't visible.

Sunbaba worked alongside rope access specialists Nawrocki Alpin for the install. Rope access allowed the team to carefully attach the brandin

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14 March 2016

Approximately 50 generators from Tower's own fleet and Aggreko provided power to all critical applications. All major performance areas had synchronised machines, resulting in interruption-free supplies for the likes of Orbital, the Prodigy, Placebo and many others.

Site lighting requirements included 8000m of festoon, approximately 100 floodlights and 30 towable tower lights all deployed by Tower's team of eight led by project manager by James Mitchelmore.

After nearly three weeks at Loch Ness the team is now off to power and light the Game Fair at Scone Palace, the Wickerman Festival near Kirkcudbright, the Countryside Festival at G

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14 March 2016

The ETCP Council understands that there is a certain amount of fear surrounding the exams because many candidates have not taken an exam in quite some time and/or may be unfamiliar with computer-based testing. The 50 question practice exams will provide candidates with a valuable tool for self assessment. There is no application process with the practice exams; so any interested candidate will be able to take the exam privately at home, at the office or on the road whenever it is most convenient for him or her.

"I speak with candidates every day who

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14 March 2016

The suspension beam system, which can travel along the inside flanges of two I-beams, or mounted to bespoke brackets which interface with an existing house system, allows two or more adjacent systems to pass by each other without obstruction. The Rig Beams can also be removed and repositioned onto other beams elsewhere within the venue using the telescopic option.

Anti-crab rollers, wheel guards, a fail-safe clamp system which locks the beams into position, support of multi-directional forces for rigging bridles, 3D

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14 March 2016

On August 8th in a field in Horam, East Sussex, Gary Moore will top the bill, supported by Mo Foster and local legend Ray Russell. There will also be a special guest appearance by Geno Washington of The Ram Jam Band fame and Chris Difford from Squeeze.

Vibes from the Vines '09 follows the first hugely successful festival in 2006, when organizers raised an impressive £32,000 for Cancer Research UK. This year, with a much bigger show and substantially improved production facilities organizers will be loo

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14 March 2016

The Compacta AG60 and MR30 models are now available with a double brake to meet the industry's stringent safety standards. These products are suitable for powering the movement of stage curtains, lighting and stage elements.

As its name suggests Compacta is appropriate where space is at a premium. Its smaller dimensions and the low weight are achieved by the use of a spur and worm gear transmission combined with performance-optimised motors.

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

As often occurs, a chance conversation at a trade show in 1989 between Stuart Gibbons - Le Mark's MD and a Customer led to the invention of the now well travelled, reusable Flight Case or Road Case Label. "Correctly termed a PAL (Plastic Adhesive Laminate) Label, these ultra heavy duty customized 'stick and forget' items have become the label equivalent of a 'sticky work horse" quotes Stuart."Simple yes, underrated perhaps, however they are highly effective at getting specific Entertainment Industry items preped', packed, shipped and arriving on the right (or left) part of a stage," says the company.

"There are now very few Country's that we have not at some time built and shipped our case labels too.

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14 March 2016

Stage Technologies provided rental equipment for the spirited opening show, semi-finals and the live final in Moscow's gigantic Olimpiskiy Indoor Arena, which was built for the 1980 Summer Olympics. A combination of point hoist winches and an Illusionist control desk were used to create a number of performer flying effects to captivate a live audience of thousands and a worldwide audience of millions.

Four winches were used for the opening sequence: one winch was rigged in the arena above the audience to fly a performer in a net, two were rigged above the front of the s

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14 March 2016

Summit also provided specialist rigging consultancy, and custom designed and developed a lifting system for one of the show's most spectacular movement cues that involves moving a large set piece weighing 6.5 tonnes.

Summit's senior project manager Chris Walker worked closely with production manager Chris Vaughan from The Production Office and with the tour's head rigger Phil Broad. "This element was easily the biggest challenge for us," says Walker who was involved right from the early design and concept stages, and worked on it since last September.

The band started the show on the B stage, whilst a large circus tent set piece was in-situ on the main stage. Built by Brilliant

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14 March 2016

The process began two years ago, when Gearhouse Power (GHP) was approached by The Power Company(TPC) - an Austrian based power distribution company who specialise in sporting events - to create a partnership for the FIFA 2010 World Cup and German-based Match Hospitality, the organisation responsible for all official FIFA hospitality areas.

GHP and TPC supplied technicians and stage hands at all four of the stadiums , while GHP's Antony Sackstein and TPC project manager Mike Knezevic spent a hectic two weeks floating between all four venues taking care of last min

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14 March 2016

Three days of Hard Rock Calling were headlined by Neil Young, The Killers and Bruce Springsteen, with some smaller shows on stage two preceding the Blur homecoming shows and Wireless Festival featuring Basement Jaxx and Kanye West.

At the most practical level keeping crowds cool was achieved by Showsec staff constantly distributing gallons of water to fans. Beyond that there were numerous strategies and approaches implemented to maintain calm and secure all areas of the Royal Park venue, from perimeter fence, to pit, to artists and VIP areas.

The companies head of security for the events, Simon Battersby explained: "This is the best team and security operation I have worked with in Hyde Park. We have really seen th

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14 March 2016

Technical manager Dene Turner, who originally chose the system more than eight years ago, is still delighted with what Metrodeck offers him both for services and concerts in different parts of the Cathedral.

"We use the very versatile Metrodecks regularly in the Cathedral itself and also outside in the Cathedral Close for choral and orchestral concerts. I also use them for temporary liturgical focus such as Nave Altar platforms and Nativity/Easter dramas" says Turner.

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

TRP worked with the band for their Come to Town Christmas TV Special which previewed the tour's circus theme. After rehearsals at 3 Mills Studios the TV show was shot at Granada Studios in Manchester. Given that multiple effects were needed in a tight space, TRP opted to use Navigator software from FTSI (Fisher Technical Services) with their MOD winch system. This allowed the crew to rig multiple effects off individual winches and also to achieve the speed and acceleration required to make the effects look alive and "not like a tired old corporate show".

Once planning on the tour started TRP were brought in

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14 March 2016

During his career at the Royal Opera House, Jeff worked with Paul on numerous occasions, a typical example of which would be the installation of heavy duty point hoist winches sandwiched onto the fly galleries for the Ring Cycle and used to operate Paul's engineering design for a lifting, hinged, turning platform.

Paul Sadler specialises in modern theatre hydraulics and is now acting as associate engineer for Delstar Engineering, the company which he founded in 1978. Since its formation, Delstar has been a major contrib

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14 March 2016

When the show's producers, Globo Balear, took over the Gran Casino Theatre to host the show, the 1,500-seater custom-built theatre had never been used before for such a technically ambitious production. They therefore appointed broadcast and production specialists Three Media Creative as technology consultants when the show first went into pre-production planning.

James Baker, Three Media Creative Show Technology Consultant and his team had the remit of desig