Rigging / Staging

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14 March 2016

A Derbyshire Police spokesman said the injuries suffered included a suspected broken wrist, shoulder, back and neck injuries. A number of other people were treated for shock.

Police said the collapse happened at 1950 BST on Saturday 16 May. The stage was closed and made safe following the accident. Two other stages remained open and the festival continued.

Staff from the website efestivals.co.uk reported a freak gust of wind "described by one person as a twister" during a storm. Another witness quoted by the BBC said: "The sky darkened and within five minutes a huge squall came through, then it got seriously bad. The Port

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14 March 2016

The Raynok Motion Control System is a control solution specifically engineered for the entertainment industry and boasts the ability to control all stage machinery from one PC-based control interface. The system uses a complete range of Raynok control modules to link to existing or new stage machinery and provides safe and secure communications with the Raynok control software.

Joseph Jeremy, president of Niscon Inc comments: "We initially became aware of Hoist UK at PLASA'08. It was my first time attending and I was impressed with the presentation and professionalism that was displayed on their stand.

"We are extremely pleased to have the Raynok Motion Control System exclusively di

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14 March 2016

Cover It Up's Elliot Stennett, production manager Andy Gibbs and the choreography team worked closely to find a solution for the big moment. The staging of this was conceived by Kim Gavin, and saw ice dance superstars Jane Torville and Christopher Dean emerge right in the middle of the ice and launch into their famous Bolero routine.

The kabuki measured 10m in diameter and was suspended directly below a truss of the same dimensions. The fabric was produced in sections, allowing it to be swiftly and easily cleared from the ice by skating stage hands.

It was stored in a bag that lived suspended in the truss for transportation, and had a double release mechanism operated b

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14 March 2016

During the session, Medialon engineers will provide students with the technical skills required to set up and programme a show control system based on the latest Manager V5 software release.

The course is aimed at show technicians, freelancers, and end-user technicians who are responsible for programming and running show control systems in live events or permanent installations.

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

The first release in this ongoing series addresses fall protection harnesses and how to properly inspect them before use. Additional releases will follow in the coming weeks. The videos can be viewed and downloaded from Tomcat's website.

"TOMCAT is very proud of its industry-renowned workshops and the valuable safety training they provide," stated Keith Bohn, technical sales director for Tomcat USA. "This new series of video podcasts is an extension of our mission to spread the word about safe practices and principles in the entertainment indust

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14 March 2016

Litec's statement says: "The reorganisation was aimed at focussing on the business, brands and product range in the core market which we serve. It was this strategic decision that caused us to sell the IFF brand last March, to concentrate on Litec and strategic partnerships like Tomcat, Manfrotto and Columbus McKinnon."

The company says it will continue to introduce innovative products such as the RF40 (pictured) and MyT, and to improve existing products, whose success is increasingly confirmed in Europe and internationally (Libera and H

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14 March 2016

The stage engineering specification for the Phase 1 work called for a fully automated flying system that could handle multiple shows and cues together with operational controls that would be intuitive, straightforward to use for a variety of personnel but designed with budgetary constraints in mind.

Centre Stage's success in winning this contract was based on its new Artisan power flying system, launched at PLASA last year, and soon to be installed in the new Corby Cube later this year with 21 zero fleet angle hoists with 350kg SWL and a maximum speed of 1.2m/sec.

The syst

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14 March 2016

Blast on Tour is a programme of workshops and activities supporting the development of creative skills in 13 to 19-year-olds which takes place in and around the BBC Blast Truck and performance marquee 'village' which is established at each new site.

The flightcase project included a selection of standard and custom cases from 5 Star to cover a number of areas in the whole physical Blast On Tour set up, including the first-point-of-contact registration and reception area.

"We needed a special set of cases for this," explains Tony Kavanagh, operations manager for Blast On Tour. "They needed to look good and accommodate all the necessary equipment, tools and mater

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14 March 2016

"Setting up a new roof system with these huge dimensions within four days, without even a trial build, is a daring accomplishment! We would not have taken this risk with any other company than Prolyte," explained the owner of the Prolyte Space roof, Gino Spijkerman of Interstage, shortly before the concert started.

Prolyte engineers Marc Hendriks and Ruud de Deugd were responsible for getting the roof ready for the show. "Ideas and negotiations for this roof started a couple of months back, but coming close to the final building and seeing it all come together, still is a thrill. Even though you are 100% certain of the design and the materials and every detail is calculated through and through, with a roof with these dimensi

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14 March 2016

The innovative stage and set design was created by Gearhouse's Tim Dunn. He wanted a distinctive, stylish structure based on mellow curves and clean lines that complemented the surrounding urban environment.

He achieved this using several integrated elements, including a 25m domed roof - essentially the trussing structure from an In2Structures MaxiDome - with clear skins. The downstage elements were flown from the trussing superstructure o

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14 March 2016

The truss, all powder coated with a specific texture of black, varied from straight 20.5" square Element 20, fitted with steel fork-ends for maximum strength, to 12" square Element 12 nut and bolt connection truss, custom radiused to match the architectural lines of the newly completed building.

The truss, which was designed, fabricated and delivered to site in less than three weeks from date of order, was supplied with specific California stamped engineering reports to provide the 2,300 capacity, 59,000sq.ft venue with accurate loading capabilities of their new s

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14 March 2016

The football tournament searched the UK to find the best 5-a-side football team in the country through a series of knockout matches leading to the final which was held at Alexandra Palace in May. The experiential campaign was part of the biggest push the sports brand has launched in the UK in the last 10 years accompanied by television advertising featuring Wayne Rooney, Joe Cole, Rio Ferdinand and Fernando Torres.

A pitch area was created within the venue which was surrounded on three sides by temporary seating. Sunbaba provided a 21m X 6m Digimesh

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14 March 2016

Youngman Group is a leading provider of access equipment and systems that are designed and manufactured with safety in mind. Founded in 1926, it has built an international presence in over 25 countries worldwide through partnering with select distributors.

Adam Beaumont, sales manager of the A.C. Rigging division, commented, "We are really pleased to be working with the UK's leading access products manufacturer. With their focus on quality, safety and innovation, the new Aluminium Crowd Control Barrier system is great product and a great addition to our product portfolio."

A.C. Rigging has the new crowd control barrier system available for immedia

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14 March 2016

Designed for stage floors and drama studios, Stagefloor 100 is priced at £10.95 per square metre. This flooring product comes with a high level of specification, fire-rated for safety to NF P 92-507 class M3, is quick to roll out and suitable for permanent installation, or for portable use, says the company.

When permanently installed it can be either hot or cold welded. There is a colour choice of black, dark grey, light grey or hazelnut - all highly tear resistant and tough enough to stand up to props, equipment, street footwear - in fact most normal wear and tear encountered on stage. Stagefloor 100 is in stock now - ready to ship in 2m wide rolls with lengths from

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14 March 2016

The basic level course on 15 June consists of an overview of the CM Lodestar Hoists. It includes practical exercises on inspection, maintenance testing and troubleshooting CM Lodestars. The course is suitable for technicians dealing with CM Lodestar products on a regular basis and is intended to provide a more comprehensive working knowledge of the products. A.C. will supply all technical documentation, certification of the training and lunch on the day.

The advanced level cou

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14 March 2016

LoadGuard hoists are available in capacities from 250kg to 5 tonnes, they are available as standard rigging hoists and hoists to higher safety standards- for example the British Hoisting Entertainment Standard BS 7906: Part 1, Category A, and the German Standards BGV D8 Plus or BGV C1 (VPLT SR 2.0) - all of these standards allow some form of load positioning and holding without secondary suspension to support the load.

The hoist comes in modular form, allowing standard hoists to be ordered now for retrofitting later with special components to meet present or future higher integrity standards. The big feature of these hoists are that the clutch is not in the drive train meaning that clutch wear

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14 March 2016

The venue for the high-profile VIP event was the former Royal Hangar at the Expo site at Dubai International Airport, and Almoe were contracted direct by flydubai LLC as the technical services provider. In addition to rigging, this included sound, lighting and AV.

The big technical and creative challenge for the Almoe team was to transform the barn like structure of the hangar into a theatrical space for the event. The launch culminated in the reveal of a new Boeing 737-800 airliner, which necessitated flying trussing the length of the hangar, and bringing the new aircraft in underneath screens that were suspended from it. With the plane valued at $75 million, the rig above had to be

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14 March 2016

The tour is scheduled to play stadia of all sizes in France, Belgium and Switzerland, so it required a flexible touring set that would create a dramatic visual impact in different capacity venues, from the 60,000 seat Stade de France in Paris to smaller venues like the Stade Jules Deschaseaux in Le Havre.

Stage designer Mark Fisher of Stufish designed a stage dominated by a large mythic bird, wings outstretched and spanning the entire width of the performance area. Beneath it were two pairs of giant caryatids, half human, half av

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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