Rigging / Staging

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14 March 2016

Since 2001, Sensation's 35,000-per-night crowd has followed an all-white dress code, originally a tribute by organiser Duncan Sutterheim to his late brother Miles, who was given an all-white funeral in 2000. The tradition has continued, and this year's human snowscape was reflected in specially commissioned white aerial décor, props and lighting effects.

The aerial pieces were animated, along with video screens and lighting pods, by a 58-motor XLNT CyberHoist motion control system, controlled by a complex four-zoned Ethernet system using XLNT Advanced Technologies

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14 March 2016

The ninth annual Tech Track 100 league table was published in The Sunday Times on 20 September 2009. It ranks Britain's fastest-growing privately-owned technology companies, based on sales growth over the latest three years, from 2005-2008, or 2006-2009. Growth among these companies ranged from 38% pa to 189% pa, with sales typically between £5m and £30m.

Stage Technologies, founded in 1995 by managing director Mark Ager and operations director John Hastie, has grown its sales 55% a year from £4.2m in 2005 to £15.5m in 2008, according to The Times. In 2009 it received the Queen's Award for Enterprise 2009 in the categor

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14 March 2016

The show, set in 1959 in the city of New York, is a mix of swing music, acrobatics and dancing. It transports the audience back in time to the 'Rat Pack' era. Three large roller projection screen systems are used in the show. At the left and right side of the stage, Gerriets installed two Tube top roller screen systems, each equipped with a 36ft (11m) wide x 26ft (8m) high Opera white front projection surface. In the centre of the stage, Gerriets installed a 39ft (12m) wide bottom roller Megascreen projection screen system. Here the carbon tube rolls up and down with the screen surface. When unrolled the screen is fully open and the carbon tube is

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14 March 2016

The lift is designed for those requiring a quick set-up for their line array. The PA is loaded directly on to the forks of the lift, cranked up and in a matter of minutes the system is suspended from the lift and ready to play. The lift has a transport weight/height of just 95kg/1.7m so is easy to transport.

The TL-A220 incorporates the ALS (Auto Lock Security) a system patented by VMB 12 years ago, and now a standard in most of its lifts. The ALS automatically locks the lift in place, releases all the pressure from the cable and guarantees the load will not fall.

Says VMB: "With any other conventional frontal load lift the further along the forks the load is placed the

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14 March 2016

"NCsoft really wanted the launch of Aion to make an impact and this was certainly achieved," said Simon Wood, sales and marketing director, Stage One. He continued, "by integrating fantasy elements of the game into the set and bringing two of the games characters to life, including the flying of them using Qtrack, our fly track system, we were able to engage the public in the story and deliver a real theatrical punch."

Each part of the vivid set, created by Mike Woodage, was designed to reflect the fantasy world in which

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14 March 2016

The show will feature the latest industry technology and exhibits from leading lighting and sound suppliers. Avolites, Doughty, ETC, Le Maitre, Lee, MA Lighting, Martin, Panasonic, Pulsar, RCF, RSS by Roland, Rosco, Philips Selecon, Yamaha and Zero 88 will be exhibiting their latest products, offering demonstrations and providing product advice.

Stage Electrics will be exhibiting and demonstrating a wealth of new products including: LED screens, QMAXZ QME700P moving lights, Prolyte truss, Arkaos A-Series Media Servers, Flamejettt and the Altair WBS200 Wireless Intercom System. Throughout the day website demonstrations

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14 March 2016

They were keen to create "a unique live experience for their fans" and, for the first time, contracted Stageco to design, manufacture and install the Viva La Vida touring stage.

Development began at the end of 2008. Project director Hedwig de Meyer led in-depth consultation between Stageco's in-house design and CAD engineers and the band's management and production teams. An extensive creative process followed to finalise a design led staging solution, following the concept of a giant eyelid, which was practical and safe to tour.

The

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14 March 2016

Rope Assemblies Ltd will be offering the C-Clip at a special introductory price of £2.00 each (RRP £2.50), while complete system prices and full specifications are available on request. To take advantage of this offer please quote CClip when placing orders before 23 December 2009 (offer applies to orders dispatched before 23 December 2009, offer

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14 March 2016

Thurlbeck chose Steeldeck because of its durability, safe in the knowledge that these sturdy decks have been supporting performers and production teams for a very long time. "It has literally been used for everything from rock to classics to corporate sets and all points in between," he says.

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

The Alhambra's Theatre's technical electrics manager wanted to improve safety at the theatre where they were using a tallescope for working at height. "We chose the Star 10 because it is driveable at full height, carries two people and is about 1 tonne lighter than other machines we looked at suitable for our stage floor. Haulotte also changed the speed setting on the machine to enable us to drive it slower so that we have greater control in difficult areas like the edge of the orchestra pit."

The Star

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14 March 2016

The 360° viewing facility will remain active all year round while being removed for the duration of the Championships. Tennis enthusiasts will be able to enjoy a full insight into the main features of Wimbledon and Centre Court. Venturing out to the viewing platform on Centre Court itself places them just steps away from the world famous turf.

In conjunction with concept designers Mather and Company, Arena Structures designed and installed the elegant viewing platform and temporary corridor which connects it to the rest of the gallery.

Project mana

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14 March 2016

"It's great to be back at Showman's," says national sales manager, John Phillips who will be one of the team on hand throughout the show. "Crowd management at an event is an extremely important element to ensure both the safety and enjoyment of those attending.

"At A.P., we pride ourselves on looking at each job on an individual basis to ensure the best results. Because of this, we have great relationships with our current clients and we're looking forward to developing some new ones during the show."

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

The announcement comes on the back of long-term strategic reviews conducted by both Associations who believe that uniting as one body will lead to a stronger voice for members, the enhancement of existing initiatives and an expansion of the range of benefits and services.

The proposed merger has the full backing of both the ESTA Board of Directors and the PLASA Executive Committee who voted on the proposal this Summer and who will formally recommend the move to their respective memberships, subject to due diligence being completed successfully, during the Spring/Summer of 2010. If both memberships vote to go ahead, the first stage of t

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14 March 2016

The fan-shaped screen was located behind the stage covering the back seating tiers, and reached right up to the full height of the top of the venue. Its total surface area was an impressive 2,160sq.m.

Fondazione Arena di Verona is a Roman amphitheatre dating back to 30 AD. The task of designing, supplying and installing the projection screen into this performance space was trusted to rigging and trussing rental company Decima Italia from Padova.

One of the many challenges they faced was ensuring that the installation had minimal impact on the natural architecture. The screen also had to be positioned milli

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14 March 2016

Founded in 1961, the ABTT was started by a small group of enthusiastic professionals, whose main objective was to raise technical standards in the theatre, through the collation and distribution of information on working methods, theatre planning, stage machinery, lighting and sound equipment, acoustics, scenery construction, stage management and all aspects of live performance.

Starting from a membership of under 100 almost 50 years ago, the ABTT currently enjoys a membership approaching 1800, drawn from theatre consultants, architects, engineers, designer

Details

14 March 2016

The announcement comes on the back of long-term strategic reviews conducted by both Associations who believe that uniting as one body will lead to a stronger voice for members, the enhancement of existing initiatives and an expansion of the range of benefits and services.

The proposed merger has the full backing of both the ESTA Board of Directors and the PLASA Executive Committee who voted on the proposal this Summer and who will formally recommend the move to their respective memberships, subject to due diligence being completed successfully, during the Spring/Summer of 2010. If both memberships vote to go ahead, the first stage of t

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14 March 2016

These events offer young people aged 13 and above a taste of the job roles available behind the scenes and offstage in technical theatre and live music events.

Pupils from local schools will meet and experience the work of a number of professionals including lighting and sound technicians, marketing and stage managers and designers, in venues from the New Theatre Royal in Portsmouth, up to the SAGE in Gateshead. Behind the scenes staff will share the tricks of their trade and experiences, working out of the 'spotlight'.

Offstage is produced by The National Skills Academy for Creative & Cultural Skills (NSA), a network of industry speciali

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14 March 2016

These completely engineered systems eliminate the potential hazards inherent in systems using components from various suppliers that may not be designed to work together. In addition, standard clew winches now include dual compartment, grooved drums to accommodate redundant haul lines for enhanced security and load control. Winches also include a positive load holding brake and a lock-out function to provide secondary security by locking the drum to the frame when the load is stationary.

The new 2500 pound Clew Winch series, incorporates an improved gearbox design, to provide quiet and reliable performance. Worm gears are enclosed in a cast aluminium housing, and ope

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14 March 2016

The Dance Forum has been a major force in South African contemporary dance for the past 21 years, facilitating major projects such as the 12-day FNB Dance Umbrella Festival, a dance platform for young artists entitled New Dance and a Young Choreographers Residency Programme.

In wide ranging future plans, The Dance Forum intends to develop a series of workshops, debates, collaborations, master classes and residency programmes for professional practitioners as well as encourage collaborations between dance organisations and choreographers across Africa and the rest of the world.

Yet throughout its existence there has never been one singl

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14 March 2016

During the course of the ETCP recognised workshop, participants will receive training from industry experts. Day one consists of a full day of motor instruction taught by Herb Hart of Columbus McKinnon. During this, participants will disassemble and reassemble a one ton CM Lodestar and receive instruction on troubleshooting and maintenance.

Day two includes a half-day course on truss design, use and theory taught by Will Todd, product support manager for Tomcat USA plus a half-day course on fall protection led by Bill Sapsis, president and founder of Sapsis Rigging.

This is the first time Sapsis has taught a session in conjunction with the

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14 March 2016

The team of seven walkers and two drivers signed up for the challenge in April and put themselves through an Olympian like training regime in an attempt to improve their fitness levels, they even cut back on the 'chip shop' lunches.

The walkers set off from the nStage office in Shaw and took the long drive up to Fort William to commence the mammoth challenge at 5pm on 18 September. They suffered injuries, sickness and even got lost but with help from the support team and so

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14 March 2016

To achieve a more distinct identity in trussing, the pre-existing partnership with Litec has been terminated.

"Proel and Trabes are two companies which, to some extent, share the same idea of business," explains Maurizio Amadori, founder and Chairman of Trabes. "Since it was established in 1985, Trabes has always worked in the market trying to meet the concrete needs of its customers and demonstrating its commitment to product reliability with accurate choice of materials and attention to detail, as well as with st

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14 March 2016

The completion in May 2009 of the new building containing three studios follows an earlier project phase in 2008, which saw the conversion of two former stables at Glasgow's co-located Tramway venue. Here at the end of last year, British Harlequin installed Harlequin WoodSpring into the converted stables at Tramway; one being covered with Harlequin Cascade and the other with Harlequin Studio vinyl dance floors. All three new studios are also furnished with Harlequin WoodSpring basketweave floors and completed with a dance surface of grey Harlequin Cascade vinyl.

At 382sq.m, one studio is thought to be the largest in Europe. In addition to the new dance studios Scottish Ballet

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14 March 2016

Wukesong Arena was built in west Beijing for the 2008 Olympics specifically to host basketball. Privately financed by developer Bloomage International Investment Group Inc, the venue was managed by AEG and then closed post games for a total refurbishment.

The refurbishment maintains the basketball heritage, with regular appearances by the American NBA teams - basketball having a huge following in China. However, it now works as a major world class concert venue, the first in a planned series of 11 across China, all managed by AEG.

The venue's roof, covering some 14,400 m2, was designed for sports use rather than concert rigging and so the owners went to tender for suitable solutions for rigging. Bidding against worldwide c