When the Weis Centre was constructed in 1988, its automated rigging control system was top of the line: 15 line shafts and a Shamrock controller designed and manufactured by J. R. Clancy. The system remained in top working order until 1995, says technical designer Dale Hourlland. "The Shamrock was damaged by a power anomaly, which also took out the computer that ran the lifts in our orchestra pit, and our lighting syst
Brittany Ferries are a leading provider of Western Channel ferry routes to Spain and France from the UK and Republic of Ireland. Depending on route and time of year, the ships feature entertainment programmes, including resident music duos, cabaret singers, close-up magic and headlining illusion sets, through to cocktail pianists, tribute acts and DJ sets - even a full pantomime production in the school holidays on one longer route.
An established supplier to the cruise ships market, A.C. Special Projects was approached by Brittany Ferries to provide a high quality upgrade solution for the Bretagne's Main Bar lighting and audio systems. The installation includes Martin MAC
Taking place last month at Earls Court Conference Centre, alongside PLASA 2010, the event brought together over 200 delegates from as far afield as South Africa, North America and Australasia to discuss a range of issues and to share experiences.
The two full-on days of discussion were opened by Unusual Rigging's Alan Jacobi LVO, an industry icon who engaged delegates with a fascinating history of the rigging industry across the past five decades. The back-to-back programme of sessions and interactive debates which followed were well received by the capacity audience.
Bill Sapsis of Sapsis Rigging, part of the international line-up of speakers at the event, summed up the view of many: "The PLASA Interna
Stageco's customised stage design was an updated version of the design previously developed for Celine Dion's Let's Talk About Love tour in 1999. The 26m by 26m Super Roof has a 1400m² floor with giant 3m wide flower shaped arms reaching up to 40m into the crowd.
The stadium show is centred round the French ex-sports star turned pop singer, performing on a large 18m Stage One turntable in the middle of the stage, with stairs built up around it, giving the entire crowd an ultimate viewing experience.
Stageco project manager Thierry Nataf oversaw a crew of 18, who test built the stage in Ethias Arena, Hasselt from 15-19 September. This was followed by the construction in Stade de France over a period of four days, with the crew worki
The Dancing Water Theatre was designed by Pei Partnership and is a 270-degree theatre-in-the-round, with a central stage diameter of about 20m. The theatre houses around 260 automated fountains that spurt water up to 18m in the air, and a total of 11 hydraulic stage lifts and vomitory lifts that enable an artistic flow in performance from aquatic to conventional stage.
Contracted by Theatre Projects, Stage Technologies provided a 141-axis whole house control and engineering system for the purpose-built venue. The system includes a 40-unit track and trolley system, which can transport up to 250kg at 3.5m/sec, allowing
The elections are a unique milestone in the merger of the two Associations, as this is the first time that ESTA and PLASA Members will vote simultaneously to elect representatives to the new Board structure. The month-long ballot, in which over 1,000 companies and individuals will have the opportunity to vote, pre-empts the New Year merger date when the Associations formally unite under the PLASA name.
For PLASA, one of the major developments to come out of the merger is the move to a more representative Governance system. The new 12-member Regional Boards will better mirror the diversity of regions, market sectors, business types and technologies a
Several customers that placed orders at the show, insisted that we fitted USB sockets in order to charge the crews' mobile phones, as during longer shows they often run out of power and it is often difficult to find a suitable and secure place to charge them.
"This has been very well received by several crew members who need to keep in touch when away from home on tour, and does away with the need to carry different adapters for different countries, as all phones now come with a USB charger," says Gordon R Cooper. "The USB socket is available on all new racks as of 1 October, and can be retro fitted to older racks if required
The rigging system includes 10 PowerLift automated hoists, controlled by Clancy's SceneControl 500. Designed by Clancy's in-house team of rigging professionals, this touch-screen system shows operators a 3D representation of the stage and the scenery hanging on each batten. Operators can set simple or elaborate cues, group battens to move together, and see exactly what's moving on stage at any moment.
In addition, J. R. Clancy supplied a Zetex fire safety curtain for the theatre, which lowers automatically in the event of a fire o
Multiple contact style modules can be mixed to suit particular needs. Multi-pin modules can support analogue and digital audio transfer. Various coaxial modules can handle SDI and HD-SDI video. A full range of power modules allows current handling from a few amperes through to 100 A. RJ45 data modules allow Cat 5 10/100 Mbit/s or Cat 6e 1 Gbit/s Ethernet transfer via Harting patch leads.
The integrated screening design of the HanGigabit Ethernet module allows secure signal and power modules to be densely pack
This followed the model of the workshops that Milos runs regularly in Europe, and was attended by a selection of high profile, key decision project makers from major companies in Thailand, Indonesia, India, Macau, Hong Kong, Singapore and mainland China.
The aim of the two-day event was to illustrate the quality of Milos's trussing, roofing and staging products, and emphasise the benefits of the brand's reputation for unbeatable efficiency and service worldwide in a highly competitive marketplace.
It also stressed the importance of knowledge in terms of health & safety legislation and standards and safe working practices for rigging and the building of tempora
Sponsored by Huntingdonshire District Council and supported by Huntingdonshire Chamber of Commerce, Huntingdonshire Regional College and Business Link East, the group has been created to reinforce the manufacturers' role in the district's economy. It will also help them promote high standards in manufacturing and access training and funding opportunities.
The launch was personally endorsed by Lord Digby Jones of Birmingham, Minister of State for UK trade and industry and prominent champion of British manufacturing. Delegates heard key speakers from HSBC Bank, the East of England Regional Development Agency and the Institute of Manufactu
In the incongruous setting of the Duveen Galleries, a suspended Sea Harrier is transformed into a captive bird, the markings that tattoo its surface evoking its namesake the Harrier Hawk. A Jaguar lies belly up on the floor, its posture suggestive of a submissive animal.
The planning for the rigging of the two aircraft began at the end of 2009. Unusual Rigging was asked to tender for the project following similar work at RAF Hendon and RAF Cosford although, says Robin Elias, Unusual's project manager, "the two RAF projects were very different! For those projects, we had to keep restoration and conservation in mind, but in this case, we were free to gut the planes and, because of access problems, to 'cut and shunt' them."
J. R. Clancy will provide 14 PowerLift automated hoists and an Altus rigging controller for the centre's 500-seat theatre. Designed for mid-level backstage rigging systems with up to 48 hoists, Altus allows operators to create up to 200 cues with different speeds and targets for each hoist. Its 12-inch graphic touch screen makes this an easy console to learn to use, even for crew members with limited backstage experience.
In addition, Altus will control the H&H draw curtain machine on the front curtain.
(Jim Evans)
Co-founder Sarah Rushton-Read says: "During the show we shot past the 200 barrier in terms of membership and now have over 270 members and counting! It was great to meet and greet so many of our members on our own stand and we thank our sponsor Bryan Raven of White Light, Esther Heaslip and the White Light team for making this happen. The WiSE stand was heaving every day during Tea O Clock (4pm - 6pm), where WiSE members served tea and cakes to industry colleagues and other WiSE members. Of course we could not have achieved this without all the wonderful WiSE women who were prepared to - tongue in cheek - don their pinnies, bake some fa
" We have been using Le Mark's removable Tour Labels for many years, allowing each road case to clearly show the SSE logo and be easily wrote on to identify the contents. An advantage of using the removable labels is how easy it is to keep the cases looking fresh and tidy. Each and every time the equipment goes out on hire we replace the label and re-identify the case contents, keeping the cases clean, tidy and its content accurately identified."
(Jim Evans)
"Thanks to this relocation, Hoist UK and our sister company AJB Precision Fabrications can now be housed under one roof, this will allow us to offer seamless integration of our own manufactured products and those of our internationally renowned suppliers to our clients," says Hoist UK director Tony Dickson.
The new Hoist UK & AJB Precision fabrication facility is located at Unit 2, Wrynose Road, Old Hall Industrial Estate, Bromborough, Wirral, CH62 3QD.
"Our sister company AJB Precision Fabrications is a steel and aluminium fabrication company, with in-house CNC machining facilities. The directors of AJB are Phil Williams and Mike Nicholson who like Tony Dick
AP's remit included covering the course for the TfL London Stage of the Tour, and also took in the Newham Waterfront Festival, organised by Newham Council and sponsored by ExCel London. Set up to coincide with the tour, the Festival was hosted in Royal Victoria Square and featured international street theatre, a wide variety of foods and live music, culminating in a spectacular fireworks display.
With around 15,000 spectators
Niscon Inc.'s president, Joseph Jeremy says, "This hoist is simply the best I have seen on the market. In comparison to other chain products, the Stagemaker body was the only choice that could deliver the performance we were looking for along with consistency and accuracy throughout the manufacturing process.
"Our goal was to develop a variable speed chain hoist that was safe, practical and would complement the Raynok line of motion control solutions. In order to achieve this we added additional features to enhance safety and performance of the overall pr
Niscon's Raynok MK2 Motion Control System can be configured to control a virtually unlimited number of axes from a variety of manufacturers' equipment, including J. R. Clancy's PowerLift and custom hoists. Raynok simplifies the collaborative efforts of the creative and technical teams to create fluid scenic imagery - from the simplest chain hoist system to the most complex turning, pushing or pulling application. Dual processors with live backup, a solid state hard drive, and redundant power supplies provide added reliability and safety.
In addition to Raynok, J. R. Clancy will showcase its own Altus theatrical rigging controller, designed for mid-level backstage rigging systems with up to 48 hoists. Altus provides touch-screen programmable capabilities
Van der Moolen was closely involved in the Research & Development process leading to the launch of XLNT's CyberHoist range and has extensive experience in the rigging market with Stagemaker. He comments, "When I was invited to join XLNT I had already taken the decision to move away from frontline sales and move more into product and brand development consultancy. As I had been familiar with CyberHoist and the whole XLNT team for many years, and they were looking for someone with experience of product development and setting up distribution networks for their motion control business, it was a perfect match.
"I see a great future at XLNT with a talented and energetic team developing a number of tremend
On display will be the XLNT DS8 Pro and Pro Plus Series Solid State Motor Controllers for rental and install applications.
Assets include the rigging industry's highest standards of safety, protection and maintenance-free reliability. DS8 series controllers provide every essential option for controlling all brands and types (low voltage or direct controlled) standard electrical entertainment chain hoists, with advanced options in the Pro Plus version including power- and remote link through and the optional DSR8 8- or DSR8x8 64-motor hand remote, including all of the DS8's indicators and control buttons.
The DSR 8 is a new eight-channel handheld wired remote control panel for th
The specialist rigging glove range launched only in early 2010 is now available in over 20 countries worldwide with Movievision being a great addition to the distribution network. "To have Kim and the team at Movievision to work with is a great step forward for the Dirty Rigger range, having worked with the
Easy to install and "even easier to remove", StudioTak has been used on some of the most watched TV programmes throughout the world, from Eurovision to Ant & Dec. Thanks to its low-tak adhesive, StudioTak Studio Flooring can be applied and removed without hassle or need for residue removers (always test first, high-tak adhesive is also available, says Le Mark). Its easy application and ability to withstand energetic physical performances time and time again makes StudioTak one of the best temporary studio floors on the market today, the company says.
(Claire Beeson)
The CyberHoist office, based in Manheim, PA, will be handled by PJ Visser. The office will handle sales activities, product support and training to rental and install clients, and will also provide equipment support services for CyberHoist rental network members based in Canada and the USA.
XLNT commercial director Marc van der Wel said: "The new North America CyberHoist office will allow our clients in the USA to receive the same high level of technical support as they get from our headquarters in the Netherlands, and all member countries of the worldwide CyberHoist network, and will also be our focus for driving the brand forward in the USA sales market. It
