Rigging / Staging

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14 March 2016

In the new office located minutes away from St Pancras London, Stageco and Tait Technologies combine over 50 years of experience supplying the events industry. The appointed UK representatives in the new premises are Stageco's international project manager, Dirk de Decker and Tait Technologies UK manager, Fanny Verschraege, who worked for global technology company Barco for seven years. Both companies are recruiting new staff to expand their UK based team.

Dirk de Decker comments, "The main benefit of this office is that we are committing ourselves to be more easily available to come and meet UK music and event industry professi

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14 March 2016

Initially they had bought the two GIS EM electric chain hoists from John Jones (now of LTM) back in 1992. The hoists were linked using an extended bar to allow lifting of normal loads using either hoist or long loads using both hoists together. These hoists are required to raise goods from floor level to two mezzanine levels up to 10m high. Following the original site survey, two GIS EM 500kg capacity electric chain hoists were recommended with electric travel trolleys, as they needed to have fast lifting to speed up the loading process. The hoists were delivered and

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14 March 2016

Her seven-date sell-out Stand Up tour stopped at Academy venues in Glasgow, Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester and Dublin, as well as London's Shepherds Bush Empire and finished up at Belfast's Mandela Hall in April. The colour-changing LED tubed lettering spelling the star's name was the centrepiece of the stage set.

LD Louis Oliver approached LS-Live to create the LED RGB tubed sign based on the shape of Jessie J's logo, which had to be fully controllable by DMX 512 and patched into an Avolites Tiger Touch. Despite time pressures, Oliver said the end result was "fantastic".

"I've never worked with LS-Live on the custom creation of equipment before," he commented, "but they are honest people with honest

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14 March 2016

The 31 acre park - described as a place where visitors learn about health, life and the environment "whilst having fun" is laid out in concentric circles, a design by Frédéric Jung meant to evoke the shockwaves caused by the impact of the Ensisheim meteorite, which struck nearby in 1492.

In 2006, designers and manufacturers of high performance portable buildings, Tectoniks, were commissioned by Le Bioscope to create a permanent installation at the Park to house an audio visual show presenting the science of sleep and dreams. In 2010, Le Bioscope decided it was time to update this award-winning structure a

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14 March 2016

The Mojo Barrier team led by managing director, Jim Gaffney supplied over 300m of aluminium crowd barrier to Radio 1's Big Weekend in Carlisle, to secure all four stages. Gaffney directed a crew of three skilled professionals during the build, which also included half a day ensuring the ground was level for the safe installation of the barrier systems. The Mojo Barriers' equipment was loaded in the Friday before the festival and removed immediately after the event finished.

Following this successful event, Mojo Barriers supplied 107m of stage barrier to last weekend's Evol

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14 March 2016

The total count of 107 Kinesys motion controlled elements on this production beats the previously held record of 80 by the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest final in Oslo.

Borsato's set and lighting was designed by Ignace D'haese from Arf & Yes who worked closely with show producers John Mulder and Flip Van Ommeren from Mojo Concerts who also did the production management.

WImotion - part of the Belgium based WIcreations Group - were asked onboard to co-ordinate and engineer all the automation design and specify t

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14 March 2016

Simon Stone, project manager for Unusual Rigging reports, "The most interesting and challenging part of the project from our point of view was working out how to hang so many pieces of set, including over 40 cloths, with so little weight in the house counterweight sets. The theatre has an extremely old counterweight system which can only take up to 125kg in each cradle; an Unusual Ladderbeam on its own weighs that much, so we knew we had a lot of work to do.

"For the three flown pieces that weigh over 1400kg each, we replaced the theatre counterweight cradles with Unusual's, each of which can take up to 1.5 tons. But the budget wouldn't have stretched to

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14 March 2016

Record label Dig Deeper, DJs Hernan Cattaneo and Danny Howells, and Liverpool promoters Freeze joined forces to host a party beneath the breathtaking architecture of one of Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral. This was the setting for the launch of Prolyte Group's new version of its performance platform, LiteConsole.

LiteConsole is a versatile podium structure that offers a portable and high visual-impact solution for a variety of applications but is ideal for DJ performances, says the company. To reflect this, the new version has been designed to accommodate the latest range of CD players and mixers, as well as offering improved ergonomic efficiency and a more dynamic aesthetic impact.

LiteConsole modules comprise just four primary pieces

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14 March 2016

The pyro display was the culmination of months of hard work for Karen Haddon, events director at Le Maitre and her team.

"The size of the task cannot be underestimated. The arch itself is the longest unsupported roof structure in the world, and at 133m high and with a 7m diameter lattice arch, we knew this was never going to be straightforward. Add to that the wind and British weather in general and you have a pyrotechnician's worst nightmare. T

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14 March 2016

Available in various lengths up to 328ft, the high-speed cable assemblies draw power directly from any HDMI port. Utilising both fibre optic and copper cabling in a UL Listed plenum configuration, the product line incorporates a design relying upon the ultra-miniaturization of the optical-to-electrical conversion process within the HDMI connector footprint.

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

Garsington Opera has moved to the estate of Wormsley in the Chiltern Hills, home of the Getty family, after 22 years at Garsington Manor. Wormsley is located on the Oxfordshire - Buckinghamshire border in a parkland setting of approximately 2,500 acres.

Garsington Opera instructed architect Robin Snell and, following a competitive tendering process, appointed Unusual Rigging, as main contractor, to manage this design and build project, including fabrication and construction of the pavilion. At the end of the opera season, the pavilion will be dismantled and loaded by crane onto some 40 trucks to be taken away for storage, ready for return next year.

Lifted above the ground to give an appearance of 'f

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14 March 2016

That weekend and the preceding week were exceptionally hectic for the company, which also - unexpectedly and at very short notice - was asked to provide and install rigging and trussing to facilitate lighting of the church for Irish politician Garret Fitzgerald's state funeral.

The same weekend as the Jenkins shows, PSI supplied lighting design and equipment for the first Clan Wars cage fight to be staged in Belfast's Ulster Hall, and a few days before that, lit the Northern Ireland Tourism Awards event.

PSI was asked to supply the Katherine Jenkins shows by Neil MacDonald of UK based production company, Clockwork Productions. With

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14 March 2016

CyberMotion, developed by XLNT Advanced Technologies, is designed not only to change the philosophy of motion control but to open the horizons of stage engineering to new creative potential, says the company.

XLNT CyberMotion is a complete range of motion products designed specifically for the entertainment industry. SIL3 certified technology is used to create a series of intercompatible products to "create breathtaking shows and installations" as well as the durability for cost efficient global touring.

Intelligent, variable speed chain hoists, winches, trolley beams and other motion control mechanics, instantly add movement and velocity to permanent installations, multi-purpose venues, concert touring and theatre, TV or event productions of any

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14 March 2016

"Tallescopes have long been and remain one of the methods for Working at Height in Theatres. However as stated and illustrated in the ABTT Code of Practice on Selection of Equipment for Work at Height in Theatres, Tallescopes should not be regarded as the default or first choice tool for working at height. Employers should always refer to the hierarchy for the selection of equipment for work at height outlined in the Work at Height Regulations 2005 before considering means for work at height. However it is recognised that in some circumstances the Tallescope will be the most approp

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14 March 2016

At 10am, having fuelled themselves with a hearty, al fresco, breakfast, the chequered flag will be lowered and they will be on their way. However they will not be alone. A group of police motorbike outriders will accompany them, out of London to the A11.

Stars of the stage and screen, including West end actress Liz Robertson, James Fleet and a host of others, will be waving them off.

Rob Barnard, head of technical resources at The National Theatre says, "I am delighted to be involved with such a fabulous event. I will be doing the ride for the second year runnin

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14 March 2016

Organisers, the LTA, and sponsors Aegon briefed the Arena Group to create "a stunning world-class sporting venue befitting the increasing status of this annual international tennis tournament, delivering an enhanced visitor experience and contemporary visual impact that also worked for the broadcast audience".

Arena supplied 8,800 spectator seats, 12,500sq.m of temporary structures, 100 tonnes of substructure scaffolding and all hospitality furniture, cutlery and crockery across the venue. Martin Clark, Arena Group project manager reports, "The Queen's Club is a logistically challenging and sensitive location to work within, requiring months of planning and organisation once on site. We co-or

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14 March 2016

The V-Cart Solo is designed for creative professionals, including musicians, DJs, photographers, cinematographer, filmmakers, studio engineers, audio/video techs and stage crews.

Andrew Richardson, managing director of Adam Hall UK says, "The V-Cart Solo is incredibly versatile and has a huge load carrying capacity. It's the perfect vehicle for equipment transportation needs."

The V-Cart Solo comes with a range of accessories including flat bungee bands, grip tape, carpeted puzzle decks and an extra large extension frame.

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

Denis Biaggi was the scenic and lighting designer for the whole establishment. He reports, "One of the owner Marco Cerutti's basic requirements was to create a stage that could be adapted to different types of show: concerts, conventions, theatre and dance. In view of the various different purposes the structure needs to serve, my first concern was to set up widespread convenient suspension points for any future shows, and an adequate num

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14 March 2016

Featuring concurrent transmission and reception of 48kH, 16bit audio and 512 DMX channels, the tri-Wi system will find favour with companies who need to send either or both signals at distances up to, or in excess of, 2.3km using the less cluttered, registration free, 5GHz band, says the company. Additionally, by employing Open SSL encryption to offer secure, tap proof transmission, the tri-Wi system allows users to improve signal security as well as save costs when compared to cable solutions.

The tri-Wi system comprises of two main components, the tri-Wi transmitter and the tri-Wi receiver [Rx]. An optional Repeater unit is available where greater distances are required. The Tx unit features a pair of th

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14 March 2016

Site access restrictions meant no large plant could deployed so Tower synchronised four 100kva machines from their own stock to give a 400kva generation package with 100% redundancy.

Christie Roadster HD18ks, Philips Vari-Lite VL3000 spots, and a dozen ETC Source Four profiles looked after the external branding/projection onto the castle walls with Dominator and NovaLight High Ground searchlights for aerial effects. 40 green 400W HQI's provided a solid base colour to the castle walls.

Inside the marquee, an array of HD plasma screens from Tower's newly formed AV department were recessed into the set showing the game, associated branding and information, live camera and a Sky HD feed.

In

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14 March 2016

The purpose of the agreement is to expand the reach of both PLASA and LDI, and broaden training options for industry professionals.

According to organisers Penton Media, PLASA's international reach adds a broader global dimension to LDI. The Technical Standards Updates track, now from PLASA (formerly ESTA) will again form part of LDI's training line-up this year, giving LDI professional attendees the latest information on essential issues at the heart of the industry.

PLASA will be able to share its technical updates with the industry at large and benefit from the additional US exposure for its trade show and association. By partnering with LDI, PLASA also adds

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14 March 2016

This technology is the result of a collaboration between Heather Roberts of Kai Knox Technologies and Scott Almand of Scott Almand Designs. Their combined 30 years experience in the entertainment industry and their passion for meeting client needs with innovative solutions inspired them to design Shock Boxx.

"In this economy, extending the life of expensive equipment is more important than ever," says Roberts. "Crossing your fingers and hoping that all your gear arrives in tact just doesn't

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14 March 2016

Rigging equipment purchasers can spread payments over two to seven years, with competitive rates that make the arrangement affordable, says the company. It's simple to estimate monthly payments based on interest rates available to municipal venues at the time of purchase. Payments can be made monthly, quarterly, or semi-annually, as the venue prefers.

Most important, the venue will own the rigging equipment at the end of the financing period. Until now, many municipal theatres have opted for leasing agreements for their rigging system. Leasing seems advantageous at first, but extends payments for the life of the equipment-an arrangement that can add considerable cost. The Clancy financing agreement places a flat cost on t

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14 March 2016

ShowTex produced five panels, measuring 10m high and 6m wide each. The panels were built up in different layers of ShowTex's Bannerdrape fabrics. Each panel holds two layers of Bannerdrape Silver and one layer of Bannerdrape Print. Bannerdrapes were specifically designed for outdoor use.

ShowTex also manufactured Molton CS Black curtains cascading behind the panels to black out the set behind it. In all 1200m² of flame retardant and waterproof fabrics were produced for the tour.

The prints were realised in cooperation with ShowTex Middle East (ME). ShowTex Belgium integrated 1712 of water resistant ShowLED Classic LED's i