Rigging / Staging

Details

14 March 2016

Le Mark's gloss black StudioTak professional stage floor has once again been installed on the set for ITV2's Xtra Factor, and also used on parts of the main X Factor stage and props.

Ideal for temporary sets, StudioTak is removed just as easily as it's installed, minimising setup and breakdown costs, whilst offering a stunning high gloss visual effect.

Dirty Rigger, MagTape professional gaffer tape, and a huge selection of supporting products have also played their part over the 10 years the prime time show has been running.

(Jim Evans)

Details

14 March 2016

Lafortune is considered one of the most creative lighting designers of the last 30 years. He is the author of several prestigious lighting design projects, including the shows of the Cirque du Soleil, the Turkmenistan Independence Day celebrations, the musical The House of the Dancing Water, and Peter Gabriel's Growing up tour.

In Saint Petersburg, in front of an audience of professionals, Lafortune spoke about his

Details

14 March 2016

A partner in the theatre consultancy Theatreplan, Richard was also known as the conference director of the International Theatre Engineering and Architecture Conference (ITEAC), which is due to hold its fourth event this year.

After studying engineering at University College London, Richard was trained by the BBC, and went on to work as managing director at Richard Pilbrow's Theatre Projects Consultants from 1967 to 1985, before forming his own professional practice. During his career, Richard was responsible for more than 50 major theatre projects and a large number of more modest performing arts schemes worldwide. He led the development of countless inno

Details

14 March 2016

Mylène Farmer is one of the most successful French recording artists of all time. She has sold over 30m records worldwide and had 13 number one hits in the French charts eight of them consecutive, as well as working as a model and actress during a prolific and successful career.

Wicreations, renowned for their innovative work in the entertainment industry, were approached by the tour's production manager Didier Gaume and technical director Pascal "George" Meley, who have worked with them before on a number of projects, and asked if they could provide a number of solutions to help stage this spectacular show.

Timeless'

Details

14 March 2016

He brings to the role a wealth of experience in sales and new business development, having secured big wins in previous posts for a variety of entertainment industry companies such as HSL Group, Pixelrange and City Theatrical.

Said Cowan, "I visited LS-Live to discuss business and couldn't believe this top of the range facility. I've been all over the world and there is nothing else like this out there.

"As soon as people understand that they can get everything from under one roof, from set design to final construction and rehearsals in the studio, they won't use anyone else.

"My job is to ensure that when anyone thinks about touring and live events, whether th

Details

14 March 2016

For the 12th consecutive year, Blackout worked with organisers Innovent to transform the venue for the prestigious equestrian event. The team utilised 2,500sqm of drapes to enclose the ground floor auditorium and create the entrance tunnels to the seating blocks.

The brand presence of sponsors was maximised through a wall of advertising on the outside of the arena for which the team constructed framework scaffolding to attach the banner wrap.

Chris Brain, installations director at Blackout, commented, "We also installed a backdrop of starcloth above the main competitor tunnel which we used to enhance the iconic golden galloping horse statue.

"Our draping package enables us to completely enclose an area for

Details

14 March 2016

The show is characterized by an all-action narrative that includes free flying (wireless courtesy of a massive sub-stage wind turbine), dramatic visual effects, pyro and stunning fully 3D mapped digital scenery.

Peumans has worked on many previous projects for the producers, and once again he has imagineered a careful mix of spectacle and visual style to match the vibe, energy and magic of the show.

The concept for this version of Peter Pan was developed by creative director Luc Petit and Music Hall's Geert Allaert. Peuman's brief was to provide epic arena style lighting to suit and highlight the action within the fast flow

Details

14 March 2016

LS-Live's staging equipment rental stock at its headquarters in Wakefield includes a large number of automation machines, from travelators and scissor lifts to turntables and toasters, so they can quickly respond to hire orders. The machines can also be built into their standard stage decking for a seamless look.

Said Ibrar Haque, Maynineteen production manager, "We would like to express our thanks for all the hard work that you and your team put in t

Details

14 March 2016

Having ETCP Certification demonstrates that you are in the top third of the industry professionals in North America; furthermore, to maintain your certification, you must accrue continuing education credits which shows your employer that you are current with industry developments and practices. ETCP has issued almost 1750 certifications! Don't get left behind, submit your application today!

The ETCP Examinations will be given at USITT in Ft. Worth TX. All three ETCP examinations will be given in one session the morning of Saturday, 29 March, 2014. Candidates who wish to take more than one exam should contact ETCP. Members and employees of members of USITT receive a $100 discount on examination fees. Interes

Details

14 March 2016

Two of Europe's leading event suppliers revealed the results of their collaboration, with the integration of Intellitix market-leading access control software into Mojo Barriers' Gatekeeper system. Audiences scanned their RFID wristbands, passing through a four gatekeeper system on the way into the 700-capacity temporary 'Cathedral' concert venue. Mojo's project manager Jasper Caldenhoven liaised with the Intellitix technical team leading into the global launch to achieve the seamless integration of their software and scanning technology into the Gatekeeper.

Mojo Barriers' managing director Cees Muurling, also a speaker in the conference programme, states, "With the rise of RFID cashless paymen

Details

14 March 2016

This acquisition doubles Scapin's number of employees. It will also enable Scapin to offer its products in new markets such as the Maritimes and the US where Show Distribution maintains a distribution centre and has a significant market share. This will broaden Scapin's reach, which began when it moved into Ontario, opening its Toronto office in August 2011.

Under the new administration, Show Distribution's activities will continue at its Quebec City location with its current team while its rental department

Details

14 March 2016

The robust IP 65 plastic housing single-pole connector is designed for stranded wires from 10 mm² to 35 mm² cross-section, and is available in both crimp and axial screw termination. The axial screw arrangement allows wires to be terminated to contacts without the need for special tooling.

Extra connector mating security can be provided by the use of additional locking elements that prevent unintentional interruption. Cable-to-cable hoods and gender changers allow a full system distribution cabling configuration to be assembled.

Han(R) GND ca

Details

14 March 2016

2014 is the third year that Fineline - originally established in 1988 - has been running under new, lively and energetic independent ownership, with a management team led by MD Rob Sangwell.

The company has built up a reputation as a leading lighting and visuals facility in the South West region - encapsulated in the new strap-line 'Professional-Creative-Trusted' - and works nationwide in the UK and worldwide internationally.

Sangwell explains, "Three years ago, a new era in Fineline's history was launched with the buy-out and implement

Details

14 March 2016

Julian Chiverton, sales director for Doughty, said, "Over the past 13 years Doughty Engineering has expanded the range of Quick Trigger clamps, that first Slimline Quick Trigger leading to the Titan in 2007 and the Baby version in 2012."

The Baby Quick Trigger Clamp is designed specifically for smaller truss sizes, being adjustable to diameters of 25-38mm. Easy to use, it saves the user time and money and has a safe working load of 40kg. Julian added, "Our entire range of Quick Trigger Clamps shares the same guarantee of providing a high de

Details

14 March 2016

Siobhan has worked in the lifting industry since she joined Rope Assemblies in 1997. Established by her father in 1986 and based in Retford, Nottinghamshire, the company manufactures and supplies a wide range of wire rope and fibre rope assemblies to customers working in sectors that include the entertainment industry and climbing and personal protection equipment.

Commenting on her election, Siobhan said: "I'm delighted to be able to support the invaluable work of L

Details

14 March 2016

"As lighting designer for the very first edition of Varekai, it's great to be working on it again as it evolves. With the new arena tour, Varekai is hosted at a different location each week and presents its own lighting challenges allowing me to adapt the lighting to 'the arena' of each new environment," said van Genuchten.

"We introduced BlackTrax as an operational efficiency and cost saving tool as well as a way of calibrating lighting highlights to track performers on the stage area. Blac

Details

14 March 2016

The show, Odyseo, was devised by artistic director Pascal Jacob to commemorate the 150th anniversary of world leasing Belgian chemicals and plastics manufacturer Solvay. Fifteen performances took place over 10 days in a special tented venue installed at the Solvay Campus HQ in Brussels.

Brussels based Y. Services handled all the artistic, technical and show production and scenography under the direction of Yvon van Lancker, well known for his work with Cirque du Soleil founder Franco Dragone in Las Vegas.

Wicreations was approached by Yvo

Details

14 March 2016

The advantages of RUD hoist chain is impressive, offering an extremely high resistance to wear due to its robust surface and depth hardness resultin

Details

14 March 2016

As with the other Vuvuzela Beer Clubs, audio specialists and Van Damme cable exponents, QV Sound, designed the sound system to meet the critical demands of the Golden Gate Group's management. The sound system needed to achieve high sound pressure levels, high quality sound, and enough bass to "rock" the crowd. To achieve this QV sound used high quality Neutrik connectors and Van Damme cabling throughout.

QV's business development manager Mr Quoc Nguyen said, "We always use Van Damme cables and fittings from VDC Trading wherever possible because they are trouble free, they represent excellent value and f

Details

14 March 2016

Mark Lambert, property services manager for The Lights, which is owned and managed by Test Valley Borough Council, explained, "Reducing the need to work at height was our main objective with this project, and although safety was the number one priority for us, we also needed to be cost conscious. Following agreement on a suitable and affordable system with Hawthorn Theatrical, the company was appointed as the main contractor. Hawthorn subsequently specified Doughty Engineering as their hoist supplier."

Alan Jackson, Hawthorns said, "Following an initial site visit by

Details

14 March 2016

The new, robust and lockable flight case provides protection and security for the equipment, as well as providing wheels and heavy duty handles for ease of transportation.

The BroadWeigh portable wireless system offers real-time, simple, effective and accurate load monitoring for rigging professionals, enabling them to monitor and log the precise loads on any given rigging point.

"We have been working closely with the entertainment industry in the development of the BroadWeigh systems," said Louise Stubbs, marketing coordinator at Mantracourt. "Having refined and proven the technology, we took on board feedback from our customers that for temporary and touring applications we needed to provide some form of protection and ease of ha

Details

14 March 2016

In addition to several smaller projects, ChainMaster's activities in Sochi have mainly centred on equipping the Bolshoy Ice Dome and the Iceberg Skating Palace, each of which is capable of accommodating up to 12,000 spectators. It is planned to stage the ice hockey matches in the Bolshoy Ice Dome and the artistic and short track ice skating events in the Iceberg Skating Palace.

In each of these arenas, ChainMaster equipment forms part of a variety of installations - most notably the system for raising and lowering the two giant video cubes. Here, safety was the paramount concern governing

Details

14 March 2016

The G300 was Le Maitre's second generation high powered smoke machine, following on from the Smoke Processor 3 series, and at the time of its launch was commented on by competitors as setting the standard by which all other machines would be judged. Le Maitre's goal at the time was quite simply to make a machine that was better than anything else on the market. This has clearly proved to be the case with sales still going strong and many of the unique features still not being able to be emulated by other manufacturers.

Le Maitre came up with and patented its 'Layered Block System' called Genesis - hence the 'G' of G300. T

Details

14 March 2016

PLASA is carrying out a survey of employers and technicians across both theatre and live events in the UK in relation to the further development of qualifications and are calling for participation from employers and technicians in the live events and theatre sector. It is hoped data will emerge on how many technicians are working, both employed and freelance, and in which areas of specialism - and it will assess the appetite of the industry for further vocational qualifications beyond the National Rigging Certificate.

Matthew Griffiths, CEO of PLASA said: "This is an essential piece of research for the entertainment technology sector that will be vital in setting PLASA's skills planning over the coming