Rigging / Staging

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14 March 2016

Many custom hardware components were also fabricated for rigging equipment on this tour, some of which were constructed from one of Tomcat's specialised extrusions. Tomcat's design department worked closely with Upstaging to design and engineer the light frames for this custom application.

In addition, other custom brackets were fabricated to attach two sections of Tomcat's Swing Wing truss, to create moving lighting modules. "The McCartney tour required a fair amount of unique trussing and hardware elements," explain

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14 March 2016

Mojo Barriers UK manager Kevin Thorborn oversaw the project, highlighting the co-operation between the international offices of Mojo Barriers underpins the success of the show. The Mojo Steel Barriers are painted and prepared in the De Meern (Netherlands) office so that they match the high quality of presentation demanded by the HOYS organizers.

Thorborn commented: "In our first year [2002] we spent a lot of time working with the organizers, measuring and planning the configuration of the barriers for the main ring. They had to accommodate advertising h

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14 March 2016

"I'm very encouraged as to the long term plans for Tomcat UK and excited at being given the opportunity to join them," commented Davis. "After being out of the industry for a while I'm looking forward to coming back and making an invaluable contribution to the future growth of the company."

(Lee Baldock)

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14 March 2016

The main Gannochy Auditorium is a completely flexible concert Hall space, and it's here that the two tensioned wire grids are installed. The grids were, originally specified by theatre consultants Carr & Angier as the safest way for technicians and maintenance staff to work flexibly at height in the roof space above the stage and auditorium. Slingco's Nick Dykins was contacted by BDP two years ago as the build entered its final phases, and asked to submit a tender for the grid installation.

The installation was project manag

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14 March 2016

The two day official visit involved the Russian President visiting Amsterdam's Dam Square to lay flowers on a national monument and Zaandam's City Square, before moving on to the Royal Palace in The Hague. The following day, he remained in The Hague for meetings with the Dutch Prime Minister.

Mojo Barriers worked with (Amsterdam and Zaandam) City officials and police officers to create safe areas within the cities so that President Putin's safety during the visit was ensured.

Across the two cities, more than 1300 metres of barriers were used to seal off areas of the Cities to the public and there were twenty road closures achieved using vehicle gates. Mojo Barriers was re

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14 March 2016

The structure consisted of two 10 metre high scaffolding towers, positioned 18 metres apart and connected by a run of truss and track. Running along the track were six screen columns, each 1.2 metres wide by 6 metres high. The screen columns were directed by Stage One's Q-Motion control system, enabling them to move to the left and right in a pre-programmed set of sequences and groupings.

Marcus Exelby, Stage One's project manager for the job, said, "We can provide expertise and professionalism in abundance and linking that in with our unique Q-Motion control system really is a winning combination."Chris Foster, producti

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14 March 2016

Lighting designer was Andy Liddle, who last designed for the Mondays back in the mid-eighties when they were supporting New Order. He was asked onboard to do these shows by tour manager Neil Mather. The tour was project managed for HSL by Mike Oates.

Liddle designed an adaptable rig based on four upstage/downstage 'fingers' of truss which were assembled in 10ft modules. This was for easy break down and installation into the smaller venues, whist still retaining the look and aesthetics of the stage. The fingers were raked with the upstage ends lower and the downstage ends higher points. At Manchester t

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14 March 2016

Kinesys was approached for this project by the tour's set constructors Brilliant Stages. The B Stage truck, a major element of the show, detaches itself from the main stage at the relevant point, and trundles 80 metres (260 feet) down a walkway out into the middle of the stadium with the band onboard. It then rises up in the middle of the arena, allowing the band to play a coupl

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14 March 2016

Background music can also be controlled via the paging station which is designed to be very easy to use, with simple on-screen messages and menus that appear when a function is selected. The paging station user has clear indications on the screen to show which zone/areas are in use by other operators/paging stations and what messages are being utilised.

A useful featu

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14 March 2016

This year's event built on the Church's consistently increasing popularity since its inception in 1954, attracting over 7,000 international guests over the weekend of events to Saint Hill Manor in East Grinstead, including John Travolta, Kelly Preston, Isaac Hayes and Ann Archer. Realising the increased demand in capacity two months in advance of the weekend, Saint Hill events manager Tatjana Keenan contacted Arena Structures.

Mark Shelly was Arena's project manager who installed the 40m x 95m TFS into the manor grounds; incorporating a stage and two Star Orbit arches to carry the technical producti

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14 March 2016

The site - at www.gearsourceeurope.com - is aimed at anyone looking for a bargain or interested in turning their excess stock into cash, and more than 1,500 lighting, audio, staging, and audio-visual items already listed, say the company.

(Lee Baldock)

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14 March 2016

.On Saturday 7 January, 'Knots & Splicing' will cover the handling of different ropes and tying knots proficiently and safely. Knots that are useful in a theatre situation will be taught by practical demonstration. Attendees will learn knots including bowline, clove hitch, reef knot, wagon hitch, rolling hitch and sheet bend, and also the tools for splicing ropes, and to differentiate between the different natural fibre ropes. The tutor will be Spike Thorrington and the course will cost: £100 + VAT.

On Saturday 14 January, 'Counterweight Flying' will teach the safe handling of counterweight sets and will cover: terminology, parts of a counterweight set, loading and unloading, operating, first line main

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14 March 2016

ChainMaster also reports that it has expanded the lifting gear in the Weser-Ems Hall in Oldenburg. The BGV-C1 chain hoist system from ChainMaster already in use in the hall has been retro-fitted with 12 drives for loads ranging from 500 to 1,000 kilograms and a controller.

Finally, the Dutch theatre Harmonie Leeuwarden is also relying on lifting gear from ChainMaster. The theatre recently took delivery of 28 BGV-C1 chain hoists with a load capacity of 1,250kg. The installation was performed by BEO of the Netherlands.

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14 March 2016

"We feel great pride when our clients win awards for projects we've contributed to," said Mark Johnson, managing director of Stage One. He added: "It is of vital importance to Stage One's team of dedicated professionals that excellent working partnerships are forged with our clients and the direct result of this can be seen in the quality of the work we then produce."

Event Magazine's annual awards were announced recently, with Stage One being a key supplier to four Gold Award winners and the two winners of the spe

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14 March 2016

For the fourth year in succession, Stage One was brought on board by MTV Networks International to build the house stage for this high-profile event and was also responsible for building specific sets and props for several of the artists, including Madonna, Black Eyed Peas, Akon and the Gorillaz.

"It's fantastic to be working with MTV Networks International again on such an exciting and vibrant live event," said Steve Dolan, project manager for Stage One. He continued: "Stage One offers a great deal of expertise for events like this and that's why our clients return year after year to use our services."

To ensure a greater degree o

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14 March 2016

Six months on, and ELP is now providing specialist rigging services at Pinewood. "We are delighted to be the first supplier based at Pinewood to bring the latest rigging technology to the studios," says MD Ronan Willson. We have just installed a complex hoist and tracking system for a feature being filmed here."

The structure uses two 40m tracks to automate the movement of lighting pods along the studio. A computerised winch system enables four 20kW heads each side to be tracked at vario

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14 March 2016

Bliss Events, the company that managed the event for Red Bull, brought in Sunbaba to produce the specially designed branding including two huge Red Bull scaffold wraps, which were digitally printed on their UltraMesh fabric to match Red Bull's corporate colour scheme. The wraps were draped around the two-tiered seating structures where over 8,000 fans sat in freezing temperatures to watch the show.

Another 800sq.m of black Austronet 204FR fabric was used to cover the Star Events Group structure to the side of the ramp stage, where the a

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14 March 2016

Madonna wowed the crowd with the first live televised performance of her new single 'Hung Up', emerging from a 2m mirrorball wearing purple leather boots and matching leotard. The mirror ball was flown out on a Liftket high-speed motor controlled by Kinesys' Vector system, enabling it to travel the 17m very smoothly in seconds.

It was just one of a number of automation 'gags' run by operator Toby Rouse for the event. Other artists making use of Kinesys equipment included Gorillaz, Shakira and host Borat. Kinesys also arranged the movement cues for two upstage lifting video walls that were used as stage entrances and exits.

Gorillaz incorporated two Pepper's Ghost effe

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14 March 2016

(Lee Baldock)

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14 March 2016

The US exhibition currently underway, started on 16 October and runs until 2 January, incorporates objects addressing human fears and worries, from the most exceptional to the most mundane. Mojo Barriers was identified by the exhibition's organizers as an object of safety, through their use at events across the world, displaying the barrier with details of its creation and use.

Patrick Jordan of Mojo Barriers commented: "It was a surprise to be asked to provide a barrier for an exhibition, and for it to be featured in the display rather than as a guard for it! It is a compliment that other people have identified our barriers as

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14 March 2016

Andrew was the first name selected and upon being notified, he said that he is "very excited" to be given the opportunity to attend. He's a senior working to complete his BFA in Lighting at NCSA. The training he'll get at Tomcat's workshop will be a great compliment to the education he's receiving at the world renowned school.

Randall Flaws is the President of Windy City Sound and Lighting in Burr Ridge, Illinois. He and his brother John founded the company in 1980 which has producti

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14 March 2016

CyberHoist / InMotion 3D was awarded Rigging Product of the Year, while the live demonstration earned system developer XLNT the Best Creative Use of Light Award for its booth, the work of lighting designer Michel Suk and motion control programmer Eric Berends. Both accolades follow the system's PLASA Award for Innovation at its European launch in London last year.

"2006 will be a fantastic year for CyberHoist in North America," says XLNT Advanced Technologies' executive sales manager Marc van der Wel, after the Awards and savouring the enthusiastic attendees' response. "The market is ready for a new and truly accessibl

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14 March 2016

The announcement says that the trade agreement will maximize the skills and competencies of both companies: Martin Professional France will make the most of its wide experience in the distribution of frames in order to strongly develop the A.S.D. brand. A.S.D. will now concentrate its resources on manufacturing, as well as on research and development of new products.

Thierry Chenot, A.S.D's sales director, stated: "This agreement is a real opportunity for our companies. A.S.D. will now be able to devote itself fully to the developme

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14 March 2016

"Ches has a wide experience in the lighting industry, particularly within the lighting control and structured wiring system sectors," comments sales director, James Hughes. "His knowledge of these products, the market and the demands of installation projects places him in an excellent position to provide consultants and contractors with invaluable consultation and support."

Metway is a major supplier of structured wiring systems for commercial properties and has worked with many of the country's largest electrical contractors on a number of prestigious projects.

(Sarah Rushton-Read)