Rigging / Staging

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14 March 2016

The eight awards went to: Avolites (Stand J30) for its mDMX system; Dolby Laboratories / Lake Technology (BB12) for the Dolby Lake Processor; Global Design Solutions' Blues System (R53); Vieta / KV2 Audio Europe Ltd (GG6) for the So Line; Pharos Architectural Controls (F31) for its Audio Visual Controller; TiMax / Outboard (DD18) for the Track The Actors system; Volex Power Products (FF14) for its V-Lock; and Wybron's InfoTrace system (J38).

In addition to the main award winners, commendations were also given to Adam Hall for its adjustable top-hat

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14 March 2016

Over the last year, PLASA has been working closely with the industry and a range of government bodies to develop a scheme that will not only serve the specific needs of the industry, but also achieve national recognition.

Rigging assessors are currently undertaking assessment pilots to demonstrate that they meet the standards within the National Rigging Certificate, and each assessor is also working towards achieving an A1 Award - the nationally recognised award in assessment.

Rigging Assessors and members of the Rigging Advisory Group will be present on the PLASA Stand

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14 March 2016

Katie Clements,18, from Selly Oak, and Greg Toomer,16, from Castle Vale have joined the ICC to work in various parts of the technical department, and will experience a wide range of conferences, events and exhibitions, whilst gaining a qualification in a related area, on day release at college, starting in September 2006. The programme has been designed to allow trainees to study and complete their chosen qualification, in preparation for a junior technical position within the industry in two years.

Clements, who has recently completed three A-levels at Shenley Court Specialist Arts College, says: "Thi

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14 March 2016

designecentral's software, an internet-based solution that will add functionality to System Integrator 5, comes in three editions: the Management Edition allows systems integrators to upload D-Tools project information, manage the project hours and assign resources to the project automatically; the Resource Edition allows the user to see tasks assigned to them through the project information, mark them as completed and enter actual hours; and the Procurement Edition, which will be released in the first quarter of 2007, allows the warehouse processing agent to look at the

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14 March 2016

This radical approach was adopted to help contain the environmental noise spillage, by completely isolating the stage so it had no contact with the ground.

The stage, measuring 18 metes wide at the front, 12 at the back by 12 metres wide, featuring 10 metres of headroom. weighed approximately 70 tonnes and was floated on twenty-seven 4.8m x 2.4m wide pontoons, each a metre deep. The pontoons were commissioned by Serious and made by Steeldeck.

The lake sits at the base of surrounding natural amphitheatre like terrain, and the stage shape was developed to offer the tunnel like effects of shrinking perspective to the audience sittin

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14 March 2016

The Rolling Stones sold out stadiums across the UK and showed fans they are still at the top of their game, performing classic tunes and songs from their latest album, in a spectacular show.

Arena's Seating's Dave Withey liaised with promoters Live Nation to draw up seating plans and ensure over 45,000 seats were installed safely for audiences at Twickenham, London; Hampden Park, Glasgow; Don Valley Stadium, Sheffield and Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.

The installation of each show was challenging, as Withey explained: "This tour was carrying a huge production with a lot of equipment on the pitch of the stadiums due to the rolling 'B Stage'. This meant we had less time than usual to install the seating between the main production and the doors opening, but the tour

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14 March 2016

Vice-president of Total Structures, Adrian Forbes-Black, explains that the stock consists of a diverse range of truss. "Although our own Californian warehouse is only five hours away from Las Vegas, when we spoke to our customers there they told us that very often if they can get something immediately they will buy it rather than try to sub-hire elsewhere. Even though we can get to Vegas from Ventura in under a day, even this delay can make the difference between getting the sale or not. To improve matters further we have also decided to keep a stock of less common lengths there. This includes items such as four foot and three foot trusses which may not normally be held in large numbers by rental houses or

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14 March 2016

This reflects the interest of Spanish companies in this exhibition, which has become the prime market focus for Spain's national entertainment technology industry. Contracted exhibitors to date include Adagio, Ben-Ri, D.A.S. Audio, Equipson, Gemini, Guil, Pinanson, Seesound, Stonex and Yamaha, among others.

Further information on the exhibition is available from the AFIAL website provided below.

(Lee Baldock)

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14 March 2016

Exact visitor figures will be released in due course, following the independent ABC Audit of the figures. However, early indications are that PLASA '06 may even have surpassed last year's PLASA Show (which was memorable for its frenetic business activity) with a notable increase in visitor numbers, and a very strong international attendance.

Many of the exhibitors that the PLASA Media team spoke to across during the four days of the show praised both the quality of the customers they had been seeing, and the large numbers of international visitors from all around of the world. Despite a relatively 'quiet' S

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14 March 2016

Hall Stage have been working closely with designers Oak Creative Partners over the past year to develop this comprehensive web resource, with an extensive "Support" library of over 150 downloads, ranging from data sheets for standard components to details on rigging procedures & "How to...." guides.

The site includes some illustrative Case Studies on some recent projects, and a sample of the companies 100 year History.

Hall Staff heaped praise on the team at Oak Creative, who have worked tirelessly on this exciting project. "Oaks' strong conceptual designs and technical back up make this an enjoyable and comprehensive website," says Doug Heather of Hall Sta

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14 March 2016

The Tour Grade units purchased by Vision OB feature six drawers of various depths, which were mounted on ball-race slides, with heavy-duty aluminium rails for additional durability. The cases went into immediate use as general-purpose utility and tool cases. "The Tour Grade rating ensures they will last for many years service and withstand the rigors of the road and constant travelling," explains 5 Star's Dave Harris.

The drawered cases are particularly popular for utility or accessory use, as clients can specify the exact layout required. "We are finding that more and more touring companies are using these drawered utility cases by replacing worn out and un-managable ty

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14 March 2016

Designed to provide a forum for those issues affecting the automotive retail business, the 2007 New Model Introduction meeting gathers Ford Lincoln and Mercury executives with the nationwide network of independent franchise dealers. Through a series of highly engaging business meetings, dealers have the opportuni

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14 March 2016

At Newmarket, the Serious team designed a flat roofed stage tailored neatly to fit in between the two main grandstands. It was the first season Serious has worked at this venue and with Liz Hobbs, and the aim was to reduce the stage height from previous years, making it a more comfortable viewing angle, to maximise the available space, and to dovetail the flat roof of the temporary stage neatly in with the grandstands either side if it.

The project was managed for serious by Dragan Kuzmanov. The 40 ft wide by 48 ft deep stage and aluminium roof structure were built on 4 steel tower legs, with the roof sloping away to the rear, to ensure any water drained away safely from the performance area

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14 March 2016

The draft standard describes the types of cable to be used to interconnect products that comply with ANSI E1.11-2004 (DMX512-A) or with USITT DMX512/1990 in permanent installations. The description includes definitions of acceptable cable and connector types and the ways in which they may be used. The draft standard and its supporting public review materials are available at ESTA has also said that the Control Protocols Working Group has started work on a new standard: BSR E1.37-200x-Additional Mess

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14 March 2016

A compact, solid state device, the AVC offers functionality equivalent to two DVD players and a vision mixer, with additional live input, all under integrated show control. AV clips, transitions and effects are programmed quickly and easily via the Pharos Designer software. An internal realtime and astronomical clock along with a bi-directional RS232/RS485 serial port provide triggering options for standalone operation.

The AVC combines seamlessly with the Pharos LPC as the second half of a complete control solution providing lighting, audio, video and show control for architectural ins

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14 March 2016

"It's an excellent fit for both Arup and David," said Neill Woodger, principal and leader of the Arup Acoustics practice in the Americas. "He has worked with Arup for more than 20 years on key arts projects around the world. His expertise in theatre planning and design brings an important skill set to our practice, augmenting our existing acoustics, lighting, simulation, venue consulting and engineering disciplines and allowing us to provide a complete and integrated p

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14 March 2016

An innovation at ISE 2007 will be the multimedia conferencing pavilion, which will feature the latest products and technologies in video, audio and web conferencing. Integrated Systems Europe managing director, Mike Blackman comments, "While we can boast an unprecedented number of exhibitors signed up for the show, occupying the largest floor space in the history of ISE, we want visitors to come away with a feeling of a total systems integration experience that will motivate, inspire and excite. The support from our sponsoring organisations as well as our exhibitors, has been instrumental in being able to achieve these magnifice

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14 March 2016

The lighting contract is managed for Bandit by Lester Cobrin, who says "The design is based on three trusses, underpinned by the fundamental principals of rock 'n' roll lighting - keeping things fast, adrenalised, exciting and matching whilst complimenting the explosive energy levels of the band onstage."

The rear truss has six custom built trusses hanging vertically downwards from it, providing architectural definition to the higher part of the visual picture, and also framing the jagged edged video screens. Each vertical truss contains

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14 March 2016

The ENTTEC suite consists of three applications. Controller application mimics an RDM controller device which allows the user to discover, get and set information (such as setting the DMX address) in RDM responders (devices). Responder applications mimics an RDM responder like a dimmer of moving light allowing the user to retrieve and set different parameters, for example setting the DMX address or getting the lamp hours. The RDM sniffer is an RDM diagnostics tool that monitors RDM packets travelling on a DMX line and decodes the packets into a human readable format.

The RDM controller and Responder both use the low cost DMX USB Pro interface enabling anyone in the industry to take their first steps with RDM today, says the company. The ENTTEC

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14 March 2016

In all, Tomcat USA fabricated 30 custom light frames with each individual frame designed to hold six Par 64 short fixtures. When assembled, the wall is five frames tall and six frames wide with each column of frames supported independently. Each frame is approximately 87" long x 58" tall and 18" wide and arranged so that the fixtures would be on 29" centre through the entire wall. To make the system load-in and load-out more quickly, the design included locking over-centre latches to hold the frames together as they are assembled vertically. All of this equipment was powder coated flat black.

The Oral Fixation tour began its Stateside visit in El Paso, Texas at the beginning

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14 March 2016

"We've listened carefully to feedback from lots of sound engineers over the last 12 months," says Summit's Jon Bray, "and come up with this solution to address all their needs when flying line arrays on masts."

The SmarTmast 4 had its first outing at the high profile Music On Fire, a son et lumière and firework spectacular staged in the grounds of the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. Four SmarTmast 4s were used by sound designer Paul Keating for the V-Dosc main stage PA arrays and out-fills that were supplied by Delta Sound.

A key fac

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14 March 2016

Specialz also provided the dramatic 10ft-high "Franz" sign and the whole show was excellently lit by Cormac Jackson who commented: "A lot of the time you are tying to create a design that doesn't exist, but my client had a very clear idea of what they wanted. Specialz were able to bring those very obscure ideas to life and now that's why we have 10ft high female manneq

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14 March 2016

PRG's LV8s were committed to rigging mothergrid and other trusses for all set elements and lighting, while UK Rigging's LV8s were looking after hanging the tour's large V-Dosc sound system. UK Rigging prepared two individual systems to deal with separate leapfrogging PA rigs planned to cater for the tour's rigorous back-to-back schedule. Both companies also bought an extensive complement of the new compact and ergonomic RC8 remote handsets, with UK Rigging also buying several RC16 16 channel units with handset splitter cables to control two LV8s each.

The LV8 extends Out Board's low-volt

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14 March 2016

Lee Culff is the latest person to join the Lift-Turn Move team, joining Dave Ward, Alan Wood and Phil Jones in the busy and expanding workshop. Culff's lift servicing background is an ideal qualification for the work he will be doing at LTM which includes preparing and testing Lodestars.

LTM is also looking for its first apprentice. "It's proved consistently difficult recruiting staff locally," explains John Jones, MD. LTM is spending the next month searching for and interviewing young people with the right attributes, work ethic and attitude to get on in the fast-moving environs of the production industry.

LTM has also expanded its hoist testing facilities to deal with the large volume of work it is now experiencing. A te