Robe - LEADERBOARD - Feb 2025

Rigging / Staging

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Australia - Leading Australian lighting rental and production company Bytecraft has invested in a 10 channel Kinesys Elevation 1+ automation system. The system consists of 10 Elevation 1+ controllers, 10 1-tonne Liftket chain hoists, an Array PD-ES distribution module and Kinesys' proprietary Vector software.

Bytecraft's technical manager Darren Irving explains that they first became aware of the Kinesys system - one of the most popular, flexible and powerful movement systems on the market - after it was highly recommended by crews and rental companies both locally and overseas. "It's now also being specified on numerous shows, so getting one over here was a really logical step," he concludes.

Apart from the word-of-mouth recommendations, the functionality, ease of operation and competitive pricing all combined to swing the decision Kinesys' way, says the company.

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USA - Bandit Lites CEO, Michael T. Strickland, spoke to the Knoxville Chamberof Commerce on Thursday, November 2, 2006 in Knoxville, Tennessee. The BusinessRoundtable Live Panel Discussion is part of the annual Business and Technology Expo. This Roundtable's theme was Small to Tall- How local business people have made theirmark nationally.

Strickland and three other panel speakers addressed a distinguishedgroup of CEOs, presidents and upper management. Michael Strickland shared hisinsight of growing Bandit Lites into a global business in today's economy.People from throughout the southeast attended the event to network and learn from eachother in order to develop their own business' interest in today's fast paced globaleconomy.

The event was moderated by, Bill Brewer of the Knoxville News Sentinel and AmyNolan of the Greater Knoxville Business Journal.

The Roundtable

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UK - J&C Joel has supplied and installed two new perimeter track systems and a selection of chromakey curtains, blacks and white cyclorama material to the brand new stv studios at Pacific Quay, Glasgow.

The studios are located facing the famous Clydebank Cranes, that have been preserved as a proud and lasting testament to Glasgow's industrial and shipping heritage, and is the new base of stv, the largest independent television franchise in Scotland.

One of the tracking systems is in Studio 1, which is used to record and broadcast the flagship daily news programme Scotland Today, the weekly Scotsport, plus a number of special programmes. A similar system has also been installed within studio 2.

J&C Joel has supplied curtains and tracking systems for other stv studios and locations for several years, so studio manager Tony McIlmurray and designer Annette Whitelaw once again tu

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USA - Mitch Clark, president and CEO of Texas-based Tomcat Global, Inc. announced today that he has signed an agreement selling the stock and assets of the company to UK based The Vitec Group plc.

Tomcat, a manufacturer of staging and lighting support equipment for the entertainment industry, has called Midland its international headquarters since the company's founding in 1987. The company boasts as clients some of the biggest names in entertainment including the Rolling Stones, U2, Janet Jackson, Disney and Cirque du Soleil.

"I am very excited about this acquisition. It will not only create a great partnership between two very strong organisations, but will give Tomcat greater opportunities to invest in additional manufacturing technologies, infrastructure and other assets that will help us continue providing the highest quality products at the best possible price to ou

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UK - Le Mark have continued to expand their glove and personal accessory range, this now includes UK distribution for Setwear, Ironclad and Aquila products. Le Mark have also added 'Light Mechanix' Glove Lights.

The gloves offer a personal integrated LED light source on the index fingers and are CE certified. The electronics are waterproof and also machine washable. Following their sell out introductory launch at the PLASA show, the unique gloves have been firmly installed into the Le Mark accessory range.

The company reports that the new 'Light Finger' glove has been very well received both within the UK and abroad. It provides a strong 10,000 lumen LED light source directly onto the working area, without shadow. The LED in each glove is rated at 100,000 hours of light with a unique energy saving 'shut off' every 7 minutes to conserve the CR20I6 battery life.

All new gloves

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UK - Last weekend saw Opera North undertake its first major get-out at the Grand Theatre, Leeds using the revolutionary engineering solutions devised by theatre consultancy Theatreplan under the direction of Stage Engineering consultant Clive Odom and senior stage engineer Richard Brett, in collaboration with Opera North's technical director Ric Green and structural engineer Oliver Plunkett of BDP.

As part of Leeds City Council's Phase 1 £20.7m upgrade of the Grand and the creation of a permanent home for Opera North, the equipment installed has modernised procedures and proved indispensable in getting the company's current season out on the road for its autumn tour.

Replacing the old, manual double-purchase counterweights, the first full power flying system ever installed outside of London, has been enthusiastically welcomed by the technical crew and production teams al

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Denmark - When the MTV Europe Music Awards arrived in Copenhagen to celebrate the best in Europe, Arena Seating was brought in to provide the seating required for the event.

The Bella Centre in Copenhagen was the venue for this year's show, which was presented by Justin Timberlake and saw performances from the likes of The Killers, Snoop Dogg, Muse and Keane. Awards were presented to Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera for Best Male and Female Artists, while British bands led the way with Best Group going to Depeche Mode, and Best Alternative to Muse.

Specialist event seating company, Arena Seating was brought in to supply the audience seating for the show, which had to be built to very specific requirements. The seating layout was built in a three-quarter circle shape, raised up in the air by one metre.

Bradley Merchant, account director of Arena Seating explained: &qu

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UK - Stardraw Control, the multi-award winning control application from design and control software systems developer, Stardraw.com has been named as a finalist for the Technology InAVation 2007 award in the category of Most Innovative Control Product for Commercial Use. The nomination coincides with the landmark 5,000 user tally, an astonishing achievement in just over twelve months when the product was still only in beta form.

Stardraw's marketing director, Rob Robinson, is delighted that Stardraw Control has qualified as a finalist for the inaugural Technology InAVation Awards which will be held at the forthcoming ISE show in Amsterdam next February. "Stardraw Control has already been recognised at several prestigious industry awards, and the Technology InAVation nomination serves as further testament to the truly innovative nature of the product," noted Robinson. &

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France - Blackout, a supplier of drapes, rigging, starcloth and track, will exhibit on stand F67 at Heavent 2007 alongside three individual expert event suppliers including ETC Audiovisuelle, G-lec and Lumison. Heavent will take place between 21 - 23 November, 2006 at the Hippodrome de Longchamp in Paris.

"We have seen a rapid growth in recent years whereby the four companies products are often used alongside each other in a vast range of events ranging from exhibitions, seminars, parties, fashion extravaganzas and even multi-site product launches," explains Dominic Peissel, Gerant at Blackout France. "Heavent provides the perfect platform to showcase each company's expertise, talents and specialised products in an integrated show scenario."

On the stand, Blackout will feature their drapes, rigging, LED starcloth, track and Easi-Build Pipe and Drape system.

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UK - Leeds' Grand Theatre, the performance base for Opera North, has reopened to great acclaim after a two year transformation programme by BDP.

The Grand Theatre built in 1878 was a major milestone in Victorian theatre building and is listed Grade II. Once described as "probably the finest theatre of its size in Britain," the Grand's 19th century facilities no longer met present day audience and performance expectations. Working conditions backstage and facilities for artists were increasingly difficult and inefficient.

The £16m first phase works on the theatre have involved new seating, improved sight lines, better ventilation and improved facilities for the disabled. Backstage, the fly tower and flying systems have been upgraded, and two new rehearsal rooms constructed on an adjacent site are connected to the Theatre by a wide bridge, which also acts as a sc

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UK - Working for design agency Rapiergroup, Stage One was asked to build the set to celebrate the Brent Field's 30th year of operation in oil and gas for Shell. The project included a number of display areas complete with graphics, several sculptural pieces and staging and presentation areas.

"This project proved to be a tough physical challenge as it required a huge amount of staging," said Ted Featonby, project manager for Stage One. He continued: "This is demonstrated by the fact that at the height of the build we had nearly 40 Stage One employees on site."

The Aberdeen Conference Centre was transformed for the series of events. In the reception area Stage One provided three graphics areas by constructing three, semi-circular towers. Made of steel tubing, these were 4m high with a diameter also of 4m, with graphics applied. In front of them were three ab

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UK - This year's switching-on of the Oxford Street Christmas lights event was organised by Clear Island Productions in conjunction with the event's media partner Heart FM. The event was staged before a crowd of 10,000 on a platform, specially built and installed by Vertigo Rigging, above the main entrance of Selfridges department store and featured live performances by All Saints, Katie Price and Peter Andre.

Vertigo Rigging built the platform on twin truss legs, with the platform itself mounted atop 52cm Libera flat section truss using the company's latest decking product, Flightdeck. The structure, pre-rigged and lifted in and out by crane, was secured to the building's canopy using rigging points previously installed at Selfridges by Vertigo for a promotional event in 2004.

Clear Island Productions supplied the PA and lights, while Mojo Barriers provided barriers. Security

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UK - During November, AVW Controls Ltd celebrated 10 years of trading. Anton Woodward, founder and managing director of AVW threw a celebration party for friends and colleagues at his Suffolk home.

AVW Controls started as a sole trader business in November 1996, and was incorporated in 1998. AVW has remained a fairly small enterprise but has taken on some impressive automation projects over the years including the Thessaloniki Concert Hall, Disneyland Paris, National Theatre and numerous West End productions. AVW has also won the prestigious ABTT Engineering product of the year award twice, first in 2002 for the Impressario motion control system and again this year for the Pegasus power flying system.

As AVW move into their second decade of trading, the company's aim will be to continue to provide clients old and new with first class stage automation, says Woodward.

(Lee Bal

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UK - Three hugely powerful freak gusts of wind lifted and twisted the Serious Stages 18 metre Orbit roof built over the stage for the BBC's Children In Need concert at Eirias Park in Colwyn Bay, Wales last week. The incident occurred around midnight on the Wednesday night, with the stage fully constructed, rigged with lights and awaiting the PA and video rigging to continue through Thursday, in readiness for Friday night's live broadcast. The site was deserted apart from on-duty security personnel.

Production Manager Keith Morris quickly assessed the situation - at this time the wind was still very angry and gusting up to 70mph, but the immediate danger had passed. The wind gusts had followed a very specific path and had also uprooted several mature trees.

Immediately the news reached Steven Corfield and the Serious Stages team, they worked through the night to put toge

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USA - The West Hollywood Halloween Festival, which draws attendees from throughout the nation, grows bigger every year, and so do its attractions. This year, more than 400,000 revellers gaped at the sight of a giant spider that rose 25' high and stretched 40' wide, greeting them as they entered the mile-long street festival. The huge arachnid spanned three lanes over Santa Monica Blvd., covering half the width of the street. Its eyes glowed bright in the night, as it stood with its eight legs bent, ready to pounce on pedestrians below.

The spooky spider was created by Automotive Event Specialists (AES) of Corona, CA, using trussing provided by Global Truss America. It was the brainchild of AES's Ernie Beckham, who was commissioned to create a display sponsored by Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge to showcase six vehicles at the entrance to the festival.

"We decided to do something

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UK - PLASA, the Professional Lighting and Sound Association, in conjunction with The Eden Project and Lighting&Sound International magazine, is looking at the possibility of supporting a conference on environmental awareness in show and event production.

The proposed conference will broadly examine the current practices of the production industry and look at how companies and organisations can take steps to minimise the carbon footprint of staging shows, supplying and touring equipment, catering for audiences, etc. The event will draw on the expertise of the team at The Eden Project, the popular tourist attraction in the South West of England, whose environmental policies underpin a series of 'green' gigs at the venue.

At this stage, PLASA is gauging the level of interest in such an event, so we want to hear from everyone in the industry who would like to be involved. If you w

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UK - Arena Seating has appointed John Poyner as director of international sales and marketing. Poyner brings 30 years of global experience in the seating industry and will help steer Arena Seating to new horizons, the company says.

Poyner achieved success in former companies Audience Systems and Hussey Seating, delivering good financial results, winning key accolades, notably the Queens Award for Export and American Institute of Export Awards, and helped to create new European standards that shaped the industry.

Poyner said: "I have known Arena Seating for many years; they are certainly the leading event seating company in the UK and I am looking forward to working with some fantastic people and developing new opportunities for us all."

(Lee Baldock)

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Greece - For the second time, Glass Page's events management team turned to Leicestershire-based Hawthorns to provide the technical solution in terms of lighting, sound and set for drinks giant Diageo's recent Global Finance Conference held in Athens, Greece.Two 45ft trailers were used to transport over 200m of stage trussing, 40+ Martin MAC lighting fixtures and a D&B sound system from Hawthorn's base in Old Dalby to Athens.

A dedicated seven-man project team was deployed by Hawthorn for the week-long conference, which included such events as an Opening Dinner, Conference and a Team Building activity room for the 200+ delegates. Matt Oscroft, the Hawthorn project manager said: "One of the most demanding aspects of the project was to create a stunning lighting effect at the entrance of the venue."

Diageo took the opportunity at the conference to highlight its sponsor

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UK - Showsec was the Official Security Partner for the inaugural 2006 International Sport Event Management Conference, at London's QE2 conference centre. Showsec's London office managed all aspects of the security at the Conference, organised by Rushman's, and featuring representatives of London 2112, FIFA World Cup 2006, ICC Cricket World Cup 2007, Rugby World Cup and 2006 Ryder Cup.

Six Showsec staff led by Tracey McCarthy ensured the 250 international delegates were not only safe but greeted cordially throughout the two day summit as they made their way around the two levels of the event.

(Chris Henry)

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UK - Kinesys' hugely flexible K2 3D automation control system is in action on the Night of The Proms spectacular, currently playing two weeks of sold out shows at Rotterdam's Ahoy arena.

The system is controlling twenty 500kg VariStar motors (with a speed of up to 30 metres a minute) which are moving four large 'shamrocks' - irregular triangular shaped trussing set pieces - dressed with reflective scrims and four bars each rigged with four Vari*Lite 2500 Spots upstage. All these pieces appear to 'float' in and out during the performance - such is the smoothness and accuracy of K2.

The system was specified by lighting and visual designer Geert Vanhout, who first saw it used with Belgian rock superstars Clouseau. It's being supplied by leading Belgian production company EML who are also supplying lighting and sound to the Night of The Proms production.

Three moto

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Denmark - Copenhagen was Stage One's destination when, for the fifth year running, the company was asked to apply its experience and skills to the MTV Europe Music Awards, one of the most prestigious events in the music calendar.

Working for MTV Networks Europe, Stage One built all of the Ray Winkler-designed stage and set elements, along with specific band extras for several of the artists, including Nelly Furtado, Justin Timberlake, P Diddy and Rihanna.

The main stage and performance areas consisted of a 40m diameter, horseshoe shaped stage, along with a 12m diameter central performance area and several presenter islands. All stage areas were clad in over 900sq.m of black mirror gloss laminate, with a three-strip Neo Light detail to the edges.

Providing several unusual access points onto the stage were two time tunnels consisting of structural rings, inserted with Neo Ligh

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UAE - IIR Exhibitions, organiser of the annual PALME Middle East exhibition in Dubai, reports that the success of the 2006 event has led to another surge in expansion for the PALME 2007 event. Initially planning to increase the 2007 event from three to four halls of the DIEC, IIR has now announced its decision to increase the size of the show to five halls.

The main objective of PALME is to allow for manufacturers, suppliers and installers to meet with Middle Eastern buyers and specifiers from a wide range of industries who have a need or requirement for professional sound, light, music, audio-visual and systems integration equipment and solutions. The latest major companies to sign up for PALME 2007 include EVI Audio, Indu Electric, Martin Professional, RCF Spa, Prolyte, Projectiondesign, Audioprof and BG Franck Bichon to name but a few, say IIR.

The 2007 PALME Middle East sh

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UK - Lester Cobrin, recently appointed MD at Bandit Lites, will be marrying Kim Carson this Sunday 3 December, at Langshot Manor in Surrey. Kim and Lester were childhood sweethearts. "We met at the age of five," said Cobrin, "but somehow it didn't work out at the time. Now, after a 28-year hiatus, the time seems right for both of us."

Prior to the wedding, Cobrin will be hosting a stag night at a large West London venue: "All the girls from the Pussy Cat Dolls will be there" he said lasciviously, "and I expect about another 10,000 guests to turn up." Watch the press for announcements.

We wish Lester well.

(Steve Moles)

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Italy - The steering committee of the SILB (Italian Dancehall Owners Syndicate) has formally authorized chairman Renato Giachetto to officially sign an agreement with Rimini Fiera SpA for the SIB biennial international exhibition for event and entertainment technology, which will see the SIB exhibition remain in Rimini for the next 14 years.

Contrary to what was previously reported, following the 2006 event, the next edition of SIB is scheduled to be held at Rimini expo centre from 6-9 April 2008. Rimini Fiera chairman Lorenzo Cagnoni commented: "Yesterday we announced the important agreement with TEN, a network of 50 large companies in this sector (lighting, audio and video, décor and theatre stage equipment and sets, musical instruments, industrial design firms, design studios, training, research) which has officially chosen SIB for developing its members' business

  1. Blackout goes all the way at Sapphire '06
  2. Stage Technologies move mountains
  3. PowerAssist Honoured at LDI
  4. The ABTT Theatre Show 2007
  5. ETCP announces exam administrations
  6. Le Mark offers a brighter Christmas
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