UK - HSL supplied full lighting production, rigging and crew for the X-FM Main Stage and The Clash Arena at Rockness 2007.

The event's second year saw it expand to a capacity of 35,000 over two days, set against the backdrop of one of Scotland's best known natural attractions - Loch Ness. The line-up included the Chemical Brothers, Groove Armada, The Manic Street Preachers and Daft Punk.

HSL's crew chief Howard Dean led a team of 22, and they once again worked closely with event producer Jim King of Loud Sound Events and production manager Lee Charteris. HSL also sub-contracted ML Executives to supply audio to these two principal arenas.

Mike Oates, HSL's overall project manager comments, "The first thing we did was get two world class lighting designers onboard to look after the two stages - Andy Liddle on the main stage and Dave Byars in the Clash Arena."

The m

International - With only a few days remaining before the close of the nomination-gathering period for the Gottelier Award, there is just time for a final reminder to everyone to make sure that they have taken a few moments to nominate the individual or team that they most admire.

Named in honour of the late Tony Gottelier, the industry innovator and commentator who passed away in 2006, the Gottelier Award is aimed at those members of our industry who have made a significant and sustained contribution to the advancement of entertainment, presentation or installation technology - whether in audio, lighting, rigging, staging, or any other related field.

Once the deadline for nominations passes this Friday (13 July), a shortlist will be drawn up of the most widely nominated people, and their names will be put forward, along with a brief summary of their achievements, to the Gotte

China - Live Earth in Shanghai saw Star Events Group China supply its first full outdoor stage system. The structure was built at the base of the iconic Oriental Pearl Group (OPG) tower, which at 468m is the highest tower in Asia. It is owned by Shanghai Media Group, who provided broadcast facilities and carried the show on their local channels.

Around 3000 attended the event, with estimated television audiences of 800 million in China and two billion worldwide. Promoter for the event was Live Nation in partnership with OPG.

A 15m Orbit Flexidome was chosen as the appropriate stage system, as the site has a shopping mall beneath and no other structure could provide the rigging capacity combined with low self weight and point loads. Working on the roof of the shopping mall also meant the use of any cranes, pickers or forklifts was not allowed, so the whole system had to be hand

UK - In 1980, Innovation Power's Rob Hutchinson undertook his first live event, providing generators for Harvey Goldsmith at Newcastle City Hall to power lasers for The Who. This June things came full circle, when 27 years on, Harvey Goldsmith once again enlisted Innovation to supply power for The Who, this time at Southampton's Rose Bowl.

"What people forget is in the 80s we didn't have today's electronic technology, no mobile phones, faxes, laptops, or computers in the production office," reflects Hutchinson. "We had a couple of phones in a Portakabin that we'd all be fighting over and if we wanted signage we had to bring in a sign writer.

"On the scale of what we have now the electronic era has really got a grip. We used to check the oil and water in the generators every morning before we started. Now, through telemetry, our generators talk back to a cen

UK - SPS has won a contract to design, build and supply a new conference stage environment for FT Conferences, to fulfil their busy global conference schedule. Furthermore, as part of this contract, SPS reports that it will also be supplying the AV solution at these events.

James Gunnell, head of global logistics at FT Conferences and Events, says: "We are delighted to be working with SPS. The professionalism and passion displayed by the team has impressed us immensely and they have delivered an exceptional service so far. I am looking forward to developing our relationship with SPS throughout the course of the year."

Robin Coles, managing director of SPS, adds, "We are very proud and excited to be working with the FT. With a company of this stature it is imperative to captivate and impress the highly successful business professionals who attend FT Conferences.

UK - PLASA has announced the four contenders for the first Gottelier Award, to be presented at this year's PLASA Show (9-12 September, Earls Court, London).

Named in honour of the late Tony Gottelier, the industry innovator and commentator who passed away in 2006, the Gottelier Award is aimed at those members of our industry who have made significant and sustained contributions to the advancement of entertainment, presentation or installation technology - whether in audio, lighting, rigging, staging, or any other related field.

Following a six-week period of gathering nominations from across the industry, the shortlist of leading nominees can now be revealed, ready for the voting process to begin.

The nominees are as follows (in alphabetical order):

Tony Andrews is a highly regarded designer and manufacturer of high quality point source loudspeaker systems, w

UK - Opening features at London's O2 Arena, included performances from Marley Brothers, Simon Webbe, Mutya Bueno and Jason Donovan on the London Piazza, one of the vast new public spaces inside the O2 complex that has been built specifically to stage innovative public events in areas that are always free to access. Star Events Group (SEGL) provided a complete package of stage, PA, lights and barriers for the event.

"We had a very tight timescale," explains Martin Green from AEG, owner and operator of The O2. "We were staging this series of events as part of the very high profile opening of The 02 in what is essentially a new building. Not only that, but it was organised in a matter of weeks, so we needed a fast, quality response and a very reactive one as we came to know our new venue more."

"As a result of the merger of SEGL and SRC, the group now has

UK - Chauvet continues its steady foray into the touring industry with a strong presence at this summer's Ozzfest. The manufacturer lights the Jägermeister's Mobile Stage, a self-contained portable stage, which premiered in July as the secondary stage for the heavy metal festival.

When not in use, the unit appears to be just another huge 34ft trailer, but at the push of a button, it unfolds Transformers-style to reveal a professional stage. The complete sound and lighting rig is set up in minutes. Mötley Crüe's Vince Neil observed: "The stage is an awesome portable stage with top notch sound and lights. I look forward to playing on it again."

All power for the stage comes from a built-in generator, and with a sound system designed for an audience of 10,000, power constraints were a prime consideration when the lighting system was planned. Designers found a solutio

South Africa - Gearhouse South Africa has launched a new company that will provide a complete power distribution service for the Live Events industry. Gearhouse Power operates between Cape Town and Johannesburg as a separate business unit within the Gearhouse group.

Gearhouse Power is headed by Antony Sackstein, who initially worked for Gearhouse managing director Ofer Lapid as a freelance lighting technician at Lighting Unlimited in 1992, moving to a permanent position in the company in 1995.

The new company is able to offer clients a comprehensive range of power generators with a range of 300, 200 and 100 KVA generators on hand.

All generators have their own trailers so each may be used as a separate unit for individual events. All of the machines can be integrated and they are all cam-locked and power locked, which reduces the set-up time required on site, a great advanta

Russia - On 18 July at the Luzhniki sports arena, Metallica completed the European leg of their Sick Of The Studio 2007 tour. More than 60 000 people came to the stadium to see the band who last played there in 1991.

The stage for the show was designed and built by JSA - the recognised Russian leader in this field. "We are very happy with the interaction with JSA and we hope for successful continuation of this cooperation in the future," said a spokesman for the band.

Last year, the Russian company built a stage and provided production-functions at a Metallica concert in Estonia with 80.000 spectators.

"We have been involved in this business for more than 10 years now," says JSA president Alexander Strizhak. "We have built up a growing client list and service many of the major touring productions that come to Russia."

(Jim Evans)

UK - Hemsworth Arts & Community College has used Maltbury's Metrodeck staging for many years, and head of drama Stephen Foster recently asked Maltbury for a piece of rotating scenery for use at the school and in competition.

Maltbury provided a Scenic Revolve comprising three 8ftx4ft panels mounted on a rotating frame. These panels are arranged so that three different 8ftx8ft faces can be shown to the audience - a total of almost 200sq.ft of flattage.

The boards can be painted, have things stuck to them or projected onto them. They can also be removed. Each panel can then be taken down and the frame folded up for easy storage or transport.

The scenic revolve is designed for drama, dance and musicals but can equally be used for conferences, exhibitions or any information display, says Maltbury.

• Plymouth Music Zone is a music education facility in Devonport. Once a de

UK Volex will be Introducing the V-Lock locking connector at PLASA 2007. Awarded an innovative product awad at PLASA 2006, the V-Lock now has an extended range of connectors and jumpers.

The V-Lock connection consists of three parts, the integral locking feature, secure locking connector and sturdy release button. The integral locking feature mates with the secure locking connector forming an unbreakable bond and ensures that no unintentional disengagement occurs.

By using the Volex V-Lock you are able to switch from hard wiring to LED technology, says the company. Says a company spokesman: "Volex understands that every event is unique, therefore we have made our products diverse to match all of your power source needs. We are happy to consult our customers on which of our many products are best suited for their business."

See Volex at PLASA07 - stand A51.

(Jim E

UK - High Wycombe-based Pandemonium Productions was appointed by Brunel University to design, manage and produce its five-day graduation ceremony event. Returning to the Brunel campus after several years, eight ceremonies were staged in Brunel's internationally acclaimed Athletics Centre.

Pandemonium Productions' MD, Simon Garrett collaborated with Brunel University's event manager, Liz Thomas, from the outset. Garrett appointed Malcolm Birkett as production manager. Together they managed their team of preferred suppliers to tackle the challenge of transforming the Athletics Centre into a ceremonial auditorium environment, which complied with current DDA regulations.

Working with appointed set designer, Ian Fogden of IFD Design, Pandemonium configured a set that was sympathetic to the simplicity of the hall.

Custom built by Centre Stage, the modular stage boasted a curved fr

Dubai - The Dubai Community Theatre and Arts Centre sits on the roof of the vast Mall of the Emirates, right alongside the indoor ski slope. DUCTAC, as it is universally known, features a proscenium arch and studio theatres designed to high specifications.

In 2005, Maltbury exhibited at the PALME show in Dubai. DUCTAC project managers met MD Philip Sparkes and a flexible package of Metrodeck was agreed for seating tiers in the studio space.

This equipment enables a range of layouts to be built so that the space can respond to the needs of future shows. The theatre and arts complex opened in 2006 and now runs a busy schedule of drama, dance and musical performances.

Gulf neighbours Doha College in Qatar managed a whirlwind purchase in February this year. New head of Drama Paul McCracken ordered a Maltbury Playhouse Staging Kit and within a month it was in Doha supporting a pr

USA - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has completed the renovation of its 140 year old tabernacle building in Temple Square, Salt Lake City, Utah. Stage Technologies installed a 24-axes automated rigging and a 2-axis stage lift control system to enable the same high level of flexibility and safety as a modern performing arts venue.

Stage Technologies was responsible for overseeing the entire rigging installation at the tabernacle, working with Jacobsen Construction, McLaren Engineering Group, Pook, Diemont & Ohl Inc, Tomcat Truss, Conductix and AMC Fabrication.

Fourteen BigTow390 winches were installed to control lighting trusses and speaker clusters. BigTow290 winches were also installed to automate seven large chandeliers. This allows the chandeliers to be lowered to a safe working height to be maintained and cleaned.

Three BigTow200 winches are used to car

UK - HSL Group Holdings is highlighting its diverse range of products and services at the show, plus the team's indomitable abilities to run a superlative bar and social area. This will be located just behind the Robe Show Lighting stand. The HSL bar is designed to be lively, interactive and fun, paying homage to the massive amount of industry business that gets processed and finalised "over a couple of drinks".

One of the fastest growing lighting and rigging rental companies in the UK, HSL services a host of entertainment sectors including theatre, live events, concert tours, festivals, television productions, corporate presentations and special events of all types. The last 12 months has seen an increase in activity in every market sector for HSL, the company reports.

HSL has large stocks of all the latest lighting technology - including moving lights, LED light so

UK - Summit Steel has been appointed as the official in-house rigger for London's newest and highest profile arena, The O2. The Kent-based company reports that it tendered and won this highly valued contract, beating some serious competition. The company says its safety conscious and service orientated pitch impressed The O2, where Summit will be working alongside senior event technical manager, Q Willis and management company AEG.

Summit has already taken on Kate Smith as a dedicated administrator for all the O2 business, and will shortly announce the appointment of a new project manager. Summit's Jon Bray comments, "Obviously we're delighted with this result and appreciate all the hard teamwork that's gone into achieving it. We look forward to working with a venue of this calibre."

Summit will be responsible for the provision of all rigging services within the O2.

Portugal The Benfica Stadium staged the official Declaration Ceremony of the contest to find the modern Seven Wonders of the World, with help from Stage One's automation control system, Q-Motion.

Stage One's technical director Jim Tinsley comments, "We had just three weeks to install 35 axes of aeriel automation, but are very proud of the fact that Q-Motion has advanced to a point whereby we could deliver the show requirements within such a tight timescale and with few problems."

(Jim Evans)

UK - This year, for the first time, staging specialist Stageco was asked to work on two major concert series in Hyde Park, promoted by Live Nation. The Wireless O2 Festival featured 2007's only UK appearance by the White Stripes, while other headliners included the Kaiser Chiefs, Daft Punk and Faithless. The following weekend, Hyde Park Calling, sponsored by Hard Rock Café, featured Peter Gabriel and Aerosmith on consecutive evenings.

Stageco was specifically asked to improve the event's sightlines for both the audience and television cameras. The company came up with a novel solution. They sited the front of house mixing positions in low profile structures to the left and right of the auditorium, with lighting desk stage right and sound desk stage left.

The stage itself was a Stageco Boogdak roof system, which created a 18.6m x 14m performance area as well as height ab

UK - The past 12 months have seen further growth into an increasingly varied selection of projects and markets requesting Kinesys products, says the company. High profile touring artists using Kinesys systems have included Genesis, The Killers, Keane, Snow Patrol, The Arctic Monkeys, Lionel Richie, Kylie and many more. Installations have included the Royal Albert Hall with over one hundred channels of positioning chain hoist control.

Highlighted at PLASA 07 are two newly launched hoist control products - Smart 8 and Sentinel - along with other innovations including Kinesys' K2 control software.

The Smart 8 expands on Kinesys' existing Power 8 product and offers full positioning facilities built into a standard hoist controller. Smart 8 allows fixed speed encoded hoists to be programmed and controlled from a single unit, offering cost savings over the traditional approach of a

UK - Out Board will be showing the all new LV-Series Low Voltage Hoist Controllers and DV-Series Direct Hoist Controllers, plus new ergonomic RC handsets and accessories. Features include built-in phase detection and selection, integral E-Stop and linkable Remote Go and E-Stop functions.

LV6 and LV12 controllers are configured in multiples of three channels of control and power mixed on two or four Ceep (Socapex19-style) connectors, to match the widely-adopted standard established by Out Board's former CM Series controllers.

LV8 provides two sets of four-channels of control and power on separate male and female Ceep connectors respectively. New LV4 and DV4 units deliver four-channels each of low voltage or direct control via rear panel C-Form connectors.

Also on show will be the Savant fully-automated PAT and Cable Testing systems with database logging, including single-user

UK - Risks come in all shapes and sizes in live music and The Event Safety Shop (TESS) had to be prepared for all eventualities when Genesis took a state-of-the-art set on tour this summer.

The event safety specialists were an integral part of the tour planning, working with Genesis's production manager, Wob Roberts, to draw up risk assessments and safety policies. They ensured that tour personnel adhered to the required standards and informed all international promoters of the safety information required by local authorities.

Two TESS safety officers, Jake Piper and Mike Herbert, were attached to the tour. "Although they acted as safety 'police' to a certain extent, they spent most of their time with the crew advising and helping them to work in a safe manner," said TESS director Simon James.

Perhaps the most dramatic off-stage moment of the tour was when lightnin

UK - The R&A has awarded Arena Structures an extension of its existing contract to supply The Open Championship with course structures until 2011. The new contract starts in 2008, following the successful conclusion of the current contract at the 2007 event in Carnoustie this July.

Arena Structures has an impressive track record at UK golfing tournaments and this year alone will have supplied over 500,000sq.m of structures to the major UK golf events, from Wentworth to Loch Lomond to Celtic Manor.

Bespoke structures range from luxurious double decker hospitality suites used by corporate sponsors such as BMW and HSBC and VIP lounges,to more functional spaces such as press centres. Ron Smith, Arena Structure's projects director said: "We are delighted to be able to continue our relationship with The R&A and look forward to offering the highest standard of service at The Ope

UK - During a two-day workshop (10-11 September) at PLASA 07, a Columbus McKinnon representative will discuss the proper use of CM Lodestar products. He will also lead participants in hands-on disassembly and reassembly of a one ton CM Lodestar motor and discuss maintenance and troubleshooting techniques.

A Tomcat Representative will discuss the basics of truss theory, use and design. The workshop will emphasise safety and usage. Demonstrations of load scenarios and truss inspection will also be featured.

(Jim Evans)

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