UK - The organisers of EvenTech Scotland exhibition, which was due to take place on 10-11 February 2010 in Glasgow, have announced that the event has been postponed.
A statement issued by Scattered Media blamed the "current economic climate and the strain this is having on many companies' budgets at present" and said that they were "in the process of looking at the calender to find suitable dates later in the year".
Czech Republic - Trussing, roofing and staging systems manufacturer Milos is in the final stages of completing a new 60,000sq.ft building at its already extensive premises near Prague.
This will be fully operational from the start of 2010 and will be utilised to expand and streamline the current manufacturing process.
The new building has become necessary to meet the demand for products and orders that has continued throughout 2009, and this expansion has been financed entirely from existing cashflow, says the company.
Milos is known for its fast turnarounds. The additional space will ensure that even more efficiency and speed can be applied to deliveries, and it will also create more space for the construction of special and custom projects.
Milos' facility is designed to provide the space and the latest technologies to deal with all manufacturing needs in-house.
USA - The RapcoHorizon Company is showcasing its Road Hog Series of cables at WNAMM 2010. The Road Hog Series includes instrument cables, microphone cables and speaker cables, all designed for heavy-duty use.
Each Road Hog cable is equipped with pure copper conductors encased in a durable, thick jacket that lays flat and coils easily. The instrument cables feature a pure copper 20ga centre conductor and a 95% serve shield. The Road Hog microphone cables are designed with dual 24ga pure copper conductors and a 95% pure copper serve shield. Rounding out the Road Hog line are 14ga speaker cables with stranded twisted pair conductors for low noise operation.
"Road Hog is among the highest selling cable series from the RapcoHorizon family of products," says Lucas McCulley, marketing specialist at The RapcoHorizon Company. "Once a performer uses our Road Hog cable on
UK - Showsec provided the event security for the 2009 Sports Personality of the Year Awards in Sheffield. The company supplied its own team of UK security professionals, who ensured the safety of guests in the VIP pre-show party, securing all transport between venues and strategically placing response teams around the VIP audience.
With a live audience of 11,000 guests including some of the world's leading sporting personalities, the 2009 awards were the biggest ever staged.
Showsec is the in-house security partner of the arena and security manager Julian Kumah took on the role of head of security for the awards, supported by special projects manager Steve Reynolds and supervisor Mark Wilcock.
Kumah reports, "The multi-faceted security operation started by ensuring the safety of guests as they travelled from various preshow events into Sheffield Arena. The first
UK - Tower Productions of Edinburgh has just taken delivery of the first batch of the new powercube lighting and power system. Offering a saving on transport costs, extra-long run fuel systems, on/off control by timer, or photocell and simple quick one man operation, the system is designed for the outdoor events industry.
The units have a hydraulic mast reaching to 8.5m, wind tested up 80 Km/h and four, adjustable stabilisers. The mast can be rotated through 340° ensuring easy focusing. Illumination is provided from four 1000w metal halide lamps.. The unit can be self-powered or run from another supply.
There is a useful 9.0kVA of auxiliary power. With compact closed dimensions of just 1330 x 1225 x 2330mm and weighing in at only 1180kg, an operator can deliver up to 20 Hydropowercubes on one single truck. The extra large 200-litre fuel tank allows for up to 32 hours runni
UK - London-based drapes specialist Cover It Up has supplied a substantial quantity of drapes and scenic surfaces to Phil McIntyre Entertainment for the current Ricky Gervais Science UK tour.
The company has supplied many previous projects for McIntyre's including Dancing on Ice, Peter Kay, Bottom, Chris Rock, Russell Brand, The Mighty Boosh, and not forgetting - notably - a pair of giant 20ft red underpants for one of the Little Britain tours.
The basic touring package was specified by Adam Scott, the tour's production manager, complete with a selection of "get out of trouble" items.
Cover It Up's Rhys Sion says, "It's been great working with the team at Phil McIntyre Entertainment again and especially with Adam Scott. The drapes give the stage clean edges and the versatility of the touring package has made the tour possible in ven
UK - Event safety specialists Stagesafe have produced two new event information documents, available as free PDF downloads from the Resource Centre of its web site, www.stagesafe.co.uk.
The first is entitled the Stagesafe guide to on site working practices and safe working procedures in the technical production industry, and is aimed at event companies to give to their staff as a basic guide - and can equally be used by individuals and freelancers as a handy reference. It contains a wealth of professional advice, hints and tips about safe working, says the company.
Stagesafe has also updated its Stagesafe guide to self employment in the live music and events industry, a guide for the self-employed and for those who use the services of the self-employed.
UK - 5 Star Cases was recently contacted to design and supply a complete exhibition display system and flight case solution for CPU Holders 4U and Pro Audio Stash.
From an initial brief from Pro Audio Stash's Rob Platt, the design team at 5 Star came up with some ideas and following some minor tweaks, the project was born, comprising two main product categories.
Pro Audio Stash distributes a range of 19" rack mount cabinets, both free standing and wall mounted, plus a host of rack-mounting accessories like plain panels, drawers, ventilation panels and castors.
CPU Holders 4U manufacturers and distributes a range of 'Under-Desk' CPU holders, laptop security drawers and cable management trays.
Europe - Brilliant Stages were approached by Jon Perry of Perry Scenic to collaborate on the supply of the staging for German band Rammstein who tour Europe and the Eastern block from November 2009 and well into 2010.
The brief from designers Roy Bennett and Peter Aquinde was for a heavy metal 'iron foundry' look which would incorporate the main stage into the array of lighting pods, collapsing tower blocks and the vast quantity of pyrotechnics which even includes a shower of exploding dolls.
Brilliant Stages collaborated with Perry Scenic on this venture and employed project manager, Nick Evans, to work alongside Rammstein's production manager, Nicolai Sabottka, and Perry Scenic's project manager, Tony Guest, in delivering this taxing piece of set.
The staging mainly consists of tiered band platforms surmounting the main stage, with four collapsible towers forming the indus
UK - Event branding specialist Sunbaba provided site and stage branding at Edinburgh's Hogmanay for client Unique Events Limited.
80,000 revellers in Edinburgh city centre ensured that the new decade was welcomed in style over a massive five days of celebration across five live music stages.
Sunbaba provided its branding for the Concert In The Garden area of the celebrations. PA scrims in the company's digisound material flanked the stage as headline acts Madness and the Noisettes preformed in front of a capacity audience.
Sunbaba director Jonathan Booth comments, "Using this speciality air permeable material ensured that all performers were heard at their very best with minimal sound distortion whilst sponsors logos maintained a highly visible presence."
The Netherlands - Mojo Barriers brought 2009 to a close with three different public events in three cities across Holland, delivering tailored crowd barrier systems to each one.
New Year's Eve celebrations in Rotterdam and Amsterdam and a Christmas charity event in Groningen brought together tens of thousands of people in each city with each presenting different challenges for crowd safety. International barrier company Mojo Barriers worked with production companies on each events to supply tailored barrier systems to ensure each event was safe.
For the double New Year's Eve events Mojo Barriers used two teams to work in both Rotterdam and Amsterdam. In Rotterdam a floating stage on the canal hosted a music concert and The Production Factory commissioned Mojo Barriers to install 750m of barrier along the canal bank. 20,000 people attended and the Mojo team used their experienc
UK - The PLASA 2010 Show has officially launched with the opening of a free registration month, enabling early bookers to gain admission to this year's show, at Earls Court on 12 - 15 September 2010, at no charge. Registration is now open on the new-look PLASA 2010 website (www.plasashow.com) with free visitor registration available until 11 February.
Following the highly upbeat reaction to PLASA09, with exhibitors expressing delight at the quality of visitors despite the financial climate, expectations for PLASA 2010 are also high.
Early exhibitor news includes confirmation by Martin Professional; a doubling of stand space by Nexo; and the return after a one-year absence of Zero 88.
PLASA's Events manager Sophie Atkinson said, "Last year the free registration offer helped boost exhibitors' confidence in the show's compelling drawing power by attracting thousands of ear
Belgium - Stageco used its engineering expertise to create the infrastructure for an ice skating rink and surrounding structures in Bruges.
As one of the oldest and most picturesque cities in Belgium, Bruges was the host to winter shopping and ice skating for locals and visitors to the city.
Stageco was brought in for the seventh consecutive year to create the framework and infrastructure for the city centre attraction. The Stageco team of four transported 80 tons of equipment to the site to build the 20m x 30m ice rink structure.
Tom Bilsen, project manager for Stageco comments, "The ice rink was a challenge due to the uneven ground level. Across the rink there was a difference of 1.5m in height which meant we had to design the structure to overcome this."
This year, Stageco also built 12 scaffolding towers surrounding the ice rick which were used for decoration
UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies has introduced to the entertainment industry the IEC-lock, a power lead specifically designed to guard against accidental disconnection of electrical appliances powered using a standard IEC inlet.
The IEC-lock is an IEC female line plug with an integral locking system that is backwardly compatible with existing IEC male inlet sockets. An internal latch clamps the earth pin, making it resistant to accidental disconnection and vibration. The IEC-lock is used just like a normal power cable, except to unplug it, the user simply pulls back a red button on the underside of the connector to release the lock.
This makes the IEC-lock's locking mechanism suitable for protecting entertainment technology electrical appliances, including computer equipment and data communications applications that require a secure power source.
UK - London-based drapes specialists Cover It Up supplied nearly a kilometre of free standing black wool serge drapes, rigged on 90 sets of pipe-and-drape system for the Slammin' Vinyl NYE-NEC event staged at Birmingham's NEC.
Cover It Up helped transform the main Arena and the Pavilion areas of the venue into one of the biggest and most successful dance party events in the country, celebrating the start of a new decade with six action packed arenas and a dynamic line up of DJs and performers.
Cover It Up's main challenge with this one was to design and rig a sonic baffling system that would separate the sounds between the two principle spaces - the main One Nation arena and Hardcore Heaven - which were set up back to back in the NEC's Arena.
The client was primarily concerned about the potential bass seepage between the two arenas, but Cover It Up's Elliot Stennett r
UK - Stage Technologies recently launched its all-new, content-rich website, Stagetech.com, for the start of 2010. The site has a sleek look-and-feel that reflects both the trademark technology behind their core design and automation business and the vibrant energy of the entertainment world, says the company.
John Hastie, operations director comments, "The site is aimed to reflect what theatre automation should be all about - it's easy-to-use, visually exciting, dynamic and we wonder how we ever managed with the old, static site."
UK Production rigging specialists, Vertigo, has completed one of the UK's largest ever sports stadium rigging project at Arsenal's FC's 60,355 capacity Emirates Stadium in north London, installing eight giant banners emblazoned with striking images of the club's greatest players.
It follows an exceptional few months for the London based company, which has provided production rigging design and installation for the BBC Sports Personality of The Year 2009, Children In Need, the Selfridges Christmas Lights switch-on, Harry Potter - The Half Blood Prince premiere in Leicester Square, Ford's stand at the Shanghai Motor Show, and live productions of the BBC's So You Think You Can Dance, Mama Mia in Oslo and Phantom of the Opera in Buenos Aires.
The Emirates project, created to emphasise the link between Arsenal's glory days at its former Hig
UK - A comprehensive Technical Training Workshop covering the Kinesys automation system will be staged on 1 & 2 March 2010 in Blackburn, at the premises of lighting rental company, HSL. The Training is open to all interested parties. It has been designed to work as a one or a two day course to suit all levels of interest.
Day One will be a general technical training day, incorporating an overview of the basic Kinesys system and how it works including the conversion of hoists to vari-speed; the use of the Kinesys Elevation 1+ and Elevation 24 hoist controllers and Kinesys' range of power distribution units; connecting everything together, fault finding and running from Rigger remote control handsets.
Day Two will be dedicated to the philosophies and working of the Kinesys Vector control software, complete with practical sessions allowing attendees to get hands-on with the contr
World - Mojo Barriers worked with the top four highest grossing tours of 2009 according to Rolling Stone Magazine. U2, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, and AC/DC have taken the top four positions.
Mojo Barriers proved that the company's line of crowd control barricade is durable and can sustain the rigours of the leading worldwide tours. Metallica, a band with a long-standing relationship with Mojo Barriers are also listed in the Top Ten.
Supplying a 'tour stock' of Mojo Barriers is only the first step in many of these relationships. Additional barricade was often provided for tours with specific large-scale shows, such as Bruce Springsteen at Giants Stadium that required an additional 200m of barricade. The Toronto shows for both U2 and The Jonas Brothers also required additional barriers, with Mojo Barriers representatives 'hands-on' approach evident
UK - The Association of Stage Pyrotechnicians has announced the dates of the next batch of Pyrotechnic Safety Awareness training courses in the UK. The dates of the forthcoming courses are as follows:
St Albans - Alban Arena Date: 1st February 2010 Hosted by: Alban Arena Contact: David Croom Telephone: 01727 861078, or email: aatechnical@leisureconnection.co.uk
Brighton - Corn Exchange Date: Sunday 13th June 2010 Hosted by: Brighton Dome Telephone: 01273 709709, or email: events@brightondome.org
Coventry - Warwick Arts Centre Date: Sunday 18th July 2010 Hopsted by: ABTT Summer School Contact: Geoff Joyce Telephone: 020 7242 9200, or email: training@ab
UK - Summit Steel supplied rigging services plus all trussing and motors required for the 2010 National TV Awards, which moved to London's O2 Arena for the first time. It was hosted by Dermot O'Leary and broadcast live on the UK's ITV1 channel.
Summit was working for the show's producers Indigo Television. The Kent-based company also provides all the in-house rigging services for the O2, so Summit's project managers Jon Bray and Simon Frost and three production riggers joined forces with the 12 Summit-supplied venue riggers to ensure an efficient and tidy operation.
Lighting was designed by Mike 'Sooty' Sutcliffe and supplied by Panalux. It involved the flying of five 'finger' trusses over the stage, complete with two wider 'fingers' which were offstage and at slightly lower heights. A further 17 points were utilised to fly three straight trusses for audience lighting.<
USA - BSR E1.6-1-201x, Entertainment Technology - Powered Hoist Systems, and BSR E1.6-2-201x , Entertainment Technology -- Design, Inspection, and Maintenance of Serially Manufactured Electric Chain Hoists for the Entertainment Industry, are available for public review at http://www.esta.org/tsp/documents/public_review_docs.php through 15 February 2010.
The reviews are over when the posted 'Review End Date' is reached. The draft standards are part of the BSR E1.6 powered theatrical rigging system project. BSR E1.6-1 deals with powered winches that are not serially manufactured electric chain hoists; BSR E1.6-2 deals with powered winches that are.
The Netherlands - DMi D&M Installation Europe is expanding the functionality and capabilities of its Escient Zone home control system with major new additions to the product range at Integrated Systems Europe 2010. New Zone products to be introduced at ISE include a new video media player, adding video streaming to Zone, an AV I/O extender, and a range of DIN Rail lighting modules.
Escient Zone is a powerful integrated CI home control system exclusive to D&M Europe. Zone is positioned to provide fully featured, high performance home automation and control at a lower price point than current market leading systems, says the company.
The new Zone MP400 media player extends the multiroom audio distribution capabilities of current Zone media players into the video domain. The MP400 enables distribution of video from a central hard drive throughout the home and can handle a wide ra
UK - Firefly has announced that it is to be the exclusive technical production partner for the Brighton Festival Fringe in 2010. Firefly will be with the festival to ensure internal productions are delivered sustainably.
Brighton Festival Fringe is one of the largest and fastest-growing open access arts festival in the world and the largest in England. Anyone can put on an event in the Fringe, so it functions as a springboard for new work as well as a guaranteed platform for more established acts.
Brighton & Hove has held Fringe activity since the Brighton Festival was launched in 1967. In 2006 the Fringe became a company in its own right and appointed an independent board of directors: it is also a registered charity. Fringe 2010 will run from 1-23 May.
Firefly will be providing a number of solar powered stages as well as supplying all technical infrastructure