Robe - LEADERBOARD - Feb 2025
Doughty - Banner - from 6 June 2025

Rigging / Staging

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UK - In order to promote the Honey Monster family of food Stage One was asked by experiential marketing agency, Hotcow, to create a themed 'Monster' truck to both raise brand awareness and reinforce the public's latent fondness of the Honey Monster.

"The conversion of the original truck, an iconic 1970's ex-army Land Rover 101, was a huge challenge," said Neil Franklin, head of interpretation for Stage One. "But by forming a close working partnership with Hotcow we were able to provide a solution to meet the aspirations of the client."

The process was, however, far more complex than it appears and throughout the conversion the design of the truck was constantly evolving, requiring Stage One to draw on their extensive experience to offer and incorporate design solutions. The conversion included extra lighting, panelling, graphics and a roof hatch, and drew o

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UK - This year's PLASA Focus sees GDS (Global Design Solutions) exhibit a number of new, innovative products, including additions to its successful LiteWare and CueSystem ranges.

GDS will showcase the newest addition to the LiteWare range, LiteWare HO (High Output). Following the success of LiteWare wireless RGB uplighter, launched in 2009, LiteWare HO is a high output version offering 80Watts of LED power. Designed to be completely compatible with the existing LiteWare range, the LiteWare HO product is the same footprint as the standard version and is calibrated to deliver colour-matched output.

Also at the show is the new TCP-IP CueSystem a Networked cue light system which launches at ProLight + Sound this week. In an industry first, with the ever-increasing trend towards completely networked show control and lighting systems, the TCP-IP CueSystem bridges the gap for stage m

Doughty - Banner - from 6 June 2025

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UK - Rycote has appointed a new sales & marketing manager. Based at Rycote's headquarters in Stroud, Gloucestershire, Stefano Pucello is now responsible for all Rycote sales nationally and internationally, replacing Gabby Davies, who left the company at the end of last year to complete her PhD.

"It's an exciting time to join Rycote," comments Italian-born Pucello, who has been settled in the UK for 12 years and previously worked in the wire and cable industry. "The company's new Universal Studio Mount redefines the concept of the low-noise recording microphone suspension, and, at well under the price of a typical dynamic recording mic, has affordable mass appeal to anyone who uses microphones, whether they're recording in a back bedroom or AIR Studios. That's a big new sales area for the company to service, in addition to the windshield market, where Rycote has al

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UK - Bristol Fashion Week returns to The Mall at Cribbs Causeway on 25-28 March through. Stage Electrics has supplied two of its high resolution 6mm LED screens to its client Prupim, for the event.

This year's fashion show, hosted by TV fashion stylist Mark Hayes and celebrity hairdresser Andrew Barton, is set to be filled with glamour, together with a mix of this season's new fashion trends on the Catwalk. The event will also include expert style advice and beauty treats for those who attend.

Over the duration of the event, Stage Electrics has supplied two bright, 4.5x4.5m ground supported, high performance LED Screens. One screen is being used as the backdrop for the catwalk, situated in the main show Marquee which has been built specifically for the show, on the North side of the Mall. A further screen has been assembled in the food court area, to provide entertainment for

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UK - PLASA Focus: Leeds 2010 - which takes place on Tuesday 27 and Wednesday 28 April at the Royal Armouries - is fast building its profile as a show for new products as well as networking, with a host of products launching in Frankfurt scheduled to make their first UK appearance in Leeds just a few weeks later. Among these are the latest developments from some of the 31 new exhibitors who have signed up to PLASA Focus since the first show last year - leading to a completely sold out event.

From the audio world, exhibitors include Allen & Heath, showcasing new products including the iDR-16 3U MixRack and iLive-R72, iLive software v1.6, Xone:PB, Xone:XD40 headphones and ZED-10 and ZED-10FX mini mixers; Ateis International with its new ECS-Teleconference unit echo cancellation system; Cloud Electronics' new MA60MEDIA combined mixer/amplifier/digital music player; Duran Audio's AXY

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USA - Geoff Stock, a dealer project manager with J. R. Clancy, has passed the exam in the Entertainment Technician Certification Programme (ETCP) for Theatre Rigging. Stock is now an ETCP-certified rigging professional.

The certification indicates expert proficiency in the use of counterweight, mechanical, and hydraulic systems installed in theatres. ETCP riggers also understand the health and safety issues involved in the use of theatre rigging, as well as Occupational Health and Safety Association (OSHA) requirements for the use, maintenance and inspection of rigging.

Stock, who came to J. R. Clancy in 2008, is the third rigging professional on the Clancy staff to earn ETCP certification. Formerly a project manager with Grand Stage Company, the Midwestern production house, Stock works directly with dealers and oversees the in-house completion of their projects. Most recently

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UK - People taking part in The Sainsbury's Sport Relief Mile were left in no doubt that they had arrived thanks to Sunbaba's site branding which included a massive 925m² of PVC and Ultramesh, 570m² of Correx and 30 Knitted Polyester Flags for client Limelight Sports.

The Sunbaba team worked with Limelight Sports to produce the functional signage and gantry branding across the 16 headline cities in England and Northern Ireland.

The branding included start and finish line arches created using PVC panels. Eight of the 16 cities were supplied with PVC panels that were welded together to create double sided banners where the gantry acted as a frame. In other instances single sided panels were used as a gantry wrap.

Directional signage highlighting the running route, VIP areas, water distribution and recycling points were created using Correx. This is a lightweight, robust and w

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France / Belgium - For its latest fashion show on 9 March, Chanel constructed an iceberg style runway in the Grand Palais in Paris. To prevent the iceberg from melting and flooding the fashionistas a giant fridge was placed over the 240-ton ice sculpture. Just before the show started the fridge was hoisted up in the air.

Wicreations of Tremelo, Belgium furnished all necessary equipment, engineering and people for the construction to take off. The fridge, a giant thermos was lifted by 14 0.5 T Varistar hoists. The two 40m lighting trusses that were mounted inside the box were lifted by 10 0.5 T zero speed lift-champ hoists. The major challenge was to synchronise all these hoists for the lift off to a height of 15m. All went according to plan, thanks to the Kinesys K2 3d software.

"As always we offered a complete motion control service," says Hans Willems, director of

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UK - Entertainment lighting supplier White Light has announced its appointment as the exclusive UK dealer for the RSC Lightlock, the moving light stabilisation device which won a PLASA Gold Award for Innovation when it was first previewed in 2008 and the Best Debuting Product Award when launched at LDI 2009.

Created by the Royal Shakespeare Company and manufactured by Total Structures, Lightlock is designed to open up new lighting and rigging possibilities by automatically damping the unwanted movement that occur when moving lights are rigged from short bars or trusses. Normally, the centrifugal forces caused by the moving light are transferred to the truss, which continues to oscillate long after the light has completed its movement so causing the light beam to sweep wildly around its target focus position.

Rigged between the light and the truss, Lightlock detects the movemen

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USA - Eric McAfee, a member of the sales team at J. R. Clancy, brings his years as a theatre production professional, installer and project manager to bear on his new position as domestic sales manager.

In his new role, McAfee will supervise all US sales of Clancy rigging systems, working closely with specifiers, dealers, and end users to determine the best rigging solution their each projects.

Beginning his career as a technical director, first for a cultural centre on Staten Island and later at the SUNY Purchase Performing Arts Centre, he followed his early experience with more than five years as a rigging installer with BMI Supply. He joined the Clancy staff in 1999 as a dealer project manager and became an ETCP Certified Theatre Rigger with the first offering of the exam.

(Jim Evans)

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UK - A.C. Special Projects has provided comprehensive lighting and rigging systems for two separate performance areas at Buckinghamshire New University's recently opened £40 million learning complex, the Gateway.

Designed by RMJM Architects and built by BAM Construction, the building is part of an extensive programme of rebuilding and refurbishment at the institution. Production-based degree courses benefiting from the new Gateway teaching facilities include Performing Arts (Film, TV & Stage) and Film and Television Production.

Having previously provided the lighting system for the University's Students' Union venue, The White Room, which is also used for teaching, A.C. Special Projects was commissioned by BAM Construction to supply and install equipment for the new performance facilities. The company also assisted with the systems' specification.

For the green-screen

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UK - Continuing its long and successful relationship with console manufacturer DiGiCo, 5 Star Cases is supplying flight cases for their latest console - the SD9, which was launched at the Prolight&Sound exhibition in Frankfurt.

The partnership started with the case design and build for the SD7 in late 2007, and has continued through DiGiCo's SD8, SD8-24, D5 and D1 editions - and now with the SD9.

Ten special versions of the case were fabricated to coincide with the SD9's launch, alongside a standard issue 'production' version. The production model has the additional facility for using optional VESA screen mounts on either side of the console.

As on the SD8 models, a pull-out keyboard drawer and a rear-hinged access flap are included as standard. Colour matched rubber handle grips and the usual DiGiCo branding add further visual impact to the case.

David Webster, DiGiCo's m

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USA - Florida State University (FSU) has become the repository for roughly15,000 project and product drawings that represent 100 years of history, produced by engineers at J. R. Clancy.

J. R. Clancy presented the vast assemblage of materials to the FSU School of Theatre on 31 March at the opening of the USITT Stage Expo in Kansas City, MO. FSU will make this collection of documents accessible to students, historians, and others who may research the development of theatre rigging.

Particularly fascinating are the drawings that tell the story of a critical period in the company's history, during the transition to motorised rigging. Beginning in the 1960s, Clancy manufactured the synchronous point hoist and early 'package hoists', precursors to the motorised hoists that are so popular today.

The university projects that the archive will be available in digitised form on the FSU

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USA - Users of J. R. Clancy's iRigging app - the Apple iPhone/iPod Touch app that provides critical data to rigging installers and operators - can now download a free app update.

The iRigging app delivers instant information about wire rope, batten loading, arbors, stage ropes, motors, fabrics, fleet angles, and more. Derived from J. R. Clancy's slide rule, the app provides all the data required for proper installation and operation of manual and motorized rigging.

(Jim Evans)

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The Netherlands - ShowTex Netherlands will supply all stage drapes, decorative fabrics, curtain tracks and motion control systems for the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 semi-finals and grand final on 29 May.

this annual event will be broadcast live on television and the internet from the Telenor Arena in Oslo, Norway. 39 countries will take part in the contest won last year by Norway's Alexander Rybak.

Thousands of meters of flame retardant fabrics, from basics like black Molton CS masking drapes to some of the most innovative special effects textiles will provide a backdrop for the performances. Show hosts will also be reporting from the venue's green room which will be covered in ShowTex dimensional flame retardant fabric.

ShowTex's Marjon Franken comments: "ShowTex provided stage decoration and masking drapes for many of the previous Eurovision shows over the ye

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UK - The Chartered Institute of Personal Development (CIPD) is Europe's largest HR development professional body with over 135,000 members. Each year the CIPD holds its prestigious annual conference and this is attended by delegates from across the world. In 2009 the event was moved for the first time from Harrogate and held at Manchester Central (formerly GMEX). The CIPD selected Media Powerhouse to provide the stage set for the Main Auditorium and breakout rooms. The conference was produced by 20/20 Productions, based in Edinburgh, and it worked with AV partner Media Powerhouse for the second year in succession to deliver state of the art video and sound equipment to include the Main Auditorium and four breakout rooms.

Media Powerhouse is an audio visual solutions provider with experience of delivering high quality AV services to high profile events. It is paramount that every

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UK - The abundance of skills and talent that constitutes the Black Eyed Peas can at times appear overwhelming; producers, songwriters, musicians, they do it all. These were the challenges confronting designer Bruce Rodgers when he first took the brief for the band.

"And as a live attraction they look great too. I saw right away that the show would be far from conventional; these guys project a lot of energy and more than anything that needs to be expressed in the visual context. The big T shaped forestage stretches the performers into the midst of the fans. Losing the weight of a regular 'end on' emphasis allows the show to become totally immersive."

Rodgers, with collaborative input from lighting designer Marc Brickman, has called upon the services of set builders Tait Towers to realise his design. "The T stage element might look simple," he said, "bu

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UK - The chair of the Health and Safety Executive, Judith Hackitt CBE, has officially opened the new headquarters of PASMA, the trade association representing the mobile access tower industry in the UK and Ireland. Situated in the commercial heart of Glasgow, 7 Newton Place is the association's first permanent HQ and is home to its eight strong secretariat.

Unveiling a plaque to mark the occasion, and recalling her time as director general of the Chemical Industries Association (CIA), Hackitt acknowledged the contribution of PASMA and trade associations in general to advancing safety and best practice.

In particular, Ms Hackitt highlighted the long time cooperation between HSE and PASMA and the work of the association in promoting competency when working at height. She commented, "PASMA is a good example of what can be achieved when regulator and trade body work together

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USA - Patrick Finn, a dealer project manager with J. R. Clancy, has passed the exam in the Entertainment Technician Certification Programme (ETCP) for Theatre Rigging. Finn is now an ETCP-certified rigging professional, the fourth on the Clancy staff to become certified.

The certification indicates expert proficiency in the use of counterweight, mechanical, and hydraulic systems installed in theatres. ETCP riggers also understand the health and safety issues involved in the use of theatre rigging, as well as Occupational Health and Safety Association (OSHA) requirements for the use, maintenance and inspection of rigging.

Finn came to Clancy in 2009. Previously he worked with Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut; Virginia Opera Company in Norfolk; Ohio Light Opera in Wooster, Ohio; and City Theatre Company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Most recently, he served as a consu

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UK/South Africa - Reporting in football parlance, GearSource Europe has scored three times in the run-up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup this summer. The first, a slow build-up with some interesting interplay, resulted in the sale of $200,000 of EAW speakers sourced from four prominent UK suppliers and sold to one of South Africa's premier rental companies. The recipients of this first strike are now the owners of even more KF760, SB850, and SB1000.

The second was a fast paced affair involving many KF730 speakers lobbed over the top to another of South Africa's finest - Strike two!

The third used a mixture of tactics involving yet more UK and European suppliers to provide a complete JBL rig, roof system and decking to another South African company. Strike three. Hat-trick. Match ball.

"We've been supplying several South African companies for a few years now, but these were t

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UK - 5 Star Cases exhibits at the PLASA Focus exhibition in Leeds, UK on 27&28 April for the second year.

The latest new product is a portable lectern system, which comes compete with integral Heavy Industrial grade case, This has been developed to address all the frustrating and time consuming things about setting up lecterns.

The lectern is manufactured from birch plywood which is CNC machined at 5 Star's factory in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire on one of three Thermwood CNC machining centres.

It's aimed at AV rental companies operating in the conference and presentation sectors, and anyone needing a quick and tasteful looking lectern set up, with the major advantage of being fully protected in transit and also ultra-portable with a flightcase.

It features a sloping work area to accommodate laptops or papers, with easy cable access via a series of slots machined into the body

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UK - AC-ET's Rigging division has taken stock of the new Crosby S-209T theatrical shackle, a black version of the industry standard G209 screw pin bow shackle designed for discreet rigging applications in the entertainment sector.

Featuring the same dependability and durability with a new matt black finish, the shackle is available in a range of sizes from 3/8" through to 3/4" and with working load limits of 1, 2, 3.25 and 4.75 metric tonnes.

The carbon steel shackles are forged, quenched and tempered, feature alloy pins and are fatigue rated.

A.C. Rigging stocks large quantities from the Crosby range of shackles, Masterlinks, chain slings and other high quality loose rigging accessories. For a limited period the theatrical black S-209T shackles are available from A.C. Rigging at the same price as the industry standard G209 shackle.

(Jim Evans)

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USA - After more than 20 years' of troubleshooting, the rigging control system challenges are over in the showroom at Trump Plaza Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, thanks to the new control system and the complete makeover provided by J.R. Clancy.

The software specialists and engineers at J. R. Clancy replaced the troublesome rigging controller with its own SceneControl 500 automated motion control system.

The new system ends an odyssey that began as far back as 1984, said Scott Mahrer, entertainment technician for Trump Plaza, who arrived at the hotel and casino in 1985 and immediately began troubleshooting the control system in place. "The console was accurate to within two inches or so," he remembered. "If you wanted to move something in another quarter-inch, you had to run it back a couple of feet and reset the target."

Trump Plaza replaced this system i

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UK - Showsec achieved a record rating in retaining its status as a member of the Approved Contractor Scheme (ACS) with the Security Industry Authority (SIA). Following rigorous fourth year checks, the company was awarded its highest ever score by the inspector, who praised all aspects of the company that fell under his scrutiny.

The SIA is an independent organisation that was set up by the government with the aim of providing an effective, fair and efficient regulation of the private security industry. To create a recognised hallmark of quality for companies looking to engage security providers, the SIA created the Approved Contractor Scheme. Showsec was one of the first to adopt the scheme upon its introduction, encouraging and driving the progression of standards across the wider industry.

Since being awarded ACS accreditation in the categories of door supervision and man gu

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