USA - There is still time to earn 12 ETCP renewal credits and save with the early registration rate for Tomcat USA's Safely Building the Beast workshop at the 2010 LDInstitute. This new workshop will take place on 20 &21 October 2010 in conjunction with the LDI Show in Las Vegas.

This day and a half, ETCP recognized workshop features training from industry experts. Day one consists of a half-day course on fall protection led by Bill Sapsis, president and founder of Sapsis Rigging, Inc. as well as a half-day course on truss design, use and theory taught by Will Todd, product support manager for TomcatUSA.

For the morning of day two, Will Todd and Keith Bohn of Tomcat USA will lead a session on ground supported and outdoor structures which includes an overview of design elements and safety consideration of these structures, examples of real world scenarios from the Tomcat

UK - Hawthorn has announced the launch of its new division, Hawthorn Walling Systems (HWS), designing and building tensioned fabric structures for the exhibition and events industry.

Clients are now looking for more economical, yet high quality build methods for large exhibition stands and event sets, says the company. HWS offers a solution to that, with large-scale tensioned fabric systems that are already a popular alternative to more traditional build methods.

HWS has partnered with American company Dockside Canvas to produce high-quality tensioned fabric structures using their patented Fab-X-Frame aluminium extrusion system, designed specifically for large exhibition stand builds.

The HWS walling system produces seamless fully printed structures of any size, but is also suitable for smaller sets, event walling and branding. The fabric can be printed to high resolution wi

UK - LTM and COW Lifting Technology are exhibiting together at PLASA 2010. LTM has a wide range of professional equipment on show including a novel display of variable speed LoadGuard chain hoists to BGV C1 in action, combined with an advanced BGV C1 motion control system.

They have also developed some innovative features for LoadGuard motors when used in production applications. The hoists come complete with sealed bearings around the loadchain wheel so there is little chance of rain entering the hoist components. They have also fitted a drain system which consists of a short tube from the load wheel area (where water can sit after rain comes down the chain) to the exterior of the hoist. The drain system means that the water exits the hoist in the hook area.

(Jim Evans)

UK/Germany - German company Reutlinger's cable holders Type 50SVII and Type 80SVII, launched in 2008, have become the de facto product on exhibition stands at trade fairs across Europe and the US.

The high-load-bearing models are specifically designed for use in event technology rigging and fair-booth construction. A huge number of companies have used them to suspend everything from speakers, lights, trussing and more in the construction of their exhibition stands at shows throughout Messe Frankfurt, Messe Berlin and Hannover Messe, to name a few, including the recent Light+Building show in Frankfurt and Showtech in Berlin.

Growing safety awareness throughout the event production industry and increasing demands for products'compliance with European norms and accident-prevention regulations has benefitted Reutlinger systems: they are the only load-bearing cable system to have o

UK - After a record breaking 2000 visitor registrations in the final week alone, the opening day at Earls Court on Sunday 12 September has been packed with activity, as over 350 companies launch more than 500 new products.

A major strength this year has been the return of several leading audio brands and over 60 new exhibitors overall, including Ateis, Avid, Baldwin Boxall, Bosch, Bose, EAW, Electro-Voice, Intertek, Korg, Mackie, Martin Audio, Penton, and SCV/ Turbosound, as well as over 250 loyal exhibitors.

In one of the show's numerous innovations for 2010, visitors were able to watch the PLASA Awards for Innovation judges assess this year's exciting nominations in a series of live presentations on the interactive Innovation Gallery at the entrance to Earls Court 2.

Video of those presentations will be screened in the Innovations Gallery throughout the show, allowing othe

UK - The new Han-Eco series from Harting is a range of lightweight rugged plastic IP65 connector hoods and housings which are suited to the requirements of theatre and concert tour operators.

The new devices can help to minimise the weight of flight-case or light-bar mounted lighting dimmers as well as truss-mounted hoist controllers and automation systems for theatre and concert touring, says the company.

Key features of the Han-Eco Series include inserts that accommodate tool-free, snap-in, rear-mounting modules from Harting's Han-Modular series fitting into front or rear mounting adaptor frames. The extensive range of modules available provides a high degree of flexibility by allowing connectors to be assembled to handle data, control, power, fibre-optic, coaxial and pneumatic signals. A separate PE module provides the necessary full grounding and finger-safe user protectio

UK - Fred Foster, Chief Executive Officer of ETC (Electronic Theatre Controls, Inc.), and one of the best known designers and developers in the industry, was confirmed last night as the fourth winner of the prestigious Gottelier Award, presented at the PLASA Awards for Innovation at Earls Court on the second night of PLASA 2010. The Award was voted for by readers of www.lsionline.com.

Foster started ETC in 1975 with the goal of installing the first memory lighting-control system in the New York Metropolitan Opera House. During his time he has developed a wide range of innovative products including Mega-Cue, perhaps the first console to utilise digital multiplexed data over two conductors between the desk and dimmers; the Concept console that led to the Expression / Express line of control desks; the Obsession Console and the Sensor Dimming System.

He contributed to the design

UK - Winners of the 2010 PLASA Awards for Innovation, and the 2010 Gottelier Award, were announced yesterday evening in a special presentation at PLASA 2010 in Earls Court, London - after a hotly contested nomination process that saw 62 products entered and six contenders for the Gottelier Award.

The Awards for Innovation, for the first time, were judged 'live' at the Innovation Gallery by an independent panel of 16 expert judges, in front of show visitors and a camera team on Sunday 12 September. Show visitors are able to watch the judging process replayed on large screens in the interactive Innovation Gallery for the rest of the show.

Seven Awards for Innovation and one Gold Award were presented by PLASA CEO Matthew Griffiths, while ETC founder Fred Foster was honoured with this year's Gottelier Award in recognition of his work on such legendary products including the compan

Help For Heroes - Robbie Williams and Gary Barlow have performed live together for the first time in 15 years. The Take That pair, who announced this year they were working together again, performed their new single Shame at a Help For Heroes concert in London.

Earlier, Barlow and Williams said: "It's great that people like Shame so much and we can't wait to perform it live for the first time." Also in the line-up were Tom Jones, Alexandra Burke and Pixie Lott. The concert, which took place at Twickenham Stadium also featured comic talent including Bruce Forsyth, Peter Kay, Michael McIntyre and Jack Dee.

Some 60,000 people were at the event - including 150 personnel injured in combat who attended the show free of charge. Proceeds will go to the Help For Heroes charity, which raises funds for wounded troops and their families.

In The Courts - An attemp

UK - Optocore has created new firmware for its DD4ME MADI network device to allow consoles from Digidesign, a subsidiary of Avid Technology, to operate on its network.

The new firmware enables the coaxial (BNC) ports to function not as MADI, but as Digidesign Venue's proprietary coaxial digital snake.

"With this release, Digidesign's Venue consoles and stage racks can be connected via a DD4ME to the Optocore network," states Optocore founder, Marc Brunke. "The audio flowing between the Stage Rack and Console (or vice versa) can be output via other Optocore devices in the network, thus enabling networking functionality to Digidesign products."

Several consoles and racks can be placed on the same network, and an unlimited number of splits of any input channel are possible.

(Jim Evans)

UK - Aviom is demonstrating its Pro64 Network Manager PC control application at PLASA 2010 (Stand 1-F2). The Pro64 Series is designed with a simple front-panel user interface that makes it possible to create sophisticated audio networks without PC-based programming. Soon to be available as a free download from the company's website, Aviom has now introduced a software control application for those users who desire a centralized control and status monitoring option.

This new interface provides both global and device-specific information for front of house monitoring, allowing on-screen management of even the most complex audio networks from a single location. With the Pro64 Network Manager, front of house engineers now have remote control of every Pro64 device in a network through a PC connected to the network's Control Master device.

Network settings and audio parameters for e

UK / Canada - CAST BlackBox Corporation has won a PLASA Innovation Award for their newest technology, BlackTrax. This Award marks two years in a row that CAST has won the highly respected Award, having won in 2009 for wysiwyg R24. The award was delivered by PLASA CEO Matthew Griffiths during an award ceremony at PLASA, 2010.

BlackTrax is a hardware motion tracking system for people and objects that operates in realtime. BlackTrax is designed to work with CAST's game-changing BlackBox system of multi-directional high-speed control coordination.

"BlackTrax makes so many new scenarios possible," says Gil Densham, president of CAST, "All production aspects from increased safety to new levels of interactivity and spontaneity."

(Jim Evans)

UK - In the wake of the merger recently announced between UK structural aluminium specialists Litestructures, and Dutch trussing, staging and lifting company Prolyte, it was confirmed at PLASA 2010 that the branch of Litestructures formerly known as Litestructures Live has been launched as a new, independent company called LS-LIVE.

LS-LIVE is now a facility that unifies three previously distinct areas of operation, namely hire, stage & set, and the studio, which is Europe's largest purpose-built arena rehearsal facility.

LS-LIVE has its own experienced management team to handle and coordinate every facet of live events from equipment hire to project management and support to stage and set design and much more besides, says the company.

"I'm very excited about heading up LS-LIVE and taking on the challenge of moving the business from being a division of another company t

USA - Chad Koehler of Sea Koehler, Inc. and a lead rigging consultant for many major touring rock and roll productions has specified Ron StageMaster's 6000-wireless system for the current AC/DC Black Ice World tour.

The current tour has a very large set piece; a full size replica of an old steam locomotive, too heavy for (two) 2-ton chain hoists. During installation, a delta plate is rigged, and then two hoists are used side by side on each end of the set piece. The load cells allowed Koehler to monitor the load while building and hoisting the set piece onto the stage and alert the rigging team of any overload.

The production also uses a large video screen which is hung underneath a large truss measuring twenty meters in length (65').

The screen moves up, down, left and right on a motorized track hung from the bottom of the truss. The truss is hung from nine 2-ton cha

UK - PLASA 2010 closed on a high, with preliminary visitor figures set to show an increase over 2009 and strong international engagement from across the world. Exhibitors across all the show's sectors enthused about the quality of business leads and relished the show's vibrant atmosphere. The event, which filled London's Earls Court 1 and 2, drew over 12,000 visitors, while the international attendance continued to be strong with nearly 30% of visitors attending from 99 countries worldwide.

Show director Nicola Rowland commented: "The universally positive feedback and the strong visitor figures would be satisfying under any circumstances, but in the current economic climate it's a strong result for our exhibitors and for the show itself - it underlines just how important PLASA remains in the international events calendar.

"Numbers alone were only part of the story,&q

USA - J. R. Clancy has been approved to become an official Training Provider in rigging, as designated by the Entertainment Technician Certification Programme.

J. R. Clancy offers a training programme that can assist ETCP Technicians in acquiring ETCP Renewal Credits towards recertification. Rigging professionals who take courses offered by J. R. Clancy earn one renewal credit per hour of instruction. The Clancy programme began with one course; now, as an ETCP Training Provider, Clancy has expanded its programme with multiple courses. Those interested in taking an industry certification examination may find these courses helpful in preparation.

Candidates who wish to sit for an ETCP examination must meet eligibility requirements. A total of 30 credits are required to qualify for the certification exam, with points awarded for work experience and college-level degrees earned.

UK - As part of Hawthorn's personal development programme Nick Key and Derek Wilson have both attained the National Rigging Certificate (NRC) Level 3 for the operation and supervision of rigging operations.

In 2007 the Professional Lighting and Sound Association (PLASA) introduced the National Rigging Certificate to formalise an assessment of competency in the rigging sector of the entertainment industry.

The NRC Level 3 standard is currently the highest recognised measurement of competency for rigging in the entertainment industry and reinforces the company's commitment to maintaining high levels of competency, service and safety.

Also part of Hawthorn's ongoing pledge to training and development, they supported the first ever PLASA International Rigging Conference which took place alongside this year's PLASA 2010 Show.

(Jim Evans)

Mexico - For the celebrations to mark 200 years since Mexico's independence from Spain (and 100 years since the revolution), Sebastian Corkidi's event staging company, Simply Professional, were at the centre of activity.

Specialists in producing outdoor events on a large scale, the company was commissioned to provide the technical infrastructure for the massive $60 million Government-run event at the imposing Zocalo main square in Mexico City. This featured a display of aerial acrobatics (choreographed by Ric Birch), fireworks, rock music and parades, attended by tens of thousands of people.

Having worked with PR Lighting fixtures for the past six years he knew that lighting designer Victor Zapatero would find everything he needed to bring the concept to life, from within Simply Professional's inventory.

Zapatero used 24 of PR Lighting's Century Color 2500s to colour wash th

UK - Joining the project management team at Unusual Rigging is Mark Priestley, who takes on responsibility for the company's capital projects. Previously with consultants Charcoal Blue, Priestley has over 25 years' experience of theatre design, particularly stage engineering and technical systems, much of it gained during 19 years at the National Theatre. His work there included the design and production management of the rigging and automation aspects for productions such as His Dark Materials, Under Milk Wood, Pravda and Anything Goes.

Alan Jacobi, managing director of Unusual Rigging, says, "We've worked with Mark on many occasions over the years and his understanding and knowledge of technical theatre adds even greater strength to our team. His experience enables us now to broaden our design and consultancy services to clients who do not have

UK / The Netherlands - PLASA 2010 saw the announcement of the merger of two of the strongest names in the trussing and staging industry; Prolyte Products Group, based in the Netherlands, and UK-based Litestructures. The new, merged company will operate under the banner of Prolyte Products Group.

From an operational point of view, the Wakefield office will be run by managing director Lee Brooks who will benefit from a strengthened management team to enhance the sales and distribution in the UK market across all brands. The Wakefield office will also be responsible for running a group-wide custom projects division. All bulk manufacturing will be handled by the group's two European plants, and global distribution will be managed from Prolyte Products Group HQ in Leek in the Netherlands.

"We are thrilled by the new opportunities at hand," states Fokko Smeding the new Gro

UK - Le Mark's portable roll-out retail display flooring was specially selected for the major lifestyle retailer, The Conran Shop on London's Fulham Road.

"Le Mark Floors are so easy to use, they make the difference between a 'standard' shop window display and one of completely different professional character and finished appearance. The way the floor wipes clean is brilliant, scuffs are easily removed and the durability of the floor is outstanding," says Mark Gibbons of Le Mark Group.

"This is the second time The Conran Shop have used Le Mark's flooring for their retail displays, the first looked just as visually stunning, really 'setting' the products on show."

(Jim Evans)

UK - Creative & Cultural Skills (CCSkills) is undertaking a major review of the National Occupational Standards (NOS) for technical theatre. Alex Hitchcock, training development manager at Stage Technologies with two decades of training and automation programming under his belt, has written and collated the draft version of the automation NOS for technical theatre, in consultation with other industry stakeholders, and as part of the NOS development working group.

These NOS modules are now available on the CCSKills website and industry professionals are being actively encouraged to provide initial comment and consultations. "It is vitally important," says Hitchcock, 'that the modules are reviewed and commented on by as many individuals, automation professionals and interested parties as possible, to ensure that the NOS become a relevant tool for all employees and employ

China - ShowTex Hong Kong supplied and installed the main stage draperies and hundreds of meters of tracks for Franco Dragone's latest creation in Macau, a spectacular grand scale water themed theatre.

Thousands of meters of ShowTex's inherently flame retardant Paris CS Velour line the entire building as acoustic masking. The main curtains are also made from the satiny 520gr/sq.m weight velvet. Drapes attached to custom curved Alu-Pipe tracks serve to mask all technical equipment, catwalks, grids, and wiring in the venue as well.

The House of Dancing Water is a show created and directed by Franco Dragone in the Li Chung (Sandi) Pei purpose built and designed Dancing Water Theatre at City of Dreams in Macau.

As one of the main features of Melco Crown Entertainment's leisure oasis City of Dreams, the 2,000 seat venue combines advanced technologies with a traditional bla

UK - Showsec successfully implemented a professional, multi-facetted event security operation at Twickenham on 12 September at the Help for Heroes fundraising concert in aid of injured soldiers. Showsec secured the artist and pit areas, whilst liaising with the Rugby Football Union, managing the crowd of 60,000 spectators.

The event, attended by Prince Harry, climaxed with a reunion performance from Gary Barlow and Robbie Williams, amongst a host of other pop stars and comedians, including Tom Jones, Katherine Jenkins, Peter Kay and Michael McIntyre.

Showsec's operations director Simon Battersby along with project manager Paul Legge oversaw 280 Showsec security professionals during the show.

"The Help for Heroes concert was in aid of a fantastic cause and an event we are very proud to have been a part of," says Battersby. "The event was an emotional one

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