Rigging / Staging

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14 March 2016

James Gordon of DiGiCo will chair the meeting and introduce a number of members who will outline their own experiences, before things move to an open discussion to see how members can share information and how PLASA can provide practical support.

The meeting, which is free to attend, will take place in the Roberts Building at University College London from 4pm-7pm, followed, by Christmas drinks at a nearby pub.

If you'd like to attend or want further information, please e-mail feedback@plasa.org

(Claire Beeson)

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14 March 2016

Keeping customers and users up-to-date with product information and in-depth knowledge of how to best apply Prolyte products always has been a vital part of the Prolyte Group philosophy, says the company. In order to create awareness on the safe use of Prolyte products, Prolyte Campus brings together all elements in a complete programme of learning activities.

"Transferring knowledge and creating a dialogue with technicians worldwide is one of the goals for creating the Prolyte Campus - finding their needs and sharing experiences is a valuable base for creating solutions that work and help you grow your business," says Prolyte. "Creating the awareness that safe working practices are key to responsible ownership is another."

The Pr

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14 March 2016

Star Events Group was once again in Trafalgar Square, this time for The Royal British Legion - which is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year. The 11m mobile stage featured musical performances by singing trio The Soldiers and readings by Downton Abbey's Dan Stevens, before the two-minute silence.

The mobile stage built in under three hours ensured production had the maximum time available for the overnight load-in the day before with the added advantage of being off site within two hours after the event.

Project manager, Charles Ellery of Capital Productions said, "it was great to have such an experienced supplier on Trafalgar square, it really helped me out as a first timer at the site, we'll certainly be coming to Star Events again for a stage."

(Ji

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14 March 2016

Unusual is also supplying lighting trusses on the current UK tours of White Christmas, South Pacific, Dirty Dancing and We Will Rock You, and looking forward to starting work on the new touring production of The Phantom of the Opera. Premiering at the Theatre Royal Plymouth in March next year, the Phantom tour will require some 80 chain hoists, putting the total out on hire from Unu

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14 March 2016

The stage type and access features, specified by Duchess Iredale on behalf of MTV Europe, were built over the main gates of Belfast's iconic City Hall facing the main shopping thoroughfare of Donegal Place.

The gates and railings formed integral parts of the completed structure with the stage height set to allow smooth passage of rolling risers between the main gate posts. The construction took place over four days which meant minimal disruption to traffic despite the delivery of some 100t of equipment and use of an 80t crane to assemble the stage.

Ancillary structures including a multilevel front of house and follow spot tower, with an essential cable bridge ac

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14 March 2016

Studio Three is a charismatic Grade II listed space within a former Methodist Church that is now part of The Milton Building, home to the University's Drama, Theatre & Performance department. It is a new area used for training students in lighting and sound on the University's new BA Honours degree course in technical theatre.

AC-ET was one of several companies invited to tender for the project by David Wainwright, senior technician and manager of resources for drama, theatre & performance, having previously supplied equipment to the University.

The Studio Three grid project was co-ordinated for A.C. Rigging by Adam Beaumont, and utilises over 90 custo

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14 March 2016

The 4 day hands-on workshop offers a limited number of aspiring lighting designers, sound engineers, and video designers the chance to design and run a live concert, which will be performed in front of Austin's entertainment technology community, at PLASA's first North American regional event.

Beginners and professionals at the early stages of their careers are invited to take part in the event, which will see industry experts Richard Cadena, Brad Schiller, Chad Yeary, and Damon Lang pass on their tips and tricks for success to Texas' new talent, with prizes for the best designs.

Eminent production manager Ola Melzig, who's accolades include the Eurovision Song Contest, will be production-managing th

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14 March 2016

On the night, guests will also try and break the Guinness World Record for The World's Longest Relay Cheers!

Blitz is supplying all the event technology including sound and lighting, G-LEC LED wall, and ViewLite modular set system complete with custom graphics panels.

Munir Samji, Chairman at Blitz, commented, "As one of the UK's leading Staging and AV Rental Companies, we feel that recognising and celebrating excellence in our industry is important and we are proud to be sponsoring the UK Events Awards. It looks set to be a great and fun-filled evening."

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

Rackz will continue to operate exactly as is in its current set up, with Roberts at the helm and all staff staying onboard. They will service their own clients in addition to expanding Penn's current range of racking products and working on a host of new Penn racking-based projects.

Penn-Elcom has expanded its business steadily and specifically over the last two years, strengthening and consolidating its already robust activities in flightcase components and pro-audio peripherals.

Rackz and Penn Elcom have been wo

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14 March 2016

The units were designed to be discreet while effectively reducing sound reverberation and the amount of daylight entering the rooms. The units' protective housing was manufactured to be as small as possible and is powder coated, along with the fabric side guides, to match the walls of the lecture theatres.

The roller banners are operated via a single-phase tubular motor unit located within a ball raced roller that holds the fabric in place. The motor unit has built in travel limits and the system is operated using a simple hand held control.

The key to the units is the bonded wool serge fabric used. The client requested a fabric t

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14 March 2016

Taking place on 12 June 2012 at Stratford Circus, next to the Olympic Park in East London, the Conference will explore how theatre buildings are managing their building's resources and addressing their future sustainability. The Conference takes place the day before the ABTT Theatre Show, allowing attendees and sponsors to take full advantage of these two London events.

The Conference will address the question of 'Delivering Sustainable Theatres' looking at how theatres are addressing the sustainability agenda in these rapidly changing times, and how they are providing a catalyst for social and economic recovery in the communities they serve. Conference speakers, sponsors an

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14 March 2016

As part of the campaign, Nike hosted Lunar Runs a 10 kilometre race, in three cities across China - Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou with the famous TV tower, the tallest building in the city, as the backdrop to the Guangzhou event.

Two full loaded trucks and a core crew from Star Orbit China which is a fully registered WFOE (Wholly Foreign Owned Enterprise) made the 30 hour trip from its base in Shanghai to provide a 15m Orbit stage which hosted stage based activities for the 15,000 participants featuring live music, race winners and a few celebrities to jog a few memories that running is a fun activity that can be also done at night.

Jo Xie, Star's general manager

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14 March 2016

The increase, which was announced in the latest London 2012 quarterly economic report by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), comes from the £9.3bn public purse, which is in theory meant for building, infrastructure and security, while the ceremonies is paid for from the privately-raised funds of the Organising Committee of the Olympic Games - money raised from the IOC, ticket sales and sponsorship.

In the DCMS report, Hugh Robertson MP, Minister for Sport and the Olympics, says: "The ceremonies for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games are a unique opportunity to portray a positive image of the UK to a huge potential global audience - an estimated 1 billion people watched the openi

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14 March 2016

The move has come about to facilitate the increased demand for the company's services of design, supply and installation of complete stage engineering mechanical facilities.

Under the leadership of MD Simon Caldwell, Independent Studio Services brings many years of experience providing mechanical and electrical engineering solutions to the performing arts industry, from initial design and planning, right through to the supply of hardware, and full installation.

Independent Studio Services also provides project management services on full stage equipment installations, interfacing with clients and contractors to ensure the most efficient, timely and safe execution of a project.

"Independent

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14 March 2016

Both RT's Dave Jolly and Yose Lawson are experienced users of Kinesys' various automation systems, and their compact, versatile LibraCELL.

The purchase was co-ordinated for AC-ET by Adam Beaumont in the Leeds office, described by Dave Jolly as "brilliant, knowledgeable and very supportive".

Beaumont comments: "It's great to see a new company investing in this technology, which we have been encouraging people to look at for some time. Systems like this offer a real safety advantage, which cannot be

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14 March 2016

In order to host the MTV EMA the organisers had to extend the venue's facilities, so they entrusted Arena to install temporary structures including the glamorous red carpet with media area, luxurious artist dressing rooms and the artist restaurant. The private extension to the Odyssey created an environment where the international stars who included Selena Gomez, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and Bruno Mars could prepare prior to taking the stage to perform.

Arena planned the positioning of all structures, liaising with event manager Maggie Mouzakitis to maximise use of the limited available space between the Odyssey and the Premiere Inn Hotel adjacent to the historic docks where the Titanic was constructed.

The linked structures included a 20m by 40m doub

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14 March 2016

Proving that contestants on TV's The X Factor don't need to win the show to have a successful career, the popular Jack the Lad Swing foursome followed last year's gigs by playing major shows at three football grounds - Hull KC Stadium, MK Dons Stadium and Carrow Road, the home of Norwich City - plus Lydiard Park in Swindon and the Matterley Bowl, near Winchester.

Manning the backstage and pit areas, AP's staff also passed on their knowledge and experience gained from the 2010 shows to the management at each venue.

"We worked closely with the clubs' stewards and stadium management, who are much more used to football crowds than

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14 March 2016

Mike Murphy, who has served as president of Clancy since 2009, will become the company's top executive on 1 January 2012. He will retain the title of president.

In his 14 years with Clancy, Murphy has been integrally involved in sales, project management, new product development, and in supervision of some of the company's largest and most complex projects. He also developed and implemented the company's quality management program, which led to the company achieving ISO 9001registration.

"Under Bob's leadership, J.R. Clancy has grown significantly in capabilities and in the strength of its business practices," Murphy s

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14 March 2016

Taking place in Earls Court, the Tournament is one of the largest displays of military theatre anywhere in the world, pulling together the best elements of the world-famous Royal Tournament. Once again, Unusual Rigging supported the event, supplying a raft of equipment plus crew.

In addition to 400m of truss for lighting and PA equipment, Unusual also provided truss and rigging for the massive 'hockey scoreboard' projection screen, flown above the centre of the arena. Hidden inside the screen were elements such as climbing ropes, for use in the gymnastic display by the Royal Army Physical Training Corps, and a hot air balloon basket, which w

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14 March 2016

The MC3 combines the agility and speed of a computer operating system with the reliability of a network appliance, enabling real-time multitasking to seamlessly run up to 10 independent programmes simultaneously, all communicating with each other on the same platform, says the company. A fully-integrated 3-Series platform unleashes more processing power, faster speeds, more memory, enhanced security and powerful multitasking capabilities that simplify the design and implementation of integrated building management and home technology.

When per

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14 March 2016

Both events, organised and managed by Yorkshire event company Take Us 2 The Magic, gathered more than 40 dance schools from around the world performing and competing in front of hundreds of people. In total, more than 250 acts per event performed on the main stage located in the prestigious Disneyland Paris resort.

Take Us 2 The Magic approached Rosco as they needed a transportable yet durable floor which can take any type of dance (tap, freestyle, Ballet etc). Rosco supplied 160m (enough to cover 20m x 12m stage area) of the Adagio Tour chosen from the extensive range of performance floors Rosco is offering.

Adagio Tour is a vinyl surface which is specially suit

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14 March 2016

With both the addition of a new office in Bogotá, Colombia and the opening of a vast new showroom in their Margarita offices, Audio Concept is steadily spreading the success of their company.

The addition of the i-line range to their package of Prolyte products is another step in answering the demands of their customers and local partners, says the company. "Bringing professional products, like Prolyte, into the market at affordable prices is an enormous stimulus. The introduction of the i-line range underlines the importance of not only supplying quality products at the best prices, but also backing this up with excellent availability and the best service and support you can get.

The first contai

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14 March 2016

Long-standing exhibitors such as White Light, Martin Audio, Martin Professional, J&C Joel, Shure, Avolites, Stage Electrics, Robe, Sennheiser, Hawthorn Theatrical and Clay Paky have been joined by a raft of new exhibitors, including Bose, d&b audiotechnik, LSC Lighting Systems, Midas, Topdeck Stage Systems, Pete Smith Inspections, JoeCo, Amber Sound, Audio Logic, English Braids, Experience Lighting, Isophase Audio, The Lectern Company, Showtex, Smoke Factory, CLD Distribution, ADB, Wirelessled.co.uk and Total Solutions.

Packed aisles and major UK product debuts have firmly established PLASA Focus as an unmi

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14 March 2016

The atmosphere reached fever pitch with a record quarter of a million fans in London's O2 Arena enjoying Roger Federer's victory as the world's eight top seeds competed over the eight day tournament. More than 100 million global viewers watched the event on television and online.

Blackout worked closely with client Detail Management to create an interactive Fan Zone visitor experience, meeting the specifications of both the ATP organisers and the official tournament sponsors Barclays.

Tom Lambert, Blackout's project manager coordinated with Detail Management's managing director Jim Mason to install 800m of Prolyte H30V Truss and screen support, 95 corner pieces with 63 support legs and additional black drapes. The Fan Zone wa