Rigging / Staging

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14 December 2016

The Miller is a unique venue - a free, outdoor, full-proscenium theatre; the original facility was built in 1923. Rebuilt in 1968, the Miller now includes a 64ft x 41ft stage, 54 line sets, orchestra lift and a 100-ton air conditioning system to cool the performance area. Seating is provided for approximately 1,700 patrons, with a sloping lawn that accommodates roughly 4,500 more.

To assist with the renovation, J.R. Clancy turned to Beck Studios, a long-standing J.R. Clancy dealer. "It's a great partnership,"

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14 December 2016

Founded by Roger Barrett and Maddy Sheals as touring sound specialist Star Hire, the company's first contract, in 1976, was with singer/songwriter Carol Grimes. Star went on to provide for the likes of Split Enz, the Rock Against Racism tour of 1979 and Miles Davis in a similar capacity.

Star Hire stages made their debut at Notting Hill Carnival 1983, Barrett, and Sheals who retired in 2014, determined they could make a better, safer job of it than the platforms then available to them as a PA supplier.

Later the same decade, Star formalised its interest in improving standards, writing a technical safety guide for the National Outdoor Events Association (NOEA). Star Mobile platforms were patented in 1989 and the Ver

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14 December 2016

In this video, Area Four Industries R&D director Marc Hendriks dives into the technical design, testing and certification of Mobiltechlifts products.

This video is part of the on-going three-month promotion series from Milos that focuses on a selected range of products. During these promotions, Milos provides its customers with valuable information and extra value with each purchase of the featured Milos product.

The link to the video is here: https://youtu.be/iPAi5Lu2nd8

(Jim Evans)

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14 December 2016

Based in New South Wales, the sales dedicated TRS operation is part of Pollard Productions, popular and well-respected rigging professionals working in all areas of live shows and events, TV productions and concert touring, which has been established for 35 years. Pollard is also a long term customer of Kinesys.

The announcement follows a recent visit to Australia by KInesys MD Dave Weatherhead, who comments, "TRS share our core values, standards of excellence and attention to detail. They have the right attitude and bring a huge amount of knowledge and enthusiasm to the equation and through the Pollard Productions connection, the TRS team is also really experienced with our product ranges. We a

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14 December 2016

This summer's BoomTown Fair saw the introduction of over 80 street venues and an increased capacity of 60,000, making it the biggest year to date. The fully immersive festival features nine individually themed districts, impressive main stages and an eclectic line up of music and entertainment with the introduction of Sector 6, a brand new district and witnessed performances from Madness, Damian 'Jr Gong' Marley and Fat Freddy's Drop.

Utopium provided festival lighting and rigging to 12 main stages and venues, which included the Town Centre, The Lion's Den, The Jolly Dodger, The Old Mines, The Ballroom, Rusty Spurs and Tangled Roots.

To illuminate The Lion's Den stage, which is the largest reggae stage in

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14 December 2016

Harlequin Floors offer a wide range of floors for live entertainment, the performing arts, dance, special events, set building, television studios, exhibition stands, as well as theatre stage construction and stage refurbishment projects. At PLASA this year Harlequin will additionally be launching a number of exciting new floor options, including the addition of Gold and Silver, the first two in Harlequin's new Metallic range, joining the already immensely popular Hi-Shine event and display floors.

Also of interest to set designers looking for new creative opportunities, Harlequin is rolling out Reversible Pro a floor that is well suited to printing designs and images using advanced wide format computer controlled techniqu

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14 December 2016

The simple, interactive, entertaining and educational experiments contained within The Exploratorium prove a concept, demonstrate a principle and wow visitors with a bit of science. There will be axe heads and horns, Virtual Reality and prisms, experiments on perception and even a 'Brain Transfer Machine'.

One highlight of The Exploratorium is The Sideshow, a bit of virtual and magical fun, hosted by Ryan Metcalfe from PreeVue, producers of photo-realistic 3D models for theatre productions and live events using the latest CAD and VR technology. "This is a fantastic opportunity for us to be able to demonstrate this brand new technology in a way that allows vi

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14 December 2016

Candidate information, including eligibility requirements and applications, is available on the ETCP website at http://etcp.esta.org/ldi2016.html. Questions can be answered by Meredith Moseley-Bennett, ETCP Certification Manager, at 212-244-1505 or etcp@esta.org.

The new ETCP PPDT certification is focused on the large population of industry workers in the roles of technicians, stagehands, portable power set/strike technicians, as well as facility maintenance personnel for a wide variety of venues. This certification targets the top two-thirds of people working with t

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14 December 2016

Boswell joins a number of high-profile speakers at the event, put together by the University of Salford to look at the challenges facing the UK police force in 2016, the impact of cuts since 2010 and reforms to pay schemes and working practises in the wake of the Winsor Review among them.

Conference producer, Julia Main, sought David Boswell's input after reading about TSG's commitment to modern, multi-agency security solutions at event sites. His session will focus on TSG's cost-efficient, specialist services that support the conventional security effort, detailing the company's proven capacity to fulfil a policing role.

Julia Main comments, "I'm very pleased that TSG is taking part. It's built around former police office

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14 December 2016

Completing this year's educational and informative offering, are Sound Design for Olympic Ceremonies - Lessons Learnt, The art of creating impactful artist performances, Investigating the Intangible - When Lighting & Sound Interact, Apprenticeships - A new approach to employer-led schemes, AV Installation Strategy for Venue Owners and Inventing The Future: The Story of the National Theatre's Lightboard.

Scott Willsallen has been one of the leading audio designers for major international and outdoor events since 2004 and has been involved in the majority of the Olympic Ceremonies since then. In Sound Design for Olympic Ceremonies - Les

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14 December 2016

The innovative approach taken to design and operation has led to a faultless installation in Tennessee, completed by BellaTEX Inc. & Ty Prewitt sent this independent report:

"I have nothing but good things to say about the LivePipe product. It offers significant and unique advantages - & showed us it will work in very difficult situations.

"LivePipe was not only the best solution in this case, but its cost was on par or lower than other options. I believe it's appeal will be broad. It can be exceptionally quick to install. Since it doesn't include hoisting a 150Kg motor, 'quick' actually has some validity.

"The assembly and installation process is significantly simpler than any other products I'

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14 December 2016

A simple task one would have thought for one of the country's leading suppliers and installers of industrial lifting equipment until the client explains that the facility is already finished, jam packed with machinery, ducting and conveyor equipment and in full production. The area is also in a highly sensitive / secretive production facility that also requires a heightened state of cleanliness throughout installation and during use. And the installation has to be completed within a very tight schedule so as not to disrupt production, then the simple just became a little more difficult.

No stranger to the extraordinary (one look at their website will confirm this), the Hoist UK team set about a design that would weave its

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14 December 2016

With multiple power options available the Apollo Light can be suited to your preference.

The Apollo Light is an entry level lamp manufactured to a professional standard. This rugged light is constructed entirely of metal and runs off a 24V supply.

A strip of 18 high quality LEDs with a colour temperature of 3000K provide light which is relaxing for the professional musician yet makes for easy reading of yellowed scores, without the tiring effect of the more common cold white LEDs.

The very slim housing does not obstruct the musician's view of the conductor. It provides very sharp cut off ensuring that only the score is illumi

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14 December 2016

Have fun with theONE, the award-winning, dual fog and haze generator which was awarded LDI's Best Debuting Product Award on its launch in 2010. This will be in action on the nearby Robe stand at D40.

Run about with the ATMe haze generator in its portable carry kit: this kit sets a new standard in portability as it stores the gas canister securely beneath the generator and enables it to be operated horizontally without the gas line freezing, so you can generate haze exactly where you want it.

Don't forget Me2

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14 December 2016

Jonathan Purdue, sales manager at BroadWeigh, comments, "The launch of our new wireless system in 2015 was a big stepping stone for us in the industry. We already had riggers who loved our wireless kit, but we were keen to raise the bar and so the new system, which boasts a radio module giving four times the range of the previous system, as well as improvements in the omni directional antenna, has had a significant impact on performance and has undoubtedly set a new standard i

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14 December 2016

Visitors to stand L50 will be the first to see the new Atom G Clamp. This 'baby' joins Doughty's popular Atom Clamp family and has been designed in response to a customer request for a clamp that is suitable for small architectural luminaires.

Mark Chorley, design engineer at Doughty explains, "A considerable number of our products start life as one-offs for customers who approach us with a specific request. On this occasion we designed this clamp for a well-known lighting company which was looking for a neat and unobtrusive way to hang one of its architectural luminaires. We realised that other companies would also benefit from the design of this clamp which fits 10mm to 25mm diameter truss and has

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14 December 2016

Architecturally, Tara Theatre is a fusion of East and West and features an intimate 100-seat auditorium, a studio for rehearsals and small events and an outdoor patio walled by railway sleepers.

Designing the technical theatre installations for the new venue was Theatreplan. Mathew Smethurst-Evans, partner at Theatreplan, explained, "The brief for the redevelopment of the Tara Theatre was to provide a new adaptable theatre space with a rehearsal room, along with relevant back of house facilities and a foyer.

"One unusual challenge on

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14 December 2016

"In retrospect, looking back at the last four decades, I feel both humbled and gratified at how far we have come," stated president and founder of Elion Engineering, Eitan Eilon, about the special anniversary. "I feel that our greatest achievement is that our customers trust our products, and best of all that we are contributing to keeping people safe. Our products span the globe and we have created a legacy of uncompromising safety and quality."

Eilon Engineering has grown to become a world leader in the development and manufacture of load monitoring systems. Its popular product line includes Ron Crane Scales, dynamometers and load cells for force

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14 December 2016

Key feature include: lightweight construction, shockproof robust weather proof polyethylene enclosures, a unique stacking system, integrated handles around the units, sunken location of the components protect them from damage, and Vello, Mennekes and Eaton Components.

Titan Power offers a range of off the shelf power distribution products, however we can manufacture in house any board to any specification, from 16a to 800a, with various options such as lifting points, variable RCDs, key switches, audible pre-trip warning, ammeters, PowerLock, 19" rack, flight cased.

(Jim Evans)

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14 December 2016

"It was encouraging to see so many people arrive for the very beginning of the show," says PLASA managing director Peter Heath. "PLASA's emphasis is where it should be, creating opportunities that will lead to sustained growth for our commercial divisions, leading back into the membership through increased activities and initiatives. The relocation to West London, and the move to a September date, as well as an enhanced seminar programme, more interactive showcases and technical workshops are all part of this, and were very much driven by member feedback. Early indications are that it's working."

So what is in store for day one? As well as a host of inn

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14 December 2016

During his presentation, Rocky will talk about his career as a rigger and the influences that shaped it. "I feel very lucky indeed to have been invited to speak at this year's conference," he says. "I'm very much looking forward to being there, not least to renew old acquaintances and make new ones."

Chris should have his work cut out during the day's other sessions as we look forward to hearing from industry heavyweights the likes of; Chris Skeith, The AEO, Mark Surtees, Outback Rigging, Tom Goode, G

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14 December 2016

Visitors to stand L50 will be the first to see the new Atom G Clamp. This 'baby' joins Doughty's popular Atom Clamp family and has been designed in response to a customer request for a clamp that is suitable for small architectural luminaires.

The Clamp Space Saver is another unique product from Doughty that is making its first appearance at PLASA. Clamps can be awkward to store and transport, with lots of wasted space in each storage box due to their size and shape. The Clamp Space Saver allows the clamp to fold down, reducing in height to just 50mm - saving 100mm of space per clamp. Made from high tensile Aluminium, it has a SWL of 100kg and has been designed so that the clamp does not have to be rem

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14 December 2016

Staff from the company's dedicated Lighting sales division - which supplies any aspect of your stage, theatre, or architectural lighting system - will be present to demonstrate the latest lighting solutions from brands including Chroma-Q, Jands, ProLights, Spotlight, LumenRadio, Luminex and Tourflex Cabling, amongst others.

The company's dedicated Film & TV sales division - which offers a comprehensive one-stop inventory of lighting, control and grip solutions for film, television, studio and locati

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14 December 2016

Introduced by PLASA's managing director Peter Heath, the seminar will include Dante Level 1 and 2 training from Audinate's Kieran Walsh, live table-top displays and a session on deploying Dante networks in live events from Liam Halpin.

"Audinate is pleased to co-present this day of seminars in cooperation with PLASA," says Kieran. "Attendees will receive training that will help in taking the Dante Certified exams, discover how some of the la