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
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
"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)
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
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
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
"We originally staged the event as a free festival, as a way of encouraging more people to use the parks in the local boroughs," says Andrew Wood, Bradford Council events manager, who organises Bingley Music Live. "It was also a way of saying thank you to the ratepayers, of giving them something back.
"As the festival has evolved, we now charge £30 for a Saturday and Sunday pass, or £20 for either day, but we believe it offers very good value for mo
This new inter-European venture is the brainchild of Frantisek Zykan of Czech trussing manufacturer Milos, and Michael Daubner former MD (for 16 years) of German company Burkhardt Leitner constructiv, specialists in temporary modular architectural systems.
Based in Stuttgart, Germany, Milos Concepts GmbH is primarily a think-tank for the design, development and imagineering of new and innovative spaces suitable for a myriad of applications. The company's core business will be engaging in design led creative initiatives.
The plan is to develop a range of new structural systems that will be Milos branded as well as to undertake bespoke and custom projects on commission. All products will be defined by all the elements charac
Dave Carpenter, deputy head of lighting & sound at the theatre, says, "We were looking around for a replacement for our old desks, which were becoming old and difficult for our suppliers to support. Trying an Eos at ETC's offices in London proved it to be a perfect replacement. It had a familiar programming syntax, making it really easy to learn."
The theatre, which is the national theatre of Ireland, already had Cat 5 cabling installed, which meant that installation was as simple as plugging the desk into the gateways which Cine Electric installed around the venue. "I love the fact that the desk has direct select buttons," continues Carpenter. "They make programming so much quicker."
"We tried a new d
All products include 24/7 customer support from trained technical service representatives available at Gefen. This enhanced customer service is designed for highly demanding industries such as broadcasting and the rental/staging markets. GefenPRO products also feature a more rugged construction and internal power supplies using industry standard AC cords to improve performance in the field, says the company.
The GefenPRO product line offers advanced matrix systems with 16x16 and 32x32 switching systems supporting more sources and displays. Additional products in the line include longer distance signal extenders based on fibre optics and a mix
The draft dust effect standard is written as a recommendation, a document that gives a mixture of guidance "should" statements and mandatory "shall" statements. A great variety of materials might be suitable for dust effects, either as dust lying on props and scenery or as aerosol clouds, so it does not specify exactly what dust must be. However, the standard will help people to avoid inappropriate materials, to select those that are least likely to cause health or safety problems, and to use them with care.
(Jim Evans)
When the Weis Centre was constructed in 1988, its automated rigging control system was top of the line: 15 line shafts and a Shamrock controller designed and manufactured by J. R. Clancy. The system remained in top working order until 1995, says technical designer Dale Hourlland. "The Shamrock was damaged by a power anomaly, which also took out the computer that ran the lifts in our orchestra pit, and our lighting syst
Brittany Ferries are a leading provider of Western Channel ferry routes to Spain and France from the UK and Republic of Ireland. Depending on route and time of year, the ships feature entertainment programmes, including resident music duos, cabaret singers, close-up magic and headlining illusion sets, through to cocktail pianists, tribute acts and DJ sets - even a full pantomime production in the school holidays on one longer route.
An established supplier to the cruise ships market, A.C. Special Projects was approached by Brittany Ferries to provide a high quality upgrade solution for the Bretagne's Main Bar lighting and audio systems. The installation includes Martin MAC
Taking place last month at Earls Court Conference Centre, alongside PLASA 2010, the event brought together over 200 delegates from as far afield as South Africa, North America and Australasia to discuss a range of issues and to share experiences.
The two full-on days of discussion were opened by Unusual Rigging's Alan Jacobi LVO, an industry icon who engaged delegates with a fascinating history of the rigging industry across the past five decades. The back-to-back programme of sessions and interactive debates which followed were well received by the capacity audience.
Bill Sapsis of Sapsis Rigging, part of the international line-up of speakers at the event, summed up the view of many: "The PLASA Interna
Stageco's customised stage design was an updated version of the design previously developed for Celine Dion's Let's Talk About Love tour in 1999. The 26m by 26m Super Roof has a 1400m² floor with giant 3m wide flower shaped arms reaching up to 40m into the crowd.
The stadium show is centred round the French ex-sports star turned pop singer, performing on a large 18m Stage One turntable in the middle of the stage, with stairs built up around it, giving the entire crowd an ultimate viewing experience.
Stageco project manager Thierry Nataf oversaw a crew of 18, who test built the stage in Ethias Arena, Hasselt from 15-19 September. This was followed by the construction in Stade de France over a period of four days, with the crew worki
The Dancing Water Theatre was designed by Pei Partnership and is a 270-degree theatre-in-the-round, with a central stage diameter of about 20m. The theatre houses around 260 automated fountains that spurt water up to 18m in the air, and a total of 11 hydraulic stage lifts and vomitory lifts that enable an artistic flow in performance from aquatic to conventional stage.
Contracted by Theatre Projects, Stage Technologies provided a 141-axis whole house control and engineering system for the purpose-built venue. The system includes a 40-unit track and trolley system, which can transport up to 250kg at 3.5m/sec, allowing
The elections are a unique milestone in the merger of the two Associations, as this is the first time that ESTA and PLASA Members will vote simultaneously to elect representatives to the new Board structure. The month-long ballot, in which over 1,000 companies and individuals will have the opportunity to vote, pre-empts the New Year merger date when the Associations formally unite under the PLASA name.
For PLASA, one of the major developments to come out of the merger is the move to a more representative Governance system. The new 12-member Regional Boards will better mirror the diversity of regions, market sectors, business types and technologies a
Several customers that placed orders at the show, insisted that we fitted USB sockets in order to charge the crews' mobile phones, as during longer shows they often run out of power and it is often difficult to find a suitable and secure place to charge them.
"This has been very well received by several crew members who need to keep in touch when away from home on tour, and does away with the need to carry different adapters for different countries, as all phones now come with a USB charger," says Gordon R Cooper. "The USB socket is available on all new racks as of 1 October, and can be retro fitted to older racks if required
The rigging system includes 10 PowerLift automated hoists, controlled by Clancy's SceneControl 500. Designed by Clancy's in-house team of rigging professionals, this touch-screen system shows operators a 3D representation of the stage and the scenery hanging on each batten. Operators can set simple or elaborate cues, group battens to move together, and see exactly what's moving on stage at any moment.
In addition, J. R. Clancy supplied a Zetex fire safety curtain for the theatre, which lowers automatically in the event of a fire o
Multiple contact style modules can be mixed to suit particular needs. Multi-pin modules can support analogue and digital audio transfer. Various coaxial modules can handle SDI and HD-SDI video. A full range of power modules allows current handling from a few amperes through to 100 A. RJ45 data modules allow Cat 5 10/100 Mbit/s or Cat 6e 1 Gbit/s Ethernet transfer via Harting patch leads.
The integrated screening design of the HanGigabit Ethernet module allows secure signal and power modules to be densely pack
This followed the model of the workshops that Milos runs regularly in Europe, and was attended by a selection of high profile, key decision project makers from major companies in Thailand, Indonesia, India, Macau, Hong Kong, Singapore and mainland China.
The aim of the two-day event was to illustrate the quality of Milos's trussing, roofing and staging products, and emphasise the benefits of the brand's reputation for unbeatable efficiency and service worldwide in a highly competitive marketplace.
It also stressed the importance of knowledge in terms of health & safety legislation and standards and safe working practices for rigging and the building of tempora
Sponsored by Huntingdonshire District Council and supported by Huntingdonshire Chamber of Commerce, Huntingdonshire Regional College and Business Link East, the group has been created to reinforce the manufacturers' role in the district's economy. It will also help them promote high standards in manufacturing and access training and funding opportunities.
The launch was personally endorsed by Lord Digby Jones of Birmingham, Minister of State for UK trade and industry and prominent champion of British manufacturing. Delegates heard key speakers from HSBC Bank, the East of England Regional Development Agency and the Institute of Manufactu
In the incongruous setting of the Duveen Galleries, a suspended Sea Harrier is transformed into a captive bird, the markings that tattoo its surface evoking its namesake the Harrier Hawk. A Jaguar lies belly up on the floor, its posture suggestive of a submissive animal.
The planning for the rigging of the two aircraft began at the end of 2009. Unusual Rigging was asked to tender for the project following similar work at RAF Hendon and RAF Cosford although, says Robin Elias, Unusual's project manager, "the two RAF projects were very different! For those projects, we had to keep restoration and conservation in mind, but in this case, we were free to gut the planes and, because of access problems, to 'cut and shunt' them."
J. R. Clancy will provide 14 PowerLift automated hoists and an Altus rigging controller for the centre's 500-seat theatre. Designed for mid-level backstage rigging systems with up to 48 hoists, Altus allows operators to create up to 200 cues with different speeds and targets for each hoist. Its 12-inch graphic touch screen makes this an easy console to learn to use, even for crew members with limited backstage experience.
In addition, Altus will control the H&H draw curtain machine on the front curtain.
(Jim Evans)
