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Rigging / Staging

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Europe - Swiss electric chain hoist manufacturer GIS AG has launched two new D8 products, of 500kg and 1,000kg capacity, for mobile use in the entertainment sector.
The LPML and higher capacity LPL chain hoists are both capable of lifting over 40 times their own weight. The LPML weighs a modest 12kg (20kg with 18m lifting height) and delivers a lifting capacity of half a ton. The LPL meanwhile lifts 1,000kg, and when fully equipped for an 18m lifting height weighs in at just 39kg (23kg net weight).
The hoists will be introduced as a supplement to the popular GIS D8+ motors, used for static suspension of loads over people. Hoists to the standard D8 specification may also be used for static suspension of loads, but it is essential to have a secondary suspension, such as a load arrestor, for example. The hoists are manufactured in accordance with EN14492 and DIN56950.

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UK - Lighting and video specialist Colour Sound Experiment supplied lighting equipment, LED screen, rigging and crew to the most recent UK leg of Respect: The Aretha Franklin Songbook tour which has just finished.
The vibrant and animated two-hour live concert was created by Adrian Grant (producer of Thriller Live) and directed / choreographed by Tiffany King, celebrates the huge success and songs of Aretha Franklin - the Queen of Soul. It was delivered by three leading vocalists - Stacy Francis, Tanya Edwards and Cleo Stewart - together with a live band, a gospel choir and ‘preacher man’ AJ Lewis.
Colour Sound had supplied the tour earlier in the year, so production manager Aaron Booth again returned to Haydn Cruickshank and the team in West London.
For this one, they were also asked to supply a lighting and visuals director, so regular Colour
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UK - The team behind the ground-breaking Blackout installation have released the results of the UK Backstage Entertainment Industry’s Evaluation on Mental Health Awareness.
This pioneering study was launched alongside the acclaimed 6-minute immersive experience at September’s PLASA Show, held at London Olympia. Funded by leading industry associations PLASA, the ALD, the ASD, the ABTT and the PSA, the academic analysis was conducted by Dr Paul Hanna, research director in clinical psychology at the University of Surrey. Hanna has worked closely with Blackout’s core creative team since they launched the installation in May 2019 at The Guildford School of Acting.

According to the survey, the prevalence of mental health issues among those working in the UK technical, backstage and entertainment industry is far higher than the national avera

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Europe - After 40 years on the market, the General Purpose (GP) truss series from JTE is still one of the world’s most popular multi-purpose systems. Quality performance for medium-sized projects is delivered via its safe and stable plated connection system and classic bracing pattern.
This type of truss is also the industry standard for film productions, which use it to build huge “lanterns” or “reflective panels” for indoor/outdoor applications.
The General Purpose truss series consists of two sizes, the 30.5 x 30.5 cm (12” x 12”) GP30 and 52 x 52cm (20.5” x 20.5”) GP52, which are able to handle a wide variety of support structure needs and loading capacities.
The GP30 is a mid-sized, heavy-duty 30.5 x 30.5cm (12" x 12") general purpose truss designed for conferences, exhibitions, and small venues.
A bigger brother to the GP30, the GP

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Germany - Trussing, staging and rigging solutions manufacturer and distributor HOF has expanded its premises by 5,000sq.m, adding over 650 storing positions and increasing the size of its production site.
HOF has also improved the exterior landscaping by installing a heavy-duty pavement that can withstand the weight of cranes for up to 120 tonnes. Trial installations for stages and constructions of up to 36 x 22m can also take place on the new surface. There is also an apartment on the new premises, which can be used by clients and installation staff during the trial installations.
The new premises has a fully functional photo studio for product photo shootings and video productions.
The new showroom now spans over two levels along with three meeting rooms. On show there are HOF trusses, XOOP Lighting and Excellent Line, brands owned by HOF. CJS Coupler and Br

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The Netherlands - Prolyte has announced the appointment of Fons van Teijn as CEO, effective 12 December 2019.
“Fons’ connections in the industry, hard work and experience will lead Prolyte to greatness in no time,” comments Frantisek Zykan, CEO of Area Four Industries, which recently acquired the Prolyte brand.
Van Teijn has a 34-year career in the professional photographic scene. He started as a sales manager at Capi-Lux-Vak, a then photography store which has since started offering a full assortment of electronics and today has branches in 40 airports across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa. In 2000, he established Provak Photo Film Video BV, a wholesaler of photographic, film and video equipment, which operated as a sole company until its acquisition by Manfrotto in 2016. Van Teijn then stayed onboard the newly-formed Manfrotto Distribution Benelux BV

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Europe - Area Four Industry is inviting clients to join professional rigging advisor Eric Porter in a back-to-basics video that focuses on the roundsling.
In his latest video on A4.tv, Eric visits the polyester roundsling and how this versatile, gentle and lower pressure contact sling should be used - and not be used! He also covers labels found on roundslings, as well as how pyrotechnics and narrow beam stage lamps have an adverse affect on them.
Click here to watch the video and get up to speed on roundslings.

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USA - Every time someone buys one of LiteGear’s popular LiteMat fixtures they are helping an industry colleague who is seriously ill or injured. That’s because LiteGear has pledged a portion of the profits of the sales of all LiteMat fixtures to Behind the Scenes and at the recent LDI show they presented a cheque to the charity for $10,000.
LiteGear are designers and builders of LED lighting products for professionals in the ccinema, TV, and HD video industries and are pioneers behind the popularisation of flexible LED lighting for use in cinema and TV lighting applications. The LiteMat fixtures are designed to offer soft yet controllable light for location or studio work. Available in six sizes, these bi-color LED fixtures are made of a composite of polypropylene and sheet aluminum making Series 2 LiteMat and LiteMat+ one of the thinnest and lightest luminaires in its c

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The Netherlands - Eurotruss Group has appointed Ralph Stockley as chief commercial officer (CCO) and board member for the Eurotruss Group.
He will be responsible for group sales while offering support to all individual brands and will work alongside Martin Kuyper (CEO) and Frank Schrage (COO) to develop and implement the group's strategic international growth plan. "Ralph's role will be instrumental in the future global expansion planned in early 2020," explains Kuyper.
Stockley joins Eurotruss after over 20-plus years' experience in the entertainment industry. He comments: "I am excited to work with such an established brand serving international markets in the entertainment industry and feel privileged to join the team as we embark on the Eurotruss journey together."
Eurotruss is an entertainment solutions manufacturer based in the Netherlands with offices loc

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USA - Broadweigh Bluetooth won Best Debuting Product award in the Rigging and Staging category at this year's LDI Awards. This latest win rounds of a successful year for the brand which launched its Bluetooth system at ABTT 2019, where it won Widget of the Year.
Speaking of the product's success, Robert Wilmington-Badcock, MD of Mantracourt commented: "We are extremely pleased to receive such a coveted award for Broadweigh Bluetooth. It's something that we've worked extremely hard on to get it just right. It's such an exciting time for us as a company - as we end the year and move towards 2020, you can expect to see a series of bold developments from Broadweigh as we strive to provide better solutions dedicated to the entertainment industry."
LDI 2019 recorded the highest number of registered attendees in the show's history. "We certainly felt it was the perfect platfo

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UK - There are no signs of slowing down for Triple E as a busy year draws to a close. The Kent-based stage-engineering manufacturer reports a busier team and factory than ever in the run up to the festive season.
“The momentum we have seen in all areas of the business this year is continuing,” reflects deputy director, Lucy Edelstein. “The autumn has been incredibly busy and it’s been non-stop since the PLASA Show in September.”
At PLASA Show 2019, Triple E took the opportunity to present two product prototypes to the industry - the Points System and the Bocking Block.
“The Points System is a simple and elegant addition to our 2Way track system, allowing multiple drapes to be used on one track or to create different spaces in one room,” says Edelstein. “With both wired and wireless control all venues will be able to change the feel of their space

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UK - Antony Gormley Studio enlisted the expertise of Unusual Rigging for the sculptor's recent exhibition at the Royal Academy. Gormley's retrospective, which ran until 3 December, has wowed art lovers and novices alike, having been designed to put 'the visitor centre-stage'. It was spread across 13 rooms, all calling for physical and imaginative participation from those who visited the Academy to see his work.
Robin Elias, technical director, Unusual Rigging, comments: "This was Unusual's first foray into the Royal Academy. Antony Gormley Studio contacted us based on previous successful collaboration sand, of course, we were delighted to be able to bring our know-how - both to the artworks themselves and the beautiful Royal Academy building."
The centrepiece of the exhibition was Body and Fruit in the Central Hall. "The piece centres around two huge rusty stee

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Lithuania - Sixty82 has entered into an exclusive partnership with Scenos Techninis Servisas (STS) as its distributor for the Lithuanian market.
Vilnius-based STS offers a variety of staging, trussing and rigging equipment as well as lighting, sound and video products. The company’s services include installations of stage, lighting and sound systems.
Sixty82’s CEO, Fokko Smeding, comments: “The best partnerships aren’t dependent on a mere common goal, but on a shared path of equality, desire, and a great amount of passion. Therefore we believe that STS is the perfect partner to service our customers. This agreement further iterates both the company’s enthusiasm to drive growth and extend relationships with its customers.”
Date Jonkman, executive account manager of Sixty82, adds: “With STS’s history of representing leading manufacturers of trussing

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Europe - In the latest back-to-basics video release on Area Four Industries’ internet channel A4i.tv, Eric Porter tackles the main information you need to know about shackles in less than two minutes. He covers the two main types of shackles used for rigging, their proper use, the important markings found on them and where they should be used.
The video is available on www.a4i.tv/2019/11/26/shackles-eric-porter

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UK - This month saw the 10th anniversary of Lumiere - the UK’s largest light festival - take place in Durham. The event, run by Artichoke, has been transforming cities across the UK since 2009, with each Lumiere festival inviting local and international artists to create works that reimagine familiar buildings and public spaces, changing the way we experience our urban surroundings.
Over the 10 years since the first Lumiere, Unusual Rigging has been a key supplier in the delivery of specialist rigging and engineering for the festival in Durham. Engineers, riggers and technicians work with Artichoke’s production teams to design solutions to the most challenging projects, from working in delicate heritage environments such as Durham Cathedral to rigging artworks over the river Wear or across the historic medieval streets.
Kate Harvey, senior producer for Artichoke co

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Europe - James Thomas Engineering’s conical truss Multicubes has been designed to increase the strength of truss structure corners, while offering six different truss connection points with integrated location holes for expanding your structure’s versatility.
All multicubes are available in regular and heavy-duty versions, and are compatible with JT22 Quatro, JT30 Quatro, JT30H Quatro and JT40H Quatro truss. “The heavy-duty multicube provides enough strength to reach the maximum loading capacity of your truss,” says the company. “Male and female receiver accessories are available for convenient, trouble-free connections.”
Bookcorners’ aluminium profile is constructed with bolted male or female receivers, compatible with the quatro and trio formats in the JT30 and JT40 truss series.
(Jim Evans)

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Switzerland - In the summer of 2019, the Béjart Ballet Lausanne gave new performances of Dixit, the ‘cinema-ballet-theatre’ show written and directed by Marc Hollogne, in tribute to its founder, Maurice Béjart. To embark the audience on the choreographer's story and work, the company relied on Modulo Kinetic and its real-time tracking module, KineMotion.
To pay tribute to its creator, the Béjart Ballet Lausanne worked with Marc Hollogne to write and direct Dixit, a show that combines dance, acting and video projection to tell the story of Maurice Béjart's life and work.
To bring this show to life, the Béjart Ballet Lausanne used Modulo Kinetic, Modulo Pi's media server solution, as well as KineMotion, its real-time tracking plug-in.
Lucas Borgeaud, technical director of Béjart Ballet Lausanne, explains: “We had already used video in s

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USA - At LDI this year, BroadWeigh will offer ‘a bold new look and new vision for the future’. This comes as the company prepares to give its award-winning Bluetooth system its US trade show debut.
BroadWeigh is collaborating with CassidyRig, one of its US product partners, with Dan Cassidy, founder and CEO responsible for the design and build of the stand - which of course will be monitored with BroadWeigh loadcells.
Speaking ahead of the show, Robert Wilmington-Badcock, MD of Mantracourt says: "BroadWeigh really came about as a result of some clever thinking by one of our employees, who happened to be a part time rigger. He saw the potential for Mantracourt to break into the entertainment technology market with our core wireless technology which, at the time, had just been released and was being rapidly adopted in the under hook industrial market. Little did we r

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USA - This year’s LDI show in Las Vegas will be ‘really special’ for Area Four Industries’ portfolio of brands.
Milos is coming to the show with selected models from their extensive aluminium truss series’, as well as having almost all cell clamps they offer on display. A number of truss and truss accessory surprises recently introduced on the market will also be on show.
Litec will be on hand to provide information about their industry standard aluminium truss systems & self-standing structures. You can also learn more about their new, PR60 Revolution Pre-Rig Truss. Designed without bracing on the underside, the PR60 allows for moving or fixed lighting fixtures to be pre-rigged inside the truss before arriving at the venue. And due to innovative skate carriages that slide along “C” profiles that act as rails, one person can easily mount moving light

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World - Live event staging company All Access has refreshed its visual identity - complete with a new logo and website - to better reflect the products and services it delivers.
The rebrand includes a new logo with 'All Access' in red and black and the company's classic strapline 'All the time' placed underneath.
"Many consider the original logo to be an icon in the industry and symbolic of quality," says the company in a statement. "However, just as the entertainment industry as a whole has evolved, All Access has evolved. The cleaner, more modern lines of their new logo are a better reflection of the brand today while paying homage to their past."
The new website, allaccessinc.com, highlights All Access' five main markets - concert touring, festival staging, special events, sports and activations, and broadcast - and features a redesigned database for

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USA - Doughty Engineering’s latest pieces of kit - the Scaff Boom Arm and Fifty Clamp - are set to take centre stage on the company’s stand 2424 at this year’s LDI Show. This is the first time the Scaff Boom Arm will be seen in the US and, along with the Fifty Clamp which debuted at LDI 2018, will be the company’s star attractions.
Mark Chorley, design engineer at Doughty, comments: "We’re really focussing on these two products this year. The Fifty Clamp was launched last year and has been really well received by customers looking for a clamp that had the ability to support a greater SWL than our best-selling Twenty Clamp. The Fifty Clamp is in stock and ready for shipping and we feel it’s important to keep promoting the usefulness of this piece of kit as there will likely be some people who aren’t aware it exists.”
The Fifty Clamp has TUV app

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Europe - Sixty82 has appointed European Tour Productions (ETP) as its exclusive distributor in Denmark.
ETP's main competencies are project management, rental equipment and engineering for the experience industry. Since 1994, the company has carried out projects for organisations and firms in Denmark and abroad and has an extensive experience with cultural events of all sizes.
"We chose to partner with ETP as they represent the strongest importing distributor in its territory, with a historical strength in the trussing and staging marketplace," says Sixty82 CEO Fokko Smeding. “This agreement further iterates both the company's enthusiasm to drive growth and extend relationships with its customers. With their extensive experience in the industry, we believe that the team at ETP is highly equipped to fulfil our customers' every need.”
Date Jonkman, executive

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Europe - LiteCAD Evolution is a dedicated cloud-based truss configuration software with intuitive drag & drop architecture. It is a tool that allows for the quick and easy creation of technical layouts and visualisations of Litec truss structures.
Users can select from a wide database of products enhanced with a continuous expansion programme that provides access to the greatest range of truss solutions, so all of your creative and technical needs are met.
Automatic updates to the system library on each login gives access to the widest and latest range of products and accessories. The system also features a custom parts configurator for special set-ups. To ensure complete and valid information, the software features real-time processing of all Litec parts required for constructing your creative truss structures, such as truss, corners, connections and accessories.

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Spain - Fantek International, a company that specialises in manufacturing tower lifts, trusses and stage platforms, played a key role in the success of this year's San Sebastian International Film Festival (SSIFF) by providing a custom-made truss frame for the festival's main projection screen.
Inaugurated in 1953 and held annually at the Kursaal Palace in Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain, SSIFF attracts numerous A list actors and directors whose presence brings star appeal and glamour to this week-long homage to celluloid. This year's top names included Penélope Cruz, Donald Sutherland and the director Costa-Gavras.
Over the course of the festival, approximately 200 films are scrutinised by judging panels who award different prizes in various sections. On the final night the winning actors and directors attend a closing gala at the Kursaal Palace, immediately followed b
  1. Béjart Ballet Lausanne relies on KineMotion
  2. Sixty82 focus on Germany
  3. Industry marks steady growth - PLASA research
  4. TAIT acquires Brilliant Stages
  5. Unusual Rigging backs Big the Musical
  6. Sixty82 continues global expansion
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