USA - FocusTrack, the production lighting documentation system, and SpotTrack, its companion programme for recording followspot cues, have had a long involvement with the hit musical Billy Elliot in London, Australia, New York and on tour around the USA. Now that involvement is continuing with the new, faster-moving US 'tour 3' of the show.

Designed once again by Rick Fisher, working with associate LDs Dan Walker and Kristina Kloss, the new tour has downsized the rig in order to allow it to be set-up more quickly on that road while retaining the overall look that won Fisher a Tony Award for his work on the show in New York.

The adaptation to the new rig used FocusTrack as the reference point to previous productions: the software held a photographic record of every focus of every lamp in the show, and also every individual cue in the show. This information could instantl

Germany - Hall Stage are gearing up to exhibit at ProLight+Sound in Frankfurt (March 21 - 24). Amongst the products on show will be the new Chaindrive system for T60 & T70 track systems, which enables heavy curtain motorisation through tight and complex curves, even in 'rearfold' format - without the need for additional and expensive off-stage storage space, says the company.

Also on the stand will be samples of SKYDECK wire grid floor systems - with which Hall Stage has recently completed a 1,200 square metre installation in the UK - and the acoustically tested and analysed range of acouStac acoustic banners and rollers.

Visit Hall Stage at ProLight+Sound - Hall: 9 / Stand: F82

(Claire Beeson)

UK - PLASA Focus: Leeds will see English Braids of Malvern exhibit for the first time. On show will be their range of rope that they have been manufacturing for the Theatre, Film and Entertainment world for over 40 years.

As well as the polyester ropes they will also have on show their new range of Technora ropes produced in 2.5mm through to 24mm. Developed primarily for the entertainment sector, the range is having a lot of success in rigging applications and are "a perfect replacement for steel-wire," says the company.

Steve Hayman, sales manager says: "Technora ropes are ideal for applications where low stretch and high strength are required. The product can be used at temperatures of 200 degrees centigrade for long periods and has a thermal decomposition of 500 degrees". He continues, "We are very pleased with the feedback we have received from rig

Ireland - Production Services Ireland (PSI)'s Dublin branch kicked off 2012 with the supply of full lighting production, trussing and associated rigging for two high profile TV series - Take Me Out (Ireland) and Family Fortunes - both recorded at the Helix Theatre, Dublin City University.

Andrew Leonard, lighting designer for both shows worked closely with console programmer and live visuals operator Peter Canning from High Resolution Lighting. PSI's project manager was Ciaran Tallon, and it was the first time that Dublin and Belfast based PSI has been involved with either show.

The series producer was Billy McGrath, and the production company in both cases was Sideline Productions for TV3. Twenty episodes of both shows were shot in two two-week slots, with a two-day changeover in-between, and the sets for each production were designed by Anita Barrett.

For

Denmark - UK-based automation and motion control specialist, Kinesys, has appointed Light Partner as its exclusive Danish distributor in the latest expansion of its global distribution network.

The Herning based company is celebrating its 20th year of being at the forefront of the entertainment technology industry.

Says Kinesys' business development manager Mark de Gruyter, "As always, we select our distributors very carefully. Ideally they should already have a good working relationship with a reputable hoist manufacturer, which Light Partner has with Columbus McKinnon. Apart from being a group of genuinely nice and dedicated individuals the company is very well established and respected and the perfect choice for our partner in Denmark."

Light Partner also represents James Thomas and Litec trussing ranges as well as other premium brands like Vari*Lite.

Light Pa

UK - PLASA's Technical Resource Office announces that an RDM and sACN Developers Conference and Plugfest will take place on the 26 - 28 April, in the UK, at Gatwick Manor, London Road at Lowfield Heath, just south of Gatwick Airport.

This Developers Conference aims to provide a European forum for manufacturers, designers, consultants and prospective users; and to ensure that the adoption of these new standards achieves desired levels of interoperability and reliability.

The "Plugfest" is a hands-on opportunity for product developers to try their products and code implementations with products from a variety of other manufacturers, with support from their industry peers in an environment that encourages co-operation and improved understanding of the standards, and with the aim of achieving high levels of interoperability.

Typically, engineers participate in these ev

USA - Four draft Rigging Working Group Standards are available at the web address below. Materially affected members of the public are invited to review them.

BSR E1.6-2 - 201x, Entertainment Technology - Design, Inspection, and Maintenance of Electric Chain Hoists for the Entertainment Industry, is part of the E1.6 powered entertainment rigging project. This draft standard covers the design, inspection, and maintenance of serially manufactured electric link chain hoists having capacity of 2 tons or less and used in the entertainment industry. This standard does not cover attachment to the load or to the overhead structure. Its review runs until April 24.

BSR E1.6-4 - 201x, Portable Control of Fixed-Speed Electric Chain Hoists in the Entertainment Industry, is a standard for the controls often used to operate chain hoists. Its review runs until March 27.

BSR E1.8 - 201x, Ent

UK - Following the launch last year of their latest system design/documentation tool, Stardraw Design 7, software provider Stardraw.com has reported a number of significant milestones. The first is that SD7 was Highly Commended in the Most InAVative Commercial AV Accessory category of the InAVate Awards at ISE in February. The second is that Stardraw.com has recorded record sales for December 2011 and January 2012.

"These were our best December and January ever, and our best two consecutive months ever," reported Stardraw.com marketing director, Rob Robinson, "and that is principally down to SD7 sales. It's a huge testament to the relevance of the product to today's systems contractors, and doubly so when you consider that we have achieved record sales at a time when many others are still feeling the effects of the economic crisis. We've also garnered professional

USA - When The Kentucky Centre for the Performing Arts in Louisville needed to renovate its multi-purpose hall's acoustical system, director of production services Peter Bell had to solve a wide range of rigging challenges.

The heart o the arts centre, the 2,400-seat Whitney Hall presents a year-round range of performances including touring Broadway shows, productions by the Kentucky Opera and the Louisville Ballet, and Louisville Orchestra concerts. To meet the acoustical requirements of so many different groups, Whitney Hall uses custom Wenger Diva shell ceilings, which can be adjusted to improve the sound quality.

In 2009, the Centre's technical staff determined that it was time to stop using the hydraulic hoists that controlled these ceilings. "You get hydraulics over an audience and you get nervous," said Bell. "The mechanics were nearly 30 years old. When

UK - Le Maitre is once again delighted to be exhibiting at PLASA Focus: Leeds. On show will be a selection of Le Maitre's smoke, haze and special effects machines, including the newest flame effect - the CometFlame.

The CometFlame, a stadium effect launched in 2011 which produces flames up to 6m high. It fires for five seconds at a time and can be set to fire in high frequency or at preselected intervals. Furthermore, the flame can be set at five different firing angles - 45, 22, 0, 22 and 45 degrees - to create stunning effects. Six colour fluids are available: red, green, yellow, blue, purple and orange.

In addition there will be the MVS Hazer - Multi Venue System; G-Force 2 Smoke Machine; and the Chameleon, which fires spectacular quick flame balls and consistent straight flames, adjustable up to 4m, available in red or natural.

Full information on these products as well

Following the runaway success of The PLASA Rigging Conference in 2011, the 2-day international event returns for a third time on 10 and 11 September 2012. Over 200 delegates from 30 countries are expected to take part in this year's event, which will explore all aspects of rigging for temporary installations in the entertainment industry.

A world-first at the inaugural event in 2010, The PLASA Rigging Conference has quickly gained a loyal international following and is now firmly established as the leading international platform to review best practice, dispel myths, discuss standards and share expertise. 40 international speakers take part in panel sessions each year, including in-depth case studies and lively open question sessions.

Also returning in 2012 is the 'Riggers' Forum' on the afternoon of Sunday 9 September. This informal event offers riggers who are unable to attend the

UK - MTFX has increased their ranks of atmospheric effects by the addition of two Mammoth II dry fogger units. The Mammoth II is a high volume fog machine, capable of filling the largest of events with a thick ground fog, fog curtains and multiple output fog systems.

Standard features of this unit include automatic water feed, digital temperature control, adjustable LN2 flow control, system status read back and selectable remote control voltages.

In addition to the Mammoth II, MTFX stocks a range of fog machines to "make the best of any event requiring an atmospheric effect".

(Jim Evans)

Germany - CAST Software of Toronto, Canada is bringing some racing excitement to the show floor at Prolight+Sound 2012.

CAST's stand design will feature a slot-car racetrack that pit two people against each other in a head-to-head race: both racers will try to beat the realtime speed of BlackTrax. The racetrack itself is projected from above and the entire stand will be bursting with BlackTrax-filled interactivity involving lighting, spatial audio, projections, automated scenery, and giving the audience a fully immersive entertainment experience.

The racetrack will be controlled by a 22" touchscreen mounted on a podium. You control all of the action and BlackTrax will determine the race time of each car, and the winner. Each race winner will be entered into a raffle for prizes, and the fastest racer each day wins a daily grand prize. Every racer will be given a link to a

UK - Harting says its new Ha-VIS preLink interconnection system (above) offers a new installation concept for data network cabling according to ISO/IEC 1180.1, and is suited to heavy-duty applications in theatre backstage and upstage areas.

Due to be showcased at PLASA Focus: Leeds, the new connection technology simplifies cabling, saves installation time and enables extensions and conversions without incurring significant interruptions to existing operations, the company says. Installation flexibility is enhanced by easy replacement and 'drag through' in narrow ducting of the small cross-section preLink cables, allowing future-proof upgrades from Cat 5 100 Mbit/s to Cat 6 EA 10 Gbit/s performance.

Harting offers a patch panel for installation in 19" cabinets or frames in accordance with IEC/DIN EN 60297-3-100 (DIN 41494-1). A mix of up to 24 individual Ha-VIS preLink(R)

Spain - Prolifts S.L. has released two new VMB TL-A line array lifts which will be presented at Prolight & Sound this month. The launch of the TL-A150 and TL-A300 means that the company now offer five different Solutions for lifting line arrays and has taken their porfolio of lifts to a total of 17 different models.

The TL-A150 lifts 150kg (331 lbs) to a height of 5.3m (17.4') whilst the TL-A300 lifts 300kg (662lbs) to 5.8m (19'). Both lifts maintain compact features with the TL-A300 boasting a stowed height of just 1.58m and includes the ALS (Auto Lock Security) system, a safety feature which automatically locks the lift masts as they rise. The two new lifts also have the new SRS (Sequence Retianer System) built-in to them. The SRS means that the sections of the lift rise and descend in sequence, one after the other.

The masts are manufactured from aluminium to keep the weigh

UK - Audio console manufacturer DiGiCo commissioned 5 Star Cases to build a special exhibition promotions 'Sideboard' for their busy upcoming 2012 trade show and event circuit.

The brief was that it must accommodate a screen measuring a minimum of 46 inches, complete with Blu-ray player, laptop docking station, coffee maker and an integrated loudspeaker system.

5 Star's team began the initial design by sketching a few variants from which DiGiCo could choose a definitive version.

The overall design selected was a long 'Sideboard' type layout, housing all the necessary equipment including power sockets.

At the heart of it is an electric TV lift sourced from Penn-Elcom, featuring 730 mm of vertical travel and a wireless remote control. This device is the basis for an inbuilt 47" LG LED screen giving a 1080p full HD display.

The powered TV lift includes a flush fitting

Ukraine - Czech Republic-based aluminium trussing specialist Milos has supplied a substantial amount of trussing to the new Arena Lviv in the Ukraine. These facilitate the hanging of audio speakers underneath the top of the grandstand roofs on all four sides of the venue.

The 35,000 capacity football-only stadium has been three years in the building, and is one of the eight Euro 2012 venues as well as home to FC Kapaty Lviv.

Its spectacular opening ceremony was followed by an inaugural 'friendly' match between the Ukraine and Austria.

Milos was contacted by director Andrey Garkaviy from local rental company Sound House Pro, who proposed and supplied the Milos trussing solution to Lviv State Administration. The project was managed for Milos by Michal Zykan.

In addition to the speakers, other technical production equipment - like lighting and AV - can also be hung on the sam

UK - Hall Stage was contracted to design, supply and install the complete stage engineering package at London's newest creative educational hub - the University of the Arts London - where the former occupants of the old Jeannetta Cochrane Theatre in Holborn now reside.

The 'KX Platform' sits at the northern end of the UAL site on what used to be the old Marshalling Yards, train sheds and Grain Store serving Kings Cross mainline station.

Working with principal contractor Overbury and Andy Stone/Drama By Design as project coordinator, Halls utilised the new Brickhouse counterweight cradle and wall frame design from TSE in the US to great effect and the complete system went in on time and on budget. Hall Stage also provided all structural work including SkyDeck, technical gantries, ladders and Front of House lighting bridges.

(Jim Evans)

USA - PLASA Focus: Nashville 2012 has launched with a new website and free online registration. The event will take place 11-12 July 2012 at the Municipal Auditorium, in Nashville, TN.

Nashville is the latest event to be launched under the PLASA Focus banner, and follows the hugely successful PLASA Focus: Austin, held in February of this year. The current series of North American regional events are modelled after PLASA Focus: Leeds (UK), which, in its third year, topped 2500 attendees.

PLASA Focus: Nashville 2012 will bring regional entertainment technology communities together to do business and network in a relaxed and friendly setting. While regional exhibitors and visitors are set to benefit from the new event, PLASA Focus: Nashville will also give those involved the opportunity to mix with a wider audience than has ever been possible before as PLASA Focus: Nashville will

USA - Staging Solutions, a nationwide event design, production management and media company, has hired Andy DiRaddo as senior producer.

DiRaddo brings almost 40 years of event production and audio/visual expertise with him to Staging Solutions where he will join their executive management and leadership team.

"I have had the pleasure of working with Andy for over 20 years on a variety of great events from Power of Houston to Compaq Sales Conferences in Hawaii and Las Vegas," said Bill Fitch, president and owner of Staging Solutions. "Andy has always impressed me with his keen production skill and knowledge, as well as his creativity and superb communications skills. I'm excited about the possibilities this brings to our clients and company."

Before joining Staging Solutions, DiRaddo was at LD Systems - a full service production company which he founded in

Germany - After wide-ranging practical tests, Movecat is presenting exclusively at Prolight+Sound 2012 Version 2 of its I-Motion software.

The update includes numerous new features. Among them are an optimized graphic display, freely configurable page views for a clearer overview when large numbers of drives are involved, additional safety-relevant indicators, and enhanced performance through the integration of a powerful database.

Further, with I-Motion V2 an expanded cue functionality is possible. Movecat calls this 'Multi-drive'. One of the advantages of Multi-drive is the multiple selection and deselection of individual hoists in a cue, which makes simpler programming of complex show sequences possible.

This new version of the software will be supplied with the I-Motion controllers Expert-T II, Basic and Basic-S from March onwards. An upgrade is available for existing I-

Germany - Just in time for Prolight+Sound 2012, Sommer Cable is presenting two new product ranges under the Cardinal DVM brand.

The DVM120 Series consists of seven different problem fixers and audio tools for professional live and studio applications. All devices have the same "indestructible, well-conceived and no-compromise housing design" made of a solid 3mm extruded profile.

Due to the front and connection plates recessed by 18mm all controls and connectors - including the active components - are optimally protected against boot kicks etc in the tough daily routine on stage or in the studio

All active devices are equipped with an internal power supply, suitable for operating voltages between 90 and 240V (50/60HZ). The mains supply is provided via a high-quality combined IEC switch/fuse unit. The supplied locking IEC power cord ensures safe contact making.

Qua

Germany - Doughty Engineering is introducing three new products at ProLight+Sound 2012, two of them designed specifically for smaller television studios.

Being seen for the first time is Doughty's all steel Beam Clamp which, with a wide adjustment range of up to 200mm, makes a flexible and versatile rigging point for hoisting equipment, pulley blocks or loads. With a forged eye and a central threaded spindle for easy attachment and safe and secure grip, the Beam Clamp has a safe working load of 1000kg.

Complementing Doughty's Quick Trigger range of clamps, the Baby Quick Trigger clamp is intended for use on smaller truss sizes, adjustable to diameters of 25mm up to 38mm. With TUV approval pending, the Baby Quick Trigger clamp will be available in polished aluminium or satin black.

Doughty is using ProLight+Sound (Hall 9.0, stand E91) to preview its new, lightweight spring Pa

UK - Triple E's Unibeam track System is ensuring the National Theatre's stage scenery travels right this spring for its production of Travelling Light. Since the show opened in January 2012 it has been broadcast to Cinemas worldwide and embarked on a tour of UK theatres, which opened at The Lowry, Salford, on 13 March.

Triple E specified and installed a custom curved Unibeam System that would work equally smoothly in the repertory as well as on tour.

"I was asked to recommend a track system that could be hung with the minimum of pickups, work smoothly and be capable of touring to different sized stages," says David Edelstein, managing director of the Triple E. "The solution was a hand winch rope driven Unibeam track."

Travelling Light, by Nicholas Wright, is a 'love-letter to the movies and an appealingly intelligent evocation of the Jewish

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