UK - When the stage fly system of the Wallingford Corn Exchange was condemned by load inspectors, Philip Burton, the venue's new volunteer general manager, turned to Tomcat UK who sent their technical manager, Paul Jordan, to the venue. "The project was a challenging one for us," says Jordan, who was one of the first to survey the system. "The existing system was suspended from small tube members resting on the internals of the building's cast iron portal frames. The pulleys were of unknown origin and ropes were of different constructions. The gallery platform support structure was manufactured from a scaffold-type arrangement which had a timber top and was buried into the side stage walls without any exterior fixings. The existing header beam arrangement consisted of a 2" diameter tube slung between the cast iron portals, which had a timber beam clamped to it with eyes screwed into the timber. These eyes were the diverters for the ropes coming off the fly bars, to direct them into the cleats on the fly gallery level. The position of this diverter beam was also incorrectly positioned in the venue." In short, the whole thing needed replacing - and there only two weeks in which to do it.
The existing pulley support tubes, which were no more than 75mm in diameter, needed to be removed and replaced with a suitably sized universal beam, which would need to be fixed to the cast iron portal frame in such a way as to not cause any damage to the fabric of the 1856 building. Tomcat designed a steel clamp to fit the cast iron portal from both sides w
UK - With a total of 132 points, Summit Steel's installation of Cirque du Soleil's ambitious Dralion show at London's Royal Albert Hall has broken the record for the most number of rigging points ever installed into the venue. The previous record was also set by Summit Steel - for installation of the same show last year. What's more, the rigging process also had to be completed in and even shorter time slot of two days less than last year.
Summit continued its working relationship with Cirque du Soleil, with this, the fifth Cirque production they've installed into the RAH for Dralion's fully sold-out five-week residency. Summit's Chris Walker started work on the project in September 2004. Working closely with a team of people including Cirque's rigging project manager Ewen Seagel; Marc-André Leclerc, technical manager for the transfer to the RAH; Adrian Bray, the RAH's technical show manager; Gez Edwards-Web, the venue's TSM responsible for the show's rigging and Bob Stagg from consulting structural engineers Alan Conisbee Associates. "It has very much been a team effort" says Walker.
All Cirque du Soleil's touring shows are designed around their own tent structures. Summit mimicked these support/anchoring structures and devices within the RAH by establishing an overall rigging infrastructure. This enabled Cirque's complex show - a multi-colour collage of high octane acrobatics, split second timing and theatrical drama - to operate as 'normal'.
Other suppliers include Britannia Row Productions (audio), Neg Earth (lighting), and Med
UK - After three years working in California for Total Structures Inc, Peter Hind has returned to the UK to join consulting structural and civil engineers, Anthony Ward Partnership Ltd working from their offices near Winchester in Hampshire. However, his return to consulting engineering will not mean the end of his involvement with the design and use of aluminium structures in the entertainment and associated industries which stretches back over 20 years.
Anthony Ward Partnership Ltd has a reputation for providing innovative design solutions for projects within the building construction industry and now offers a range of structural engineering services relevant to the entertainment industry including concept design, preparation of engineering calculations and drawings, inspections and third party reviews. Hind will also continue his work with ESTA Technical Standards in America, in particular the draft stage roof standard, BSR E1.21, and also serve on the Advisory Group on Temporary Structures at the Institution of Structural Engineers.
(Lee Baldock)
UK - Hawthorn Theatrical hosted their 18th birthday in style when they transformed their Leicester premises into a party venue. Around 300 invited clients and Hawthorn's staff moved between the main bar (complete with table football and giant Jenga), a nightclub with live band stage, karaoke room, second live band room, and a chill-out room as they partied the night away to the early hours.
After 18 years providing technical and creative solutions for events of all shapes and sizes, Hawthorne's general manager Simon Wood, working with MD Martin Hawthorne, applied their experience to produce a stunning party. This included supplying everything from their own décor, lighting, screens, sound and power, having considered all of the health and safety issues.
Martin Hawthorn, founder commented: "It seemed an ideal opportunity to thank our customers and 60 full-time staff for helping to keep the business going through all of the event industries up's and downs. Little did I know 18 years ago the industry would flourish in the way it has and we're looking forwards to the future challenges and the adrenalin rush we still get keeping up with customers demands."
(Lee Baldock)
USA - Tomcat celebrated 13 years of in depth industry training courses with another successful Hoist and Rigging Workshop in Midland, Texas. Top-notch instructors and 62 industry professional participants from all over the United States, and even Mexico attended the workshop as well as the all new Advanced Workshop.
Don Dimitroff of Columbus McKinnon, as well as TOMCAT's own Dave Sowa, coached participants through the Lodestar electric chain hoist. Rocky Paulson of Stage Rigging, a Freeman Company and Morgan Neff of Mine Safety Appliances stressed safety in rigging techniques and fall protection equipment while Keith Bohn, Tomcat design manager, and Will Todd, Tomcat project manager, offered a course in truss theory and design. Not only did participants receive four days of power-packed, informative classes, but also four nights of fun filled entertainment, including the traditional factory night at TOMCAT USA, with extensive tours, demonstrations, contests and a graduation ceremony.
In addition to the traditional curriculum, the new Advanced Workshop was held this year for the first time ever. Since Tomcat USA began its annual Hoist & Rigging Workshop, there has been a demand for more training.
Bohn taught a one day course on advanced concepts in truss usage, including: grid design, applying loads, ground support system considerations, structural design concepts, inspection techniques plus live demos of truss destruction. Dimitroff led this intense, one day course. He discussed hoist design and theory as well as what's new for the Lodestar. Participants were a
USA - Show Distribution Group Inc of Canada, ChainMaster's exclusive distributors in the USA, Mexico and Canada, has moved to larger premises so as to be able to extend still further its range of activities. The new 2,000sqm facility in Quebec offers considerably more space for the Service department plus greater storage capacity to meet increasing demand.
Show Distribution has more than 300 rigging lifts, 100 VarioLifts and 25 VarioTrolleys at its disposal at all times; this is material that Show Distribution has purchased and uses to support customers in the hire business who, in 2004, accompanied tours by Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Green Day, Shania Twain and Tim Graw with lifting gear and controllers from ChainMaster. Show Distribution also furnished chain hoist systems from ChainMaster for live shows and marketing events staged by Everlast Productions of Florida and Spellbinder Production of Las Vegas.
Show Distribution's new address is: 2195 Leon-Harmel, Quebec, QC, Canada G1N 4N5.
(Sarah Rushton-Read)
UK - Total Solutions announced the appointment of Mervyn Thomas as the group's business development director. Thomas, formally general manager at James Thomas Engineering, sees this new role as a natural progression in his career.
"I see Total Solutions leading the way forward with its well known suite of industry standard truss brand names," says Thomas, "and I welcome this new and exciting challenge". Amongst the general activities associated with his appointment, Thomas will be responsible for developing and managing the ongoing manufacturing license agreement program which began last year when African Trussing were the first to start producing the Total Fabrications product range in South Africa.
Group MD Chris Cronin says: "I have known Mervyn for many years and have always considered him a good friend. It is a huge privilege to finally be working closely along side him, particularly during these exciting times."
Mervyn will be based at Total Fabrications main UK office in Birmingham where he can be contacted with immediate effect.
(Sarah Rushton-Read)
UK - On 3 February 2005 Nelson Mandela spoke to a mass rally of an estimated 20,000 people in London's Trafalgar Square. The primary aim of the Make Poverty History Campaign is to get the debts of developing countries cancelled. Also featuring at the event was Sir Bob Geldof and Channel 4 presenter June Sarpong while Jamelia provided entertainment with a live set.
Stage Electrics supplied staging for the rally including a custom-designed platform to fit on the square's main staircase and two dedicated press platforms to support a press presence of 350. PA equipment was also supplied by Stage Electrics, taking advantage of EAW's KF730 and SB730 wide angle dispersion to provide wide coverage throughout the square combined with a JF260 acting as centre fill for the press pit at the front of the stage.
Sound was operated by Chris Coxhead from a Soundcraft Series Five console with amplification from Lab Gruppen. System engineer Ben Byford and project manager John Radford and the team from Stage Electrics were on site from 6am on the morning of the event. Sound checks were at 10am by which time the press platforms had been erected for the assembled media to check camera angles.
"It was a very successful event. We continue to build on our experience of working within Trafalgar Square with our last activity just three weeks prior" said Radford.
(Sarah Rushton-Read)
UK - Serapid, the leading supplier of push-pull and lifting chains and Quick Die Change machinery, has announced the formation of Serapid Limited in the UK. The new company has been established to provide an improved level of sales and service to the UK and Scandinavian markets, which to date have not received the level of attention they deserve, say the company.
Mr. Said Lounis, owner of the Serapid Group, says: "The UK and Scandinavian markets are of strategic importance to the Group, and the formation of Serapid Limited is in response to the needs to provide a higher level of support to these markets for the purpose of achieving the level of sales that should be expected from these countries with their advanced industrial bases."
The company is jointly owned and will be run by Iain Forbester, who joins the company from the stage engineering industry, and who has significant experience in the lift, materials handling and nuclear industries. The company has built up an unrivalled reference list of projects in the theatre industry, providing push-pull chains for the movement of scenery wagons, and it's LiftLink which are used in a wide range of stage, orchestra, auditoria and get in lifts. The LinkLift chain has become an industry standard for the cruise liner industry, say Serapid, due to its robust nature and ability to withstand the no-load conditions experienced in high seas. The new company is based in Bury St Edmunds, close to London.
(Lee Baldock)
UK - London based production house GSP Ltd appointed Drapes specialist Blackout and sound specialists Canegreen Commercial to help realise the setting for the film premiere of The Phantom Of The Opera, staged at the National Hall, Olympia. The movie is an adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's romantic stage musical.
Blackout's project manager Chris Brain collaborated with GSP's managing director Emma Gold and GSP's appointed set designer to dress the venue to their specifications. The set recreated in minute detail an opulent theatrical environment in the film's signatory red and black colours. To set the scene an eclectic mix of props was sourced both from the movie and GSP's creative team. The stage was crowned by a 5 x 8m 25,000-crystal chandelier supplied by Swarovski. As a finishing touch 1,000 black-edged red roses, supplied by Jayne Copperwaite, were suspended on fishing line to add to the Phantom 'experience'. The Blackout team used 2,000 square metres of dark red velour to transform the venue's stark blue walls into a richly ruby Phantomic domain. Another 300 metres of red velour was adapted from Blackout's extensive hire stock and deployed on the main stage. Tumbling swags of red velour trimmed in gold bullion fringe framed the stage and set the scene of the drama.
GSP brought in Canegreen Commercial to manage the sound at the party, whose managing director, Andrew Frengley, explained: "The system required fairly complex design to seamlessly integrate performance elements at one end and across the hall with a central large disco/perform
USA - The USA's Entertainment Technician Certification Program Council has announced the appointment of Rigging Subject Matter Experts (SMEs). These people, all highly respected in their field, have agreed to volunteer considerable time to the development of the industry's first rigging certifications. Selected for their breadth and depth of knowledge, the SMEs will work closely with the Council's selected psychometric services provider, Applied Measurement Professionals (AMP), to develop the examinations.
The SMEs are: Roy Bickel, John Bleich, Eddie Blue, David Boevers, Olan Cottrill, James Doherty, Harry Donovan, Kelly Green, Glenn Hufford, Edward Kish, Stephane Mayrand, Joseph McGeough, Brian Miller, Walter Murphy, Rocky Paulson, G. Anthony Phillips, Eddie Raymond, Michael Reed, Bill Sapsis, Peter Scheu, Karen Seifried, Scott Sloan, Sammy Stokes, and Jack Suesse.
The SMEs' first task was to develop a job task analysis survey which was sent to over 600 riggers in the US and Canada. The results of this survey are used to determine the content areas of the examination. The next step in the test development process is writing the examination questions, which will take place over a series of meetings to be held through the first half of 2005.
The first ETCP rigging examinations (arena and theatre) will be held in November 2005 in conjunction with the ETS-LDI tradeshow. Candidate information, including eligibility requirements and application forms, will be available on the ETCP website (www.etcp.esta.org) in late March 2005. The first ETCP rigging certificatio
The Netherlands - A CyberHoist / InMotion 3D motion control system is adding a key creative ingredient to the current tour by arch metal band Rammstein, which is due to run around the globe throughout 2005, taking in the UK in February beginning this week. With sales of their current album Reise, Reise already topping one million Rammstein are Germany's leading international rock act. No small feat for a band that sings almost exclusively in its native tongue, part of their success is founded upon a reputation for spectacular stage shows overflowing with wild pyrotechnics and fantastical lighting. This tour calls upon the twin talents of production designer Roy Bennett and CyberHoist/InMotion 3D, the PLASA Award-winning motion control system from XLNT Advanced Technologies.
"Since I first saw the system I've wanted to try it out," said Bennett. "Rammstein has proved ideal - the six band members all have strong ideas of their own, plus they've given me a free rein." Bennett's use of CyberHoist is studiously considered; in spite of the band's heavy musical idiom this is not an endless parade of gratuitous rig movements, more a well-crafted piece of aerial choreography. "The system gives you subtle moves, fast moves - whatever you want to do," adds Bennett, "and it's proved very reliable."
There are a total of 18 moving elements - mainly rectangular frames filled with the venerable Par 64, plus four sections of truss fitted with Mac 2000s, all supplied by PRG Lighting. All 18 are flown from a total of 36 dedicated Cybe
UK - Serious Stages supplied a 12 metre Orbit stage and roof system for the final of TV series Celebrity Big Brother at Elstree Studios. The latest Big Brother winner was ex-Happy Mondays dancer Bez - initially considered an outsider - who attracted huge public support along the way and squeezed Blazin' Squad rapper Kenzie and actress Brigitte Neilson into second and third places respectively.
Serious Stages was contacted just five days before the final by producers Endemol, after deciding they wanted the stage for the final evictions live on the Sunday. Eight Serious crew, led by Shaun Dixon, erected a standard one-bay Orbit roof system, 12 metres wide by 12 metres deep. The stage was completed and ready for lighting, audio, set and other production elements to commence their get-in on the Saturday morning. At the end of the show itself, the house guests were interviewed by Davina McCall before taking their seats for the final announcements, watched by a live audience and some six million Channel 4 viewers.
(Lee Baldock)
UK - Star Events Group has teamed up again with the Arena Group to create an infrastructure for the spectacular watersports pool at the Schroder's Boatshow at ExCeL in London's Docklands. The team designed and built the support for the 70m x 25m pool that held over 2,100 tonnes of water. Windsurfing, wakeboarding and sailing pros demonstrated their skills, using wind generated by the huge fans that flanked one entire length of the pool. 24 of these fans, each weighing 1 tonne, were supported on a raised structure also supplied by Star Events Group.
For the second year running, working closely with the National Boat Show (NBS), Star Events Group was brought in by the Arena Group to supply ExCeL with a complete temporary facility that was fully available from the first day of the exhibition tenancy. This enabled NBS to concentrate fully on the production requirements. This year's challenge for Star Design was to create the foundation for the watersports pool using elements from last year's structure, together with some newly designed components to make the structure easier to level above the rough surface of the car park underneath. An entirely new Heavy Duty jacking system meant that the water depth only varied by 5mm across the whole pool, as opposed to the 50mm variance last year. This decking is designed to withstand loads two and a half times that of a normal stage floor. A split level stage area was spanned by a 28m wide, 2-bay Star Orbit stage roof frame complete with proscenium arch, providing an impressive screen and lighting support which was rigged by Star
UK - LiteStructures is showing its product range at the 2005 Event Show on Stand 447, which will also be the launchpad for a new northern England multipurpose venue - XS!TE. The latter, with an audience capacity of over 2,000 and more than 15,000sq m of space, is within reach of the major conurbations of Bradford, Doncaster, Leeds, Sheffield and Wakefield and is complemented by bespoke staging and lighting capabilities.
Located within the established Xscape recreation complex at junction 32 of the M62, the venue offers event organisers the additional benefits of a real snow ski slope, ice wall, bowling alley, ski ride and numerous bars and restaurants. The site has more than 1500 free parking spaces and excellent transport links and, with its own railway station and hotel on site, the venue is an event organisers dream come true. The unique £2 million development of XS!TE is being spearheaded by Xspace together with LiteStructures managing director Adrian Brooks and leisure entrepreneur Jason Fenning.
Meanwhile, XliteDeck is LiteStructures' latest offering, a fully compatible sister product to LiteDeck, and has been developed in response to the increased demand for space saving, cost-effective multifunctional flooring/staging systems. Fully adjustable legs ensure that XLiteDeck can cope with the most uneven of floors and it easily conforms to the flooring height regulations of 100mm limit at most exhibitions. Another version has a fully removable top, providing access to the space underneath. XLiteDeck is fully compatible with LiteDeck and can easily be used to
UK - Following the launch on its website of a complete range of training courses, Stage Electrics has now announced the first pair of course dates, both of which will be hosted by the Newcastle Theatre Royal.
The first, on February 8, is entitled Electricity at Work - The Entertainment Environment; this was recently presented at the National Theatre and is designed for technicians, senior technicians and chiefs across all disciplines. The second course, on February 9, is Pyrotechnic Safety Awareness, presented in partnership with Lincoln Parkhouse of Just FX. It is, says Stage Electrics, the 'must-do' pyro course for anyone controlling, using or licensing pyro in venues.
Brian Cleary, business development manager for Stage Electrics' safety services department, said: "Our intention is to work with our customers and partners within the industry to provide affordable and relevant training and skills based learning in venues throughout the UK. We believe that in many areas we are the only company providing courses with complete relevance to the varying disciplines of our industry, using trainers with many years' experience working in theatres, exhibitions and outdoor events."
Courses are regularly updated to reflect changing legislation and, Cleary adds, "We have listened to course delegates' views and, where appropriate, made changes to the way we present the information. The response to the course content has been phenomenal. We are committed to develop and add to our course portfolio in the coming months and believe that this approa
USA - Global Truss America's new, ultra-thick F44P square/box trussing promises production houses the ability to rig industrial-strength fixtures. With a heavy-duty load capacity, the F44P is, says the company, "a virtual beast of burden" designed for those who need extra-strength truss.
The F44P is rigid enough to bear even the heaviest of loads with 3mm thick truss walls. Completely hand tig-welded, the F44P is made from extra-strong 6082-T6 aluminium alloy, a corrosion-resistant material three times lighter than steel used in aircraft manufacture. Like all Global Truss products, the F44P bears the TÜV seal of approval. With a wide overhead span of 15 3/4 inches (400mm), the F44P offers space to safely mount lighting equipment and effects of all shapes and sizes. It features a main tube diameter of approximately 2 inches (50mm), with 1-inch (22mm) diagonal bracing for added reinforcement.
Damian Mendoza, national sales manager for Global Truss America, said: "The F44P's tremendous tensile strength means that large-scale productions with seriously heavy lighting fixtures will now have no trouble at all securing their massive and complex rigs. And stage hands and roadies will discover the F44P is easy to set up, break down and transport from show to show . . . [it is] super affordable as well."
(Mike Lethby)
UK - Russia came to London on 15 January 2005 when Trafalgar Square London hosted the Russian Winter Festival - a feast of music, theatre and street entertainment to mark the 'Old New Year' according to the old calendar of the Orthodox Church. The show opened with speeches from Russian and London dignitaries including Ken Livingstone, watched by an 18,000-plus audience.
Produced by Greenwich & Docklands Festivals, the eight-hour show embraced cultural song and dance from across Russia to mainstream rock and pop acts. The Alexandrov Military Choir performed with 75 members on stage, its first UK appearance since 1967.
John Radford, Technical Project Manger for Stage Electrics Production Services, worked closely with production manager Colin Nightingale to supply technical event production including provision of staging, lighting, sound, site distribution and LED screen and cameras. The lighting operator was Simon Baker, production technician from Stage Electrics' London branch, while front of house and monitors were managed by Richard Sharratt and Chris Vass respectively.
The lighting rig included Martin MAC600s, City Colors, Robert Juliet Ivanhoe followspots and Par Bars with an Avolites Pearl in control. Sound was in the hands of an EAW KF850 and SB1000 rig with a Yamaha PM5D at FOH and monitors operated from a Soundcraft Series 5.
"It was a very successful show and we rose to the challenge of working to the tight timescales; the get-in for the event took place on Friday 14th and the square was clear again within four hours of the performers leaving
USA - 2005 promises to be a strong year for the cruise industry, which looks set to achieve record growth. Numerous new cruise ships are scheduled for launch in 2005, with further major projects slated for 2006 and 2007. This positive trend will translate into real business opportunities for UK specialists providing lighting, audio, AV and staging technologies.
Exploiting this development will be the forthcoming SeaTrade exhibition in Miami (March 15-17) - the largest gathering of cruise line owners, operators and suppliers in the world. One of the main features of the show will be the new 'PLASA at Sea' Pavilion - a showcase of all the latest innovations in entertainment and leisure-based technology. Confirmed exhibitors to date include Barbizon, Vari-Lite, Rose Brand, Rosco, Color Kinetics, Xilver, Martin Professional, Mavco, Teledimensions, Stage Technologies and Snow Masters.
UK companies can now take advantage of a grant worth up to £2,500, which they can put towards the cost of exhibiting at SeaTrade. This funding is available via PLASA (the Professional Lighting and Sound Association) and will help UK companies put their technologies and services in front of key buyers and specifiers. A Brochure Group Service is also available for PLASA members who can have their literature and marketing material distributed to interested attendees.
If you would like to participate in SeaTrade, contact Shane McGreevy at PLASA on +44 (0)1323 410335 or e-mail at the address below.
(Ruth Rossington)
UK - The Association of British Theatre Technicians (ABTT) has announced the following technical theatre training courses, scheduled for spring 2005 and to be held at the Plaza Theatre, Stockport.
On Friday 18 February: Knots & Splicing - The course covers the handling of different ropes and tying knots proficiently and safely knots that are useful in a theatre situation. Attendees will learn to differentiate between various natural fibre ropes, splice rope ends and use tools for splicing, etc. Knots including bowline, clove hitch, reef knot, wagon hitch, rolling hitch and sheet bend.
On Friday 4 March: Counterweight Flying - The course objectives are to teach the safe handling of counterweight sets and will cover terminology, parts of a counterweight set, loading and unloading, operating, first line maintenance, single and double purchase systems, putting knots into practice, tying off at a pin rail, spotting and other methods of hanging.
On Friday 18 March: Manual Handling & Intro to Health & Safety - An introduction to the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, followed by a Manual Handling course, which has been designed for mixed abilities groups; team lifting and dual handling form major constituents. By the end of the course, attendees will be able to demonstrate an awareness of types of injury and how they are caused during manual handling, and will also be able to demonstrate improved handling and lifting skills in a theatre environment.
(Lee Baldock)
Denmark - Harlequin has supplied flooring to the new Opera House in Copenhagen, equipping a large ballet studio of 362sq.m, a smaller studio of 190sq.m and a shared opera/ballet studio of 166sq.m. All are furnished with Harlequin Studio flooring in grey. The first ballet performance on the new stage scheduled for April 2005 will be a Neumeier production of The Little Mermaid. Danish shipping magnate Mærsk McKinney Møller personally handed over the new Opera House, his gift to the Danish state, on October 1, 2004.
The Opera House, used by Det Kongelige Teater (the Royal Theatre), will host large-scale opera and ballet productions. The main auditorium seats approximately 1,500 people and also benefits from a 200-seat studio theatre and a full-sized orchestral rehearsal room. The Danish Royal Orchestra's rehearsal room is located five floors below the auditorium, 14m below sea level. The Opera and the Ballet each have two rehearsal rooms, and other smaller rehearsal rooms are available for musicians and the chorus. The side wings of the building house dressing rooms, offices and workshops and, in the basement, scenery storage facilities.
(Lee Baldock)
UK - New Year's Eve 2004 saw the British Airways London Eye become the focal point for a spectacular light and fireworks display for 150,000 Londoners on Westminster Bridge and the Embankment - plus a nationwide television audience.
Although tempered by news of the Asian Tsunami - a two-minute silence was held before the display and certain elements of the projection and light show were removed - the overall reaction from audience and press was that London had got this New Year's Eve event absolutely right. Jack Morton Worldwide (JMW) designed and produced the entertainment and managed the logistics for the event. JMW project director Jeremy Garbett and his team worked for months in advance to co-ordinate and accommodate the various council and public safety concerns.
Fireworks were obviously the major element of the show and French designer Christophe Berthonneau and his team from GroupeF did not disappoint: they produced a stunning 10-minute Theatre of Fire, culminating in what on television looked like an alien attack! The ordnance was laid out on barges on the Thames, plus many effects fixed directly to the steelwork rim and spoke of the Eye itself, and fired by a computer triggered by the first chime of Big Ben.
Lighting designer Durham Marenghi called upon associate LD Paul Cook to add his years of experience with the Eye to the event. Lighting was carefully co-ordinated with Christophe to synchronize the colour and dynamics of the firework sequences, producing a seamless fusion of light and fire. The lighting system included 100 Vari-Lites to uplight the Eye f
UK - A curious amalgam, MPH '04 is The Motor Show with Top Gear attitude; but then with presenters Tiff Needell, Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond it would be (sharp intake of breath, adopt voice of God) 'like a B52 parking in your driveway'.
This was just the second year of the show at Earls Court, and already it's growing; PMI and Simon Aldridge appear to have brought a new and burgeoning marriage of live and static presentation into the exhibition world, a marriage that will surely have others looking frantically for an eligible partner.
Steve Sinclair has been part of the presentation team for the past two events and describes the differences between this and conventional car expo: "Some content elements appear familiar, there's a gallery of 90 or so vehicles, sponsored by HR Owens, but these aren't ordinary cars; we're talking testosterone motoring Ferraris and Maseratis, Bentley Turbos and TVRs. The big difference is the visitors can get inside them; it's very touchy-feely." But what of the live element?
There's a driving area, but it's more a show floor and everything presented there is very theatrical. One of the big attractions of this year's show was a straight copy of the TV show, where an old car is fired through the air and crashes onto a caravan, crushing it."
Sinclair revealed that the cannon used to blast the car skywards uses a combination of old and new technology. "It's propelled by 80% compressed nitrogen, firing the car approximately 10m into the air. When the H&SE inspector came in he asked the operator 'have you c
UK - The first few months of 2004 saw Stage Technologies engineers' busy commissioning the stage automation systems on board three Princess cruise ships. The year ended with an order for yet another Princess cruise ship.
The Crown Princess is the fifth 'grand class' cruise ship to be built by Fincantieri in its Monfalcone shipyard in Italy. Just days before the end of the year Stage Technologies was awarded a contract, by HMS Italia SA, for the supply of the stage automation control and the power flying system for this ship which will go into service in spring 2006. The system will comprise twenty-one fixed speed and forty-two variable speed axes.
All eight of the grand class cruise ships currently in service have Stage Technologies Acrobat control systems in the main theatre, and several also feature the Juggler control system in the aft lounges. All but the original Grand Princess also feature Stage Technologies BigTow winches (over 200 winches in total) together with the unique TanJent guidance system.
Stage Technologies has now supplied twenty-six stage automation control systems for five cruise lines with over 1000 axes now in service on board cruise ships, in addition to the many land based installations and rental systems.
(Sarah Rushton-Read)