The first details of this year’s extended PLASA 2010 Education & Learning Programme have been unveiled by organisers PLASA Events. The acclaimed programme of free seminars and masterclasses includes top international speakers on industry projects and technologies, sustainability, AV and systems integration and much more.
The Gottelier Masterclass will be presented, as is now established tradition, by last year’s Gottelier Award winner – Alex Cooper from Midas Klark Teknik. Entitled ‘Don’t Just measure: Listen’, the Masterclass will be an appreciation of the power of human perception and spatial awareness, and how they relate to audio – in particular, the fact that just because a piece of audio gear measures correctly does not necessarily mean it sounds good.
InfoComm International will host a seminar theatre dedicated to AV & Systems Integration. Topics over the dedicated two day programme include lighting for video in the large meeting environment, project management for stage labour, audio techniques for corporate AV events, a primer on audio equalisation, AV Mathematics and moving signals for presentation covering interfacing between HDMI, DVI and SDI, and the evolution of presentation networks.
A suite of seminars aimed at demystifying EN54 take place on Monday 13 September. ISCE will host a seminar for acoustic consultants, architects, specifiers and facilities managers on EN54 and how it affects the industry, followed by a further seminar hosted by AMS Acoustics / Intertek, another with renowned acoustician Peter Mapp, and closing with a presentation from The Institute of Acoustics.
Technologies for Worship has extended its three-day programme by popular demand, opening with a talk by Wigwam president Mike Spratt on how UK houses of worship are using technology, from an integration standpoint, as well as creatively. See how the use of modern technology is making the house of worship community one of the fastest growing industries in the world. Other Technologies For Worship guest speakers and topics include Stephen Ellison, lighting designer at Nimbus Design & Production, whose two seminars cover tasteful lighting design on a budget and different lighting fixture types and their environmental impact. Other sessions in the programme include; the problem of stage volume in churches and how to deal with its effects on worship; multisite and broadcast solutions; bridging the communication gap between techs and pastoral staff; and de-mystifying audio techniques.
Roland Hemming, RH Consulting, presents ‘Millennium Dome 10 Years On’ – a candid account of the project and lessons that can be learned from other large projects. The Millennium Dome was a unique event that set a number of challenges both technically and for those involved with managing the project. Roland Hemming was Head of Sound for the project and will take you through the events of being there for nearly three years and provide an insider’s view on how and why things turned out the way they did.
Ben Darrington of Wireless Solutions presents a basic introduction to wireless lighting controls, with more advance “cellplanning” of antennas and co-existence with other wireless networks.
Tuesday will see a series of seminars addressing Sustainability. The Theatres Trust and other contributors will share knowledge and best practice during a full day of specialist sustainable seminars, starting with a seminar on Display Energy Certificates for Performing Arts Venues, examining the impacts of Display Energy Certificates on performing arts venues in the UK, and looking at their scope, relevance, benchmarking, legal implications and long-term future.
Julie’s Bicycle will address Sustainable Building Audits and Sustainable Touring, whilst another Theatres Trust session will be a round-up of its Ecovenue project, a European Regional Development Fund-backed programme working to improve the environmental performance of London’s smaller theatres.
A further sustainable issue will be addressed in a White Light / Arcola / BOC panel discussing ‘Hydrogen – an alternative fuel source’. During 2010 a joint venture between these three resulted in the first of a range of hydrogen-powered fuel cells suitable for use in the entertainment industry. These fuel cells have already been used at the Natural History Museum, Latitude Festival and London Bubble Theatre. They provide virtually silent power suitable for use for lighting in remote locations with no emissions. This seminar will explain the technology behind the system.
Harnessing Social Media without Fear is the topic of a session on Tuesday by Claire Adams and Jonathan Ross of Social Fuel, aimed at company owners, managing directors, marketing specialists and product managers. The Internet is a social medium, bringing together millions of users in an environment with few rules or structures – it’s a staggering opportunity for businesses, but one that can also be a bit frightening in its fundamental lack of control. This session will provide a valuable insight into how companies can harness social media by starting and owning debates rather than attempting to change them. The discussion will discuss what social media is, how to get started and examples of best practice and future trends.
The final day of the show will see seminars focusing on Skills & Qualifications in the industry and Best Practice. The National Skills Academy will run a couple of sessions, as well as WISE on women in stage entertainment and a Production Managers’ Forum with a panel of experts, entitled ‘Is the new TMA/BECTU Code of Practice for Get-Ins, Fit-Ups and Get-Outs working?’
Further updates to the full Education & Learning Programme will be added to the PLASA 2010 website in the run-up to the show.
All these seminars are in addition to the co-location of two brand new industry conferences – the ‘PLASA International Rigging Conference’ will run on Monday 13 and Tuesday 14 September, and Pro Sound News Europe & Installation Europe are presenting the ‘AVNetworks 2010’ one day conference on Wednesday 15 September.
PLASA 2010 show director Nicola Rowland comments: “The diversity of seminars and the quality of presenters continues to grow and we are seeing many more sessions that have been created by sheer demand. We fully expect even more to be over-subscribed than last year and urge visitors to register both for the show and for their desired seminars as soon as possible. In addition to which we are delighted with the two conferences co-locating alongside PLASA 2010 – providing even more reasons to attend than ever before.”
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