PLASA New Product Innovations Awards 2012

When the sun rose in London Monday morning there were 47 nominations all vying for eight spots in the PLASA 2012 New Product Innovation Awards. By the time the sun set, eight of those products were placed at the top of the list with an additional one being recognized for its contribution to sustainability, and four more were commended.

Fourteen judges and I had spent most of Sunday listening to a series of 15 minute presentations about why the presenter’s product should win an award. The criteria was that the product should advance the industry by demonstrating innovation or improving technical practice. Other considerations are given to products that promote sustainability or safety. 

If you saw any of the 3,500 hours of the Olympic broadcasts, then you know that when world-class contenders compete, the winners are often decided by a matter of a thousandth of a second. That’s what it felt like trying to decide who should win the awards except we didn’t have the benefit of slow motion replay. Technology is advancing at an exponential rate and it’s far more accessible than it has ever been. So many products on the show floor take advantage of cutting-edge technology and it’s not hard to find innovation everywhere you look. It seems like much more of an even playing field. But there is a difference between taking advantage of existing technology and true innovation. Sometimes you have look under the hood (is that called raising the bonnet in the UK?) to find it.

Of the 47 product nominations, the judges fairly quickly whittled it down to a short list of 19 with only one that everyone felt was a clear-cut winner. Then we spent the next couple of hours debating the merits of each of the 19 products. We slowly carved out a list of six winners and agonized over the last two. We second-guessed ourselves, rearranged the list, and eventually arrived at our eight winners plus one award for sustainability, and four special commendations. 

Then we asked the question, “Is any one of the winners deserving of a Gold Award?” A Gold Award is sometimes given to an exceptional product that is recognized as a “game changer.” It’s that widget that will redefine the industry or shake the pillars of the industry. If you were to take a snapshot of the live event production industry today, what you’re likely to see is the convergence of automation, networking, control systems, video, wireless, battery-power, and robotics. After much debate and deliberation, the judges decided to award one of the eight winners the Gold designation. It’s a product that is likely to lay the foundation for the future of these technologies.

Deciding these awards was like watching Usain Bolt run the 100 metres. These companies put in hours and hours of hard work and training to get to the starting line, and in a flash, it was over. In the end, they all crossed the finish line, most within a hair’s breadth of the leader.

PLASA New Product Innovations Award Winners 2012

Gold Award Winner: 

Cast BlackTrax — BlackTrax V1 is an Ethernet-based solution that tracks objects or people in a defined 3D "space" and delivers the dynamic positional data in realtime in up to six degrees of freedom— X, Y, Z, plus roll, pitch, and yaw— to audio, lighting, motion control, and media technologies, as well as CAST's new BlackBox production coordination technology. The onboard gyroscope communicates the orientation of a moving piece or performer at over 250 frames per second. Control can be located up to 100 feet (30 metres) away with ¼" tracking accuracy.

What the judges said: “The level of integration with other tools and the potential for applications across the industry is incredible.”

Stageco Arena Lift — Stageco's Arena Lift is a bespoke hydraulic lifting system that allows large-scale ground support truss systems to be built at ground level and then raised to increase the rigging capability of an indoor venue. By adapting knowledge and expertise in lifting heavy equipment from the specialist construction industry, Stageco developed the Arena Lift to integrate high end hydraulic technology through adaptations and redesigns into custom built equipment suitable for touring. Four hydraulic lifting units form anchors at the base of ground support towers, the product features Smart Cylinder Control technology to synchronise these individual bases.

What the judges said: “It’s very safe and saves a lot of time. It increases options for touring shows and lets more shows play more venues. It’s very well thought through and very well implemented.”

Digital & Future Technologies Super2fer — Super2fer lets you send anything anywhere including HDMI video, composite, SVGA, audio, DMX...Just plug in an input box at one end using normal 16A cable, then 500m later plug in an output box and the data turns up. The system modulates the data onto the mains carrier and encrypts all your data using AES128 strength encryption. Each of the systems are impervious to the others. The Super2fer also has a Wireless Option, so you can now route all your video, audio or lighting data across a wireless link, with full redundancy.

What the judges said: “Why hasn’t this been done before? It’s a game changer. It’s packaged really well, so they’re instantly useful.”

Tait Technologies Pixel Tablet — The pixel tablet is a 3x3 RGB display unit, 135mm x 135m, weighing 0.5kg. Tablets can be hand held, placed in adaptable holders or mounted on a netting system to allow coverage of any landscape or architectural façade. Traditional 2D video screens are now able to be expanded and turned into a 3D screens. During the L2012 Ceremonies the pixel tablets were placed in holders on every seat in the Olympic stadium allowing the entire stadium to become the world’s largest video screen to date while incorporating the audience into the screen and show.

What the judges said: “It’s absolutely stunning. It’s the ultimate in audience participation.”

Avolites Sapphire Media Infinity Video Control System — Sapphire Media offers video operators an intuitive live, hands-on, show control surface enabling seamless integration of all visual elements. It connects to and allows control of multiple Ai Media servers. Two wide screen, touch surfaces are provided for easy access to the user interface and Salvation Engine control. Additionally, four switchable and assignable, touch preview monitors are available to the system operator. These preview monitors may be mapped to any inputs, outputs or video layers. 

What the judges said: “It’s well thought through and well designed.”

video link: http://www.avolitesmedia.com/

Robe Robin DLF Wash — The Robe Robin DLF uses an RGBW LED source and includes a unique internal barndoor assembly and a 5.5 to 60 degree zoom. Each motorised barndoor is individually positionable to control the light edge, with the complete assembly rotating through 90 degrees. Multiple colour shadows associated with an LED source have been eliminated allowing both rich and pastel colours to be reproduced at high output levels. Pure whites are available at pre-selected 2700K, 3200K, 4200K, 5600K and 8000K. Tungsten emulation allows the fixture to be integrated seamlessly with existing traditional lanterns. It comes with a three-year/20,000 hour light source warranty.

What the judges said: “It’s an LED wash light that behaves like traditional Fresnel. It will fit straight into the lighting tool box and we can use it. The internal barn doors are exceptional. beautiful color mixing, looks like a generic wash light but it’s LED.”

JBL VTX V25 Line Array with D2 Dual-Diaphragm Driver Technology — The VTX V25 is a full size 3-way high-directivity line array element.  It features two 2000W 15" Differential Drive® dual-voice-coil/dual-magnetic-gap woofers mounted in die cast aluminum baffles, with four 8" Differential Drive midrange transducers and three new D2 Dual-Diaphragm Dual-Voice-Coil Compression Drivers mounted on a third generation waveguide and patented RBI - Radiation Boundary Integrator® assembly.  Patented rigging, Crown VRack DSP and amplification, and JBL HiQnet Performance ManagerT configuration and control software complete the system package.

What the judges said: “It addresses a lot of the traditional problems with loud speakers by addressing the problems at the driver engineering level.”

Martin MAC Viper Profile — The MAC Viper Profile features a highly efficient optical system and 1000-watt HID source that outperforms market-leading profiles in the 1200-watt range. With over 26000 lumens of output, it is over 30% brighter than 1200-watt fixtures and also outperforms them in terms of speed and compactness. Power consumption is lower and output is approximately 55% more efficient than the 1200-watt fixtures it replaces. Features include CMY color mixing plus 8-slot color wheel and linear CTO, 1:5 zoom with auto-linked focus, 2 x 5-slot rotating gobo wheels plus FX wheel, combined dimmer/shutter, and more.

What the judges said: “It’s a new benchmark for automated lighting spots.”

Green Award

ETC Source Four LED — Source Four LED features the same size, look, optics and beam angles as a traditional Source Four®, with the efficiency and energy savings of an LED. The Source Four LED Lustr®+ luminaire features the capabilities of the x7 Color SystemT to offer the most flexible range of colour. From high-intensity whites to soft tints and supple, vibrant colours provide you with theatre-quality colour rendering. The Source Four LED Lustr+ also produces an adjustable white light that flatters any skin tone. Source Four LED is also available in 3000K warm white tungsten and 5600K cool white versions.

What the judges said: “It enables us to put professional quality stage lighting into naturally ventilated spaces. It has a highly efficient optical system and you can reuse existing lens stock.”

Commendable

d3 Designer — d3 Designer is a real-time 3D stage simulator, timeline based sequencer, video playback engine, and content mapper, all integrated into a single piece of software that runs on your own PC or Laptop. You can import stages from the CAD program of your choice, add screens, props, and content to get a true simulation of your production, well before you actually start your build, then easily transfer your show to a d3 Production system for show-time.

What the judges said: “It’s a fantastic pixel mapper and a fantastic visualisation tool that designers are going to love.”

Sennheiser Digital S9000: Digital S9000 is a UHF multi-channel digital wireless system that transmits audio in a compression-free high-definition mode, thus maintaining the full audio data.  For environments with much interference, the system is fitted with a long-range mode that uses a proprietary codec for an exceptionally good audio quality. The system does not generate any intermodulation artifacts. Frequencies can be placed in an equidistant grid. Designed for high band efficiency and high channel counts even in crowded RF landscapes.

Shure ULX-D Digital Wireless — ULX-D provides 63 channels of wireless in 8MHz. The 20Hz-20KHz frequency range and flat response captures details with clarity, presence, accurate low end and precise transient response. It has >120dB dynamic range and the Shure Gain Ranging optimises thie dynamic range for any source, eliminating the need for transmitter gain adjustments. Minimised intermodulation allows simultaneous operation of significantly more transmitters, and AES256 encryption ensures secure transmission. Lithium-ion rechargeability provides extended battery life, metering in hours/minutes (accurate to 15min), and detailed tracking of battery health. 

Highlights WENTEX Pipe and Drape System — The  WENTEX system setup can be completed in half the time and with half the labor cost. Not only can a 20' high WENTEX pipe and drape kit be easily assembled by one person, it can be done without the risk or liability of anyone having to climb up a ladder. Additional features can be easily mounted to a WENTEX pipe and drape system such as speakers, lighting, cameras, emergency exits and track systems.

What the judges said: “It’s a one-flight-case solution and it ticks the health and safety box.”

About the Judges

Liz Berry, Lighting Designer (Belinda Carlisle, Madness, Bryan Ferry, etc.), London, UK

Richard Cadena, PLASA, Austin, Texas, USA

Jim Cousins, Audio Engineer, Sound Improvement Services, London, UK

Gerry Francke, Project Manager, Creative Technology, London, UK

Paul Franklin, Theatre Design Consultant, Charcoalblue, London, UK

Tapio Ilomäki, Designer at Akukon Consulting Engineers, Finland

Mats Karlsson, Development Manager at VER, Belgium

Marc Kocks, MD of sales division, Ampco Flashlight group, Utrecht, Netherlands 

Ed Manwaring, EM Communications, Kent, UK

Steve Moles, Journalist, Lighting Designer/Tech (Bruce Springsteen, Queen, Tina Turner, etc.), Doncaster, UK

Ola Melzig, Technical Director Eurovision Song Contest, M & M Production Management, Stockholm, Sweden/Austin, Texas USA

Nick Read, entertainment and theatrical special effects & large scale lighting and electrical systems design, installation, testing and project management for stadium events, tours, shows and corporate events, Brighton, UK

Ben M Rogers, Lighting Designer/Video Designer, London/Cyprus

Cat West, Lighting Designer, Flash & Trash Productions, Los Angeles, USA