ETC Training to Become First ETCP-Recognized Electrical Training Program

If you are an certified technician through ESTA ETCP, there is good news for you.  You have another way to earn credits towards your certification as well as increase your knowladge from ETC.

The non-profit trade association ESTA is the steward for the entertainment services and technology industry in North America, setting technical standards and protocols. One of ESTA’s initiatives, the Entertainment Technician Certification Program (ETCP) created a program that provides rigorous assessments for professional riggers and entertainment electricians.

Once certified, technicians maintain their standing by accumulating 40 renewal credits or retaking the ETCP exam every five years. At least ten of these renewal credits must include training or professional development. Now, electrical and rigging courses are available through ETC (Electronic Theatre Controls, Inc.), the first lighting manufacturer whose electrical training program has qualified as an ETCP Recognized Training Program for continuing education credit.

On January 11th of this year, the ETCP Certification Council announced that ETC’s application had been approved, confirming ETC as the first lighting manufacturer, and one of a handful of rigging manufacturers, to have courses recognized by ETCP.

For more information, visit ESTA ETCP webpage at etcp.esta.org.

ESTA Behind the Scenes Holiday Card Student Design Contest

Behind The Scenes, an initiative of The ESTA Foundation, announces its first-ever holiday card student design contest, open to any lighting, set, video or costume full-time design student interested in creating an original design for a 2010 card.

The winner will be chosen by an all-star panel of previous holiday card designers including Bob Bonniol, Beowulf Borrit, Scott Pask, Bruce Rodgers, Douglas Schmidt, and Tim Hunter Design. The winner╒s design will be among the cards offered for sale to raise money for Behind the Scenes, which provides financial assistance to entertainment technology professionals who are ill or injured.

The winner will also receive a free pass to the Live Design Master Class of choice (lighting, sound, or projection) to be held in May in New York City.

The deadline for entries is March 15, 2010. Design guidelines and cards from previous years can be viewed at www.estafoundation.org/bts/holidaycardguidelines.htm.

Two Rigging Draft Standards Up for Review from ESTA

Looks like ESTA has just announced the release of two drafts of rigging standards for review to the industry. If you have any interest or knowledge of rigging, you are encouraged to provide your valuable input into the drafts.

With any review of draft standards, there is a limited time that the public are allowed to review and comment on the standards.  These two particular draft end review on February 15, 2010.

Here is more about the two drafts that are up for review:

BSR E1.6-2–201x, Entertainment Technology — Design, Inspection, and Maintenance of Serially Manufactured Electric Chain Hoists for the Entertainment Industry

BSR E1.6-1–201x, Entertainment Technology – Powered Hoist Systems

You can download and review these documents at the Technical Standards Program page found on the ESTA web site, www.esta.org.

Thanks Stage Directions

Long Reach Long Riders Saddle Up For 2010

With this past summers ride down and gone in the east, the Long Reach Long Riders are planning their 6th annual ride on the west coast.  I was sad to have to miss this years ride as it went straight through my back door.  Here is a little more info from the 2009 ride on the east coast:

The 2009 ride raised over $42,000.00 for the ESTA Foundation’s Behind the Scenes program and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, making it the second largest amount raised to date. The combined LRLR total raised since the first ride in 2004 has now exceeded $200,000.00

The participants; 18 motorcycles and as many as three chase vehicles, enjoyed a weeklong ride that took them over mountains, past lush farmland and sweeping vistas and through a number of National and State Parks. The 2,500 mile ride, which began in Richmond, Virginia and ended in Dahlonega, Georgia, visited 5 states and rode on many scenic highways including the Skyline Drive, the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Cherohala Skyway. The group also tempted fate by riding some of the most famous twisting mountain roads in the USA including The Snake in Shady Valley, Tennessee and the Dragon’s Tail in Robbinsville, North Carolina.

This year’s riders and chase car drivers hail from 13 states, the District of Columbia, British Columbia, Canada and London, England.

So are you pumped up about joining the ride?  Here is more information on the 7th annual Long Reach Long Ride.

The Long Reach Long Riders announce their seventh annual charity motorcycle ride.  The ride, which benefits the ESTA Foundation’s Behind The Scenes program and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, begins in San Francisco on July 24, 2010.

The ride, which began as one time event back in 2004, has raised more than $200,000.00 over the past six years.  “We were just a bunch of technicians looking for a fun way to attend a conference”, commented Bill Sapsis, one of the original ride organizers. “Who knew it would turn out like this?” Greg Williams, another founding member added, “The group was so much fun to ride with we just had to do it again.  We’ve seen a lot of really beautiful country in the past six years and this years ride will offer a lot more as well as some of the best riding roads in the west.”

The riders will assemble at the Presidio in San Francisco on the morning of July 24th and head north into the Napa Valley.  Over the next seven days the group will head through Eureka and then west to Truckee and Lake Tahoe.  They’ll ride through Yosemite and down to Hollister, CA, the birthplace of the outlaw biker legend in the US.  Then it’s over to the coast and back up to San Francisco via the legendary Pacific Coast Highway, arriving on July 31st.

As in previous years, anyone who wants to ride with us is more than welcome, either as  a ‘day tripper’ or for the entire ride.  For more information on the route, joining the ride or making a donation, please visit www.lrlr.org.

Lex Products Donates Portion of Proceeds to Behind the Scenes

We love hearing news like this.  Since last LDI, Lex Products has been donating portion of the first year’s sales of the 6 Circuit Live Tester to ESTA’s Behind the Scenes.  Since that first year ends this LDI in Orlando, Lex has decided to extend this giving until the end of 2009.

This gives you two more months to not only get the Lex 6 circuit Live End Tester, but also help your fellow professionals in their time of need.

To learn more about the Lex Product 6 Circuit Live End Tester, visit Lex’s website at www.lexproducts.com.  To learn more about ESTA’s behind the Scenes Charity, visit their website at www.estafoundation.org.

ESTA Puts BSR E1.28, Followspot Position Standards Up for Public Review

Late last week, ESTA put the BSR E1.28 document on Followspot Positions up for Public Review and commenting on the TSP or Technical Standards Program website.  Members and industry professionals are encouraged to download, read and review the document and submit any additions or changes they feel the standard might benefit from.

If you do have anything to add or comment on the document, you must fill out a response form before the public review date of December 29, 2009.

The Scope of the Followspot Position document:

The E1.28 document offers guidance on the planning of permanent followspot positions. It is a guidance document, not a mandatory compliance document. The document offers recommendations on the locations of the followspot positions within the venue, the power likely to be needed, the waste heat generated, the amount of space likely to be needed, and the fall protection and egress issues to be considered for the operators’ safety, among other things.

You can download the document from the ESTA  TSP website, www.esta.org/tsp,  to review and submit your comments.

Now PLASA and ESTA Intend to Merge

Not to long ago, ESTA and PERA announced that they will be merging together.  Seems like that wasn’t the end of it.  ESTA, (The Entertainment Services & Technology Association) and now PLASA, (Professional Lighting and Sound Association), have announced that they too will be merging and combining forces! More from the Press Release:

PLASA (headquartered in the U.K.) and ESTA (headquartered in North America), two of the leading bodies worldwide for those working in the live events, entertainment, and communications industries, have signed a letter of intent to merge.

The announcement comes on the back of long-term strategic reviews conducted by both organizations, who believe that uniting as one body will lead to a stronger voice for members, the enhancement of existing initiatives, and an expansion of the range of benefits and services.

The proposed merger has the full backing of both the ESTA board of directors and the PLASA executive committee, who voted on the proposal this summer and who will formally recommend the move to their respective memberships, subject to due diligence being completed successfully during the spring/summer of 2010. If both memberships vote to go ahead, the first stage of the merger will be completed by December 2010, effectively creating an industry-wide membership network of over 1,100 dealers, manufacturers, installers, service providers, and consultants operating under the PLASA name. This will also include members of PERA—the Production Equipment Rental Association—whose members work across the film, video, and broadcast industries and which recently merged with ESTA.

In reality, any merger will simply be a continuation of an already established relationship between the two organizations who have worked together on a range of initiatives for many years and who share the same aims and objectives.

The planned merger will not lead to any immediate changes, and the direct priority for the ESTA and PLASA teams will be to continue to serve the joint membership in the strongest, most relevant way possible.

To reinforce this aim, the proposal outlining the merger recommends that leadership groups be established initially in North America and Europe, elected by their respective members to represent their interests and to shape the organization to meet their specific needs. Each of these elected leadership groups will provide representatives who will sit on an executive committee charged with overall responsibility for governance, strategic planning and financial direction. Joining these representatives on the executive committee will be members-at-large elected from the membership worldwide.

Work on key initiatives will continue as before and in many cases will be considerably strengthened by the projected merger. ESTA’s industry-leading Technical Standards Program has always received active participation from PLASA and its members, and the planned merger envisions a further development of this essential project.

The commitment to furthering industry skills will also remain a key priority, and while the methods of implementation differ, the goals of increasing the level of knowledge and skills in the industry and creating a safer working environment are jointly shared and will be fully implemented.

Other initiatives, such as market research, will be strengthened with current research exercises expanded and opportunities for additional research explored.

ESTA president Bill Groener and PLASA chairman Rob Lingfield view the proposed merger as a significant and essential move for members of both organizations, who, they believe, will benefit from having a much strengthened representative body safeguarding their interests and developing their commercial advantages.

In a joint statement, PLASA CEO Matthew Griffiths and ESTA executive director Lori Rubinstein said, “This is essentially about doing what is best for our members. The proposed merger will radically enhance what we can achieve on behalf of the companies and individuals we represent, making us a more effective and informed advocate for the industry. The industry needs an organization that is responsive to its members’ needs and one where they feel fully connected and involved. We share common goals and objectives and a united approach to the issues and challenges of our market will provide major long-term benefits and greatly broaden the role of the organization.”

Long Reach Long Rides Meet and Exceed Goals

The Long Reach Long Riders announce the successful completion of their 6th annual charity motorcycle ride. The 2009 ride raised over $42,000.00 for the ESTA Foundation’s Behind the Scenes program and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, making it the second largest amount raised to date. The combined LRLR total raised since the first ride in 2004 has now exceeded $200,000.00 Donations for the 2009 ride will be accepted until September 1, 2009.

The participants; 18 motorcycles and as many as three chase vehicles, enjoyed a weeklong ride that took them over mountains, past lush farmland and sweeping vistas and through a number of National and State Parks. The 2,500 mile ride, which began in Richmond, Virginia and ended in Dahlonega, Georgia, visited 5 states and rode on many scenic highways including the
Skyline Drive, the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Cherohala Skyway. The group also tempted fate by riding some of the most famous twisting mountain roads in the USA including The Snake in Shady Valley, Tennessee and the Dragon’s Tail in Robbinsville, North Carolina.

This year’s riders and chase car drivers hail from 13 states, the District of Columbia, British Columbia, Canada and London, England. The ride was organized by Greg Williams, Alice Neff, and Moe and Christine Conn. The bikes represented were Harley Davidson (10), Honda (3), Kawasaki (2), BMW (1), Suzuki (1) and Vespa (1). The oldest bike on the trip was the 1987 K-75 BMW driven by Frank “Mr. Murphy” Stewart. The number of curves successfully navigated by the group exceeded 1,000.

Next year’s ride will start in San Francisco, Ca. For more information on the riders, joining the ride or making a donation, please visit www.lrlr.org.

ESTA Announces eSET Portal

The ESTA Foundation has launched a new site geared towards providing entry level entertainment technicians a educational portal to learn and better understand terms and fundamentals within the entertainment industry.

The Essential Skills for the Entertainment Technician (eSET) goals are to provide technicians with knowledge and skills to function across all fields of the entertainment industry and a tool to organize and guide their learning.

While the site or portal is designed to better educate new technicians, educators have access to the site for in-depth materials to help educate those new techs as well as assist educators on ways to present the most up-to-date information.

Another interesting point about the site is it gives facility managers the ability to cellect venue-specific information to assist in training their workforce.  Even employers can access the site to do the same function.

Visit the eSET website to learn more information, see samples and sign up.  For students, the subscription is $10, for professionals, the subscription runs $15 and a five seat license runs $40.  Subscription includes access to the full contest of definitions and terms, downloadable PDF’s of those terms and definitions and sample assessments.

New ESTA Protocol Magazine Out

Right before we left for our nice long memorial day weekend, we received the latest issue of ESTA’s Protocol magazine in the mail. While relaxing in the shade, we had a chance to read the magazine from cover to cover.

The cover article, ACN and RDM, Working together to add real value, caught our eye and was read first.  The article explains the uses and development of ACN and RDM within the entertainment lighting industry. The article covers how to leading manufacturers are working together to bring the standards together across the industry.  We highly recommend reading to article as ACN and RDM are becoming increasingly common place in the industry.  You can download the PDF of the entire article here.

In addition to the ACN and RDM article is another article on the implementation and usage of DDL (Device Description Language) which works hand in hand with ACN.  You can download and read the complete article here.

The ESTA Protocol magazine covers news and updates on industry standards.  It is avilable for reading online or you can sign up and receive your very own copy in the mail for free.

ESTA Rock Our World Awards Open for Nominations

Have you seen a new product that you knew would change the industry, or one that was so simple but so brilliant you couldn’t imagine why it hadn’t been done before? Have you seen a product used in a way that was truly remarkable in its application, whether simple or complex? Have you seen a project that knocked your socks off because of the level of collaboration required or the magic it created? Now is your chance to acknowledge their impact.

ESTA created the Rock Our World Awards to honor groundbreaking achievement by its members. Don’t wait until a quantum technology leap becomes a standard to celebrate it. This award was created to acknowledge the genius of both the creator of technology and the designer or integrator who applies the technology in a real world environment.

Who Can Enter?

Anyone in the industry may nominate a product, product application, or project, but an ESTA Member must be involved as the designer, manufacturer, supplier, or collaborator.

To learn more about the ESTA Rock Our World Awards Nomination Guidelines, visit the ESTA website at www.esta.org.

ESTA And PERA Announce Intent to Merge

ESTA (The Entertainment Services & Technology Association) and PERA (The Production Equipment Rental Association) have recently announced plans to join forces.  Read more from the Press Release:

NEW YORK, NY –– The Entertainment Services and Technology Association (ESTA) and the Production Equipment Rental Association (PERA) today announced an agreement to merge, subject to final ratification. Under the agreement, PERA will become the PERA Council within ESTA, retaining its focus on the production of film, television and commercials. The Council’s mission is to focus on development and implementation of programs and services for production rental businesses.

The move will provide PERA members with immediate access to a wide array of benefits and services as well as the support of a professional staff, while allowing the PERA leadership to focus on their core mission. By adding a key sector, ESTA strengthens its voice on behalf of the entertainment technology industry and brings an important new dimension to many of its programs.

ESTA President Bill Groener commented, “In a time where uncertainty rules the day and even General Motors is a question mark, the merger of these two closely related industry organizations makes economic sense and, more importantly, business sense for the companies that make up the membership of both organizations.”

“This will provide greater membership value and expand opportunities for companies serving the entire entertainment technology industry,” said PERA President Pat Patin. “This merger strengthens the position of both organizations.”

ESTA is one of the world’s leading trade associations for the entertainment technology industry. Over 500 members in the US, Canada and around the world work in all areas of the industry. ESTA’s wide variety of benefits and services include the ANSI-accredited Technical Standards Program, Entertainment Technician Certification Program, Market Research Program, and the new Business Peer Group Advisory Program. ESTA is the sponsoring association of the LDI trade show and a member of the World Entertainment Technology Federation.

PERA is the international trade association for film and video production rental companies. PERA supports the use of new technologies in the production industry, promotes the professionalism of its membership, and provides a unified voice on issues affecting the industry.

To learn more about ESTA, visit their website at www.esta.org.