Automation in the Entertainment Industry: A User's Guide - Softcover

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Mark Ager Having realised, whilst studying at Oxford University, that theatre was more interesting than the physics lab, Mark Ager misspent most of his time there working on lighting design for numerous shows. He then spent a short time working on an oil rig off the coast of Aberdeen, Scotland, before joining the Royal Shakespeare Company as their systems engineer at the Barbican Theatre in London. He was primarily responsible for the maintenance of one of the first power-flying systems installed in the UK (the other being at the National Theatre) and was involved in the original production of Les Misérables produced by the RSC at the Barbican. During this time, in order to gain more knowledge on the subject, he studied for a MSc. in robotics and automation at Imperial College. He moved on to join a specialist stage engineering company and was responsible for the design of various automation systems including a 30-axis, power-flying system at the City Theatre in Reykjavik, Iceland (which Stage Technologies later refurbished). This was followed by other projects such as the automation system for Aspects of Love in London s West End and a replacement automation system for the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Barbican (again refurbished by Stage Technologies). He left the industry for three years to work for an industrial automation company providing motion control systems for companies including Mars and Coca Cola, before (with the encouragement and support of Martin McCallum and Peter Roberts) setting up Stage Technologies with John Hastie. John Hastie After leaving college, John Hastie became a full-time electrician at the Piccadilly Theatre in London. During a busy period for musicals at the time he gained his first experience of automation, having to repair systems frequently during shows. During this time (and subsequently as chief electrician at Wyndhams Theatre) he freelanced on both lighting and control systems, including managing the control system installation for the original production of Miss Saigon. John set up a company providing lighting and control systems to the theatre and during this period installed the lighting system for the UK s Beatrix Potter Experience as well as the automation for musicals such as Phantom of the Opera in Manchester and for the London productions of Sunset Boulevard and Which Witch. After this experience he was convinced that automation systems had to be supported by a well-structured organisation to guarantee that design and maintenance resources would continuously be available. With this in mind he formed Stage Technologies with Mark Ager to bring the benefits of product-based solutions into the industry.