The interest for Visual act 3D System is growing.  During 2010 Visual act has entered into a partnership with Face Off Stunts & Rigging GmbH from Germany. Face Off is offering stunt and rigging services in combination with Visual acts 3D flying system in the German speaking countries of Europe. 

Click on the image to view the Grand Opening of Ferrari World!

 Marc Sieger from Face Off says: 

We have previously worked with systems from other suppliers, but now we have chosen to work with Visual act 3D because of its flexibility and ease of use.

Face Off Stunts & Rigging presents kiting on a roof with Skywalker system powered by Visual Act. Photo from Face Off.

Svenska Stuntgruppen AB (Swedish Stunt team) has also recently purchased a 3D flying system from Visual act. 

The collaboration between Stuntgruppen, Face Off and Visual act has resulted in that the Visual act system was used in the “Grand Opening of Ferrari World” on November 30 in Abu Dhabi. The show was produced by the German production company Battle Royal Productions, and Seth Ericson from Stuntgruppen was the operator. 

Seth from Stuntgruppen says: 

I am impressed by how easy it has been to learn how to operate and program the Visual act 3D system. I first got to know the system a few weeks ago, and I am already comfortable to go on and do shows and events with it. 

Visual act 3D flying system is a state of the art control system for flying performers, decorations or cameras. The system is capable of controlling speeds of over 10 m/s. The system can also be integrated with external systems, for example a Camera Head control system.    

Face Off Stunts & Rigging presents kiting on a roof
with Skywalker system powered by Visual Act >> 

The Grand Opening of Ferrari World in motion! >> 

For information about the Visual Act 3D Control System >>

The Norwegian Theatre Academy (Akademi for Scenekunst, Høgskolen i Østfold) has recently completed construction of a new black box theatre.  The theatre is unique in having a professional system of fly bars distributed over the entire room.  The flying system has all capabilities typically found in more expensive systems such as variable speed and accurate positioning, synchronous motion, and unlimited programming capacity.

Mechanical drawing of the Visual act Touring Desk. Photo by Visual act 2010.

The fly bar system was installed together with a compact version of the Visual act Stage Control System. The stage design allows for up to 34 fly bars. 20 of these fly bars were delivered at the installation in November – December 2010.

The delivery includes 4 electrical cabinets with 5 drives each. Connectors on the cabinets allow for the connection of a backup control or exchange of drives in the event of component failure.

Each fly bar is built as a double pipe with line adjustment situated between the pipes. This allows for maximum stroke with respect to the limited height in the theatre.  A visual act touring desk is connected to a central control computer placed one of the electrical cabinets.

The main contractor for this project was NCC Construction AS

We are looking for a Software Engineer to strengthen our team!

We primarily work with control of moving stage technology, which means controlling servomotors, 3-phase motors, hydraulics and pneumatics. Experience with real time systems and ”Motion Control” is meriting.

The position includes participation in product development, test, installation and support of our Control System and installations. The workplace is in Stockholm, Sweden. Work can include periods of travel to events or installations anywhere in the world as we work in the international entertainment industry.

You should have an engineering degree or similar in software engineering, preferably within real time systems and/or mechatronics. You should have experience with C/C++ and Linux.

It is a plus if you also have other skills and experiences that can be useful in our industry.

You should function well under stress and work well in teams.

Our working language is mostly English, but it is a plus if you speak Swedish, Norwegian or Danish.

If you find this interesting please contact jobs@visualact.se, or call +46-8-522 472 01 for more information.

Visual act AB is one of the leading North European companies within stage automation and control. We have our own Control System and products like our award winning Stage Wagons and 3D fly system. Our customers are theatres, production companies, stunt teams etc mainly in Northern Europe but increasingly also from other parts of the world. During 2010 we worked with Olympic Games in Vancouver, Eurovision Song Contest in Oslo, “Sugar” (Some like it Hot) in Stockholm, “Les Miserable” in Warsaw to name a few of our projects. We are based in Stockholm, Sweden.

A new theater is established at Skeppsholmen, Stockholm. Audiorama is the theater where the sound is in focus. The stage is an architectural and acoustic experiment. Here, the spectacular effects are not created by décor or advanced stage technology, but by the wonderful and inspiring experience of sound. 

Installation at Audiorama. Photo by LG Nilsson.

In October and November 2010, Visual act designed and installed a circular truss at the Audiorama. Following the customer’s requirements, Visual act created a flexible system to hang speakers. Each speaker can be hung on a pipe that is attached with couplers. This pipe can easily be adjusted in heights and angles to sound designer’s wishes.

 
The contruction of the set for the Romeo & Julia production and the education of the theatre staff have taken over our facilities.

At this moment, we are realizing set designer Lehna Edwall’s visions in our workshop. The design includes 3-dimensional parts made from wood, steel and fiberglass. Some amazing special effects will also be built into the set.

The education of the Göta Lejon staff is going well and soon they will be experts in our system, whether they want to fly an object or a person.

The premier of the musical is booked til 31 december 2010 at Göta Lejon in Stockholm.

Further technical information about the production will follow…

Mats Karlsson is a carpenter with 25 years in the industry and 35 years in the profession, many of them together with Visual act. Within Visual act, he is responsible for the carpentry workshop, and supervises the work for different productions.

Kevin is our new electrical engineer with a background that includes work at NASA and Dunbar Engineering a company that deals with design, testing and implementation of concepts.  At Visual act he will be responsible for maintenance, commissioning of new installations, electronic circuit board design and development and electrical documentation.

Elena has a background as a mechanical designer and has joined our team for the Asian Games 2011 project. She will work closely with Jim Fainberg managing the project. Elena has 10 years experience in the complete product development chain sor a wide variety of products, from wheelchairs to the CashGuard system, she easily got acquainted with the project.

Visual act welcomes Elena, Kevin and Mats to the team!

The Björn Skifs show “A Show 2010”, directed and choreographed by Pernilla Skifs, has been a sensation since its premiere at Cirkus the 29^th January 2010.  

72 sold out shows, 110 000 tickets sold, great reviews. The successful spring at Cirkus is over but the show must go on… on a tour. The tour “Björn Skifs, a show 2010” opened in Örebro on October 7^th and will visit 11 different cities in Sweden during the autumn and early winter.  

Design sketch by set designer Viktor Brattström.

Visual act supplied the complete set and stage technology for the production.  The band is placed on four Visual act Advanced Wagons that move individually to create different scenographic effects. The Visual act Stage Control System is also used to fly acrobats with the help of two Visual act point hoists.  

The stage technology is highly integrated into the show which, according to Elin Unnes in the Svenske Dagbladet:  

“includes elements of contemporary circus: A giant spider web is stretched over the stage Neon colored human spider climb on the net and Skifs is lifted into the fly tower.”  

The Visual act Advanced Wagon system is free from tracks allowing the tour to travel without subfloors and understage machinery.  Motions can easily be adjusted, if necessary, to better fit the stages of different venues.  For the tour each band platform has been fitted with transport wheels and can be rolled directly into the truck.   

Björn Skifs Official Website >>

The musical  Les Miserables, written by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, had its premiere the 25^th of September at Roma Musical Theatre in Warsaw:

We are awaiting the press reactions, but judging by the reactions from the audience it was a great success, says Martin Zetterström.

The production design is based on the use of seven Visual act Advanced wagons acquired specifically for the show. The Visual act Stage Control System is also used to control two winches that lift a set of stairs mounted in the proscenium.
 
Roma Theatre’s bold and visionary director Mr. Kepczynski has really used the wagons to their full potential. Scenery and actors are moved in harmony with the music and the story, both in play and behind the curtain. The scenery on four of the wagons is fixed and can be viewed from all sides. The three remaining wagons are used as platforms for a variety of settings.

The Visual act laser based navigation system allows one operator to move all seven wagons safely and precisely in the tight space available.  The wagons move along individual paths or in synchronous groups.

  For more information about the premiere (only in Polish) >>

Photos of the Visual act Advanced Wagon set up:

Photos of the scenery set up on the Visual act wagons:

Photos by Jarl Erson-Wester & Andrew Colhoun, Visual act AB.

Visual act has been awarded the contract to provide control system and upper stage machinery to both a new theatre in Jönköping, Sweden and to Lørenskog hus in Norway and Akademi for Scenkunst in Fredrikstad, Norway.

Visual act has delivered four Analog radio controlled wagons, with integrated turntables, to the Helsinki City Theatre for their new production of “Wicked” (songs and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and book by Winnie Holzman). This musical was first shown in New York in 2003 and is opening August 26^th in Helsinki. “Wicked” is directed by Hans Berntsson and the set designer is Mikael Varhelyi.

Varhelyi’s design is based on four rotating towers tracked diagonally across the theatre’s revolving stage.  The Visual act Analog wagon system is used to automate the motion of the towers.  The motions of the towers along with the motion of the stage help to create a large variety of looks and effects.

"Wicked" at the Helsinki City Theatre. Photo by Helsinki City Theatre.

Each tower is based on a special version of the two axis Visual act Analog wagon.  One axis controls the linear motion and one controls the rotation.  The operator can easily stop the rotation at one of 4 programmed positions.  Technical director Keijo Koli noted that he and the stage crew are pleased the reliability of the system and its ease of operation.

For further information regarding the musical >>