2011 PLASA Awards for Innovation Announced

The popping of Champagne corks heralds one of the major highlights of the PLASA Show - the PLASA Awards for Innovation presentation and the announcement of the prestigious Gottelier Award, which took place last night in a special ceremony at PLASA 2011.

During the show's opening two days, 48 products were judged 'live' in front of a crowd of show visitors and camera crew by an independent panel of expert judges who toured the show floor to view each product presentation. The winning entries are replayed throughout the show on large screens in the Innovation Gallery, where all the nominated products are showcased.

Terry Clarke of amplifier manufacturer MC2 was honored with this year's Gottelier Award in recognition of his work on a host of standard-setting products at Klark Teknik, Midas, XTA Electronics and MC2.

Eight Awards for Innovation were presented - including a final Gold Award for Innovation - along with a special award for Sustainability.

Nominees are asked to demonstrate a new style of thinking, an improvement in technical practice, an aid to safety, energy-saving or sustainability benefits, or new technology, materials or techniques.

The PLASA Sustainability Award is judged separately from the Innovation Awards, and recognizes the most outstanding effort to enhance the sustainability of our industry.

The six PLASA Awards for Innovation went to:

Martin Professional's new MAC Aura luminaire, which provides new types of visual effects and is, in the judges' words, "Eye Candy - nothing more, nothing less and we've never see it before."

The Harman HiQnet Performance Manager - designed for live performance and tour sound, systematically takes sound engineers, regardless of experience, step by step through the process of setting up a sound system of any scale or complexity.

Chromlech's Gleamer DMX-controlled low voltage dimmer offers nine channels of 6 to 28 volts each in a half-width 3U rackable box and, said the judges, "it provides new life for old Svobodas."

Gerriets' innovative G-Quick, designed as an alternative to attaching grommeted soft goods to pipe battens, re-thinks the traditional methods of hanging drapes, saving time and effort.

The ELC Green-Go digital show communications system brings affordable show communications into the digital realm, incorporating features sets from premium systems in a cost effective package that includes digital voice communications, cue lights and text messages.

Total Solutions' Video Tech Truss was the sixth PLASA Award for Innovation winner. Designed with safety as a priority, it provides a means for video technicians to safely service equipment in the air.

GDS achieved a notable double - winning an Award for Innovation and the special PLASA Sustainability Award for its ARCSystem of LED auditorium lighting fixtures. The judges felt the system "will have a significant impact on the carbon footprint of the buildings it is utilized in, and provides an elegant replacement house light system."

The final PLASA Award for Innovation was given for a product which the judges felt to be worthy of Gold Award Status. The Shure Axient Wireless Manager is, the judges said, "a brilliant solution to automated RF management." It also won Shure a Sustainability Commendation for the rechargeable Lithium Ion battery management system that provides reliability and less reliance on dry-cells, thereby reducing landfill.

Chair of the judging panel was James Eade, director of E-Mech Entertainment Engineering. Assisting James were PLASA Media's technical editor and assistant standards manager, Richard Cadena; freelance lighting designer and programmer, Rob Halliday; freelance sound designer, Gareth Owen; acoustic consultant at Audio Improvement Services, Jim Cousins; operations director for XL Video, John Hooker; Charcoalblue consultant, Paul Franklin; production manager, Ola Melzig; manager of lighting operations at Ampco Flashlight, Marco de Koff; consultant for RH Consulting, Roland Hemming; director of special projects at Creative Technology, Scott Burges; managing director of Nippy Industries, Steven 'Nippy' Williams; freelance writer, Steve Moles; rental lighting director and director of Hologramica, Liz Berry; theatre consultant for Akukon, Tapio Ilomaki; and Consultancy on Media Systems partner, Richard Northwood.

PLASA CEO Matthew Griffiths hosted the awards ceremony, acknowledging the high standard of innovation across the industry. He commented: "The seemingly boundless creativity of our industry never ceases to amaze, and this year's hotly contested field reflects the worthiness of the winners."