UK - Goboland chose EvenTech, Scotland as the springboard from which to launch its Gobo Tweaker.

Previewed at PLASA 07 where it received much positive response, this little gadget incorporates any design from the Goboland Premier Steel Collection into an all-in-one tool, complete with orientation handle, for easy alignment of images within the gate of a profile lantern.

The Gobo Tweaker is designed to fit into a standard gobo holder with the handle protruding out of the gobo gate. This allows the gobo to be turned within the lantern into the exact position required and without the use of any additional tools. The heat dispersing holes in the handle ensure this manipulation can be made without burning the fingers whilst a clip holds the Gobo Tweaker in place to secure it from being knocked out of position.

Gobo Tweakers are made of the same non-reflective, black coated steel

Russia - The new multi-purpose ballroom and conference facility at Moscow's Holiday Inn Sokolniki hotel has been installed with over 60 Robe moving lights and colour mix fixtures, all custom finished in white to compliment the surrounding interiors.

The Holiday Inn Sokolniki is one of Moscow's newest hotels with one of the busiest function spaces in town. The room is utilised to stage anything from conferences and corporate presentations to exhibitions, weddings, awards shows and gala dinners.

The Ballroom can be divided into two separate areas by a screen-style folding wall, and the lights are installed on two box trusses in the ceiling - one in each room. "The idea was to ensure the room lighting offered absolutely the most flexible options," explains Dimitri Nikitin, head of lighting for lighting specifiers Light Sound Contractors (LSC).

The Ballroom - as it is

Russia - In a year of unprecedented theatre renovations in Russia, one of the most ambitious has been the £7.5m restoration of the Mikhailovsky Theatre of Opera and Ballet in St Petersburg. In just four months, the theatre renovated the hall, stage, lobby, orchestra pit, plumbing, heating and electrical systems, plus the building's roof and façade, all in time to kick off its new season. At the same time, the Mikhailovsky overhauled its lighting system, outfitting its stage with equipment from ETC.

Head lighting designer Mikhail Mekler chose an ETC Congo control system. "Congo has the ability to control conventional theatrical luminaires and modern, complex concert equipment," says Mekler. "This type of system configuration is especially important in musical theatre. That's why Congo is also used in St Petersburg theatres such as the Mariinsky. With Congo,

UK - Bandit Lites' UK operations has recently added Vari*Lite products to their rental inventory in order to better supply European clients. The purchased products include VL2500 Spots, VL3000 Spots and VL3500 Washes.

CBeebies Live! was the first show to take the newly stocked Vari*Lite products on tour by using VL3000 and VL 2500 Spots for their five week tour over the festive season. Since then, the VL3000 Spots have been out on Paul Potts, R.E.M., and are currently out on Mark Knopfler's 13-week European tour.

"It is our objective to offer clients the best possible products and we feel that Vari*lites are an exciting addition to our rental inventory," commented Bandit UK general manager, James Harden. "Vari*lite products continue to be a favourite with designers and we look forward to growing our relationship with the vender in the future."

(Jim

UK - Leading entertainment lighting supplier White Light has today announced a radical overhaul of its transportation department that will see it move into a more sustainable future based on techniques from the past.

The company is to replace the fleet of vans that undertake regular deliveries from its Wimbledon base into London's Theatreland with an efficient, low fuel consumption, and very friendly horse and cart. "This transportation system has been used by the local Young's Brewery for many years," notes White Light's managing director, Bryan Raven.

"When we learnt that they were to phase it out we realised what a great opportunity this was for us. Our many theatre and corporate event clients mean that we have to make regular deliveries into central London, and rising fuel costs make this increasingly expensive.

"The horses, on the other hand, will pa

UK - Visual designer Nick Jevons of Electric Fly Productions used an Avolites Diamond 4 for controlling lighting for the first Radio 1XTRA Live event staged at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry. Show visuals were played back from a Maxedia media server triggered by a Pearl Expert console run by Jake Jevons.

The show featured Akon, Chris Brown, Kelly Rowland and Craig David and was the first of its kind to be staged by the BBC's popular digital urban music channel. It was broadcast live on 1XTRA and recorded for a BBC 2 live special and BBC Digital's Red Button channel.

Jevons was brought onboard by producer Dave McColmont of Angel Music, following his many ground-breaking designs integrating video and lighting for the BBC's One Big Weekend events. All lighting and rigging was supplied by Blackburn-based HSL, with visuals and control from Electric Fly, and screens from

Dubai - Green Hippo, creators of the Hippotizer Media Servers, will be spreading the HippoWord to the Middle East at PALME in Dubai later this month (27-29 April).

Exhibiting as guests of VenueTech, Green Hippo's training manager, Simon Harris, will be taking the Hippotizer V3 through its paces to demonstrate its full capability to this growing market.

"The increasing number of music tours and rock and roll shows which proliferate in this region make it an area of great potential for the Hippotizer," says Harris. "Many tours are already using Hippotizer and we have found the demand for it across the Middle East is expanding. The theatre and club scene are still small but developing and some our latest technology, due for release later this year, is aimed specifically at the architectural market."

Green Hippo's newest family member, the HippoPortumus, will

Germany - Building on the success of its iCANsoft architectural lighting control software, iLight is launching iCANview at the Light and Building 2008 exhibition in Frankfurt this April. Designed to meet the demand for more detailed visual monitoring of larger systems, iCANview is an enhancement to the existing software package. Any existing iCANsoft system may be upgraded with the addition of the iCANview software package.

The iCANview software enables users to import a large site floor plan and then view the site information on a PC showing individual fixtures and their position within the building(s). Users can move around the floor plan with ease and zoom into areas to view current light level, adjust levels and recall scenes."The iCANview graphic floor plan will simplify large lighting projects where hundreds or thousands of fittings are used," said iLight's Europ

Germany - From outdoor façade lighting for architectural enhancement to indoor store and shop window attraction to branding and promotional projection, Martin comes to this year's Light and Building trade fair in Frankfurt (6-11 April) with a spread of new colour changing luminaires and control systems.

The Exterior 200 LED is a long-life programmable luminaire offering full RGB, amber and white colour mixing. Weatherproofed for the dynamic illumination of outdoor architecture, it features a comprehensive colour range from 44 high power LEDs and choice of optional spread angles. It is designed for applications where projection distance is limited.

The Exterior 1200 Wash features a full range CMY colour mixing system and additional four-colour wheel. It is designed for dynamic illumination of tall structures, high-rises or any high-visibility architecture. Intensity control is

UAE - Robert Juliat has appointed Dutco Tennant as its Middle East dealer and will be exhibiting with them at this year's PALME Middle East show in Dubai.

One of the oldest business organizations in the United Arab Emirates, the Dutco Group of Companies has enjoyed a long and distinguished history since its foundation in 1947 by the late Yousuf Baker. Dutco Tennant is the Group's principal trading operation, with a sound reputation in the UAE and other Gulf States for its commitment and marketing abilities.

George Puthenkulam, general manager of Dutco Tennant, says: "Robert Juliat has long been recognised as a pioneer in the lighting industry and we are determined to bring as much extra value in our promotion of the Robert Juliat brand as possible.

"We want not only to supply the product, but to provide customers with the level of support that reflects the manufact

USA - High End Systems has announced the release of Flying Pig Systems software version 2.4.0 for Wholehog control systems including the Wholehog 3, Road Hog Full Boar, Hog iPC, Road Hog and Hog 3PC.

Version 2.4.0 introduces network file sharing; a new feature that allows users to transfer show files from networked consoles to networked computers.

"This is another highly requested feature that we are pleased to be able to offer our customers," says Brad Schiller, HES director of control systems development. Several other features, an updated user manual and bug fixes are also included within this release.

(Jim Evans)

Germany - Element Labs has confirmed that it will partner with Lightpower GmbH to become an official distributor of the innovative Stealth, Versa TUBE and Helix G75 LED-systems in the German market.

This distribution collaboration forms part of Lightpower's earlier announcement that it has opened the LED competence centre Germany, which will see the company distribute some of the foremost creative and low-res LED products available on the market today, including Element Labs' Versa TUBE, Stealth and Helix G75 products.

A joint statement says: "The announcement of the strategic collaboration between Element Labs and Lightpower represents a natural progression for two leading companies that both have a strong background in the lighting industry and who's paths have often crossed on concert tours where both provided products that worked together to deliver the visual

Denmark - Martin Professional's popular Maxxyz lighting console is now available in a Compact version that offers full Maxxyz functionality in a modular mid-sized design. Built of a heavy-duty, long lasting aluminium construction and thoroughly market tested, Maxxyz Compact has been designed with the touring and rental market in mind, says the company.

This latest addition to the Maxxyz range features four modules requiring only USB and power connections. The modules - Cerebrum, Programmer, Motorized Playback and Master - make the system's functionality more flexible and intuitive.

The Cerebrum module is a powerful touch-screen computer, running the software on Windows XP Embedded that controls Maxxyz Compact. It can control up to 32 DMX Universes. The Maxxyz Cerebrum can also be used stand-alone for controlling installations, for example in hotels or on cruise ships. The Prog

Italy - Marking the 40th Anniversary of its Broadway debut, Hair - The Musical is touring across Italy, playing in some of the country's most prestigious theatres such as Teatro Colosseo (Turin), Teatro Politeama (Genoa) and Officine Smeraldo (Milan).

Lighting director and designer is Marcello Jazzetti with video/projection direction by Cristina Redini. Rental company IMMAGINI of Soresina has supplied the video and lighting gear for the tour.

Twelve mid-stage positioned Martin LC Series LED panels are used as lateral screens for text, image and graphics projection. Jazzetti, who specified the LC panels because of their familiarity, finds the LC Series "exceptional and technologically advanced".

His initial thoughts were to use the LC Series for primary stage lighting but eventually decided to incorporate image and graphics projection as well. Marcello report

USA - There's a grandMA behind the scenes as NBC revives American Gladiators for a new generation of TV viewers. The grandMA is controlling almost 600 Vari*Lite VL2500 moving lights and some 1,500 LEDs for the strength and endurance competition. The show, which originally premiered in 1989, made its midseason debut in January 2008 with Hulk Hogan and Laila Ali hosting.

"For the new version of the show the producers wanted a spectacular, immense arena feel," notes lighting director William McLachlan. "Scenically the space is so large, it covers a huge footprint. So we needed a substantial rig just to cover the area let alone create a signature look."

In crafting the signature look, McLachlan and lighting designer Oscar Dominguez wanted to "use video as a way to move, breathe colour and bring intensity across the rig. We wanted to use the rig to e

UK - Design and installation company Audio Light Systems Ltd has appointed Steve Dishon as audio-visual manager to consolidate the expansion of the commercial and residential side of the company's business. Prior to his appointment, Steve managed the sales and installation of another systems integrator for over 10 years and is an accomplished Crestron programmer and IT engineer.

Eddy O'Hare, director of Audio Light Systems, said he was delighted with the appointment and comments: "Steve brings valuable expertise to the company as our expansion in the AV field is moving at pace!"

(Lee Baldock)

UK - The Sound and Light Company, based in Huddersfield, has committed to the Fine Art UK range of moving head luminaires, having bought four each of the flagship Fine 700W washes and profiles for its current hire inventory.

The Sound and Light Company's production manager, Andrew Pickersgill, explained his decision: "I've not got anything like [the Fine Art luminaires] at the moment in terms of reliability. Normally by now moving heads would be in bits or have little faults with them after six months of constant hire use - but the Fine Art lights are superb, not a thing wrong with them - they're brilliant.

"The quality of the lights is fantastic and they're reliable - really reliable - and they're bright. They just tick all the right boxes basically."

The Fine Art luminaires have replaced The Sound and Light Company's out of date moving head hire stock and ha

USA - City Theatrical, the Carlstadt, New Jersey-based manufacturer of lighting accessories, has opened its new London office serving the UK and European markets. The opening is timed to coincide with the European launch of SHoW DMX, City Theatrical's new 'next generation' wireless DMX system.

City Theatrical's London office is headed by Martin Chisnall, well known for his work in the UK theatre industry as a production electrician for West End shows, national and international tours. Most recently his work has included Macbeth in London's West End, and, around the world, the International Tour of Mamma Mia!.

Chisnall commented: "After 20 years working in the lighting industry as a customer I'm looking forward to the challenge of getting to know the business from 'the other side of the fence'. I've had a long association with City Theatrical, and have alread

Germany - The Procon group has launched a new website (www.proconled.com) concentrating exclusively on LED technology.

On the Procon LED site, users will find "comprehensive information about a range of different LED products including reference images showing examples of their use". There is also a service area which includes information for download.

The highlight of the new website is the LED Studio. This area provides a virtual environment in which the effectiveness of a range of different LED technologies can be experimented with. Users can choose a selection of camera angles, backgrounds, camera resolution and display detail, then view each scenario as a still image or movie.

Managing director and founder of Procon, Morten Carlsson says: "Procon has consistently been engaged with LED technology for many years and has built both a substantial equipment po

Ireland - Projected Image Digital (PID) has supplied and installed over 80 standard and custom Element Labs VersaTube LED fixtures in an architectural lighting feature at the new AIB (Allied Irish Bank) Bankcentre in Ballsbridge, Dublin.

The VersaTubes create four 22.25m high vertical lighting columns in the lift cores of the building's central atrium.

This 'live art' was conceived by London-based architectural lighting practice Pritchard Themis as part of their lighting concept for the new AIB building which was designed by RKD Architects and constructed by Sisk to accommodate 4000 non-branch AIB staff.

The equipment supplied included 84 standard definition 1m VersaTubes, four standard definition half- metre VersaTubes and four custom-built .75m standard definition tubes. The .75 tubes are the last (top-most) in each of the runs, and were necessary for an exact fit into the

UK - Reading- based lighting rental specialists Blinding Light is the first UK hire company to take delivery of the new Martin Professional SmartMAC luminaire.

"We bought these because we needed a small, fast, profile unit with a good stand-alone protocol that's robustly built and easy to maintain for the hire market," explains Blinding Light's Paddy Stacey.

The SmartMAC is designed for hotel, museum and exhibition work with its low power requirements and silent operation due to having no cooling fan. "The 150 Watt bulb is seriously bright and the gobo selection is extremely good for dance floor and mood lighting," continues Stacey, adding that the indexable gobo wheel is handy for applications like the projection of corporate logos and branding.

Blinding Light's first batch of SmartMACs are white, so they can be utilised for shows and events where aesthe

The Azores - The Teatro Ribeiragrandense (Ribeira Grande town hall theatre) in the Azores island of São Miguel has recently been restored to its former glory with a little help from ETC. Portuguese dealer Luzeiro was the consultant on this project and specified a Congo jr with Master Playback Wing for the installation.

Maria Alexandra Pereira Bastos, commercial director at Luzeiro says: "We wanted a modern, uncomplicated and economical lighting system, and we immediately thought of ETC. We are so happy with the Congo jr desk, it has surpassed all expectations. Moreover, the support we have had from the ETC team has been exceptional."

The theatre opened in 1921 and for decades was the cultural centre of São Miguel, staging film screenings, musical acts, theatrical shows and operatic performances. The theatre even transformed into the Circo Equestre for the Po

UK - Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons sold 175 million records worldwide - all before they were 30. And now their story is being told in Jersey Boys at London's Prince Edward Theatre, with the help of lighting designer Howell Binkley and PRG Europe.

"This was a new production of the show which joins productions currently appearing on Broadway, in Chicago and Las Vegas, and is now off to Melbourne and on tour around the US," says Binkley. "For the London show, I was pleased to be working with Loz and Alan at PRG Europe once again.

"In addition to some 400 Source Fours, we used L&E and Altman MR11 strip lights under the show deck to illuminate the set pieces and Altman PAR 40 strips specifically to give a period feel to the 1950s scenes. We also used Philips ColorBlast and ColorBlaze LED luminaires for wash lighting, and over 75 ColorBlast 6 luminair

Europe - Following the success of last year's Jands dealer conference, the lighting manufacturer is extending an invitation to a series of Vista open days organised in association with its European dealer network.

The open house days will provide the chance for visitors to receive a hands-on demonstration of the console, or spend more time familiarising themselves with it, as a step towards becoming one of the growing number of Vista people, says the company.

Taking place in relaxed environment, representatives from both the local Vista dealer as well as Jands product manager, Neil Vann, will be on hand to answer questions and provide demonstrations, including the latest addition to the range - the I3.

(Jim Evans)

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