Lighting Designer Eran Klein of Cochavi & Klein in Tel Aviv received a brief from show producers The Gallery You to create an impressive and memorable show to accompany the launch of the newest and largest expo hall in the Middle East.
Klein rose to the occasion, adding a generous helping of his visual magic to the occasion assisted by around 160 x Robe moving lights including 28 x BMFL Spots, 36 x MMX Spots, 24 x LEDWash 1200s, 54 x Pointes, 16 x MMX WashBeams and 16 x LEDBeam100s. The gala opening show, directed by Amit Fisher, needed to deliver a breath-taking immersive experience for thousands of VIPs, celebrities and invited guests, and an event to establish Pavilion 2 “Hall of the Universe’ at the Tel Aviv Expo as THE BEST venue in which to stage any type of function.
Cochavi & Klein, who are a creative design practice creating artistic ambiance light design solutions for the private and corporate architectural sectors, worked with a hugely talented creative team. Light was an absolutely central component to making the entire concept work successfully. It was used in an architectural context breaking down and shaping the space, whilst also generating the overall ambience, and enhancing the drama of the evening for everyone’s enjoyment. Guests entered the first part of the hall which featured a 30 x 10 metre projection screen and a live soundscape being produced live by DJ, music producer and multi-instrumentalist, Asaf Amdurski.
The screen started to rise just after the first act took to stage, to reveal the rest of the hall and the party area which was designed as a 360-degree stage by Forma Studio complete with a large roller coaster at the back. Above the party stage a huge video cube was suspended which split into two, the lower half flying out on a Cyberhoist system to reveal the DJ, with more fantastic video art on that and four “antenna’ trusses clad with LED all run via Hippotizer media servers.
With so much happening, Klein also factored distinctive and different sections of the show into his lighting, so he could flow with the mood and vibe of each moment as the action unfolded. These structural requirements informed his choice of fixtures. “Each part of the evening needed its own atmosphere which could take the audience to a completely different place from the last one,’ he explains.
Sixteen MMX WashBeams were chosen because of their framing shutters and positioned on an upstage and a downstage truss trimmed at 12 metres. He also used these to light the ballet dancers and make them appear to be floating amidst the digital art. Twelve LEDWash 1200s on the floor were used to key-light the dancers and also for highlighting the low fog effect, all adding to the idea of weightlessness. Behind Amdursky 12 x MMX Spots were used to shoot soft-edged gobos through the DJ and into the crowd, adding depth to the stage picture. Klein likes using fixtures from the same brand so the colours can be matched, a feature that Robe fixtures do particularly well, he says. Strategically positioned MMX spots were also used to transform the roller-coaster into a super-trippy psychedelic experience with amazing animation effects getting the party really started much to the enjoyment of guests. In the main hall, eight 18 metre trusses were positioned in a raked star shape above the stage, with the inner hoists at 15 metres and the outer ones at 18 metres, heightening the impact of the trussing architecture and enhancing the 360 degree concept.
Forty-eight Pointes were rigged on these star trusses. They were selected for their brightness – needed due to the serious throw distance, for the linear prism and numerous other effects that can be created with them. The 26 x BMFLs were positioned on a truss below the main LED cube, creating a crown of light and also on the four “antenna’ trusses in the four corners of the stage. This truss was flown at nine metres, so the BMFL beams were highly effective in all directions.
Klein has used the BMFL on several projects in many locations already in the desert, for a cabaret and on various stage shows, so he was already familiar with Robe’s newest fixture and its capabilities, however he comments that using the BMFLs at the moment is still a learning curve: “Each time I use BMFLs I discover more new features and more inventive ways of using them.’ There were also a number of other fixtures on the rig, all controlled via a grandMA2 full size console programmed and run by Klein.
The Robe fixtures were supplied by a combination of Gil Teichman and Danor Rental. Sound was designed by Haim Fogel with the audio and projection equipment delivered by Simul. LED screens and Hippotizer media servers came from Screen Light and lasers from Saar Laser.
