Israeli singer-songwriter Elai Botner & Yaledi Haucutz completed an extensive 7-month tour of Israel with lighting created by Mickey Vilensky, who specified an all-Robe moving light rig.
Twelve Robe BMFL Spots and 24 Robe Spiider LED wash beams were supplied, together with the rest of the lighting equipment, by Simul Argaman Systems. Botner and Vilensky partnership stretches back 34 years.
The veteran LD devised 5 6m long upstage / downstage ‘finger’ trusses – each positioned 2m apart and raked (back-to-front) – inspired by Pink Floyd’s Division Bell tour design of 1994, which featured lighting designed by Marc Brickman. “The Robe BMFL zoom absolutely stands out from other fixtures and the fact that you don’t lose any brightness when adding a gobo or working in the darker colour ranges, while the Spiiders are totally brilliant fixtures”.
Vilensky appreciated the “speed and quietness and the super-tight 4° zoom” in addition to the general versatility of the luminaire. During the tour, the LD praised the ease of use upon opting for a Robe Spiiders. The team had 3 days of production rehearsals at the start of the tour, in which time Vilensky and programmer Yahav Tene created over 500 cues in the MA Lighting grandMA2 full size console. “The products have just continued getting better and better over the years” he stated, “it’s obvious the company is in close contact with designers and programmers, and I am sure the impressive trajectory will continue”.
“I still get goose-bumps when I hear an audience reaction to a lighting cue or some drama that I have helped create with a visual cue,” Vilensky concluded. “It’s such a special feeling to be able to make a lasting contribution to the show and receive such an immediate and emotional response.”
