HSL was brought onboard by Jerusalem and Tel Aviv based Stage Design, who supplied all the technical infrastructure for the high profile six-day event, and built most of the site. It was the first time the two companies had collaborated, which happened after HSL came highly recommended by several contacts.
HSL's project manager Mike Oates says, "We were delighted to win the contract. Working with the Stage Design team has been a real pleasure. They have the same vision and dedication to providing great service, cutting edge technology and top people as we do."
HSL sea freighted all the gear - which included over 100 Robe moving lights including the first 20 of the new ColorBeam 2500E ATs off the production line after their launch two months ago at the Prolight+Sound exhibition in Frankfurt. They dispatched an experienced crew consisting of crew chief Ian Stevens, Charlotte Stevens, Gabriel Cross and Rob Starksfield, who worked in the 47 degree heat, dust, dirt, wind and occasional sandstorms to rig and tech the show for lighting designer Avi Yona Bueno (Bambi).
Says Oates, "This was an incredibly tough and challenging gig for our crew from many perspectives. They did a brilliant job, really proving themselves as true HSL ambassadors on the road. Hats off to them."
All lighting was controlled through a Compulite Vector Red console, with another for backup. The programming was undertaken by Alon Cohen and David Vinnik, who spent a week prior to the show in the Opera's WYSIWYG studio, getting the basic building blocks into the desk before coming on site, where time was extremely tight.
(Jim Evans)
