Robe hits the Millionaire trail in Israel
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Ofer was delighted to be working again after the coronavirus pandemic has all but shut down the entertainment and production industry worldwide.
This time, he specified a Robe moving light rig and worked closely with set designer Oren Hanan and show director Amir Ukrainitz at Mizmor Petah Tikva Studios about 10km east of Tel Aviv.
They studied the UK’s latest Who Wants To Be A Millionaire format (where the show originated, first broadcast in 1998) and followed some of this style book with a few adaptations as Ofer implemented some tweaks so both effects lighting and white light elements had more impact.
The most powerful and suspenseful moments, Ofer stated, were when host Erez Tal revealed whether the answer was correct or not, so he paid special attention to crafting these cues in addition to building up the general lighting which had to look slick and contemporary with some classic ‘Millionaire’ touches.
This approach also dictated where he hung the moving lights, which were supplied by Danor Theatre and Studio Systems and comprised 18 x MegaPointes, 24 x Spiiders & 40 x LEDBeam 150s.
Twenty-four of the LEDBeam 150s were rigged on top of a circular truss directly above the host and competitors, with the other 16 located behind the audience to fill in the gaps between the different levels.
The 24 x MegaPointes were “key players” in the show, programmed to do some dramatic tilt movement cues with gobos immediately after the questions were asked ramping up the atmosphere.
The 24 x Spiiders were used as back lights mostly in a sumptuous deep blue colour across the audience, and they were also strategic key lights for the audience.
When recording the first round of the show, all the lighting treatments looked and functioned very well.
Lighting was programmed by Ronen Ben Harosh who used two Compulite Vector lI consoles, connected in session for backup and to give Ofer control of the white lights combined with his moving lights.
Programming challenges included getting the best lighting looks and effects every time which was “not difficult” with the array of choices offered by the Robes or working alongside Ofer who is “never short of ideas” commented his FOH collaborator.
The studio was operated with strict social distancing regulations, everyone had to wear masks and frequently wash and gel their hands.
The set was built by Zebra and the show’s main producer was Idit Mistriel-Eshed. Who Wants To Be A Millionaire Israel airs on Keshet channel 12 for the next two months.
(Jim Evans)
