Ronen Najar, one of Israel’s leading lighting and visual designers has brought his imagination and style to the latest tour by Israeli singer Avram Tal, supporting his latest studio album ‘Now Life’. Photos : Louise Stickland
We caught up with the tour at the Tzora Kibbutz near Jerusalem and learned how Robe BMFL Spots are at the core of the design.
Between eight and 12 Robe BMFL Spots – depending on the size of the venue – are rigged upstage on the rear truss. These have been newly purchased especially for the tour by rental company Hakol Bakol based in Pardes Hana. This is their second Robe purchase and it was prompted by Ronen’s specification.
The stage design for Avram Tal – known for his distinctive voice and powerful stage presence – also features five scenic metal flowers which are flown at the back, and have integral moving beam lights and some static LED blinders fitted in the petals.
The flowers have a great visual impact and bring shape and form to the stage. Five are used for the largest shows with variants on two, three or four which also work well. One of the overall requirements was that the design be adaptable to fit the many different sized venues, maintaining a continuity and a signature look.
The flowers were inspired by the artist’s strong spirituality and connection with nature and the earth. Adding his own aesthetic twist, Ronen introduced an edgier more industrial vibe with the metalwork, and a fun element with the associated lighting.
Ronen specified BMFLs because he needed the sheer intensity and mega-punch for some of the larger shows and for key looks in the set. He used eight fixtures at Tzora which was a medium sized hall, packed to capacity.
The importance of the tour to Hakol Bakol is reflected in the BMFL investment along with their respect for Ronen’s work and recommendations. They knew that if this was his fixture of choice it would be a good one! The lights were delivered by Robe’s Israeli distributor, Danor Theatre & Studio Systems.
The BMFLs are used in conjunction with LED wash lights throughout the dynamic and contrasting set which is largely up-tempo. It’s difficult to categorise Avram Tal’s ‘genre’ but a rough mix of world music and rock ‘n’ roll gives a good idea!
‘It’s an intensely ‘musical’ show to light and I follow and riff with the pace, melodies and ambience” explains Ronen, adding that the creative goal for lighting – with no video – is to make each show exciting and help draw in the audience. He really enjoys the music which is always a great bonus!
He uses many big BMFL gobo looks throughout the show – another reason for choosing BMFL Spots – they are an ultimate fixture for creating those sumptuous and highly textured 3D scenes.
He likes all the features of the BMFL – the zoom, the colours, the sharp focus, etc. – and was also the first LD in Israel to start using them two years ago.
Since then they have become one of the most popular moving lights throughout Israel, and Ronen has spec’d and used them constantly on projects including top TV shows like Rising Star, various festivals, live music events and cultural work.
BMFLs and flowers are the main features of the Avram Tal tour, with supporting lighting, including PARs, some other moving lights on the front truss, strobes and blinders.
Ronen is operating lights for the show himself for the initial stages of the tour and will then hand over to a lighting director as it is expected to continue through 2017.
