Rita hits the road again with Robe
- Details
The tour started at the Yakum Kibbutz Hall just outside Tel Aviv, where Ronen was engaged in five intense days of pre-programing before revealing the magic and mystery creating a stunning looking show for Rita and her 12-piece band.
Ronen, who has worked with Rita for around 16 years, discussed the show concept with the signer who came up with the basic live concept in terms of the music, rhythm and pace of the set. From this, he produced the essence of the design with the idea for a curved structure upstage of the band.
Visiting a wide variety of venues, from 500 – 3,000 seaters, the rig had to be scalable and the structure capable of being flown, ground-supported or both.
Deciding against IMAG video and large screens, Ronen proposed a series of 6mm video panels rigged at three different heights with some of the strips separated vertically, but close together for a large picture to be played out.
Once the video architecture was in place, Ronen chose and positioned the lights – 16 x Spiiders and 17 x BMFL Spots – supplied by Simul Argaman Systems – around the structure, also on three levels.
The rear of the curved truss is dressed with metre-wide silks that come tumbling down from the top rail, and each of these is up-lit with an LED batten. There are also some additional LED moving lights on a front truss.
So the Spiiders and BMFLs are right at the hub of the aesthetic, creating all the main lighting looks and setting the mood for each song.
Ronen concludes, “It’s been a while since Rita played live, so the pressure was on everyone concerned to produce something spectacular and memorable. I am very happy with the show – it’s looking good and I think the tour will be a big success.”
Most of the lighting is run to timecode on a grandMA2 light programmed by Ronen and his associate Mati Morray, and on the road, the lights will be operated by Kfir Asraf. Video designer Voav Cohen has created custom footage for the show, which is being run through a grandMA VPU.
(Jim Evans)
