Robe keeps up with Israel’s Ninja Warriors

The fifth season of Ninja Warrior Israel, the hugely popular endurance sport competition TV series, was recorded on the waterfront of the highly atmospheric Haifa port industrial setting, overlooked by giant cranes and massive container ships unloading at the adjacent docks.

All the action was filmed overnight due to the extreme heat, and expertly lit by lighting designer / director Ofer Jacobi working in close collaboration with director Oren Levi. The site was a 20,000 sq.m outdoor arena‐like space, so Ofer needed powerful moving lights and chose Robe products to help light vital elements of the show.

The Robes included 14 x BMFL Blades, 30 x Spiider LED wash beams, 23 x Pointes and 12 x LEDBeam 150s, supplied by leading Israeli rental company Argaman Systems Ltd., along with approximately 1500 or so other fixtures on the rig. Ofer chose all these Robe fixtures for their power, functionality, and reliability.

These factors are “key considerations” for a job like this which entails an exterior environment with high humidity and heavy usage. Apart from that, naturally, “they all look great on camera,” he stated.

Having all these Robes at his disposal gave Ofer “multiple options” to achieve the drama they wanted and follow the action, ensuring that all 29 cameras could get fantastic shots.

He worked closely with his regular programmer Ronen Ben Harosh who operated the two Compulite Vector consoles (one for effects lighting and one for ‘conventional’ TV lighting) running a total of 24 x DMX universes of control. Before getti ng to site, the pair worked through everything in WYSIWYG which give them the optimal

lighting positions so they and theriggers could spend their time efficiently.

The crew were on site for 3 weeks including the build and rehearsals, followed by 8 nights of overnight shooting with a crew recovery / sleep day in between each recording session.

www.robe.cz

Photos © Louise Stickland