High End Systems Lighting Elevates David: The King of Jerusalem

Internationally recognized directors and producers Robert and Elizabeth Muren brought their musical production, David: The King of Jerusalem, back to the Auditorium at Charis Bible College in Woodland Park, CO. Featuring amazing dance and song, breathtaking scenery, and world-class acting, the musical was further enhanced with a lighting rig of High End Systems fixtures.

The lighting was designed by John Tabor of Zebra Productions, who utilized a dozen SolaSpot 1000, 18 SolaHyBeam 1000, 8 SolaWash 37, and four SolaWash 2000, controlled by a full size Hog 4 console. Based in Colorado Springs, Zebra Productions are a full service lighting production company, providing gear and support for concerts and festivals, corporate events, and Christian conferences. Assisting Tabor on this annual musical were Programmer Santiago Del Valle Garces and lighting technicians Dustin Russel, Sierra Molina, and Jim Baumann.

Tabor enthuses, “I’m a big fan of High End Systems gear. We’ve had the 1000s for a while and love them! On this show we also brought in a bunch of SolaWash 2000 fixtures and they were perfect. I get to use lots of different lights on David: The King of Jerusalem, and the HES lights are my favorites for getting what I want on the stage.”

“I used the SolaSpot 1000 fixtures as backlight and for special effects. The 1000’s are our work horse fixtures. The SolaWash 37 was our foundation for color - we loved how nice the color looked on the costumes. The SolaHyBeam 1000s were our key lights - they make for such nice soft key lighting. They really punch through, and give me the color and visuals I’m looking for. I really like how I can get deep color but also nice smooth pastels. One of the big things with this gear is bang for the buck. The price point is just right, and we get everything we want from the lights.

“I’m a big fan of the SolaHyBeam fixtures for lighting skin tones, plus the color correction is perfect. I light a lot of performers of different skin color, and I can always get it where it looks natural and great on camera. We do a lot of live and streaming broadcasting, and having the right skin tone is a must. The SolaWash 2000 wash lights were perfect for a long throw, plus the shutters made it all work just right. Lastly, the SHAPESHIFTERs were used as a very bright effects light for some of the scenes ... the client loved them and even wanted to use them a lot more!”

A veteran Hog user, Tabor started on the console platform many years ago, and it remains his top choice for lighting control. He says, “Hog is what I know the best. There are some nice consoles out there, but as a business owner it really comes down to cost. I’m always looking for the right tools at the right price, and Hog 4 hits that for me. I also find it does everything we need it to do. With the different sized consoles in the range, we can handle any event that comes our way. Technicians and guest LDs find them easy to work with. The Hog 4 is a desk that we continue to learn new tricks on - to make things faster and easier, and the technical support is amazing. If we’re ever stuck, it’s a quick call to HES and things are back up and working. One feature I really like is the effect engine. We can build complex effects for a festival, or something super simple for a theater show. We’ve used the console for years and found it to be completely reliable - I never sweat it that it may crash!”