How to Operate Led Follow Spot Lights
Whether you’re lighting a theatre, arena or concert hall, skilled followspot operation is critical to a great performance. Follow spots are a special type of profile lantern that can be moved around to follow a performer on stage.
Most large follow spots use an intense type of lamp that cannot be dimmed. This makes them more difficult to operate.
Power
Follow spot lights are a key part of any theater stage lighting setup. These powerful spotlights are used to illuminate a specific actor or prop using a tight beam of light. They are often equipped with a wide variety of mechanisms, including shutter Stage Lighting Supplier and lens control to vary the size and hardness of the beam. Some even have internal color gels to change the appearance of the beam.
LED followspots are smaller, lighter and more energy-efficient than traditional incandescent followspots. They also produce less heat and make far fewer noises during operation. This makes them ideal for venues with limited storage space or for mobile use. In addition to being easy to set up and operate, many LEDs also have DMX connectivity for professional control.
The Chauvet DJ LED Followspot 75ST is a portable fixture that emits a tight beam of focused white light. It has a 75-watt LED that produces a hard-edged beam and comes with an included tripod for quick setup and teardown. The unit offers manual and DMX modes, with super-smooth LED dimming for professional fading. It also includes a mechanical iris to reduce the beam diameter and a single gobo slot for creative effects.
The Ushio Sai-500 is a short and medium-throw LED follow spot that delivers a powerful daylight white beam with step-less electronic dimming. Its 5800K color temperature allows costumes and backdrops to be seen as they are intended, making it an excellent choice for schools, churches and ballrooms.
Dimming
A follow spot is a powerful tool for adding depth to a theatrical scene but it’s also a very demanding light to operate. A good follow spot needs to be able to produce a hard-edged beam at the desired distance with a tight focus and then dim down smoothly to zero without flickering. It must be balanced and ergonomically designed so that an operator can easily operate it while seated cross-legged on a chair or kneeling on the floor. It must also have features such as gel color boomerangs, manual dowsers and an iris that can be opened or closed.
There are several ways to dim a LED driver – pulse width modulation (PWM) and amplitude modulation (AM) are examples. However, this isn’t necessarily important to the end user as it has little or no effect on how well the driver performs.
The Ushio Sai-500 is a lightweight and portable medium throw LED follow spot with a powerful daylight white beam. It’s easy to set up and break down for quick setup and tear down and includes a number of useful features such as step-less electronic manual dimming, shutters for manually framing the beam and a single gobo slot. This versatile LED followspot also comes with a built-in CTO filter to lower the color temperature to match tungsten fixtures.
Focusing
A follow spot light is a powerful stage lighting device that lets the operator manually control the focus of a spotlight beam to follow a performer or object onstage. The followspot features a number of controls for the operator to fine-tune the beam size and quality. The operator can adjust the iris (the diameter of the circle of light), pan and tilt, and color (through use of drop in gels).
Followspots are normally operated by an experienced stage technician. They are a crucial part of any theatre show and can add dimension to the performances by highlighting actors or props with the spot’s powerful, focused beam.
The Chauvet DJ LED Lighting Followspot 75ST is a portable, powerful followspot that features a 75-watt white LED to achieve a hard-edge focused beam. It’s easy to set up and tear down, and the built-in tripod stands up to heavy use. DMX connectivity provides extra options to enhance the performance, including control of the onboard gobo effect and onboard strobe mode.
Followspot cues are not numbered separately in the DSM, so the spot operator must use a plot sheet to keep track of where to focus the spotlight for each specific moment of the LED Strobe Mobile Light show. If the followspot operator must operate the lantern while moving, they should be prepared for hot work – wear thin layers of clothing and gloves, stay hydrated, and take regular breaks.
Controls
Follow spot lights are used to highlight performers with a circle of light that follows them around the stage. They are a very important part of any theatrical lighting rig. They are operated by a spot operator and have control over the size of the circle, color (through use of drop in gels) and pan/tilt. A spot operator can also use a chopper to shut off a portion of the circle of light.
Traditionally, follow spots were limelight (a jet of oxygen and hydrogen impinging on a cylinder of lime that produces an intense beam) but now LED follow spot lights are used extensively in theatre and concert environments. They are smaller and lighter than traditional ERS units and offer features that make them the preferred choice of lighting designers and technicians.
LED’s have the advantage of being extremely durable and long lasting. They also have a wider beam angle and can run cooler than halogen lamps, making them more energy efficient. They are also less expensive than a traditional ERS unit.
The Chauvet LED follow spot 75ST is a powerful unit that can be used for a wide range of situations. The unit has a mechanical iris that can reduce the diameter of the beam and includes a single gobo slot for projecting patterns. It also has a built-in electronic strobe and full LED dimming that simplifies professional fades.