Technical Theatre/Lighting/Followspots

A Followspot is a powerful theater light used to 'follow' actors around the stage. They are operated by a human followspot operator. Most followspots use arc lamps or the more powerful xenon arc lamps to produce a bright, white light. Typically followspots include:

  • A powerful lamp
  • A manually focused lens
  • A manual dimming device
  • An "iris" to adjust the size of the spot/angle of the beam
  • A color magazine or "boomerang" consisting of several gel frames which can be swung in front of the beam
  • Some sort of physical sight to assist in aiming is sometimes added onto the lamp by the operator.

Some followspots also allow gobos to be fitted.

Uses

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Generally a followspot is used to highlight actors on the stage, but it could also be used to focus the audiences attention on a hand-motion or props.