Technical Theatre/Lighting/Followspots

Followspot 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 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.