{{Unreferenced, date=October 2007
A spotlight (or followspot) is a powerful
stage lighting instrument
Stage lighting instruments (lanterns, or luminaires in Europe) are used in stage lighting to illuminate theatrical productions, concerts, and other performances taking place in live performance venues. They are also used to light television st ...
which projects a bright beam of light onto a performance space. Spotlights are controlled by a
spotlight operator
The spotlight operator or followspot operator is a theatrical technician who operates a specialized stage lighting instrument known as a followspot. A followspot is any lighting instrument manually controlled by an operator during a performance. ...
who tracks actors around the stage. Spotlights are most commonly used in
concerts
A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or musical band, band. Concerts are held in a w ...
presentations
A presentation conveys information from a speaker to an audience. Presentations are typically demonstrations, introduction, lecture, or speech meant to inform, persuade, inspire, motivate, build goodwill, or present a new idea/product. Present ...
in which highlighting a specific mobile individual is critical. Spotlights are sometimes located overhead on
catwalks
A fashion show ( French ''défilé de mode'') is an event put on by a fashion designer to showcase their upcoming line of clothing and/or accessories during a fashion week. Fashion shows debut every season, particularly the Spring/Summer and Fa ...
. In some theatres, they may also be located in the
control booth
The control booth, control room, lighting box, technical booth, tech booth, or just booth used by television, film or theatrical technicians is the area designated for the operation of technical equipment (lighting and sound), lighting controls ...
or purpose-built "spot booths" in addition to the catwalk.
Spotlights may be arranged in a variety of patterns for coverage. For example, they can be located to the back or rear of a theater and aimed at the stage in front of them. This location can become problematic due to the audience being distracted by fan noise or the spot operator speaking into their headset microphone. In circus and sports, spotlights may be arranged around the facility covering both sides and the ends. In a concert setting, they may be in a
front of house
In the performing arts, front of house (FOH) is the part of a performance venue that is open to the public. In theatres and live music venues, it consists of the auditorium and foyers, as opposed to the stage and backstage areas. In a theatre, t ...
(FOH) position, while other positions may have the spotlight upstage used as back or top light. Some concerts use truss spots on a truss downstage, but closer than catwalk spots in an amphitheater-style catwalk layout. In other places, spot locations are at the mercy of the architect who designed the space.
Characteristics of a typical spotlight include:
* A strong light source, often a
high-intensity discharge lamp
High-intensity discharge lamps (HID lamps) are a type of electrical gas-discharge lamp which produces light by means of an electric arc between tungsten electrodes housed inside a translucent or transparent fused quartz or fused alumina arc tu ...
with a high
colour temperature
Color temperature is the color of light emitted by an idealized opaque, non-reflective body at a particular temperature measured in kelvins. The color temperature scale is used to categorize the color of light emitted by other light sources ...
.
* A
lens
A lens is a transmissive optical device which focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements''), ...
which can be manually focused.
* A manual device to change the intensity of the beam, especially when an HID source which can not be electronically dimmed, is used.
* An "iris" to adjust the size of the spot/angle of the beam.
* A color magazine or "boomerang" consisting of several
gel
A gel is a semi-solid that can have properties ranging from soft and weak to hard and tough. Gels are defined as a substantially dilute cross-linked system, which exhibits no flow when in the steady-state, although the liquid phase may still dif ...
frames which can be swung in front of the beam.
* Some sort of physical
sight
Visual perception is the ability to interpret the surrounding Biophysical environment, environment through photopic vision (daytime vision), color vision, scotopic vision (night vision), and mesopic vision (twilight vision), using light in the ...
to assist in aiming is sometimes added onto the lamp by the operator.
Some spotlights can be fitted with colourchangers to colour the beam or
gobo
Gobo may refer to:
Places
* Gobō, Wakayama, a city located in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan
** Gobō Station, a railway station in the city
* Gobo, Cameroon, a commune in Cameroon
Plants
* Gobō (''Arctium lappa''), a biennial plant
* Gobo (bur ...
holders to create a variety of effects. Most spotlights can be fitted with
colour gel
Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...
s.
Gallery
File:Followspot.JPG, A spotlight
File:Followspotoptics.JPG, The optics of a spotlight
File:FSboomerang.JPG, The color changer or "boomerang" from a spotlight
File:Super Trouper spotlight at The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien.jpg, Super Trouper spotlight with color changer
Stage lighting instruments