First Time Followspotting

[smchris]

Hey,
I did try searching but nothing seemed to be relevant so new topic!

Next week (18th) I am follow spotting for an amateur production of "The Murder of Maria Marten or the Red Barn" at my local theatre.

This will be my first time followspotting (usually I stagehand for these types of shows) I think its just first time 'nerves' but I am appealing to CB users and asking if anyone has any tips? for example aiming without any aids?
and I would imagine gloves would come in useful?

I could always say that I am not ready to followspot but then I won't be giving myself the chance to learn!

(The followspot is located in the gods, and I will have 2 days of tech rehearsals before opening night)

Thanks in advance!

 

[MSLD]

Gloves would be a good thing, depending on what kind of spot you are using.

Dont over anticipate a cue either or it wont look very good.
Dont loosen your "tilt" all the way, just enough so that when you let go of the spot it doesnt move, but when you need to go up and down its smooth easy strides.

Other than that, use the two days of tech to make mistakes and learn from them and get use to it.

I havnt named all of the tips, but thats what i do

Good Luck!

 

[icewolf08]

First off, if they don't offer you time, ask if there is time that you can go into the space and get familiar with the Followspot before you have to run it for rehearsal. The more time you have to get used to how the nit works, the happier you will be! This will give you a chance to learn how best to aim and how all the controls function.

Next, take your own notes! You may be given a cue sheet from the LD, you might not. Your cues may be called, and they may not be, or you might get a mix. So having your own notes that make sense to you and give you all the information you need for every cue is very important.

You may want to wear a long sleeve shirt for a little extra protection from heat.

Most importantly, pay attention and follow instructions. If you ware working with a spot op who has experience, learn from them. Ask questions, just don't get annoying with them. Have fun! Enjoy the fact that you will probably be situated someplace where you can actually see the show.

 

[drewids]

Good luck man! Yeah, gloves would probably be good, no matter what the kind of light. I always find myself accidentally touching a screw that gets heated by the lamp or something random like that. You might want to invest in a little thing of graphite powder. It's a dry lubricant that'll get you over the initial catch much easier, so the very beginning of your moves can be little smoother. It's like $5 at home depot, and it'll last you for years. Also, you might consider a Telrad finder. They're nominally for telescopes, so they're not perfect depending on the depth of your stage, but they'll let you get very closely zeroed in without too much trouble, and they have a huge range of view and don't destroy your night vision, so you can even use it to focus on a character during a blackout (like I said, made for telescopes...). Oh, bring a water bottle. You'll need it...

Enjoy!

 

[LekoBoy]

https://www.controlbooth.com/threads/spot-light-crash-course.7995/
https://www.controlbooth.com/threads/followspot-aiming-tips.4018/
https://www.controlbooth.com/threads/follow-spot-cues.4428/

 

[JChenault]

I took a quick look at the archives - and there were a few things I did not see that I tell my newbie spot operators.


Make sure the fixture is balanced and moves easily and smoothly. If it is not balanced it will be much harder to hold steady. If you cannot adjust the center point of the light, hang a weight on the back. I find a water bottle a good way to do this - the weight is easy to adjust. Note that this problem occurs on smaller spot lights.

This was mentioned - but bears repeating. The head is usually the most important thing to light. Make sure it is in the beam.

To see what is in the beam, look at the shadow the actor casts - not at the actor.

If you are using the iris - be sure to mark the different positions in some way. Don't just guess.

Unless told otherwise - put the light in sharp focus. There will be one gel in the boomerang which just softens the beam. IE don't re-focus the light during the show.

Some spots have a dowser in the front by the boomerang, and another by the iris. Usually the one by the boomerang is better. You can move it in slowly to fade the light in or out as desired.

If this is an incandescent spot, it is usually better to turn it on and leave it on for the entire show. It is more likely to burn out when you turn it on than if you just leave it on.

Try very hard not to jiggle the light - especially against a bright background. A moving light attracts the audiences attention. Try and move the light only when the actor is moving. If you are following a moving actor and, at the end of the move, you see that you are a bit off ( but the head is still lit) and you know the actor will move again in a few seconds - it is usually better to just hold the spot still and wait till he moves again. Again this is a problem with smaller and cheaper spots. What to do is really a judgment call but IMHO important.

Learn the blocking so you can follow and anticipate what the actor is going to be doing. If he is dancing, it is very difficult to just stay with him. Get a bit ahead of him and your life is easier.

Have fun.

 

[mstaylor]

As already mentioned make sure your vertical and horizontal adjustments are tight enough to stay where you put it but loose enough to operate it smoothly. I am assuming it isn't a huge theatre and the spot calls should fairly straightforward. I would suggest that you stop your light at whatever location you fade out. Keep it there until you are to come back in. At the last second swing to your new spot. It will take a little practice to learn how much to move for your area but once you do it is easy. I have spot ops that use Telrads and are amazed that I can hit from the dark as well as they do with a Telrad. I started on carbon arcs so I initially learned to spot from a mark on the wall. Of course this is on a show with rehearsals. For on the fly shows, I learned the swing in the dark method.

 

[JChenault]

I would suggest that you stop your light at whatever location you fade out. Keep it there until you are to come back in. At the last second swing to your new spot. It will take a little practice to learn how much to move for your area but once you do it is easy. I have spot ops that use Telrads and are amazed that I can hit from the dark as well as they do with a Telrad. I started on carbon arcs so I initially learned to spot from a mark on the wall. Of course this is on a show with rehearsals. For on the fly shows, I learned the swing in the dark method.

I have not heard of this method before. Curious as to what the reason is.

I assume it is so you have a reference of where the spot was so you are applying a change instead of trying to do a pure sight. Is that it?

 

[derekleffew]

...I assume it is so you have a reference of where the spot was so you are applying a change instead of trying to do a pure sight. Is that it?

How much one has the move the fixture is inversely proportional to the throw distance. Leaving the fixture pointing at the stage, even if on the wrong side, gives one a better chance of hitting the stage, rather than moving the fixture while dark to a default position. Eventually, muscle memory takes over and one simply knows where the beam will be when the douser is opened. That being said, there's rarely a good reason NOT to use a SpotDot, Telrad, Perfect-Pickup, or other sighting device.

 

[mstaylor]

I have not heard of this method before. Curious as to what the reason is.

I assume it is so you have a reference of where the spot was so you are applying a change instead of trying to do a pure sight. Is that it?

Exactly, by leaving at a spot when you black out you can develope the feel for how far to swing to come back in. I learned to run spots in the '70s and there were no aiming devices that I was aware of. I learned on a carbon Gladiator which you run from the rear. I went to a regular trooper, also a rear run spot. Then we bought four xenon supers that run from the front. Throw in a mix of Ultradarks, q1000s and other small spots. I've always run them by feel. The only spot I struggle with is anything by Lycian. Everything is backwards and in a different order of controls. Muscle memory makes me want to move the controls in the wrong direction or grab the wrong control. It's frustrating because they are very good lights.

 

[Nate1714]

Well everyone seemed to mention all I know about followspots. The most important thing I tell people running spots is to relax and pay attention. Dont get too into a cue, that is dont think because yesterday the lead went to DSL she will go there tonight. As mentioned before some inexperianced ops tend to over antesipate the cue and jump it a bit early and boy howdy does that look terrible. haha if that happens take a deep breath and RELAX and just get it right next time. Take notes and make sure you can read your notes in the dark.

 

[church]

one thing to avoid is watching the show - as if you are in the audience. Also if you are not used to the headset you should see if you can wear a set during another performance and pretend you are one of the followspot ops or the board op and listen for their ciues and get used to picking them out of what can seem like a never ending stream of cues. The first time I did this in the 70s it was almost overwhelming and it was the part that I found the hardest. If you also have a written cue sheet make sure it is where you can easily see it.

Good luck

 

[smchris]

Thank you to everyone who answered!!
really appreciated!

I have read everyones comments and made mental notes ready for tomorrow
I have 2 days to make mistakes and learn from them which is great!

Thanks again!