Spot Lights

Where are your spotlights located?

  • We don't have spotlights.

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    107

TechDirector

Active Member
I have some questions regarding spotlights.

1. Where do you place your spotlights when doing a show?

2. Do you use gels for them?

My director claims that the spotlights are supposed to be on either side of the theater in the back. I refuse to believe this. Somebody please back me up on this!!! lol.
 
depends on the depth and height of your theater... but have two so we usually have them on either side of the theater. But look at the academy awards coming up... see how they do it...
 
TechDirector said:
I have some questions regarding spotlights.

1. Where do you place your spotlights when doing a show?

2. Do you use gels for them?

My director claims that the spotlights are supposed to be on either side of the theater in the back. I refuse to believe this. Somebody please back me up on this!!! lol.

Well Im sorry to say I can't back you up on this one, we have four spots total, Two in the back (one on either side on the second story) and 2 in the catwalk which is above the audience. Yes We use gels for them and change the gels to blue for sad moments, red for anger moments, etc.
 
I have been in productions that use spots in both places. The placement really depends on the lighting designer. I have done different productions in the same theater where the lighting designer has moved them depending on the show. Some designers like different angles. For the most part however spots are intended for front light. It really depends on weather the designer wants both spots to have a smaller panning angle (in the center) and get better coverage for both of them. Or if the designer wants both of them to have a smaller panning angle but be able to individually hit an actor further to either side of the stage (on the sides). If that makes sense. So it really depends on the show in a way. Most venues I have worked in have had them in the center though. Gels should probably always be used in spots, that also depends on the designer. Personally I would use subtle colors so that when you change colors it doesn’t look to cartoonie. That also depends on the show.
 
I have a question somewhat related to this topic.
Our theatre has two spotlights on either side in the back and two in the catwalk above the audience. Now, the problem is that in the show I'm working on, the director wants one of the characters to start in the lower booth (which is basically by the foyer), and, while he's singing a song, for a blackout except for maybe having the character lit.
I was thinking of using a spotlight, except that the back spots are angled wrong and won't hit the actor, and obviously we can't use the spots in the catwalk. Now I'm just thinking of putting some instruments in the booth with the actor, below the sightline of the audience. I'm not sure if it would look too strange to have him lit from below, or what. Since I'm no lighting guru, I don't really know whether to think of another idea or just have the director scrap that blocking and put the actor somewhere else.
Any suggestions?
 
ETC makes an iris product for source 4s that allows you to mount a regular source 4 and in a sence change it to a spotlight. This is good for places where you want a spot but cant hit an actor, or don't have a spot in the right place. You can hang one of these and have a crew member opperate it durring the show. They work well, I have used them before.
 
spotlights

Our theatre does not use spotlights at all. But in other theatres I have worked for they have been all over the place. It seems to me that the golden rule of spotlights is where can they fit?
 
I'm bored... so I decided to necropost! Plus, it's an interesting poll.

I find it interesting that all of these people (disregarding Dave) have a last activity date of Dec. 2, 2006. I wonder what the significance of that date was... Also, all have the same time of 7:02. Glitch?

Also worthy of noting is that none of the original 13 votes in the poll are saved...
 
Last edited:
I'm bored... so I decided to necropost! Plus, it's an interesting poll.

I find it interesting that all of these people (disregarding Dave) have a last activity date of Dec. 2, 2006. I wonder what the significance of that date was...

I haven't a clue as to the significance of that date, but I can't help noticing that my venue's followspot position isn't one of the options. That would be the roof of the control booth.:mrgreen:
 
I haven't a clue as to the significance of that date, but I can't help noticing that my venue's followspot position isn't one of the options. That would be the roof of the control booth.:mrgreen:

In our new arts center, they gave us three positions, one above the control booth, one HR of the booth, and one HL of the booth.
 
I have some questions regarding spotlights.

1. Where do you place your spotlights when doing a show?

2. Do you use gels for them?

My director claims that the spotlights are supposed to be on either side of the theater in the back. I refuse to believe this. Somebody please back me up on this!!! lol.

Am I the only person bothered by the imprecise terminology and use of the word "Spotlight" ?.

A Spotlight is any kind of lighting fixture used to "spot" something. Ellipsoidals, PARs, Fresnels, Follow Spots are ALL spotlights

Perhaps the question should be:

1. Where do you place your FOLLOWSPOTS when doing a show?

In a booth above the balcony, BTW.

Steve B.
 
I'm bothered with the fact that my theatre's two positions are not on this list. We have one on either end of our Balcony. Its a shame the two positions don't actually have spotlights in them.
 
I have some questions regarding spotlights.

1. Where do you place your spotlights when doing a show?

2. Do you use gels for them?

My director claims that the spotlights are supposed to be on either side of the theater in the back. I refuse to believe this. Somebody please back me up on this!!! lol.

If you were to ask this question of famed LD David Heresy, he would tell you some of the follow spots want to be on side towers SL and SR, just US of the P/L, which is where he placed 2 Reich-Vogel 24volt beam lights for Cats on Broadway.

Follow spots can be positioned anywhere they are needed and there is no set rules.

Steve B.
 
For Wicked, LD Kenneth Posner also put one spot on either side of the proscenium, on top of large towers directly upstage which served as mounts for lighting instruments and speakers. However, these spots were Source Four 10 degree instruments @ 750 watts, with Wybron Coloram II scrollers and the City Theatrical package. He also put three Lycian 1293 X3K follow spots in the booth. Personally, I enjoyed the effect created by the side-mounted follow spots as it helped to bring out the person being spotted and shape them, as opposed to just a flat bright light source from the front.
 
For Wicked, LD Kenneth Posner also put one spot on either side of the proscenium, on top of large towers directly upstage which served as mounts for lighting instruments and speakers. However, these spots were Source Four 10 degree instruments @ 750 watts, with Wybron Coloram II scrollers and the City Theatrical package. He also put three Lycian 1293 X3K follow spots in the booth. Personally, I enjoyed the effect created by the side-mounted follow spots as it helped to bring out the person being spotted and shape them, as opposed to just a flat bright light source from the front.

I was also gonna mention that! I noticed that when I went to see Wicked in 2004. I loved the lighting design and I agree the side spots definitely help create definition on the face using light and shadow. I've used this technique before in a Musical Review I designed at my college in 2007. Although it wasn't S4's I used but the 2 Lycian Midget 1206/D with 1kw FEL Lamps we have for followspots.

To get back on topic I should mention that the positions that the followspots at my college are in are also not mentioned in this poll. We can put them anywhere we want around the gallery area in our theatre. Usually though they are on ether side of the booth, so that's what I checked.
 
I'd rather have mine in the tech booth at the back center above the audience.. oh, but I don't have a tech booth that isn't sunk into the ground, so I make do w/ two side of house positions, two slightly raised tech booth positions, and scaffolds in the back corners of the house if requested.. my bosses are looking at getting me a spot position since enough visiting LDs have complained about the "deer in the headlights" look..
 
I have some questions regarding spotlights.

1. Where do you place your spotlights when doing a show?

2. Do you use gels for them?

My director claims that the spotlights are supposed to be on either side of the theater in the back. I refuse to believe this. Somebody please back me up on this!!! lol.

This all depends on what kind of angle you are looking for. In most cases it is usually in either side at the back of the theatre, with some hight from the light to the stage. If you are in a flat environment a lot of times you will see only one spot in the centre by the tech area. But again in theatre cases it is usually in either side at the back.

Hope this helps!
 

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