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

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.