LED Follow Spot Lights
The Follow spot is an essential piece of lighting equipment that illuminates and highlights actors or props with a circle of light. Skilled operators know how to ‘hit their mark’ or make the shot (think Abba’s Super Trouper).
SM’s often call specific followspot cues but it is up to the operator to execute them. These may include things like the size of the circle, the color and even the gobo.
Power
CANTOUSA’s LED Follow Spot lights are bright, modular, and easy to use. They’re ideal for educational, theatrical, athletic, professional, and religious settings. They’re compact enough to fit in a small stage truss, and they’re lightweight enough for one person to handle. They’re also energy efficient, consuming less than 80W per hour while staying cool and producing very little heat. All of these features make the FS600LED an ideal choice for your next follow spot!
This portable follow spot uses a 75-watt white LED to cast a hard-edged focused beam. A mechanical iris reduces the beam’s diameter, and DMX control options simplify professional fading. Fast electronic strobe with no moving parts delivers silent operation, and the fixture comes with a tripod that makes set up and tear down a few seconds.
The Ushio Sai-500 is a powerful short and medium-throw LED follow spot with a daylight white beam that illuminates costumes, backdrops, and other scenery. Its step-less electronic dimming and a built-in strobe allow for a wide range of effects while staying under 40 pounds, making it the perfect follow spot for schools, houses of worship, moving head beam and multipurpose venues. Its 5800K color temperature shows colors as they are intended to be portrayed, and it has internal dimmer controls for precise control over its intensity and a built-in gobosetter.
Dimming
A follow spot is an essential piece of stage lighting for highlighting a subject with a tight beam. Traditionally, this is done by a ‘lime operator’ who operates a limelight (a xenon lamp) but LED versions also exist.
Most follow spots have a local dimmer control that allows the operator to dim and brighten the fixture. This may be connected via switch, touch or push and can either be a dedicated dimmer channel on a board (such as a trabador plus) or a separate unit such as a master controller.
When dimming, LED drivers use pulse width modulation (PWM) or amplitude modulation (AM). PWM is used for dimming at low power levels and avoids flicker but some manufacturers use AM to ensure that the LEDs don’t change color when dimmed.
The CHAUVET LED Followspot 75ST is a versatile LED-powered followspot that offers a 75-watt white LED that casts a focused, hard-edged beam to illuminate your subject. It features a fast electronic strobe for silent operation with no moving parts and LED dimming between 0 and 100% for smooth professional fades. The mechanical iris helps you reduce the diameter of the beam and a single gobo slot enables you to project patterns on any surface. DMX and manual control options are available, and the unit is simple to set up and tear down on stage or in a club.
Color
The color capabilities of follow spot lights are a powerful tool for bringing dimension and dynamics to your stage performance. They are usually used to highlight a specific actor or piece of scenery, as well as to change the intensity and color (through use of drop in gels) of your light. These effects are key to establishing the mood of your scene and pulling your audience in to your story.
With a wide range of color temperature options, these spotlights can be set to fit any mood or setting on the stage. The color of your backdrops and costumes will be shown in full detail thanks to the rich, saturated colors provided by these lights. This is especially important in large theaters, arenas, and concert halls where audiences can be a long distance away from the action.
LED lights are a powerful alternative to traditional incandescent spots because they offer more power, control options, and durability while generating significantly less heat. The Chauvet LED Followspot 120ST is an example of this, featuring a bright 120 W LED in cool white with a tight beam to show off your actors from a distance. A built in CTO filter lowers the color temperature to match tungsten fixtures, and control options include both manual and DMX modes. It features a mechanical iris and single gobo slot to adjust the size of your beam, as well as a fast electronic strobe for silent operation and LED dimming between 0 and 100% for smooth professional fades.
Gobo
In theater, the follow spot is a manually controlled spotlight that follows a performer or presenter through a beam of light. The operator can control the intensity of the follow spot, the size of the beam (iris), and the color through use of internal gels. Many of these spotlights also feature a single gobo slot that can project a monogram or other custom gobo design.
LED technology has brought a whole new meaning to the follow spot. These lights are far smaller, lighter, cooler and more flexible than traditional incandescent units. They can be used anywhere that a follow spot is needed and can be set up in seconds with a tripod stand.
The FS3000LED is a feature-packed follow spot that uses a 300W white C.O.B. (Chip On Board) LED to provide a brighter beam than most other followspots. It is manual (no DMX anything) and Outdoor Wall Washer can be fitted with dichroic filters to change the color temperature.
The LED Follow spot 120ST from Chauvet offers full-sized follow spot performance that is compact, portable and lightweight enough to take with you on any show. This unit is incredibly fast, and the built-in strobe effect adds a dynamic element to your show. It has a mechanical iris that can reduce the beam’s diameter, and it is easy to set up and tear down in seconds. DMX connectivity gives you extra control options from your lighting board.