Followspot recommendations

[MattR]

Hey, just wondering whether anyone can offer me some advice on suitable followspots for my local amateur theatre group.

 

We used 2xSolo 2k's last year and both had very poor output as well as being incredibly out of balance on the stands. Ive been looking at hiring either the Solo 1k CSI or the RJ Foxie MSR700 for this years production as there is an awful lot of f/spot work but would like to know which one would provide better output as I cant find any data on RJ's website. Our throw distance is around 30-35m

 

Any help/advice is greatly appreciated

[tokm]

For a throw that far I'd be tempted to say you need something bigger than a foxie.. a 1.2kw HMI Korrigan or equivalent.

 

I believe they foxie got superseded by the 'BUXIE 1124' or so I'm told.

 

But yes, I'd firmly say you need something bigger than a 575w/700w or the spots will just look weak against the rest of the LX.. If you need some more help picking a suitable spot, give us a list of the units your supplier has in stock and I'm sure one of us'll be able to advise you.

 

Just my opinion, HTH.

 

Tom

[Pete]

For my money,

 

Lycian 1271 or 1290

 

You are however more likely to find a 1271 or something from RJ.

[MattR]

Tom thanks for the advice so far. The company im using doesnt stock a great deal in followspots and are having to get the Foxies in from Whitelight if I want to use them! I know whitelight do the 1.2kW Korrigan but am a little concerned over price as my budget is limited! So basically we can get hold of anything from Whitelights extensive followspot hire list!

 

As I said in my previous post would the 1k Solo CSI be brighter than the RJ Foxie? However, my main aim is something with better output than a Solo 2k as the spots will mainly be used against colour washes for solo work so any advice on something better than a Solo 2k is appreciated.

 

Matt

[philis]

As I said in my previous post would the 1k Solo CSI be brighter than the RJ Foxie? However, my main aim is something with better output than a Solo 2k as the spots will mainly be used against colour washes for solo work so any advice on something better than a Solo 2k is appreciated.

 

Matt

I have used both foxies and Buxies they are not the brightest lanterns but over a short throw you should be fine they are light and easy to use and transport half the size of a solo

 

the solo was I guess brighter when new but will be getting on now and lenses and reflectors don't improve with age.

 

hope this helps

Phil

[Ollie]

Just my personal opinion but I would stay clear of the Solos. I had an awful time with the 1K CSI a while back. It may have been a one off but it put me off for life!

 

What sort of budget are you working with?

 

Had a play with a RJ Super Korrigan at PLASA last year and it seemed to happily cut through the ambient lighting up there, so it should be pretty effective for you! As Tom said I would be tempted to go for something with a larger output than the Foxie/Buxie. We upgraded from a Foxie to a 1.2K spot (admittedly not an RJ model) at the panto I work on a few years back and it made a noticeable difference when there was a wash on stage.

 

Thought I would add my thoughts!

[Graham Threader]

I agree that the Foxies may struggle on the length of throw you are suggesting. However they will still be an awful lot brighter than the Solos you have been using. The higher colour temperature of the Foxie would also help it to 'cut'.

 

Foxies are no longer in production; apparently only the UK took the 700w MSR to its heart. The Buxie is only a 575w; still a good lantern, but it doesn't quite have the punch.

 

We have LDR Canto 1200w MSRs in our stock. General layout as the Foxie, but brighter. We also have Pani 1200, which are in their turn brighter than the Canto, using as they do an HMI lamp.

 

Panis are stocked by all the major rental houses, and should be cheaper than many of the alternatives.

[MattR]

We upgraded from a Foxie to a 1.2K spot (admittedly not an RJ model) at the panto I work on a few years back and it made a noticeable difference when there was a wash on stage.

 

Thought I would add my thoughts!

 

Id be interested in knowing which 1.2k spot you used for your panto as this could be useful to me...assuming I can get them from a hire company!

 

Also, regards budget we'd ideally like to spend around £250 Per week (inc VAT) although we could go to £300pw inc VAT at a push. Not a huge amount I know!

 

Hope this helps!

 

Matt

[Ynot]

Matt,

 

Where are you? That info always helps in these sorts of cases!

And when were you looking at hiring?

If not in use, we sometimes let our RJ Marius 1200W pair out on hire, but that depends on your location! We're in the Midlands, so if you're up in the frozen North, probably not much use to you!!

 

Tony

[MarcT]

As previously suggested, the Pani HMV 1200/1202 is bright (1.2kW HMI), and relatively cheap to hire.

 

PRG have 'em, I suspect WL also do. I know Point Source (who are not far from WL Wimbledon) definitely do, for £100/week list:

 

http://www.pslx.co.uk/pani_followspot.htm

 

So, as the man above said it's going to depend on where in the country you are...

 

EDIT: You'll also need to think about transport. Pani's aren't physically huge, but when flightcased they're big & very heavy and the cases will not fit in a car.

 

Have Fun!

Marc

[StuRobson]

Matt,

 

In our stock we have 2 Korrigan followspot kits and 2 Foxie followspot kits. Compared to the Solo and Cantata kits I've used I find them fantastically bright and a pleasure to use. Well that's my two pence in, and they're competitively priced.

[Ollie]

How many spots are you looking at hiring? £300 for the week is a fair budget if you only need something as bright as a 1.2K.

 

 

At present we are using Teclumen Arena 1.2K MSR. It's an easy to use spot but my only gripe with it is the tilt mechanism. It has springs to keep it level because it is away from the centre of gravity. It does take a bit to get used to and it has a tendency to scrape and creek when tilted to extremes.

 

Apart from that they managed to cut through our wash lighting up until this year (hired a lot more due to budget increase).

 

From Viking Stage Lighting, they only cost us £66 for a 10 day hire (Feb 2007).

 

Viking are based in Norwich but they delivered to us down in Cornwall for our small panto no problem, so delivery shouldn't be an issue for you. Although I think they're website is having tech difficulties at the mo.

 

Depending on how much wash lighting you are having then the Arenas could be useful to you. I only say this because we had small issues with brightness this year at our production when the spots were called to pick up someone/thing with a full stage wash up. The was consisted of:

 

FOH

4 x Robe 575 Colourwash AT

2 x Robe 575 Colourspot AT

6 x 1200w Fresnels

6 x 500w Fresnels

 

Above Stage

Roughly 18 x 500w floods

 

Don't know how this compares to your production. Hope it helps

[MattR]

Hey guys,

 

Some more info that might help out! Im looking at hiring 2 Spots for 2 weeks in late October (getting hire sorted now as im away over summer!). We're based up in 'frozen' East Yorkshire and since WL recently moved their Northern office back to London hire up here isnt looking too good!

 

The rig we are using is something similar to that from Ollie' post although we're using a combo of 10 x Source 4 pars and 14 x Source 4 Zoom FOH combined with 16x500W Floods, 4 x 500W Coda 4, 8 x Source 4 Zoom and 8 x 650W Fresnel on stage.

 

Most of the spot work will be done under the FOH wash as most solo work is towards the front half of the stage.

 

From the info you've all provided so far I'm definitely looking at something thats 1.2k MSR or equivalent in order to cut through the wash.

 

Thanks for the help/info so far!

 

Matt

[tokm]

Glad to help Matt.

 

Was going to suggest Vikings 1.2kw spots myself, but Ollie beat me to it :unsure: Would have been followed by a comment like, there 66 quid, so if you can't get something similar from WL for that price your being over charged.

 

Give us a shout if u need any more help.

 

Tom

[Andrew C]

Above Stage

Roughly 18 x 500w floods

The rig we are using is something similar to that from Ollie' post although we're using a combo of 10 x Source 4 pars and 14 x Source 4 Zoom FOH combined with 16x500W Floods, 4 x 500W Coda 4, 8 x Source 4 Zoom and 8 x 650W Fresnel on stage.

Sorry to go off at a bit of a tangent here, but not since about 1960 has it been considered a valid lighting method to use fleets of floods above the stage. You'll be saying you've got footlights next :unsure:

 

OK, it may be all you've got, and no budget; in which case make the best of what you've got. You loose all directivity and modelling if you wash the stage in this manner. If you can, get more 500/650 fresnels in there, your lighting will be much easier, with far more potential.