Followspot for a School

[charl.ie]

Hi Everyone,

 

I'm one of the technician people at our school, and we are looking into buying a followspot for our productions and shows. The throw would be about 20 meters, and the budget is around £400.

 

Which one would be best, and where could I buy it from (we're near Guildford)

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Charlie

[mjriley]

Anything from Robert Juliat

 

Linky

 

May be a bit over your budget but definately worth it.

[jakefraser]

We've got a pair of Teclumen Arena 1200MSRs at my school - I was just presented with them one day, but they are really quite spectacular compared with the £250ish crap we had from Terralec before.

 

The problem with the cheaper ones is they have cheap fans that start getting clogged with dust and are attached by rivets which mean after a few months they start to make the most apalling rattle noise when in operation. The Teclumens are near silent in operation and bloody bright! The brightness of even the blues and purples are really something special, and the amount of control over beam size and focus is excellent.

 

Not sure where you'd source one though, or how much they retail for, just wanted to warn you away from the el-cheapo things!

 

Jake

[tokm]

Its all about being realistic.. in this case £400's going to get you nout (that's actually worth having). Have a look on this page >> clicky

 

As you'll see, you don't get anything suitable for near £400.. Yes they do have a s4 conversion & a cantata fspot but @ 20m with even a smattering of on stage LX, their going to be pointless.

 

If the Pani they had on there was a medium throw rather than short, it'd probably just about do.. Not sure on the specs of the Margot.. probably 2kw/2.5kw tungsten for that price, so would probably do the job due to the top notch RJ optics..

 

:** laughs out loud **: You sure your teacher didn't say find one to hire for under £400.. that's the only way IMO, you'll get anything suitable for the job.

 

Sorry to be blunt, but that's just the way it is :)

[Maddison]

How much are you going to be using the followspot; that obviously affects the quality of kit you need. If it is only for infrequent use, then something like the Strand Cantata followspot might be up your street. Throw is at its best at 15 meters though.

 

It's not as nice or shiny as the Clay Paky or Robert Juliat, nor as good. But like most of the older Strand gear, it is well made, and might well be exactly the kidn of kit you are looking for...

[paulears]

It's not just the followspot, its the heavy duty stand, and dimmer too, don't forget.

[vl nick]

www.usedlighting.co.uk

 

plenty of second hand spots to suit your budget

[Guest]

www.usedlighting.co.uk

 

plenty of second hand spots to suit your budget

 

Sorry but if you bothered to read the thread you'd see that Tom has already proved that there aren't any affordable follows that will do the job on Used Lighting.

 

I just echoe the comments above, you will struggle to get something with that throw, worth having, for that money.

 

EDIT: Grammer.

[tokm]

Sorry but if you bothered to read the thread you'd see that Tom has already proved that there aren't any affordable follows that will do the job on Used Lighting.

Now now.. no need to comment with that sort of tone! I'm sure its just an honest mistake.

 

Guess another idea might be to check around local theatres.. see if they have anything old going they'd be happy to let you have for that price. Know my local regional has 4x old pani's sitting somewhere after they got their new/replacement RJ Korrigans..

 

Maybe try ebay :)

 

Tom

[radcarg]

Hi,

 

As you have read £400 is a small amount of money to buy with, however depending on how much it will be used you could prob work the hire costs in to that budget? Try calling point source productions (www.pslx.co.uk) they have a good hire stock and also may be able to sort out good sales prices for you. they are based in sutton so not too far from you.

[Ekij]

If the school is anything like I expect it is 2nd hand is a no-no.

There has to be an official recommended retail price to keep the bean-counters happy.

[Ben Lawrance]

As others have said, how often will it get used?

 

Just as a bit of maths, a RJ Foxie from a well known company will cost you £65 a week for the whole kit (Lantern, stand, ballast, cables etc) As you are a school, I would imagine a bit of discount as well. For ease of maths, call it £50.

 

£50 into £400 goes 8 times.

 

Will you use it more than 8 times in a year? I would suspect no. A lot of schools I work with only do 2 shows a year worthy of using such lantern.

 

Some fat to chew perhaps?

[scottmcleod]

So over 4 years, your school gets to use it... 8 times, twice a year. Money's wasted, and you don't "own" something.

 

Here's a thought. Get multiple schools together which you know not to run their shows simultaneously (usually only 1-2 musicals a year) to pool into a purchase and agree not to run shows simultaneously.

 

My school used to share a followspot with a neighboring high school. Worked damn well if you ask me.

[leethomas787]

Heya!

 

Try Stage Electrics, they do sales on followspots and other equiment! =]

 

Hope this helps!

 

Lee

[Andrew C]

Here's a thought. Get multiple schools together which you know not to run their shows simultaneously (usually only 1-2 musicals a year) to pool into a purchase and agree not to run shows simultaneously.

Don't ALL of your "End Of Term Shows" happen at the same time? Smells like a recipe for a C*** Up to me.

Try Stage Electrics, they do sales on followspots and other equiment! =]

Hope this helps!

Not much, no. It has been established that they don't have the cash to purchase a lantern with a 20m throw. And whilst Stage undoubtedly would have such a thing in their hire stock, there are many places much closer to Guildford; yes I'm sure they would ship one, but it is going to represent a significant chunk of the hire cost.