mfenton Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 Hi, I'm quite new to lighting generally but very new to followspots.I have been asked to op one for an amdram show and was wondering if anyone had any tips? Thanks Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mar Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 Biggest piece of advice is to find some time before the show to have a practice. Adjust the balance of the light to your liking if possible, adjust the sights if there are any (or work out how to sight for pick ups) and then just try picking up points on the stage (or if there are random people moving around setting up then pick up them and follow them around the space) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomo Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 Use your whole body, not just your arms. If you only use your arms to move the spot, you'll get tired very quickly and start wobbling.The extra mass of your body also helps to smooth out your moves. A sight helps with pickups - you can make one out of a couple of coathangers if one isn't already available.Once you've made the pickup, watch your beam and not your sight (unless the beam is so soft you can't seen the edges. Be careful to light the part of the performer that the LD needs - full body, half body, headshot - and not the rest of the stage. Keep a small amount of the beam above the performer's head - when they move about, it's important that their hair doesn't bounce in and out of the light! You need to be able to fade the spot in and out and adjust the iris smoothly, and while holding the spot steady.Iris is important, as it's very common to fade up with the iris slightly too big/small, and need to adjust it.- If you can make the tweak while keeping the spot steady and on the performer, nobody other than the LD will notice. But if you bounce the spot, everybody is going to notice! Apart from that - practice, practise, practice.Then practice a bit more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew C Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 Apart from that - practice, practise, practice.Then practice a bit more.and concentrate. It is very easy to stand there watching the action, only to realise that your "turn" has moved, and you haven't! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 You also have to iris in as they move upstage, and iris out as they come towards you to keep the 'circle' the same size - and if there are two of you, you have to synchronise and be the same size, change size at the same time, and not wobble - because with two on the same person wobbles are VERY obvious. You also need to watch how you handle it when the talent splits up, as in two people close together, in one circle, then they move apart. It's very easy to have the double brightness 'portion' of the beam bisecting something in a very unflattering way. Ops who work together regularly know how to deal with this automatically, but when you have a green op, it needs talking through. A common error with newbies is to centre the beam on the head, cutting off at the knees. As you get better you can anticipate their movements better. Followspots have inertia and changing direction quickly can't be done as quickly as the people on stage can do it. The real top people also give the people breathing space - so they give more light on the side they are moving, so any hands or feet that might get extended forwards are lit, and they can get away with less behind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfenton Posted January 18, 2008 Author Share Posted January 18, 2008 Brill! thanks guys will give that a go! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cedd Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 I've just got in from followspotting panto. Get yourself comfy is my biggest tip. We have 2 spots in a narrow room one on top of the other, my spot is the upper spot (on a 2 foot high staging block) at the back and because of that I'm either on a step which puts me too high and having to crouch, or too low and having to stnd on tip toes. Either way my leg is very quickly starting to shake and it passes all the way through your body and onto your spot. If counterweighting isn't as you like, do as we've done and tie a paint tin full of the right amount of sand to the back (or front if needed) of the spot so it sits nicely without you having to constantly support the weight. And NEVER take your cans off, even if you haven't any cues. LD's love to fill in bits where a performer is off their mark or a lamp has gone using followspots. If there's more than one of you, make sure you're the first to be ready to jump in and sort it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Roberts Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 Getting comfortable with your spot is the most important factor I'd say. I've been followspotting for a panto for the past 6 or 7 weeks; first few shows were atrocious as I'd never followspotted professionally before, but the more practice I put in getting used to the spot really helped (five to ten minutes I think is more than enough before a show). Once you feel comfortable with it, you can then concentrate more on improving technique etc. Don't know if you've seen this thread before, some information in it that you might be interested in reading. http://www.blue-room.org.uk/index.php?showtopic=23578 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wol Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 Id definately agree with the comments previously of practice. In a spare moment if noone is around using the stage, just get someone to walk around unexpectedly, bouncing around et'al and try to keep up following them. Another helpful thing when you dont have a sight is to open up the shutter ever so slightly (provided you have your own control of the dimmer, rather than it being controlled from the desk), and try and notice where the beam of light is pointing. Provided its a fairly bright scene, you will be the only person who notices the very subtle outline of the beam as you are looking for it. This ensures that youre in the right position for the entrance without the audience noticing the beam going all over the place. Although make sure you have got the right entrance, and that you don't open up the dimmer too much! ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Lawrance Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 I was given a great piece of advice when I did my first FS job many years ago "make sure you don't sneeze when holding the spot" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boatman Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 It might be worth your while getting hold of a copy of this publication: http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2006-5/1185528/Followspot.jpg It's almost 20 years old now but still in print. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfenton Posted January 19, 2008 Author Share Posted January 19, 2008 Thanks for all the advice! very useful!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomo Posted January 20, 2008 Share Posted January 20, 2008 Another helpful thing when you dont have a sight is to open up the shutter ever so slightly (provided you have your own control of the dimmer, rather than it being controlled from the desk), and try and notice where the beam of light is pointing. Provided its a fairly bright scene, you will be the only person who notices the very subtle outline of the beam as you are looking for it. This ensures that youre in the right position for the entrance without the audience noticing the beam going all over the place.Don't do this.It's very bad form, and you don't want to pick up bad habits this early in the game. While some LDs might let you get away with it, most will not. I've seen several shows where the spot ops plainly opened the penny shutter to find themselves, and the scattering of crescent moons around the house tabs looked hideous - I would have had very strong words with the ops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leecey Posted January 20, 2008 Share Posted January 20, 2008 You may find this topic useful. Gareth explained a simple way to make your own sights rather than use that method. http://www.blue-room.org.uk/index.php?show...c=23578&hl= Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian_G Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 Midnight 20 Jan 2008Another tip on top of the good advice already posted: Sometimes you may be the first illumination on a set and if you're not quite in the right place then your correction will be plain and obvious to everyone if the stage is otherwise blacked out. So align the spot and set the iris at the end of the previous scene if you can then you're ready to roll.Good luck!Julian G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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