BlueRelic Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 I'm looking to get a followspot for a small scale amature show happening this Christmas. It would be positioned about 25/30m away from the actors. I'm not familar with the technical terminology to know if some of the ones I've been looking at on the net would be bright enough for the distance, or if the focus would be good for the distance. One's I've looked at are: http://shop.sparkillystudios.co.uk/epages/...Products/FOLL06 http://www.terralec.co.uk/effects_lighting...mp/17039_p.html I like the look of the first one listed, but don't know if it would suit the need. Can anyone advise? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themadhippy Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 Why not hire? A decent version of the terralec model is around the £70 a week mark,including a decent stand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 Two things really 1000W isn't really bright - by any modern description. The 575W discharge one is brighter, but much depends on the brightness of the stage, doesn't it. If your other equipment is old and dim, then either will work. Don't forget to factor in the cost of a stand - these are heavy things and need a rigid braced stand. Something like this is the kind of thing we're talking about. So you are looking at maybe £700 - which usually means it's far cheaper to hire one, and save money. Follow spots, unless used as much as other lighting are frequently areas where buying is a bit uneconomic. The two you've picked are the very bottom of the followspot chain - most of the ones installed in average to large theatres will not be these ones. Holiday camps, schools etc may well buy these, and if they're not used that much, they wear fairly well. If you scour the hire company catalogues, then you'll not find many of these in the inventory, despite the fact they're cheap. Not tough enough? Maybe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LXbydesign Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 Your better off hiring a smaller type RJ follow spot. You may pay a little more, but its worth it. Industry standerd kit. Enough said!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoyJ Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 :) Hi, I would agree with the hire suggestion.We have 2 2k's followspots and a couple of 1k's,and to be honest they haven't had much use,in fact the one that has is a 650w cct minuette pursuit.Unless your going to use follows on a regular basis than hire,because not every show lends itself to followspoting.It also depends what else the follow has to battle against,for example,the Derby Guildhall theatre had a cantata 1.2k followspot.This was fine till they upgraded the lighting to include a lot of 1k on stage fresnels.The result,was, you couldn't see the follow spot at all.Thus needing a 2k followspot, which I supplied.So if you have plenty of space and plenty of money then by all means go ahead and buy,but bear in mind that there is little point in buying one follow as more often than not two are required.I have two converted 2k patt 765 ex csi follows in the room between my kitchen and bathroom as,this is the only space I can store them,My point is a lot of performance places have perish little storage space for anything less alone something which may get little use and degrades with storage.If you prove a need for followspots then,by all means go ahead and buy.If I had to go out on a limb, then CCT do quite a nice range of follow spots with a reasonable output and reasonable size,also terralec do a 24v 250w followspot with a light output of 650w.I hope this helps, but for years we've hired,and its proved very sucessfull.Please also consider the physical weight,as most follows are big and heavy.So you need to include that in your H&S provision.Regards Roy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryM Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 Hiring is a good way to try before you buy! However, we have a similar throw distance at our school and use a Selecon Pacific Followspot with a 1000W lamp. It is easily bright enough! Unless you start putting Congo Blue, or other silly filters in the colour changer! You've not said what your production is. In general, for theatrical performances I would say you only want it to be subtly brighter than your general lighting state. But even for dance shows, where the follow spot might be required to be a lot more bold and obvious, I've found the Pacific to be up to the job. Another great thing about the Pacific, is that it is relatively cool compared to other followspots and the hairs on the back of your hands live to see another day! And it's comparatively small! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ynot Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 Another vote for going the hire route. You're down the road from me, (not too far to Brum) so any time you want to have a look at our Robert Muliat Marius follow spots, let me know and I'm sure we can give you a demo. They won't be available for hire as we're pretty much chokker during this period, but it will give you an idea. Looking at the RJ web site it looks like they've discontinued the Marius, looks like the manon is the newer model in that size. Stage LX have these in hire at £132 list for the week as opposed to several thousand to buy one of these new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueRelic Posted October 18, 2010 Author Share Posted October 18, 2010 Thanks guys, thats been helpful, I'll explore the hire option. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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