Follow Spots in Schools

[Brian]

My options seem to be (1) hire some form of remote followspot / controller for a moving head,

 

Bad idea. It'll look terrible. There are proper remote followspot systems out there but the hire of a couple would be more than your schools entire stationery/books/photocopying budget for the year (or two).

 

 

or (2) go traditional and build a couple of towers behind the seating...and (2) wouldn't be allowed as I wouldn't be allowed to send the kids up towers.

 

Then don't use a tower.

 

In reality you are only going to need to get the spot above the heads of the audience to avoid any shadows. You'll never get them high enough into the 'proper' position for a followspot so there's no point in trying. So you are only going to need to get a platform of around 1m high, ie the same height as the stage. Yes, you'll get horrible shadows on the cyc. Yes, they'll be right into the performers eyes. But who cares? It's a school show after all.

 

Whether they are on a 1m platform or a 3m tower will make not a bit of difference to the appearance on stage.

[alistermorton]

Exactly as Brian says.

 

I've assisted at a few primary school shows (up to year 6) and for one they borrowed a pair of our follow spots (S4 on a tripod with 10 degree lens) and we just built a platform in the corners at the back of the hall that got them up at about a highish table top height which was enough, they were over the audience and pointing slightly down at the low stage built of rostra. Once the teachers (the kids were a bit young to be working a hot S4) opping the spots got the hang of the dimmer and iris they were fine.Yes, there were shadows, but as Brian says, so what. The parents and kids were thrilled to have "proper" lighting (we also had T-bars with PAR cans for a few general covers).

Edited May 20, 2019 by alistermorton

[charley the monkey]

From my experience of 39 years in a Secondary School, Staff members are usually great at volunteering to operate a followspot,and with a little training can produce good results.

 

Hire in some staging / rostra and you're good to go.

[IRW]

I run a technical section of a Youth Theatre Group, so apart from being in a 'proper' (small) theatre and having a set of kids who are all there because they want to be (not becuase they have to be) to all intents and purposes we do 'school shows'. We'll take them in at 14, and we usually lose them at 18 (just as they are getting quite useful....) as they head off to uni/the big wide world.

 

We have the benefit of followspot positions on a permanent tech gantry with the lighting and sound desks on (not ideal for sound as it is a bit high up, but that's OT). We aim to get the Tech Youth to do all the jobs for the Youth Theatre productions, under guidance and supervision from us old gits that have been around for a while. This gives us variable results, and when we started this part of the operation a few years ago we discussed with the artistic directors of the Youth Theatre that the overall technical standard would likely drop with this approach, as we're giving the young techs with less knowledge and experience the opportunity to do the jobs. That was accepted, and recognised as necessary if we want to encourage youngsters into the technical side of theatre - as Junior8 suggests.

 

We use follwospots in most of the musicals that we do. Operator quality varies and it is often seen as an 'anyone can do that' kind of job - which it isn't of course. Yes we have bad follow-spotting - that misses the mark on pickups, or hasn't read the 'follow' part of the job description properly, but it does get more youngsters involved and ofen in a rotation of jobs for broad experience. No-one wants to specialise as a follow-spot op though!

 

When it's bad it does look pretty terrible, but if I'm on the gantry they'll get told that and provided with some 'advice and encouragement' to get it less wrong next time.

 

I think they do have a place in some shows - depending on the design - but I would agree that if it's difficult and expensive then it's value is diminshed.

 

We do need to get youngsters excited by what we do, and at least on followspotting you're out-front and kind-of get to watch the show.

 

Jason

 

*like*

[OldHollow]

I've just checked back in on this expecting half a dozen views and no replies (turns out emails went to spam)...but wow! Thank you all so much. I'm guessing from the one response on it and the lack of reference to it otherwise that the remote version isn't an option. I agree with many of the sentiments here about the use of follow spots in general and I haven't used one in a show for about ten years, but the parents like to see them and it does have the advantage of soaking up a couple of kids from a very large year group. I've got two who I think will do a good job. I like the idea of building "platforms" with "steps" rather than a "tower". I've got a bit of tiered seating to get above and the stage itself is higher than it ought, but a 2m platform should do it.

 

As a teacher, I also have to support the "getting the kids involved" thing. I was a pro sound engineer for a short while back in the mid 90s before moving into schools and I think that if I'd had more support as a teenager I could have made a much better stick of that career. In that spirit, I'm going to have to rise to the "it's only a school show" fly and say (a) not all school shows are created equal, (b) shouldn't every show get your best work?, © we may do two or three school shows a year, but for the leads that's probably their one shot and something they'll look back on for years, and (d) you have to remember you're sowing seeds for the future of some of your performers - one boy we introduced to acting through a school show is now on a full scholarship to the AADA in LA, so you never know where things might lead. Sorry if that sounds preachy, but I guess I have to believe in what we do, in order to do it...

 

Thank you all again so much for taking the time to reply. I've read them all and will use the knowledge contained wisely.

 

David.

[Charlotte_R]

Robe were showing off their robo spot at Plasa last week. Maybe you could look into hiring a couple of those?

[James Remo]

From my rough maths you could hire 5 to 7 traditional followspots for one robo spot system.

[Charlotte_R]

I'm sure that you could. But I'm really excited about ground control followspots, personally. Originally, I thought that they were a very niche piece of equipment that might be useful for replacing truss ops on big rigs but I'm starting to see them as a viable solution for a lot of venues. I worked in a venue where they'd virtually got rid of the followspots because there wasn't a fire escape route from the op positions (I think that their reasoning was a bit flawed, personally, but there we are) but this kind of setup would allow them to have the followspots in optimal positions with an operator backstage. Also, because the Robe system uses their standard range of fixtures it means that investment in the system would give the designer of a show that didn't need followspots two extra moving head profiles at front of house. So I think that this is a game changer. It may not be much use in the short term for school productions and the like, but in 5 years the hire cost will probably have come down enough to make it a good option.

[ImagineerTom]

I’m not sure you can call it a game changer; all the big moving light manufacturers have had some sort of similar “remote” system to enable their products to be used as a followspot over the past 2 decades.

[paulears]

I just cannot get my head around eating two people to do followspots that produce such pointless, in many cases, lighting when those two people could do something far more interesting useful and career enhancing work elsewhere? You end up using follow spots for things they do badly just to give a few people the chance to do something? Like the school show that gave somebody the job of “tabs operator” and then the damn things come in and out at the end of each scene! Often, sadly, we still get those who cannot sing, dance or act given lighting as a role to try to gain a bit of credit. Followspots are just a poor tool nowadays and far too dim to be useful once a stage is blasted with LED washes. My 1200w discharges are now glow worms! We now hire in followspots when the occasional rider needs them.

[Charlotte_R]

I'm not sure you can call it a game changer; all the big moving light manufacturers have had some sort of similar "remote" system to enable their products to be used as a followspot over the past 2 decades.

 

I was talking about ground control followspots in general, not just the Robe solution. I just think that the Robe products seem a bit more accessible - I probably wouldn't be able to spec one of the big PRG ground control followspots in my work, but I might be able to spec a Robe one if I required it. Also, the idea of using a proprietary light seems really good.

Ground control followspots are pretty niche at the moment, but I can definitely see times when they would be useful and I think that over time, we'll move away from traditional followspots.

 

[James Remo]

Having used the robe robospots several times on tours I do agree that it’s very useful, however I suggest it is very out of reach for the majority of schools, not just the financial barrier but the infrastructure and ability to hang a 25+ kg mover, when this thread is about some kids going up a tower....

[Charlotte_R]

Having used the robe robospots several times on tours I do agree that it's very useful, however I suggest it is very out of reach for the majority of schools, not just the financial barrier but the infrastructure and ability to hang a 25+ kg mover, when this thread is about some kids going up a tower....

 

At the moment, maybe. But in 5 years time, I'm sure that it won't be hugely out of reach. I remember hiring and using Mac 250s at sixth form and they weigh 22.5kg so I'm sure that if we managed it then other schools can.

I didn't mean to derail the thread, but I just think it's interesting to think that in 5-10 years time this won't be an issue.

 

[ImagineerTom]

I didn't mean to derail the thread, but I just think it's interesting to think that in 5-10 years time this won't be an issue.

I admire your optimism but again I have to point out that for 20 years specific ground/remote operated follow spot control systems (most of which utilise existing moving lights just like the Robe unit) have been invented and put out by lots of companies and none of them have gained sufficient traction to plummet in price or been sufficiently practical and dependable to achieve widespread use. There are a handful of situations I can think of where a remote operated follow is the perfect solution, but I can think of a lot more where it just turns an existing, working, relatively cheep solution in to a much more complicated, much more expensive gadget that doesn't actually produce a better net result despite increasing costs by a factor of 10.

[James Remo]

I'd argue the better net result point, having toured a setup between arenas and academies, having your followspots from the front truss rather than a balcony gives a lot less spill. The skill of the operator is less important, with colours and fades taken out of their hands, the operator just needs to keep the talent in the centre of the screen. Yes by their nature they are more complicated, yes more expensive, but with your spots and cameras in pre-rig truss and not having to lump three big followspots up to the gods I know what I'd rather take on a tour. Budget allowing, of course