Types of Theater Spot Lights
Lighting is a crucial part of a stage performance. Different types of lighting can create a variety of different effects.
Resembling small searchlights, spotlights focus light on well-defined areas. They come in a wide range of sizes, shapes and power outputs.
A followspot is a type of ellipsoidal spotlight that can be manually operated to follow a moving actor onstage. This can be useful for providing shaping to the actors and helping to separate them from their environment.
Elliptical Spots
The ERS, or Ellipsoidal Reflector Spotlight, is one of the most common lights in any theatre. It is a cannon-shaped light that shoots a tight, bright beam across a distance. These lights Theater spot lights are used to highlight actors or objects from the wings and in the back of the theater, revealing their costumes and faces. They are also commonly used as general light sources. They can be swung and tilted, which allows them to be focused and narrowly directed.
A specialized type of ERS is the follow-spot, which is a smaller version that can be operated by hand and focused to track a performer in a circle of power. These spots are used to illuminate the faces of performers, revealing their costumes and facial expressions. They can be swung and aimed to follow a performer across the stage, as well as lowered for close-ups.
Other types of spotlights include the Fresnel (pronounced freh-NELL), which is similar to the ERS but has soft-edged edges to channel the light more easily. They can also be shaped by swapping out lens tubes, known as barn doors, which allow the beam to be widened or narrowed.
Traditionally, these lights are tungsten and use 500 or 750 watt bulbs. They are often covered in gels to match them to the color of sunlight. Newer LED ERSes are available that can be matched to any color of light, as well as having a dichroic reflector that eliminates the need for extra colored gels and allows infrared (heat) radiation to pass out the back of the fixture.
Followspot Spots
Followspot Spots are one of the most important tools a Lighting Designer can use to emphasize characters or action on stage. They are often a key part of Dual Row Led Light Bar the overall show design, as they can add dimension and dynamics to a performance that is not possible with regular stage lights alone.
Today’s modern followspots are incredibly powerful, offering a wide range of settings and features, including color changing capabilities, gobos, and a variety of focusing options. They can be used to highlight a single performer or an entire ensemble. This type of light is used to bring the audience’s attention to a specific area onstage, allowing the actors or props to stand out from the background scenery and create a more intimate and personal connection with the audience.
Large modern followspots typically use intense types of discharge lamps, which cannot be dimmed and require mechanical shutters built into the lamp to control the beam size. Some manufacturers also offer ground-control systems, which allow the operator to operate the fixture from a safe position backstage.
Most of these systems are controlled by a single DMX channel, which is normally linked into the lighting (LX) cue list. This makes them easier to call and less likely to clash with other cues. If the spot has sights on it, make sure they are lined up correctly and practice picking up small parts of the set around the space to avoid accidentally highlighting other elements of the production when you call the spotlight.
Fresnel Spots
Fresnel spots are powerful tools that are used in theatre, film, television and photography to produce dramatic, high-quality visual effects. They provide precise control of light output and are ideal for a wide variety of uses including spotlighting objects, washing an area with light and projecting gobos. Fresnel spots are available in both tungsten and white variants, with some offering adjustable color temperature to allow you to fine-tune the lighting to suit your environment or achieve a specific mood. Traditional tungsten Fresnels use large amounts of electricity and become very hot, but new LED versions draw much less power, stay cooler and are dimmable.
Colored Fresnel lights are commonly used in theatrical productions and concerts to create a range of colors and effects. They can be used to wash an entire stage with light or they can be positioned closer to the audience to highlight performers. These lights typically have a rotary knob in the back that allows you to quickly switch between spot and flood modes.
Barn doors, which are adjustable flaps that attach to the front of the Fresnel lens, can be positioned in front of the lens to shape and direct the light beam. Diffusion filters can be attached to the lenses to soften or diffuse the light and create a more even glow. Gel frames are often used to hold color filters or diffusion filters in place and are commonly included with a new Fresnel. Other accessories include safety cables, which secure the lights to a light stand and prevent them from falling or tipping over, and bags or cases that protect and carry the barn doors when not in use.
