Simulating a follow spot

CharlesPapert

CharlesPapert

Director of Photography
Whenever I need to create the effect of a follow spot on-camera, my first go-to is the good old Source 4 Leko, as the clean round beam handily recreates the appearance of a theatrical spotlight. It doesn't carry the same punch and throw so you have to work it closer to talent, but that has rarely been an issue. What is more difficult is if the spot needs to track the subject as they move around, as the yoke of a Source 4 is not designed for smooth operation in that manner. A few years ago I had the thought of mounting one on a fluid head and we finally got around to doing it today--it worked great!

oconnorspot.jpg
 
That photo makes me smile so much! On-set MacGyvering has got to be the best part of this silliest of professions :)
 
City Theatrical makes a yoke for a source four designed to be operable in the same way as a follow spot. Might not be something readily available from most rental companies but it does exist.
 
I've got a 1k Colortran leko I use for music videos and stuff where I need the follow-spot look. I've always just loosened the topmost riser clamp on a sturdy stand to pan it though.

Coolest thing? Gobos are cheap - get several sizes of round and you've got some options for the size of the circle. And get a "donut" which tightens up the beam edge.

Someone's been dumping gobos on eBay - I got several that should be awesome for "beams through smoke", looking forward to trying that.

Lekos are also awesome for bounce in tight spaces, just use the shutters to fill whatever bounce surface you have.
 
forgive me - but right tool for the right job comes to mind. If you want a followspot, hire one! Proper ones have finger tip control, no wobble and perfect balance. Same requirements as a proper head - as in if you take your hand off, it stays put. I've often thought of doing the reverse - fitting the camera to the followspot! Now that might be something I can sort in a few weeks.
 
Yes, it was indeed a small space, the spot was probably 15 feet away from the subject. Also, follow spots tend to have fans which are tough on sound in a confined space. And ultimately, the Source 4 did the job perfectly and no additional rental needed! Plus it's always fun to set those kinds of challenges to my key grip, aka McGuyver...
 
Lekos are often used as follow spots. It's just a matter of picking the right lens for the throw and balancing the lamp for control.
 
Every time we've had to simulate a spotlight look in the past with a Leko, the degree of finesse afforded by operating off the yoke has been borderline. Usually it's just one shot here or there, but a few years back I shot a pilot that had a substantial stage component in a black box theater. We brought in two Super Troopers but the fan noise was a concern for sound so we used substituted Lekos (it was a short throw, perhaps 25 feet). During the show the guys operating the Lekos were uncomfortable because the heat was getting through their gloves and they couldn't maintain the tight headroom I was asking for without occasional dips. We ended up getting notes from the network on this issue, which made it an issue that needed solving.

I looked up the City Theatrical setup that Moseph described above and it looks great, although it is a substantial build to add onto an existing Leko so it wouldn't be helpful to convert back and forth. I'm looking into seeing if our rental vendor has units with that setup.
 
If you want a nice compact followspot, the Altman Luminator is a great little spot. It isn't much bigger than a S4 but it also has color frames in it.
 
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