spotlight required

[hadyn]

Hi
a couple have asked me to train a spotlight on them during their first dance as they move around the dance floor in a few months time.
would appreciate any recommendations that will do the job for me thanks

[musicology]

18330

[Pe7e]

The obvious answer would be to hire a follow-spot for the day unfortunately this would cost £50/60 for a basic lamp. If you have a powerful 60W + moving head and DMX desk with a joystick this would do the job subject to your ability to control it accurately. Apart from that I can't think of anything an average DJ is likely to have in their store room that would do the job satisfactorily.

Maybe there is a local armature dramatic / musical group who could help you out with a follow spot for a consideration

[rth_discos]

Without the right room it's unlikely to work - you'll need to get it high to make it look effective.

Plus the room would need to be pitch black to create the effect they have in mind - which if this is in August for example, will still be light in the evening.

You'd be better off ensuring the dancefloor is covered with a wash, so that they are lit up across the dancefloor. Par cans will achieve this easily.

[musicology]

Are they really going to be sweeping majestically round the floor? Usually they just shuffle around in the same spot!
As has just been said you need height. Actually they need a stage! It seems a pretty impractical request given the usual layout of a function.

[Chris1984]

you need 3 things for this to work,

1) height
This could be achieved using anything in the venue already, for example, a mezzanine or balcony.
A good a common solution is a small platform made of staging eithere a 4x4 deck on legs or similar to get you above audience head height and able to hit the couple doing their dance with clear line of sight - you will soe need to put this behind the audience out the way.

2)an operator
followspotting isnt as easy as it first looks and either someone who is good at it or someone who can have a practice and get the hang of it before doors open - yto will also need an operator due to the fact you will be behind the deck not the audience!

3)the light source
a small follow spot would do the trick, a lot of lighting rental companies will be able to provide a source4 follow spot for a small fee which will do the job fine.

[hadyn]

you need 3 things for this to work,

1) height
This could be achieved using anything in the venue already, for example, a mezzanine or balcony.
A good a common solution is a small platform made of staging eithere a 4x4 deck on legs or similar to get you above audience head height and able to hit the couple doing their dance with clear line of sight - you will soe need to put this behind the audience out the way.

2)an operator
followspotting isnt as easy as it first looks and either someone who is good at it or someone who can have a practice and get the hang of it before doors open - yto will also need an operator due to the fact you will be behind the deck not the audience!

3)the light source
a small follow spot would do the trick, a lot of lighting rental companies will be able to provide a source4 follow spot for a small fee which will do the job fine.
thanks chris I think the couple have an idea of what they want but I think it will probably be over their budget so will go back to them to discuss it further first now I know the limitations etc.