Need Help Using an Intelligent Light as a spotlight

Why not just get a follow spot and have a buddy point it where it needs to be then?

Otherwise, you need a controller of some sorts and mark your spots on stage and probably will have to reprogram your scenes each night based on your location(s).

I look at the scanners as something I aim into the audience.

The big issue is using the light as a follow spot, which while I'm sure you could, I think it might be a tad difficult for many operators(human) to do that for you, unless they are really good. Not impossible. But I don't feel your choices are idea. Not saying you can't do it your way, because you can, but I just don't see it as ideal.

Maybe the Accu Spot 250 II?

Maybe the Accu Spot 575? Pricey.

Maybe the DJ Spot products. Seems good. I'd probably roll that way, but I didn't, yet I did. Let me explain, I went with another brand as it offered more gobos and colors for less money. But I seriously pondered these. But my main purpose for these is shooting into the audience, into the stage, ceiling, walls, and maybe as a front and center spot, but not primarily as a spotlight. More to just kick things up a bit. Obviously, my ideas are different than yours.

Or, get a follow spot and a stand and there you go. The right tool for the right job IF you can get an operator. In my case, I'm leaving the aiming to the operators, while I will control the colors and dimming from my controller.

i agree with what chris said but if ur gonna get a head for a spot light go with either accu spot series heads or accu scans. cause these are some of the only lights that u will be able to dimm as a follow spot would. anything else if it even has some sort of dimmer will look like a moon going throught the cycle quickly. cause of the single flag used to block the optical path of the light. lol. for iris control accu spot 575! but steep price to pay for a few features. my two watts. oh for controller dmx operator 192. with a joystick. peace! jingles.

thanks for your help...i was originally looking at getting a follow spot, but a friend told me this other way and it seemed like it would be a better investment because i can use it for lighting while djing and fill the need of my client, but i think i will just get the follow spot

Well, even if you're looking for a "dual purpose" light, I suppose you would be better off with the stuff you originally suggested. It would work, but as I said, probably not the most ideal. I certainly agree with trying to get the most bang for your buck as well. It is something I usually concern myself with. In my case, my market suggested I should get a couple of movers just to stay a few steps ahead. I also WAS getting a few dozen calls a year asking for spotlights(follow spots), but then now I got a pair, the calls stopped. Go figure. At least they have been used twice this season, so I am pleased. Wish my operators would have done their job at event 1. Event 2 was more passive.

Not to suggest an alternate brand, but for less money, I got a pair of Chauvet QSpot 150's, which has a color wheel, a gobo wheel, and all gobos can rotate, and as a moving head fixture, it's less expensive than the ADJ model, and honestly, is the same unit with Chauvet doing it's own branding. But, as Jingles said, no dimming. It uses the shutter to dim, and since it's not one of those shutters that squeeze in, it's more like a paddle blocking the opening, so think eclipse. For me, this is a non-issue, but now that I think about it, might be a feature I demand going forward. Most lights I know of keep that bulb on the whole time, which is wasteful and shortens the usable life of the bulb. Then again, so does dimming. They get you one way or another!

I don't DJ, I have to think overall production as I am a live sound production company, so lights are necessary evil for me to deal with. By getting a moving head with a color wheel and gobos that can move, you do get a lot of other usage out of it.

Won't comment on controllers as my DMX Operator works just fine for my applications. But, if I had the choice and funding for a joystick back in 2002, I would have gone for it IF I knew now where things went for me.

One of the ways that intelligent lighting has been utilized for follow-spot applications is through the use of a belt pack and sensors placed on the stage. The performer wears a wireless belt pack, much the same as a wireless mic pack. The sensors, strategically placed around the performance space, read the pack's/performer's position, which then provides the necessary pan and tilt values to the controller/fixture it is connected to.

You can try to go for manual operation, but it is difficult, and it takes you away from actively working your console during a show.

Couple of thoughts:

>The DJ scans movements are jerky - not smooth at all for subtle movements following somebody.

>The fixture doesn't have a dimmer - it may have a fake half open shutter thing, but that wont cut it.

>If you plan on controlling them with something cheap like a DMX operator, your lights will occasionally "lag" when put in manual mode.

>Output. Those moving lights will not compete well with 500 watt pars and other stage lights.

Unless you can do follow spot stuff with some nice fixtures and a controller, I wouldn't try.

Why not just buy one of those el-cheapo follow spots that shoot 75' and fit on a speaker stand.