Every year for our panto we use a follow-spot - a hulking great thing hired from an agency in Tunbridge Wells.

We have some spare cash sloshing around, and with the prospect of corporation tax looming, we think it would be a good idea to invest in a follow-spot of our own.

We use a smallish village hall with minimal lighting facilities - 8 spots and a batten with 6 or 8 floods (forgive the lack of technical jargon: I'm a luvvie not a techie).

We don't need anything hugely powerful, and the smaller and lighter the better.

Does anybody have any recommendations, either for make, spec or supplier?

All advice gratefully received.

I would help to know what sort of followspot you currently use?

The are all sorts of spots available, and they range from secondhand ones for I suppose a few hundred to Super Trouper beasts which will do a rock concert!

Looking at the rest of your gear , I would suspect you dont need a lantern with too much punch as you don't appear to be using a lot of lighting that the spot needs to cut through!

Personally I would contact a company like AC Lighting who stock the full range of likely kit, plus they sell secondhand gear as well so could possibly sort you out.

Obviously there are many companies around who could help you so probably worth a surf for a local company . I think 10 out of 10 Productions Limited are down your way, as are Kave

I suggest you have a look at the spots based on ETC Source 4s, as they are small and light and powerful enough for a small hall.

Dave

Iain Dennis currently has a few Source 4 followspots going:
usedlighting.co.uk

And Nick, I'd love to see what a Super Trouper would do in a village hall! Tonight those Super Trouper beams are gonna blind me... and the audience, and anyone who happens to be walking past outside.

and given the size of the things you would lose a few more rows of seating at the back! And have to build a storage extension for it when not in use.

I have only used troopers once. Four of us had to lug them up the back stairs to the balcony at TRDL. We tought we had done the hard bit getting the lanterns up there until we tried to lift the ballasts!