The Art House at Wyong lighting team is delighted with its pair of new Robert Juliat Lexie followspots. These ultra-compact, 420W cool-white LED units deliver output comparable to traditional 1200W HID models while keeping the same compact footprint as the two Roxies they replace.
As lighting fixtures got brighter, it was time to get followspots that could compete, Tom Skelton, Production & Operations Manager, explained.
“Everything else that we’ve been buying recently, particularly our Ayrton Stradales, is getting continually brighter. We found that the Roxies weren’t cutting through everything else as much anymore. We needed followspots that could be equally bright, if not brighter.”
The Roxies were purchased ten years ago when the venue opened, and Tom says they’ve always served them very well. He adds that they’ve had no service or performance issues.
“They were some of the first LED followspots and the operators like them because they’re cool,” said Tom. “You’re not going to get burnt off them all the time. I think we can all remember having to wear gloves to operate a followspot or letting your arm droop and giving yourself a nice little singe on the soft side of your forearm.”
The venue’s followspot position is probably not the most ideal position in the theatre. It sits up on the front-of-house lighting bridge where space is limited. The followspots must be rigged off a pipe that also forms part of the lighting bridge handrail.
A huge followspot unit that must sit on a tripod isn’t an option up there, so the fact that the Lexie was similar in size to the Roxie was a huge advantage.
“A fixture that’s compact, can fit in and be stowed up there as part of the rig while it’s not in use was important,” Tom stated.
The team soon discovered that the Lexie was significantly brighter, and Tom felt its optics were a fair bit better than the Roxie’s, saying that when you look at a Roxie versus a Lexie side by side, you can see the lensing on the actual LED engine has been improved.
Essentially, the Lexie is brighter because it has a brighter LED source, but it’s also more efficient because it’s better designed.
“I think that has made for a better, not just intensity of light that comes out of it, but also it’s a much nicer light,” added Tom. “I would say it’s probably a little bit flatter and a more efficient light too. There’s a lot less light wastage in the lensing of it all. You can tell the light wasted from the LED engine to the front of the lens is much less than the Roxie’s.
Whilst the team haven’t used gobos on the Lexie yet, they have loaded all the gel magazines at the front with their house-standard selection. Tom remarked that the cartridge stows away nicely when it’s not in use, which is always good.
“It’s got an iris built into it, and that works as you would expect, and they’re very quiet,” continued Tom. “I think the other thing that we like about them is that they fit into our data distribution network easily, being able to accept sACN or DMX.
“It’s great that someone can just walk up to it, turn it on, turn the dial up on the side and use it. But also, if you want to, you can plot the intensity or the control of it back into the show as well. It gives you options for control.”
Tom says his team have unanimously agreed that the Lexies are amazing, with everyone commenting on how much brighter they are.
“Balancing the front-of-house wash against the followspot was always a challenge,” Tom explained. “We had to reduce the wash so the followspot could cut through and achieve the desired effect. Now the team can run the front-of-house wash at the level they need, knowing the Lexies will remain clearly visible.”
Tom adds that they like to buy from Show Technology as the service is second to none.
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