A chain is only as good as its weakest link, this is also exceptionally true in TV production. Even the best cameras and operators can’t do their job without key-light. A job which in local theatre that is seen as a right of passage, where most people are happy with the bright end pointing towards the stage, follow-spotting for cameras is a high pressure and often hot and uncomfortable role requiring finesse. A drop in concentration or a small slip can plunge performers into darkness, often without any backup. Scaling metal rope ladders and sitting amongst a lighting rig, sometimes at heights of 20m for up to 6hrs at a time, the job isn’t for the faint of heart.
Working with some of the UK’s leading Lighting Directors (Dave Davey, John Ford, Al Gurdon, Tim Routledge, Gurdip Mahal) and being trained by and working alongside the best crews in the UK has given Alpha and Omega the finest grounding we could have ever asked for.
As well as being happy in the air, Alpha and Omega are well versed with the PRG Ground Control. A way to remote control a moving fixture that is in the lighting rig while staying firmly on the ground. We were part of a team that were the first in the world to use only Ground Control for all spot lights on a TV Production during filming The Voice. The system allows the operators comfort breaks where it would have taken too long to climb down and then climb back up as well as creature comforts around them without having to tether everything once air born, notebooks, schedules and rehearsal orders can be passed around as well as all being together allows for better communication and team work.
Working alongside a large crew of follow spot operators from Pro Spot Group using Robe Robospots for the Eurovision 2025, Alpha and Omega worked as as one of the two ‘Follow-Me’ Operators, a system that allows designers to give control of as much or as little of the lighting rig to the Follow-Me Operator as each look requires – On some parts of the show over 300 fixtures were given to the Follow-Me operators, the system is akin to 3D follow spotting, with the benefit of having Z Axis control following singers up spiral staircases, although challenging was achieved. Taking encoder information directly from automation allowed acts to be followed with multiple beams from moving trusses, automatically adjusting for new heights as the lighting trusses were flown live and in real time. Eurovision is known for pushing technology to its limits, but also the operators and Eurovision 2025 certainly did that while allowing for looks to be achieved with the freedom of last minute choreography changes and or artists not having to hit a mark and still have as many lights as required for the look hitting them with pin point accuracy.
Familiar Platforms for remote operated follow spots:
PRG Ground Control – Use in either single fixture mode or with A/B fixture swapping
Robe Robo Spot – Single fixture mode and multi fixture mode inclusive of multi fixture mode programming
Follow-Me – Single fixture and multi fixture, fully capable of complex 3D follow spotting.
Whether using conventional follow-spots or using the newest technology on the market, Alpha and Omega hope to be an asset to your production.