One of the most important lighting instruments used in lighting a stage is called a Leko. It is pronounced "Leeko".  Leko is short for "Ellipsoidal Reflector Spotlight" commonly known as ERS. Leko is easier to remember so that is the general term you use for this type of light. It is a very long slender lighting instrument that can be used for many different lighting tasks. The Leko is considered the "workhorse" of all lighting instruments in a production. The reason it is a "workhorse" is because there are a lot of different things you can do with your Leko instrument.

On the main body near the center are four sliding objects. These are called shutters. The shutters will block the light out into different configurations you have in mind. With all of the shutters pulled out, the light is round, but by pushing the shutters in at different distances, you can create a square, rectangle, or even a narrow slit if you will. With this setup, you can decide how the person is going to be struck with the light, and in what configuration. Very near to the shutters is a slot where you can insert an iris unit. This handy dandy piece of equipment allows you to make the dimension of the light smaller. A Leko in this case can be used as "followspots". Followspots are huge instruments that are normally at the back of the auditorium. The color shutters and iris unit on these can be quite hard to operate, and they can be quite a pain. Plus normally you don’t need to shoot light 100 to 300 feet to the stage. You can use something know as "Leko on a stick". You attach a Leko to the batten you wish to use it on, and adjust it so you can swing the light back in forth which I will explain later. Lekos are much easier to use as followspots.

Below the shutters is another slot where you can insert a gobo. A gobo is a thin piece of metal with a cut pattern on it. You can create your own with a piece of can metal. This is inserted into a gobo holder and then into the slot on the side of the Leko. Now when you shine the light, you project the image in the gobo on the stage. Make sure you put the gobo in upside down so the pattern shows up correctly when it is projected. The lense in the Leko will project anything upside down like a camera does or your eye. Every Leko has a gel frame, and a gel frame holder. The gel frame will hold a piece of color media know as gel. Then on the instrument there is a slot where you slide the gel frame into, and you then project the color you want to project on stage. There is a bolt on the side of the Leko near the top, and that allows the Leko to wave at you and or move up and down or side to side if the instrument is being used as a followspot. Finally you can adjust the sharpness of the light. The barrel of the Leko can be loosened up and you can pull or push the whole barrel in or out and you can adjust the light into a feather edge or sharp edge. You generally want a feather edge in most cases because you can create unwanted elements projected on a person with a sharp focused Leko. That is pretty much all the stuff you can do with a Leko. Again it is the workhorse of the lighting instruments.

Updated 12/5/2001 by Brian Batiuk