"Specials" is the generic name given to any lamp or fixture in the rig which is used for a particular "special" purpose, rather than for purposefully lighting the acting area.

For example, a pair of red, orange or yellow lights arranged to provide a flickering fire effect in a fireplace would be specials. Also, a flickering pale blue lamp placed in the shell of an old television set on a rapid, random flicker to produce the effect of a television would be a special.

There is a difference between specials and props though. A flame latern (which may not necessarily be permitted under safety rules) would be a prop rather than a special.

Broadly, specials are those fixtures which the lighting console operator has control of, i.e. those decorative or functional effects which are electrically powered.

A commmon examples include spotlights or profile lights with gobos

Credits:
The Backstage Lighting Guide was written by Chris Dickson and is © BTS 2000. Updates made by Colin Paxton © BTS 2008
No reproduction in whole or in part in any means whatsoever is permitted without written consent.