What is "spotlight"

Spotlight \Spot"light`\ (sp[o^]t"l[imac]t`), n.

1. The projected spot or circle of light used to illuminate brilliantly a single person or object or group on the stage, leaving the rest of the stage more or less unilluminated.

2. hence, conspicuous public notice. [Cant or Colloq.]

3. A lighting apparatus designed to throw an intense beam of light onto a small area.

1904, from spot (n.) + light (n.). Originally a theatrical equipment; figurative sense is attested from 1916. The verb is first recorded 1923.

n. 1 a bright, directional light or lamp, especially one used to illuminate the focus or center of attention on a stage 2 the circle of light shed by a spotlight 3 the center of attention; the highlight or most important part vb. 1 To illuminate with a spotlight. 2 To draw attention to.

1. n. a focus of public attention; "he enjoyed being in the limelight"; "when Congress investigates it brings the full glare of publicity to the agency" [syn: limelight, glare, public eye]

2. a lamp that produces a strong beam of light to illuminate a restricted area; used to focus attention of a stage performer [syn: spot]

3. v. move into the foreground to make more visible or prominent; "The introduction highlighted the speaker's distinguished career in linguistics" [syn: foreground, highlight, play up] [ant: background, background]

4. illuminate with a spotlight, as in the theater

5. [also: spotlit]

Spotlight may refer to:

Spotlight is the title of a program that airs on Canadian music television station, MuchMusic. The program focuses on a specific individual music artist or a music group and features their earliest music videos, concerts, interviews and TV clips to the artist's most recent works.

Spotlight is a defunct American premium cable television network that was founded by the Times Mirror Satellite Programming Company unit of the Times Mirror Company, and owned as a joint venture with Storer Communications, Cox Cable and Tele-Communications Inc. (TCI). The channel's programming focused mainly on theatrically released motion pictures, with the only scheduling deviation being of monthly specials previewing films set to air on the channel.

A spotlight, sometimes known as a followspot, is a powerful stage lighting instrument which projects a bright beam of light onto a performance space. Spotlights are controlled by a spotlight operator who tracks actors around the stage. Spotlights are most commonly used in concerts, musicals and large scale presentations where highlighting a specific, mobile, individual is critical. Spotlights are sometimes located overhead on catwalks. In some theatres, they may also be located in the control booth or purposely built "spot booths" in addition to the catwalk. Spotlights may be arranged in a variety of patterns for coverage. For example, they are aimed at the stage in front of them in theaters, located to the back or rear. This location can become problematic due to fan noise or any communication by headset communication from the spot operator speaking into his headset microphone. In circus and sports, spotlights may be arranged around the facility covering both sides and the ends. In a concert setting, they may be in a position Front of House (FOH), while other positions may have the spotlight upstage used as back or top light. Some concerts use truss spots on a truss downstage but closer than catwalk spots in an amphitheater style catwalk layout. In other places, spot locations are at the mercy of the architect who designed the space.

Characteristics of a typical spotlight include:

• A strong light source, often a high-intensity discharge lamp with a high colour temperature.
• A lens which can be manually focused.
• A manual device to change the intensity of the beam, especially when an HID source which can not be electronically dimmed, is used.
• An "iris" to adjust the size of the spot/angle of the beam.
• A color magazine or "boomerang" consisting of several gel frames which can be swung in front of the beam.
• Some sort of physical sight to assist in aiming is sometimes added onto the lamp by the operator.

Some spotlights can be fitted with colourchangers to colour the beam or gobo holders to create a variety of effects. Most spotlights can be fitted with colour gels.

Perhaps the best known brand of spotlight is the Super Trouper by Strong Entertainment Lighting, as made famous by the ABBA song of the same name. Other well known spotlights include the Altspot line by Altman Lighting and Aramis and Ivanhoe lines by Robert Juliat.

A partial list of manufacturers:

• Altman
• Lycian
• Robert Juliat
• Strong

Spotlight is a system-wide desktop search feature of Apple's OS X and iOS operating systems. Spotlight is a selection-based search system, which creates an index of all items and files on the system. It is designed to allow the user to quickly locate a wide variety of items on the computer, including documents, pictures, music, applications, and System Preferences. In addition, specific words in documents and in web pages in a web browser's history or bookmarks can be searched. It also allows the user to narrow down searches with creation dates, modification dates, sizes, types and other attributes. Spotlight also offers quick access to definitions from the built-in New Oxford American Dictionary and to calculator functionality. There are also command-line tools to perform functions such as Spotlight searches.

Spotlight was first announced at the June 2004 Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, and then released with Mac OS X v10.4 in April 2005.

A similar feature for iOS 3.0 with the same name was announced on March 17, 2009.

"Spotlight" is Fayray's 19th single. It was released on November 23, 2005, and peaked at #81. It was used as insert song for TV drama "Oniyome Nikki" (starring Arisa Mizuki). "Spotlight" is her lowest-selling single to date.

Spotlight is the second live album by Irish band Tír na nÓg. It contains recordings from the BBC archive including some tracks from the John Peel Sessions with the band.

"Spotlight" is the first single from New Orleans rock group Mutemath's second album Armistice. The song was first released on the soundtrack to the 2008 film adaptation of Twilight, and it was the second single to be released from the album. The song was released digitally on Spotlight EP on February 10, 2009. The EP was also released on limited edition vinyl on March 24, 2009.

Spotlight is a 2009 album by Antoine Clamaran, released on 22 June 2009.

"Spotlight" is the second official single by rapper, Gucci Mane from his studio album The State vs. Radric Davis (2009). The song features a guest appearance by American singer Usher. The single was released on October 19, 2009 and was produced by Polow Da Don. It is Gucci Mane's second highest-charting single on the Billboard Hot 100, after " Wasted" featuring Plies, peaking at number 42.

"Spotlight" is a song by American singer Madonna from her first remix album You Can Dance (1987). It was released as a single in Japan on April 25, 1988 by Sire Records and Warner-Pioneer Japan. Initially rejected during her True Blue album recording sessions, it was written by Madonna, Stephen Bray and Curtis Hudson. It was inspired by the song " Everybody Is a Star" (1970), by American rock band Sly and the Family Stone. The song was remixed by Shep Pettibone, with additional mixing done by John "Jellybean" Benitez.

"Spotlight" features instrumentation from drums, bass synths and handclaps, accompanied by vocal echos, a piano segment and violin phrases in the musical interlude. The lyrics talk about how one can be famous if one sings about it. The song received mixed reviews from critics. After its release, it reached number 68 on the Japanese Oricon weekly singles chart, as well as number three on its international singles chart. Although not released in the United States, the song managed to chart on Billboards Airplay chart in early 1988. The song was used in a Mitsubishi VCR commercial, in which she appeared.

Spotlight is the BBC's regional TV news programme for the South West of England, covering Cornwall, Devon, Isles of Scilly, southern and western Somerset, western Dorset and the Channel Islands. There is also a special version of the programme for viewers in the Channel Islands. The main version of the programme broadcasts between 18:30 and 19:00 on weekdays, with shorter bulletins at other times. The programme can be viewed anywhere in the UK (and Europe) on Sky channel 967/968 on the BBC UK regional TV on satellite service. Its main competitors are ITV West Country's main evening programme ITV News West Country in Cornwall, Devon, Isles of Scilly, southern and western Somerset and western Dorset and ITV Channel Television's main evening programme ITV News Channel TV in the Channel Islands.

Spotlight is broadcast from BBC Broadcasting House in Seymour Road, Plymouth, the headquarters of BBC South West. There are smaller studios in Barnstaple, Exeter, Paignton, Taunton and Truro.

Spotlight is the name given to a BBC Northern Ireland weekly current affairs programme.

The programme is aired on BBC1 Northern Ireland at 10:35pm (and sometimes early) on Tuesday evenings, with a repeat on BBC2. It is available to UK viewers outside of Northern Ireland on BBC iPlayer for a week after the programme. The format usually consists of a half-hour report presented on a rotating basis by a small number of presenters and reporters. At present, these are Brian Hollywood, Stephen Walker, Darragh MacIntyre and Bobby Friedman. Occasionally, the programme consists of a studio format with various reports and panel discussions.

Spotlight is well known for its hard-hitting investigations and recently won a Royal Television Society award for Mandy McAuley's dog-fighting investigation.

It has launched the careers of a number of high-profile broadcasters, including Jeremy Paxman and Gavin Esler.

Spotlight was founded in 1927 and is the UK's largest casting resource. Over 60,000 performers appear in Spotlight, including actors and actresses, child artists, presenters, dancers, and stunt artists. Thousands of production companies, broadcasters, ad agencies, and independent casting directors use Spotlight as a casting resource. Their clients range from large organisations such as the BBC, ITV, and Channel 4, to small production companies and individual casting directors.

Spotlight also publishes the handbook Contacts both in hard copy and as an e-book. It includes listings for over 5000 companies, services and individuals across all branches of television, stage, film, and radio.

Spotlight was a Canadian current affairs television series which aired on CBC Television in 1975.

Spotlight is the second studio album from Dutch girldband Djumbo, released in 2007.

Spotlight is a 2008 South Korea television series, starring Son Ye-jin and Ji Jin-hee. It aired on MBC from May 14 to July 3, 2008 on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 21:55 for 16 episodes.

The series revolves around the world of television news and the lives of four news reporters.

"Spotlight" is an R&B song written and produced by Ne-Yo and Norwegian production duo Stargate for Jennifer Hudson's self titled debut album. It was released digitally on June 10, 2008 as the album's first single, and reached the top thirty of the US Billboard Hot 100. Outside the States, the track has reached the top twenty in Turkey and the United Kingdom.

The song received two Grammy Award nominations at the 2009 ceremony for Best R&B Song and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. The video was voted 12th on BET: Notarized Top 100 videos of 2008.

Spotlight is a 2015 American biographical drama film directed by Tom McCarthy and written by McCarthy and Josh Singer. The film follows The Boston Globe "Spotlight" team, the oldest continuously operating newspaper investigative journalist unit in the United States, and its investigation into cases of widespread and systemic child sex abuse in the Boston area by numerous Roman Catholic priests. It is based on a series of stories by the "Spotlight" team that earned The Globe the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. The film stars Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, John Slattery, Stanley Tucci, Brian d'Arcy James, Liev Schreiber, and Billy Crudup.

Spotlight was shown in the Out of Competition section of the 72nd Venice International Film Festival. It was also shown at the Telluride Film Festival and the Special Presentations section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. The film was released on November 6, 2015, by Open Road Films. It won numerous guilds and critics' association awards, and was named one of the finest films of 2015 by various publications. Spotlight won the Academy Award for Best Picture along with Best Original Screenplay, from six nominations in total making Spotlight the first film by Open Road Films to win in either category. This also marks the first film to win Best Picture by a different mini-major studio, rather than Lionsgate, Summit (later bought by Lionsgate in 2012), Miramax and TWC.