A custom gobo is a stencil or template placed inside or in front of a light source to regulate the shape of the emitted light. Lighting designers typically use them with stage lighting instruments to manipulate the shape of the light cast over a space or object-for instance to produce a pattern of leaves on a stage floor. Sources
The word “gobo” comes to sometimes reference any device that creates patterns of light and shadow, and other items which go before an easy (like a gobo arm or gobo head). In theatrical lighting, however, the word specifically describes a system put into ‘the gate’ or on the ‘point of focus’ between the light source as well as the lenses (or some other optics). This placement is important as it produces a crisp, sharp edged pattern or design (of logos, fine detail, architecture, etc.). Gobos placed after the optics do not create a finely focused image, and they are more precisely called “flags” or “cucoloris” (“cookies”).
he exact derivation of gobo is unclear. It is cited by some lighting professionals as “goes before optics” or, more infrequently, “goes between optics”. An alternative explanation is “graphical optical black out.” The word is traced to the 1930s, and originated in reference to your screen or sheet of sound-absorbent material for shielding a microphone from sounds coming from a certain direction, without any application to optics. The treating of the phrase as an acronym is recent and ignores the first definition in favor of popular invention. There are lots of online types of acoustic gobos. The phrase probably is actually a derivative of “goes between.”
A led gobo projector from the Earth, projected utilizing a halogen projector. Gobos are employed with projectors and simpler light sources to create lighting scenes in theatrical applications. Simple gobos, integrated into automated lighting systems, are popular at nightclubs and other musical venues to create moving shapes.Gobos could also be used for architectural lighting, as well as in interior design, as in projecting a company logo on the wall.
Gobos are made of various materials. Common types include steel, glass, and plastic. Steel gobos or metal gobos make use of a metal template that the image is cut out. These are the most sturdy, but often require modifications for the original design-called bridging-to show correctly. To correctly represent the letter “O” as an example, requires small tabs or bridges to aid the opaque center in the letter. These may be visible in the projected image, which might be undesirable in some applications.
Glass gobos are made of clear glass having a partial mirror coating to bar the lighting and produce “black” areas inside the projected image. This eliminates any necessity for bridging and accommodates more intricate images. Glass gobos may also include colored areas (similar to stained glass windows), whether by multiple layers of dichroic glass (one for each and every color) glued on an aluminium or chrome coated black and white gobo, or by newer technologies that vary the thickness in the dichroic coating (and for that reason the colour) in a controlled way on a single bit of glass-which assists you to turn a color photo in to a glass gobo. Glass gobos generally offer the highest image fidelity, but are probably the most fragile. Glass gobos are generally created with laser ablation or photo etching.
Plastic gobos or Transparency gobos may be used in LED ellipsoidal spotlights. These “LED Only” plastic gobos could be full color (just like a glass gobo), but they are less delicate. They may be a new comer to the marketplace, much like Leds, as well as their durability and effectiveness vary between brands.
Previously, plastic gobos were generally customized for when a pattern requires color and glass does not suffice. However, in a “traditional” (tungston-halogen) light fixture, the main focus point position of a gobo is incredibly hot, so these thin plastic films require special cooling elements to prevent melting. A lapse inside the cooling apparatus, for seconds, can ruin a plastic a gobo in a tungsten-halogen lighting instrument.
Patterns – Theatrical and photographic supply companies manufacture many basic and complex stock patterns. Additionally they can produce custom gobos from customer artwork. Generally, a lighting designer chooses a pattern coming from a manufacturer’s catalog. As a result of large number of gobos available, they are often known as by number, not name. Lighting technicians could also hand cut custom gobos from sheet metal stock, or even aluminum pie tins.
Gobos tend to be used in weddings and corporate events. They could project company logos, the couple’s names, or just about any artwork. Some companies can turn gobo light in as little as per week. Designers rxziif use “stock” gobo patterns for such events-as an example for projecting stars or leaves onto the ceiling.
The phrase “gobo” also is employed to describe black panels of numerous sizes or shapes placed between a light source and photographic subject (such as between sun light and a portrait model) to manage the modeling effect of the existing light. It will be the opposite of a photographer utilizing a “reflector” to redirect light right into a shadow, which can be “additive” lighting and a lot commonly used. Utilization of a gobo subtracts light from the percentage of a complete shaded subject and creates a contrast between one side of the face and the other. It allows the photographer to expose with wider open apertures giving soft natural transitions between the sharp subject and unsharp background, called bokeh.