Happy Halloween from Rosco Spectrum

 

When you work for Rosco, Halloween is the best holiday of the year! It's the one time of year we get to show off to all of the muggles (non-entertainment folk) what we do. When the cheapo fog machines hit the Target/Wal-Mart shelves, we get to turn to our friends and loved ones and say "That's not a REAL fog machine." THIS is a fog machine!

 

Rosco's Vapour Fog Machine

 

Halloween is also the season for fluorescent paint. Sure you can buy some one oz jars of it at your local hobby or craft store - we do that too in our fluorescent paint kits - but we also sell it by the GALLON! Last year, I took one of our VividFX paint kits and painted my pumpkin, plus I added some of the VividFX colors to a small bucket of pumpkin seeds to make my Puker Pumpkin.

 

Joel's Puker Pumpkin - painted with VividFX Paints and lit with a small blacklight LED

 

Don't forget about ClearColour, Rosco's unique line of fluorescent paints that appear completely clear under normal light and fluoresce brightly when bathed with UV-rich blacklights. Check out this ghostly triptych of Mr. Vincent Van Gogh painted by scenic artist Joan Newhouse with ClearColour. (Update: ClearColour was discontinued in 2013)

 

Left: Normal Light, Center: Normal + UV, Right: UV Only, painted by Joan Newhouse, freelance scenic artist

 

LED's are a great way to add a little light to your scene without ruining all of the eery darkness. However, the beam of an LED is often so directional that it's hard to get them to achieve a subtle glow. This is where Rosco's LitePads come in extra handy - especially our 3" Round unit. I used it in place of a candle in one of my pumpkins last year to make this particular pumpkin stand out:

 

Jack-O-LitePad

 

I also ducted fog from the Delta 3000 into the back of this pumpkin. So, the different color temperature and the smoke gave it an electrocuted effect.

Cinematographer Pablo Rosso also wanted a way to add subtle illumination to his actors without flooding the dark, brooding set in last year's [Rec] 2 so, he simply applied 3" Round LitePads to the uniforms of his SWAT units:

 

LitePads on the SWAT Uniforms in REC2

 

 

The LitePad affixed to the SWAT uniform helps illuminate the zombie girl without adding extra spill to the dark set of REC2

 

Nothing can bring the creepy into your Halloween decor like modifying the lighting. Another element I added to my yard last year was an X24 bathing my front yard. I swapped out one of the standard effects gobos, replaced it with a Cyan Ripple Colorwave and set the speed ultra-slow on both gobos. Throw a little fog into the yard to show off the moving beam of colored light and you're sure to draw the trick-or-treaters in.

 

X24 adds a chilling effect into Joel's Halloween decor

 

Filmmaker, and horror effects master, Robert Hall used our X24 to add some hydrophobic suspense into his online, thriller-series Fear Clinic for FEARnet.com. The series premiers online October 26th - but as our gift to you, enjoy some videos from the series and look in the background for the X24:

 

 

Are you using Rosco products to enhance your Halloween or YouTube horror movie? Share what you've got on our Rosco Facebook Page

Have a fantastic Halloween from all of us at Rosco!

 

Beheaded! Joel as Robespierre and his wife Kim as Marie Antoinette with cake

 

Joel Svendsen October 28, 2010 Questions?

About Joel Svendsen

Marketing Director: Joel's Rosco career began in Rosco's Hollywood office in 1999 – first in sales covering the Western US and the Los Angeles Film & Television market, and then as Product Manager for Rosco's Film & Television Products. Joel's knowledge about Rosco's products and how they're used in each of our different marketplaces makes him well suited for bringing the stories in Spectrum to life.