Spectrum

The Winner Of The Rosco Gobo Design Contest

Written by Lauren Proud | September 25, 2018

Update December 5th, 2018 - Philip Treviño's winning gobo design is officially inside the Rosco Gobo Catalog and available to order as gobo #R79727 Square Radiant

Philip Treviño originally conceived this “dot grid gobo” for a dance piece entitled DESCENT at Brian Brooks Moving Company. He was looking for gobos that would “cut through the haze” on stage in order to emphasize the body in relationship to the floor. Not finding a pattern to his liking, Philip created this gobo by sandwiching two lines gobos together – one vertical and one horizontal.

As the winner, Philip will receive a Rosco Image Spot LED gobo projector along with an Image-Spot-sized Square Radiant gobo for him to proudly project. Mr. Treviño’s winning design will also be added to our catalog of gobos for use in any lighting design that needs it.

Treviño’s “Square Radiant” prototype in Brian Brooks Moving Company’s DESCENT 

Lighting Designer, Tapio Rosenius, was the judge that chose Square Radiant as a finalist. Even though it was originally designed for dance, Tapio felt that its simple geometric pattern would allow for a variety of uses in an architectural lighting context, saying that “Geometric language like this is open enough for creative exploration.”

Once described by the New York Times as "a set-and-lighting design wizard capable of his own magic," Philip Treviño’s design-work is primarily focused on Dance. He has had the privilege of designing for Pam Tanowitz Dance – for which he was awarded a New York Dance and Performance “Bessie” Award in 2010 for their production of Be In The Gray With Me. Recent credits include Jenn Freeman/Freemove Dance ...it's time... at 14th Street Y, Catherine Cabeen/Hyphen Give Me More at Theater for the New City, and Pioneers Go East Collective's Gemini Stars/Scorpio Stars at La MaMa directed by Gian Marco Lo Forte. Philip Treviño is also an Instructor of Stagecraft and Design and Technical Director at Marymount Manhattan College’s Department of Dance. You can learn more about Philip Treviño’s design work on his website: www.philiptrevino.com

The Finalist Designs

Brandon Stirling Baker – Crescent Isolation

Designer's Description: The “Crescent Isolation” pattern is a unique and creative way to isolate a dance, singer, actor in space. By using this pattern we have the ability to not only create a circular isolation on the stage but can also be more selective with the way we light the floor. This pattern will look beautiful even with Rosco 132 frost added to give us a soft yet dynamic isolation. This pattern will also look incredible in a gobo rotator for visual movement.

From The Judges: I like the idea of wrapping light around the subject. This will be another option to the iconic backlight cone in haze. Also in a sidelight position it will work great for subtle revelation of form.

 

Anna Baumgarte – Golden Ratio

Designer's Description: This gobo combination produces a pretty floral decorative pattern to create structured light. Taking inspiration from the golden ratio of a sunflower, three variations of the design go together as a family. Part 1 and part 2 create part 3. Golden ratio part 1: Structure - Abstract veins within leaves, leopard print, shadows through architectural structure. Golden ratio part 2: Geometry - A decorative, more mathematical, spiral design. Golden ratio part 3: Flower - Structure and Geometry create a pretty flower. The pattern will be useful since the pattern can overlap at any point and, therefore, create something new. The design appears to naturally fade out at the edge, which is important in the architectural use of light. As the design is based on the golden ratio, its geometry is pleasing to look at. Thinking of light travelling through an architectural structure, it may give the space a new structure or be added as a decorative element.

From The Judges: What I am always looking for in a gobo, is to break away from ‘the circle.’ A lot of gobos are textures, but then we see the textures « cut » by the circle's outer diameter of the maximum image size. Of course it maximizes your projected image, but I also feel, when projected on scenery or floor, you kind of see the different spots. This gobo design breaks away from that principal and gives me a nice modern texture that can be used out of focus and in focus, and I love the fact you can overlay it.

 

Bradley Clements – Jimmies

Designer's Description:
Sometimes you just need to have fun. Whether used sharp as a “rainbow-esque” beam shaper or softened for a soft pastel dapple effect this gobo will bring a smile to anyone’s face.

From The Judges:
I want to see a massive stage wash of these both sharp and diffuse. Even better if they rotate or prism.

 

 

Nicholas Diaz – Retro Snowflakes

Designer's Description: This gobo pairs well with: fondue, shag carpeting, and aluminum Christmas trees. This design is “Retro Snowflakes”. It is a mid-century modern play on the standard Rosco snowflake gobo traditionally used to light everything from concerts to parties during the holiday season. It provides designers with a new fresher option for the ever requested snowflake projection on what seems to be every surface during the month of December. Designers will enjoy the versatility of this design. Retro Snowflakes feels right at home, whether in a playful holiday environment, or the choicest winter party.

From The Judges: I loved the graphics and I think it fits nicely in the mid-century design craze everywhere right now. Although there are other snowflakes, flowers and starbursts in the catalogue, I think this one is more refined and I agree with the creator that this design has versatility, while also providing a fresher option for the holidays!

 

Edgar Hildebrand – Smooth Shutter

Designer's Description: The idea behind this "Smooth Shutter" gobo design was to add an additional tool for a creative and varied use. Smooth Shutter 1 plays with the idea of a round shape in the center. It implies an object that is not shown but revealed by its “light shadow”. In this way, you have the possibility to highlight round shapes or objects without touching them with light. You can support different light sources, like a spot on a stage or an object on a round display. You can rotate it around an object and catch the attention of the viewers. By combining it with other gobos you can achieve numerous new pattern and color variations. Smooth Shutter 2 is another version that has an additional spot. Smooth Shutter - Rainbow is a supporting gobo. The center can be held in the dark or left open, while the outside “light shadow” creates a colorful highlight. In this way, a rotation could combine a movement with a calm highlight in the center.

From The Judges: This design facilitates a new yet simple and elegant way of highlighting objects. It would serve the architectural lighting applications particularly well. There is also a use for this set of gobos on stage - inside a moving light where the white and coloured gobos could be used together. The main Smooth Shutter gobo gives the designer various options as to how to use it. It can be used to create halo and other unique dynamic effects. Turn it sideways and it it can be a simple light behind a planet on a horizon. Put this gobo in a gobo rotator with red gel and now you have a beacon or warning light. Put the gobo in an indexable moving light and now you can place a custom gobo with multiple images in a circle around the circumference and you'll have many different images at your fingertips without using up multiple positions in you gobo wheel - just like an old viewfinder toy.

 

Durham Marenghi – Luxor

Designer's Description:
Central spot with rotating aerial pyramid effect.

From The Judges: The simplicity of this design, being able to be tiled easily and the fact that, if used with an iris, the gobo adds very interesting possibilities of effects for low-tech ellipsoidals. If installed in a moving light with shutter blades a whole new series of effects can be created by running in and out the shutter blades. I can see this gobo possibly be used in award shows, dance concerts, rock concerts or in anyplace where depth needs to be represented within a space.

 

Marco Miglioli – Soft Transition

Designer's Description: Many times I plan a transition between two “wash” coloured lights on the stage. I draw quick crossed lines in my “magic sheets” so I would like to have a gobo that helps me to achieve a soft transition between colours.

From The Judges: For those who work in dance, this gobo would be a great tool to blend light on the bodies of the dancers. I can see it as a part of a colour wash on stage where you want the colour to fade away to black, but without the hard edge of a shutter - this gives you a more scattered fade to the light. I think that there is also a use for this gobo in the architectural lighting sector - often we are looking for a way to blend light in the built environment and this would certainly do the trick. I can also see it being used with a hard-edged focus to create some jagged definition to set pieces, cycloramas and stage floors.

 

Jamie Roderick – Foliorum Obscura

Designer's Description: Today, with LED street lights taking over not just urban areas but rural and suburban roads, the classic look of a street lamp at night streaming thru the leaves of a tree has changed. The modern street lights have many individual LED sources and each one comes thru the leaf dapples at a slightly different angle creating a unique texture around the areas of positive and negative space. My goal here is to give lighting designers the ability to re-create that texture with a steel gobo so that it is affordable to all designers regardless of budget.

From The Judges: I like the idea of having a breakup pattern with shading. I imagine that, when thrown out of focus, it might have some really great texture that will come in handy to model set walls and floors. The areas of black, white and grey are just right for a slightly uneven but natural modeled texture effect.

Congratulations To Philip & All Of The Finalists!