"Both Rosco and DHA's colour custom gobos have traditionally been produced overseas," says Steve Connolly who has been brought in as head of gobo business development for the new venture. "The service is already excellent, but actually being able to manufacture such gobos on site at our facility in London means that much of the margin for error that is inevitable when you employ the services of outside contractors, such as shipping services, is more or less eliminated."
Connolly's involvement to the industry dates back to 1975 when he started working for the Sex Pistols and The Clash. His experience spans sound, lighting and publishing with a resume that includes working for SSE Hire and Vari-Lite, where he ran the gobo department for two years, as well as setting up a publishing company where he gained his grounding in image production. He was also a founding member of Projected Image, and as such, he is well placed to take on this new challenge.
"I was asked to carry out a feasibility study for Rosco's new gobo facility and I soon realised that they really mean business," says Connolly. "By establishing the facility here in the UK, which has meant setting up a 'clean' environment and an optical laboratory, we will be able to provide a 24-hour turnaround in most instances and have direct control. This allows us to adhere to our own exacting standards.
"The new facility will specialise in the manufacture of high resolution gobos, as well as producing spot colour from a swatch of dichroics that can create a more saturated colour than CMYK is capable of delivering."
Plans for the future include further expansion and diversification of the manufacturing facility with the objective that all developments improve turnaround, flexibility, and product still further.
(Chris Henry)
