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Rosco Gobos in the Tour de France
The 95th annual Tour de France - the best-known cycle race in the world - was followed by hordes of passionate crowds cheering along the road. Covering the event for television with a highlights program was Belgian national broadcaster VRT. Rosco brightened up the sets by providing gobos and a gobo rotator to animate the images. The Tour de France 2008 had 180 cyclists from 20 teams and hailing from 28 different countries, competing from 5th to 27th of July.
VRT Broadcast presented their program, which included interviews with cyclists and other TV personalities from France and Belgium, every night, in a different location along the route. Set locations included places such as the courts of old castles as well as vineyards, with facilities supplied by Videohouse and lighting rented by Lites. Seeking visual interest for their coverage, VRT approached Rosco looking for a "bright and easy to use" visual aid that they could set up.
For their coverage of the Tour de France in 2007, VRT had used some of Rosco's fixed gobos to project a bike into the background. After very positive feedback from viewers that the projections were fun to look at, lighting designer Karel Perneel decided that this year he wanted to get some movement. Using the single gobo rotator and variable speed 12V DC motor along with custom made gobos, the background of the television broadcast this time had a dynamic image of a bike with its wheels spinning.
During the evening broadcasts the gobo rotators were used always outside and usually between 9 and 10pm. The projection of the bike used in the outside courts consisted of one fixed gobo of the bike frame, and using two gobo rotators as the moving wheels. There was also one fixed gobo of a bike, projected with a Dedolight without moving parts, which was used for interviews and placed in the hotel that the cyclists stayed in.
Making their second appearance at the Tour de France, the gobos proved a hit with Karel Perneel, who had them projected by Selecon Pacifics fixtures. "I used them every day without any problem. These rotators worked perfectly in my Selecon Pacifics. The spare unit I have is still unopened in my box. I'm very pleased with the result", said the lighting designer.
Custom gobos have increasingly become a mainstay for Rosco, with expertise and capability continuing to develop. Manned by some of the most experienced graphics and imaging technicians in London, Rosco's custom gobo team can cope with even the most demanding deadline, budget or technicality.
7th October 2008
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