What Does Gobo Mean in Lighting?

Gobos are a common feature of many events, especially weddings. But if you are planning a wedding for the first time, you might not have heard of gobo lights before. So what does this term refer to?

A gobo traditionally refers to a stencilled disc placed in front of a light source to create a pattern, image, or logo on a surface, such as snowflakes or leaves. There are many different types of gobos, including glass and metal gobos. It's also possible to have custom gobos made for your gobo lighting requirements.

Given that there are so many different types of gobo, we will use this space to cover them in as much detail as possible so you can make informed choices when incorporating them into your next event.

The Different Types of Gobo: Glass Gobos vs Metal Gobos

There are numerous types of gobo, but they primarily fall into two categories, glass and metal. Metal gobos (or steel gobos, to be more precise) tend to work best for simpler shapes that need firm blocking of the light source.

By contrast, a glass gobo is more nuanced and can let light pass through at different intensities to create more complex patterns and shapes. Glass gobos are also used for specialist gobo projectors that beam the projected image around a room both up and down or from side to side (or a bit of both).

There are also composite gobos, which you might use for a custom gobo. However, the overwhelming majority are glass or metal due to the way in which they need to slot into the gobo holder.

Custom Gobo vs Standard Gobo: Which One Should You Use for Your Sussex Event?

There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to choosing your gobo. Custom gobos are certainly popular additions to wedding lighting lineups since they can reflect your unique wedding reception logo or put the date and your names up in LED lights.

However, there is nothing at all wrong with going with an existing gobo template. Suppose you are planning an event where you want gobos to provide you with snowflakes, falling leaves, or any other commonly requested pattern or gobo designs. In that case, it makes absolute sense to use a pre-existing stencil for your LED gobo lighting.

Sometimes it's the most uncomplicated gobo templates that are the most effective, whereas very intricate designs can fall short of the desired outcome.

Which Types of Sussex Events Use Gobo Lighting?

Due to their versatility, gobos are used widely across the events industry. Originally, they formed part of a stage lighting lineup for most theatrical productions. While that's still true to this day, they are increasingly used for weddings, corporate events, and other similar occasions to create patterns (such as adding leafy patterns to a venue), beam company logos across a venue (perfect for a product launch), or to provide an addition to monogram lighting fixtures.

Thus, no matter whether you are planning a private event production or the wedding of your dreams, you should always consider the merits of adding gobos to a few of your lighting fixtures.

Choose QOKO Events for All of Your Sussex Gobo Lighting Needs

At QOKO Events, we offer a range of existing gobo stencils for you to choose from for your upcoming Sussex event. Whether you need transparency gobos, texture lighting, or gobo projector, we have what you need in stock, ready to go. We also boast an in-house design team that can create custom gobos for events such as weddings from scratch.

These gobo services form part of the turnkey event solutions we provide to events across the South East. With over three warehouses full of equipment, you have peace of mind that we provide all technical and infrastructure aspects of your event under one roof, for one straightforward price.

So, irrespective of your specific type of event, make sure to get in touch with our team to learn more about our selection of lighting equipment (including gobos) and other event production equipment.