Design Gobo Solution Needed

[Graham Darnell]

Hey guys I’m working on a show for my high school competition season and the show is set in the 1700s during the French Revolution.

I’m trying to figure out how to make a gobo (or two) that would be the silhouette of a guillotine frame and then a second gobo to silhouette the blade so we could have it move up and down to resemble the blade falling.

We are working with regular source4 and source4LED2 and don’t have the budget to have an animated gobo that’s why I’m looking for ideas for a double gobo solution.

Ps. The show is called The Revolutionists

 

[cdiamondz]

As the person that I am, I personally would make the blade slide up and down and have it connected to a servo. As far as materials go, pie tins work well for handmade gobos, wouldn't use soda cans because the metal is too thin for my liking (accidentally deformed one before when I needed a last second gobo). If you have time to experiment, see if you can make a gobo with a sliding blade with a connecting metal piece that comes up out of the slot. Best of luck!

 

[RonHebbard]

As the person that I am, I personally would make the blade slide up and down and have it connected to a servo. As far as materials go, pie tins work well for handmade gobos, wouldn't use soda cans because the metal is too thin for my liking (accidentally deformed one before when I needed a last second gobo). If you have time to experiment, see if you can make a gobo with a sliding blade with a connecting metal piece that comes up out of the slot. Best of luck!

@cdiamondz and @Graham Darnell Possibly your gobo could be the guillotine's silhouette and raising the bottom shutter could serve as the guillotine's blade falling? Alternately, if you stay with your two source solution, you could use a different color for the blade when it falls to add drama and pull focus.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard

 

[seanandkate]

One gobo for the guillotine frame / structure, then a second instrument with a shuttered off "blade" with an IQ mirror to make the blade "drop."

 

[venuetech]

Rather than animation I would go for a color change, one fixture with guliteen gobo another with a red to produce a sudden shift to red. It boils down to how you build the cue sequence, and how well that matches the actors action. It's not a TV or movie that the audience is watching, so your brush strokes need to be bold. Because you do not have a camera to enlarge those small details they are often overlooked.

 

[Jay Ashworth]

Uh... don't gobos go in upside-down?

 

[RonHebbard]

Uh... don't gobos go in upside-down?

@Jay Ashworth Yes and that's why, back in post #3 I mentioned you could use the bottom shutter to mimic the guillotine's blade falling; pushing your bottom shutter in would result in the projected image's blade falling in from above.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard