Rosco Laboratories is an American manufacturer of products for entertainment, including the

film industry The film industry or motion picture industry comprises the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking, i.e., film production company, production companies, film studios, cinematography, animation, film production, screenwriting, pre- ...

and

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

. Rosco was founded in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

in 1910, and is currently based in

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, outside of New York City. It is the sixth-most populous city in New England. Stamford is also the largest city in the Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, Weste ...

. The company produces lighting equipment such as LED lighting, color gels and gobos. Rosco also manufactures specialist

paints Paint is a material or mixture that, when applied to a solid material and allowed to dry, adds a film-like layer. As art, this is used to create an image or images known as a painting. Paint can be made in many colors and types. Most paints are ...

and

fog machines A fog machine, fog generator, or smoke machine is a device that emits a dense vapor that appears similar to fog or smoke. This artificial fog is most commonly used in professional theatrical smoke and fog, entertainment applications, but smaller, ...

History

Early history

Rosco Laboratories was founded in 1910 by Sydney Rosenstein, a

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, chemist. Rosco's first products were Colorine and Opaline, lacquers designed to color and frost light bulbs. The two lacquers were used in early electric theater marquees. Rosco soon expanded their product line to include color gels for theater production lighting, as well as gobos. Recognising the growing need for gels in the industry, cousins Stan Miller and Len Kraft purchased Rosco in 1958. The company moved from Brooklyn to

Westchester County Westchester County is a county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of New York, bordering the Long Island Sound and the Byram River to its east and the Hudson River on its west. The county is the seventh most populous cou ...

in 1962.

1960s–present

Under the leadership of Miller, Rosco further developed their gel technologies and introduced new products, such as fog machines, LED lighting fixtures and backdrops. These products proved to be successful in the motion picture industry, with Rosco's CineGel, fog fluid, CalColor and day/night backdrops winning Academy Awards. The company's warehouse in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

burned down in 1999, in a fire that also destroyed a lighting equipment restoration company and a thrift store. The

Los Angeles Fire Department The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD or LA City Fire) provides firefighting services and technical rescue services, hazardous materials services, and emergency medical services to the residents of the city of Los Angeles, California, United ...

attributed the fire's intensity to the large inventory of synthetic paints in the warehouse. Rosco paints experienced a shortage in 2021, after cold weather and power outages in Texas damaged the company's stock of raw materials. In addition to the general paint shortage, the production of ''Barbie'' led to a shortage of Rosco's pink paints. The film's producers purchased Rosco's entire stock of pink paint to support ''Barbie'''s

production design In film industry, film and television, a production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of the story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the time period, the plot location, and character actions and ...

, which emphasized the color pink. As of 2023, Rosco operates worldwide, with offices in the US,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Awards

Rosco is the recipient of four Academy Scientific and Technical Awards, in 1973, 1984, 1998, and 2000. The company has been recognized for its innovations in gels, fog fluids, and backdrops. Rosco is also the recipient of a 2004

Primetime Emmy Engineering Award The Primetime Engineering Emmy Awards, or Engineering Emmys, are one of two sets of Emmy Awards that are presented for outstanding achievement in engineering development in the television industry. The Primetime Engineering Emmys are presented by ...

for its innovation in backdrops.

References

External links

*{{Official website} Companies based in Stamford, Connecticut