The iPhone Gobo App!

iGobo-RCS

It's here! It's finally here! My Christmas present finally arrived. There is now a gobo application for the iPhone! In fact there will be two different gobo applications in the near future. More on that later. For those that might be a bit confused, last December I wrote a blog that sketched out the basic outline for what I though would be awesome application for lighting designers on the iPhone. The iGobo app as I called it. To read that blog: My Xmas Wishlist: iGobo

So a few weeks ago Wybron and their team released an app called the Moiré Gobo Library, retailing for their standard $9.99 price. I was actually unaware it had been released so my hope is that this blog will at least get the word out a bit. I bought the app a few days ago and have been very pleased with it for the most part. I certainly have some feedback I intend to send to Wybron, but I expect there to be a lot of great improvements based on user feedback. Watching the iSwatch app evolve is certainly a sign of Wybron's commitment to their product. So down to the nitty gritty about this app.

The Moiré Gobo Library is really easy to use, especially if you have used iSwatch. It includes a lot of what I wanted in a gobo application, missed some features, and surpassed some of my own ideas. So what is great about this application? Well for starters it is a digitalized database of gobos where you can easily search for a gobo by manufacturer, description or SKU number. It is also really easy to view the gobos and flick through the list. Although it does take a while to scan thru 3500 gobos if you are viewing all manufactures. (That vertical alphabet index thing would be a great improvement when the list is sorted by description.) The app also keeps a recently viewed listed, but it does not offer a favorite/custom list option which I think would be useful. (Also an improvement I think that would be great on the iSwatch). Another cool feature is if you have iSwatch you can “gel” your gobos with colors from your most recently viewed color list, however you have to manually tell iSwatch to send the colors as it does not automatically do it. You can also flip gobos to see how they would look mirrored. The app does do two things that I think are awesome. First, you can focus the gobo as if it were in an instrument. Second, it lets you pre-visualize effects that can be created by using two gobos that rotate, simulating a gobo rotator. (Although the focus feature does not work in this mode, which would be a nice add-on)

There are a few things I would really like to see in future updates. One thing I would like to still see is a side by side comparison of gobos. Personally, I like to look at two similar gobos at the same time so I can judge the differences are. iSwatch lets you compare colors side by side, so why can't I look at two gobos at the same time. Another feature I wanted, but is missing from this app is viewing gobos by categories. It would be nice to search for gobos in the layout designers often find gobos. By abstract breakups, numbers, clouds/sky, tress, windows, rotation etc…

The only major downside to this app is that is has all of the major gobo manufacturers except Rosco. That is by far biggest downside to this app as missing one manufacturer affects the usefulness of the app exponentially. Essentially is missing about 1400 standard gobos designers are use to seeing. This dilemma is something I hoped could be avoided, as I advocated for one unified application for all gobos. There is a slight glimmer of hope though. Rosco is offering their own gobo application iGobo (nice name by the way) to be released in the near future…and it's for FREE! So designers will sadly have to flip back and forth between apps, but there will at least be a way to search all gobos from your iPhone.

If you want to be notified when Rosco's iGobo app is released. Click Here.

If you want to check out Wybron's Moiré Gobo Library app video overview before you buy it. Click Here.