Rosco Laboratories
Rosco Laboratories is an American manufacturer of lighting, color, scenic, atmospheric, and related technical products for theatre, film, television, and other live-entertainment applications.
Last updated October 30, 2026
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Overview
Rosco Laboratories is an American specialist manufacturer serving the technical and creative needs of live entertainment and screen production. Founded in Brooklyn in 1910 by chemist Sydney Rosenstein, the company began with Colorine and Opaline, lacquers used to color or frost electric light bulbs. These early products were associated with theatre marquees and positioned Rosco at the intersection of chemistry, lighting, and performance presentation. The company expanded from bulb treatments into products used directly in theatrical lighting. Its portfolio grew to include color gels, which modify the color and quality of light, and gobos, which place patterns or images into a beam. These products became important tools for stage designers, cinematographers, lighting directors, and other production professionals. Rosco's development was shaped by the increasing technical demands of theatre, motion pictures, television, and related entertainment fields, where controlled light, surface appearance, atmosphere, and scenic realism are essential. A major ownership and organizational turning point came in 1958, when cousins Stan Miller and Len Kraft purchased the company. Rosco moved from Brooklyn to Westchester County in 1962. Under Miller's leadership, the business continued broadening beyond traditional gels. It developed or marketed fog machines and fog fluids, LED lighting fixtures, specialist scenic and studio paints, and backdrops designed for film and television production. The company became particularly associated with products that could solve practical production problems, including the simulation of different times of day, the creation of atmospheric effects, and the controlled coloration of light. Rosco's products have received recognition from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for technical contributions involving gels, fog fluids, and backdrops. The company also received a Primetime Emmy Engineering Award in 2004 for innovation in backdrops. These awards reflect the technical rather than consumer-facing nature of the Rosco brand: its products are typically embedded in professional workflows, and their value is measured by controllability, repeatability, durability, and contribution to the finished production. The company has also experienced operational disruption. A 1999 fire destroyed Rosco's Hollywood warehouse along with other neighboring businesses; the Los Angeles Fire Department attributed the fire's intensity to the synthetic paint inventory stored in the warehouse. In 2021, cold weather and power outages in Texas affected Rosco paint supplies by damaging raw-material stocks, contributing to a broader industry shortage. Demand associated with the production design of the film Barbie further strained supplies of Rosco pink paint, as the production purchased the company's entire available stock of that color. Rosco remains an active international supplier. As of 2023, it had offices or operations in the United States, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Singapore, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. Its business spans lighting control, LED fixtures, color media, image-projection accessories, scenic paints, atmospheric effects, and backdrops. The brand is best understood as a professional production-technology company rather than a consumer lighting brand: its customers are entertainment-production organizations and practitioners who need specialized tools for shaping light, scenery, color, and atmosphere.
History
Rosco Laboratories was established in Brooklyn in 1910 by Sydney Rosenstein, a chemist whose first products were Colorine and Opaline. These were lacquers designed to color or frost electric light bulbs, and they were used in early electric theatre marquees. The products gave Rosco an early foothold in entertainment applications by addressing the appearance and coloration of newly important electric lighting. Rosco subsequently expanded into color gels for theatrical lighting and gobos, devices or patterns used to shape and project light. This development moved the company from treating light bulbs toward providing tools that allowed production teams to control the color, texture, and visual direction of illumination. The company's customer base and technical relevance grew alongside theatre production and later motion-picture and television production. In 1958, cousins Stan Miller and Len Kraft purchased Rosco. The company relocated from Brooklyn to Westchester County in 1962. Under Miller's leadership, Rosco continued developing products for professional entertainment production and broadened its scope beyond lighting media. Its later offerings included fog machines, LED lighting fixtures, specialist paints, and backdrops. These products addressed the wider visual environment of a production: lighting fixtures generated or shaped illumination, gels and color systems modified it, paints created controlled scenic surfaces, fog products supplied atmospheric effects, and backdrops provided photographic or theatrical environments. Rosco's products achieved recognition for technical contributions to screen production. CineGel, fog fluid, CalColor, and day/night backdrops were associated with Academy Awards for technical achievement. The company received its first Academy Scientific and Technical Award in 1973, followed by further awards in 1984, 1998, and 2000, for a total of four. It later received a 2004 Primetime Emmy Engineering Award for innovation in backdrops. The awards are significant because they reflect recognition by film and television technical communities for tools used behind the scenes rather than for consumer-visible branding. The business also faced physical and supply-chain challenges. In 1999, a fire destroyed Rosco's Hollywood warehouse and affected neighboring businesses. The Los Angeles Fire Department said the large inventory of synthetic paints contributed to the fire's intensity. In 2021, Rosco paint supplies were affected after cold weather and power outages in Texas damaged raw-material stocks. The episode coincided with a broader paint shortage. Demand from the production of Barbie created an additional pressure point: the production design's extensive use of pink led its producers to purchase Rosco's entire available stock of pink paint, according to the cited account. By 2023, Rosco operated internationally, with offices or operations reported in the United States, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Singapore, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. Its product range covers professional lighting, color-control materials, scenic and studio coatings, atmospheric equipment and fluids, and backdrops. Rosco's historical development therefore runs from chemical treatments for electric bulbs to a broad production-technology portfolio supporting the manipulation of light, color, scenery, and atmosphere across theatre, film, television, and live entertainment.
- 2023
International operating footprint documented
[1]Rosco is reported as operating worldwide, with offices or operations across North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Middle East.
- 2021
Paint supply disruption
[1]Cold weather and Texas power outages damage raw-material stocks, contributing to a shortage of Rosco paints.
- 2004
Primetime Emmy Engineering Award
[1]Rosco receives a Primetime Emmy Engineering Award for innovation in backdrops.
- 2000
Fourth Academy Scientific and Technical Award
[1]Rosco receives its fourth Academy Scientific and Technical Award cited in the available reference material.
- 1999
Hollywood warehouse fire
[1]A fire destroys Rosco's Hollywood warehouse and nearby businesses are also affected.
- 1998
Third Academy Scientific and Technical Award
[1]Rosco receives a further Academy Scientific and Technical Award for technical work associated with its entertainment-production products.
- 1984
Second Academy Scientific and Technical Award
[1]The company receives another Academy Scientific and Technical Award.
- 1973
First Academy Scientific and Technical Award
[1]Rosco receives the first of four Academy Scientific and Technical Awards cited for its technical innovations.
- 1962
The company moves from Brooklyn to Westchester County
[1]Rosco relocates its operations from Brooklyn to Westchester County, New York.
- 1958
Stan Miller and Len Kraft purchase the company
[1]Cousins Stan Miller and Len Kraft acquire Rosco and begin a new phase of company development.
Products and positioning
A professional production-technology brand focused on controlling light, color, scenery, atmosphere, and visual environments for theatre, film, television, and live entertainment.
Light-bulb lacquers · 1910
Colorine and Opaline
Rosco's first products were lacquers used to color or frost electric light bulbs. They were employed in early electric theatre marquees and established the company's original focus on modifying the appearance of light through chemical coatings.
Lighting color media
Color gels
Rosco color gels are professional lighting media used to alter the color and quality of light in theatre, film, television, and live-event settings. They allow lighting teams to create controlled color effects, compensate for different light sources, and support the visual design of a production.
Lighting projection accessories
Gobos
Gobos are patterned or imaged accessories placed in a lighting path to project shapes, textures, or defined patterns. Rosco's gobo products extend the company's lighting-control portfolio from simple color modification to the projection of visual detail onto stages and other production spaces.
Film and television lighting media
CineGel
CineGel is a Rosco product line associated with professional motion-picture and television lighting. It provides production teams with media for controlling and shaping light on camera, and it is among the Rosco products cited in connection with Academy technical recognition.
Lighting color-control system
CalColor
CalColor is a Rosco color-control product line used in professional lighting applications. It is associated with Rosco's technical work in color media and with the company's recognition by the film-industry Academy for innovations used in production environments.
Professional lighting equipment
LED lighting fixtures
Rosco's LED lighting fixtures extend its historical expertise in color and light media into electronically controlled illumination. The fixtures are intended for professional entertainment and production applications where designers require controllable light sources in addition to filters, gels, and projection accessories.
Specialist production coatings
Scenic and studio paints
Rosco produces specialist paints used for scenic, theatrical, studio, and film-production work. These materials support the creation and finishing of controlled visual surfaces. Their importance to the company was highlighted by the 1999 Hollywood warehouse fire and by later supply constraints affecting Rosco paint availability.
Atmospheric effects
Fog machines and fog fluids
Rosco's fog machines and fluids create atmospheric effects for theatrical, filmed, and live productions. They enable designers and cinematographers to make light beams visible, establish mood, and add depth to a production environment. Fog fluids are among the technical areas associated with Rosco's Academy recognition.
Film and television backdrops
Day/night backdrops
Rosco's backdrops provide controlled backgrounds for film and television production, including surfaces designed to represent different times of day or environmental settings. Day/night backdrops are specifically associated with the company's Academy-recognized technical work, while backdrop innovation also received a Primetime Emmy Engineering Award.
Brand decisions
2021
Supply response to paint shortagesOtherBackground
Cold weather and power outages in Texas damaged raw-material stocks during a broader paint shortage. Demand from the production of Barbie also increased pressure on pink paint supplies.
Action taken
Rosco's available paint inventory, including its pink paint stock, was drawn down during the disruption; the Barbie production purchased the available stock of pink paint described in the reference account.
Aftermath
The episode highlighted the dependence of specialist production materials on upstream raw materials and the effect that a major film production can have on niche-color availability.
1962
Relocation to Westchester CountyStrategyBackground
After the change in ownership, Rosco continued developing its entertainment-product business beyond its original Brooklyn base.
Action taken
The company moved its operations from Brooklyn to Westchester County, New York.
Aftermath
Rosco subsequently expanded its product scope into fog equipment, LED lighting, paints, and backdrops.
1958
Acquisition by Stan Miller and Len KraftM&ABackground
Rosco had developed from a Brooklyn maker of light-bulb lacquers into a supplier of theatre lighting materials, including gels and gobos.
Action taken
Cousins Stan Miller and Len Kraft purchased Rosco Laboratories.
Aftermath
The acquisition preceded further product development and geographic relocation, including the move from Brooklyn to Westchester County in 1962.
Recent events
Rosco sponsored NTEA's Work Truck Week 2021 virtual event[3]
Reported:
Rosco sponsored NTEA's 2021 Work Truck Week virtual event and hosted a session presentation featuring several Rosco Vision products.
Sources3 sources
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