A gobo is a term that originated in the film industry. It’s used to describe anything that goes between the light source and the subject or background that creates a pattern of shadows. As such, gobos come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. There are natural gobos like the sun shining through leaves, then there are the kind of gobos that we create ourselves to change the mood of our lighting. A classic example is the film noir look, where a blind is placed between the light and the subject to create horizontal shadows.