Cycloramas
Rosco TV White · Cyclorama & Studio Paint
A cyclorama that reads clean, even white on camera
Painting or repainting a cyc, infinity wall or studio backdrop? Whether you run a film or TV studio, a broadcast set, a photography studio, a content or streaming space, a virtual production / LED volume, an events or exhibition stand, or a theatre cyc, Rosco TV White (5735) is a purpose-made studio white, engineered around a 60% reflectance target so your background balances to a controllable white under lights and through the lens, instead of blowing out.
A cyclorama is unforgiving, and ordinary white paint shows it
Whatever you shoot against it — film, broadcast, stills, streaming, virtual production, events or live theatre — the whole point of a cyc is a smooth, even, shadowless background. That is exactly where a normal white paint lets you down.
It over-exposes and glares
A bright “visual white” clips and hotspots the moment you light it, throwing glare back into the lens and blowing out your highlights.
Gradients go patchy
Light a wall in a wash and every roller mark, seam and uneven patch in the base coat suddenly shows. On a cyc there is nowhere to hide it.
Exposure is hard to hold
Push intensity or add a colour wash and an ordinary white spikes unpredictably, so you are fighting the background instead of lighting it.
“This white looks grey”
Open a tin of proper studio white and it looks like a soft neutral grey. It is meant to, and the reason is the whole trick, but it catches people out.
How TV White fixes it
It is built for the camera, not the eye, and every one of those problems has an answer designed into the paint.
60% reflectance sweet spot
TV White sits at the top end of usable brightness for camera white balance. You get “white” on screen with cleaner exposure, less clipping and fewer hotspots.
Super-matte, low glare
A super-matte finish is designed to reduce unintended reflections, so the wall stays even and does not bounce glare back at the lens.
Even gradients across big walls
Controlled reflectance helps lighting gradients look smooth right across the cyc, so washes and falloff read cleanly instead of blotching.
Predictable colour washes
Because the base does not spike, colour washes stay controllable. You light the look you want rather than correcting for the surface.
Camera white, not visual white
The neutral balance in the tin is deliberate. It supports the 60% reflectance target and reads as a clean, consistent white once the cyc is lit. More on that below.
Water-based and easy to lay
Water-based vinyl acrylic. Brush, roller or spray, straight from the tin or thinned up to 10% with clean water, over a Tough Prime White base for a uniform surface.
Why TV White looks grey in the tin
This is the question we get most, so here it is plainly: TV White is “camera white”, not “visual white”. A truly bright white to the eye is what causes glare and blown-out exposure on camera. The neutral balance is what keeps it controllable.
A soft neutral grey
Straight from the container it looks like a light grey. Nothing is wrong. That neutral tone is what sits at the 60% reflectance target.
A clean, even white
Once the cyc is lit and the camera is balanced, it reads as a clean white background, without the glare and clipping a “visual white” would give you.
Rosco explains the reflectance and finish behind this in their article, 3 Reasons TV White Is Best for Cycloramas.
Not sure TV White is your brief?
Two common cases where something else fits better. We would rather point you to the right product than sell you the wrong one.
You are shooting on green screen
If the cyc has to key rather than read white, you want a purpose-made chroma key system, not a white paint. We stock the Rosco chroma key range for exactly that.
You want bright white to the eye
For a foyer, a school hall or general scenery that just needs to look white in the room, Rosco Off Broadway “White White” (5351) is the scenic white to reach for.
Now for the practical side
See the full specs, how to paint a cyc properly, and how much TV White your wall needs.
Next step · Step 2 of 3 Specs, application & how much you needPlanning a cyc or studio backdrop?
We are the exclusive Rosco distributor for Australia and New Zealand, supplying film and TV studios, broadcasters, photographers, content creators, virtual production stages, events and exhibition crews and theatres. Tell us your wall or cyc size in metres, including any curved sweep, and we will help you work out coats and quantity.