Cheapest form of creating atmospheric haze ?

[Ram Nanda]

For Indie shooting, what are the cheapest forms of creating hazy atmosphere for depth ?

Haze machine, to me, is little over the budget.

In India, we use sambrani powder for smoke, but when used in indoors it creates suffocation.

added to that sambrani smoke doesn't stay. it lingers in air. 

Any other cheap alternatives ?

[David Mullen ASC]

Haze from a machine using a water-glycol fluid is one of the few safe things for actors and crew to breathe indoors. If you can see it hanging in the air, you have to research what it does in your lungs. Considering one can rent a small hazer for parties, they can't be that expensive. There are also some "smoke in a can" aerosols but they don't last long and are more for still photo shoots, not for an all-day film shoot where in the long term, a haze machine is more cost-effective.

https://www.amazon.com/can-fog-haze-effects-photography/dp/B09XDCY71F/ref=asc_df_B08N5BTTX7?mcid=9ba5e3b96f2b3047aa6f41006128e1b7&tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=693360658756&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9954959439392839413&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9061105&hvtargid=pla-1188167900071&th=1

[Ram Nanda]

Thanks Mr.David

[Stewart McLain]

Hi Ram.  I don't really have a suggestion so much as I have a warning. 

When I was a student I worked special effects on a couple of films.  Adding atmosphere was an everyday thing for us.  My key was a local professional who used a homemade contraption called a "cracker" to create atmosphere.  The cracker was essentially an air compressor attached to a pipe with tiny holes drilled into it that was submerged in a bucket of mineral oil.  When the compressor was turned on it atomized the oil and created the haze which I blew out onto the set with a fan.  It worked well and looked great. 

However,  by the end of the day everyone and everything on set was coated in oil:  Actors, crew, clothing, lenses, c-stands...everything.  It was slippery and attracted dirt.  I recieved a number of complaints about this (which never seemed fair since I was just a student and only using the tools my key gave me...what the hell did I know?)   I later learned that atomized mineral oil is carcinogenic.  As David pointed out, it pays to know what you're breathing into your lungs.

Some people feel that mineral oil creates a better looking haze than water-based haze fluid.  This may be true.  But if your special effects crew wants to use this approach,  my advice would be to use it wiith caution, if at all.   There are safer solutions.

[David Mullen ASC]

Most locations ban mineral oil smoke as does SAG for actors, I believe.

[Albion Hockney]

On lower end production I think people often don't understand the distinction between mineral and water based haze.

The dp asks for a DF50 and whatever juice comes with it gets put into it. I was always told the DF50 is water based....but thats not true...it can take either.

 

[Sebastian Bock]

While reading this thread, a scene from „living in oblivion“ popped up automatically… 😉