Smoke and Backlight

April 14, 2005

Hey all you pros out there, here's a simple question that I have for you. Are there different kinds of smoke or lighting techniques on can use to create different qualities of smoke? I'm sure there are, but I was hoping you guys might have some war stories of how to make smoke look great.

Two scenarios pop into mind. One is a smoke filled room lit mainly by a window source and the other is a stoner taking a major hit of a bong. Two different qualities, same lighting to show the smokey-ness?

Thanks.

Paul Bruening · April 17, 2005

Hey,

I've used a bee-smoker before loaded with pine needles. It makes a helluvastink but the effect is nice. It's cheap too. You can tape cigarettes together and pull them lightly with a vacuum cleaner nozzle. The smoke lingers very nicely. However, everyone can get pukey if they don't smoke. Dr. Bob sells water based foggers. I got a small one for $35.00. It's the most gentle on people but the fog is heavy and hard to control. Oil foggers cost more, hurt people and can even kill them by clogging their lungs and asphixiating them. It is, however, the time tested method used by Hollywood for dependable results. I fear oil foggers because of their danger and all the residue they leave all over the gear.

April 18, 2005

Hey,

I've used a bee-smoker before loaded with pine needles. It makes a helluvastink but the effect is nice.

Dr. Bob sells water based foggers. I got a small one for $35.00. It's the most gentle on people but the fog is heavy and hard to control.

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Is the bee-smoker nausiating at all?

Any suggestions controlling the hard to control smoke?

Thanks for the advice!

Edited April 18, 2005 by Christopher Wedding

Paul Bruening · April 18, 2005

Hey Chris,

I got my smoker off of a bee keeper's supply site. You can load straw, leaves, anyhting that smolders nicely and is organic matter. It smells like any leaf pile fire. Pine needles cover more area but the smoke is a bit harsh. I save that for BIG places. All of these will leave a smokey smell on walls and furniture. If the owners of the location are into fireplaces, then they may not mind the smell. As far as nausiating, everyone reacts to smoke differently. Everyone on my crew smokes so that's why we've used the cigarette bundle. It's not much worse than a smokey bar. It will, however, stink up that vacuum cleaner forever. Keep in mind that any and all of these devices will set off smoke alarms. I pull and take out all of them and reinstall AND test them when we're done.

I tried out my water fogger in a small room trying to match the conditions you mentioned. The coverage was ok (twenty minute linger) but it dissipated quickly unless all the doors and other leakage points were bunged over with towels. The fog was fannable and distributed evenly. However, it is still optically denser than smoke. Smoke grabs those light rays nicely without thickening the air between camera and subject. On the good side of water foggers- I stood in the room filling it with fog for over an hour and didn't get any side effects. If you can put up with it's light characteristics and can seal up leakage points, it may be the gentler way to go. Dr. Bob sold me an Eliminator EF400 for $37.95. If you're going to do a living room sized area, especially with adjoining rooms, you'll need something at least three times bigger. If I were in that situation, I'd probably get permission from the owners and consider straw (dried hay) for the bee smoker. I wish there were an easier or cheaper trick for you.

Good luck

Edited April 18, 2005 by Paul Bruening