Guest Posted October 2, 2005 Share Posted October 2, 2005 Hi, What do you guys suggest for making smoke with no fancy smoking machine? What has worked in the past for you? I just want to smoke up a small area and have light pass through it. But I'd like the smoke to evenly fill the room. Any ideas? Ta R, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dominik Muench Posted October 2, 2005 Share Posted October 2, 2005 get a beesmoker and use fresh eucalyptus leafes, non toxic and works well :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Dimitrios Koukas Posted October 2, 2005 Premium Member Share Posted October 2, 2005 Hi, What do you guys suggest for making smoke with no fancy smoking machine? What has worked in the past for you? I just want to smoke up a small area and have light pass through it. But I'd like the smoke to evenly fill the room. Any ideas? Ta R, Richard, Do you smoke? :) Just joking here, u can also use incense or I believe it's also called francinsense, u know the one that use in the Christian churces. U can put a film can with some on it. It works well too, but I ve found dmuench suggestion better to be honest, just think of it as an alternative. Dimitrios Koukas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Tim J Durham Posted October 2, 2005 Premium Member Share Posted October 2, 2005 Hi, What do you guys suggest for making smoke with no fancy smoking machine? What has worked in the past for you? I just want to smoke up a small area and have light pass through it. But I'd like the smoke to evenly fill the room. Any ideas? Ta R, Try sweeping the floor. That will kick up a lot of dust if the room is anything like my house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member David Mullen ASC Posted October 2, 2005 Premium Member Share Posted October 2, 2005 I don't know about the health issues of breathing homemade smoke... after all, a party fogger is not THAT expensive to rent for a day. There is also a product called "Diffusion in a Can" at some expendable stores. William Fraker sprinked beeswax over hot charcoals in a film can to smoke up an exterior in "1941". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 2, 2005 Share Posted October 2, 2005 Hey David, When you say "party fogger" don't those devices usually work with dry ice? I will be getting some dry ice and playing around with what it can do. But I've used it on several shoots before and it hugs the ground. I need a way to get smoke into the air so that light can pass through it. I will be setting up some blinds with a 1K behind them and a blue gel. Then I will focus on the object as the light is broken up into shafts by the blinds. It's a look we've seen in movies 500 times before I know. R, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Phil Rhodes Posted October 2, 2005 Premium Member Share Posted October 2, 2005 Hi, I can't believe this comes up as a problem so often :) Smoke machines in all shapes and sizes can be rented cheaply from any theatrical lighting or event staging company. The very smallest operate from an aerosol can of fluid and can be unplugged then used while hot as you wander around, which is convenient, but most need mains power to run a high pressure pump. They burn something that's basically synthetic banana oil (provoking the oft-misunderstood line in "Singin' in the rain"), or more to the point don't burn it but instead evaporate it into a fine mist which is - apparently - not harmful. Various grades of fluid produce smoke which lingers longer, or you can just cut it with deionised water. You can get versions which produce a jet of smoke, or devices designed to run continuously that produce a fine haze, which is often more appropriate for aerial effect. Stil further versions use an air compressor to ultrasonically vapourise the oil, but they're falling out of favour as they produce a large-sized aerosol particle which can lead to a sticky buildup on nearby objects. Still further versions use a special fluid and a refrigeration unit to produce low-lying fog which acts somewhat like dry ice, but there's no denying that the real thing hangs lower for longer and is whiter. All very available, easy to use, safe and convenient. Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 2, 2005 Share Posted October 2, 2005 Thanks Phil, One of my main reasons for the thread was that I'm a 1.5 hour drive to Toronto where I would have to rent the machine, so that's a three hour round trip. Then I have to take it back and come home again, so it's really 6 hours of driving for one machine for one shot. And since gas costs $97.00 a litre I was hoping to avoid the travel . I'll call around the city I'm close to and see what I can dig up. Money is no object of course, I always spend what ever it takes to get the shot, time on the other hand is a different matter :-) Thanks Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Stephen Williams Posted October 2, 2005 Premium Member Share Posted October 2, 2005 Money is no object of course, I always spend what ever it takes to get the shot, time on the other hand is a different matter :-) Thanks Richard Richard, Why not buy a smoke machine then? Overnight delivery? Stephen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member David Mullen ASC Posted October 2, 2005 Premium Member Share Posted October 2, 2005 These "party foggers" are usually made by Rosco and burn a water-gylcol(?) mixture that OK to breathe. In L.A., they are about $30/day to rent I think, which could end up cheaper than a bunch of cans of Diffusion in a Can. Many local nightclubs also have these foggers on their shelves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Phil Rhodes Posted October 2, 2005 Premium Member Share Posted October 2, 2005 Hi, Good point. I've considered owning a mini-mist (the aerosol one) myself. Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 2, 2005 Share Posted October 2, 2005 Maybe I should buy one, I've bought just about every other piece of silly gear one can have, lights, camera crane, underwater housing, three DV cameras, two computers, three tri-pods, etc etc etc etc. Heck why not add a smoke machine, first stop, ebay :-) R, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 2, 2005 Share Posted October 2, 2005 Ok I found this on the web, David you alerted me to this so thanks! I didn't even know such a product existed. http://shop.store.yahoo.com/cinemasupplies...usionincan.html Isn't this forum helpful? I'm sure I'll get a good shot with this, and on the cheap too! Plus no driving. Thanks all. R, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dominik Muench Posted October 3, 2005 Share Posted October 3, 2005 Ok I found this on the web, David you alerted me to this so thanks! I didn't even know such a product existed. http://shop.store.yahoo.com/cinemasupplies...usionincan.html Isn't this forum helpful? I'm sure I'll get a good shot with this, and on the cheap too! Plus no driving. Thanks all. R, dont get too excited, i used smoke in a can before...from another company though and it didnt work at all, the smoke stayed in the room for maybe 15 seconds before it disappeared into nothingness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 3, 2005 Share Posted October 3, 2005 It's a 10 second shot so I've got five seconds to spare, perfect! R, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member David Mullen ASC Posted October 3, 2005 Premium Member Share Posted October 3, 2005 Just make sure it's a sealed room with no drafts if you want your smoke to stop drifting. Generally the first time you have to oversmoke the room and let it fill the space evenly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Pacini Posted October 5, 2005 Share Posted October 5, 2005 They also sell fog machines at Radio Shack. Do they have Radio Shacks in Canada? Anyway, I see them on ebay all the time as well. MP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riku Naskali Posted October 6, 2005 Share Posted October 6, 2005 If you really have no electricity you can use pyro smokes. I've burned something that is essentially same stuff as salmiac. Ammoniumchloride I think. Please don't take my advice from word to word, it was a mixture of different stuff we used and I don't know more about it. But it's worth looking into. Look here: http://www.experimenten.nl/ammoniumchloride.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoreyAndrews Posted October 10, 2005 Share Posted October 10, 2005 i just bought a small fog machine for 30 dollars CAD, if you can't afford that, you're probably in trouble. Also, to make note, it seems to work quite well, in 30 seconds my kitchen went from normal to looking like it had been buring on fire for an hour, very cheap. Ebay does also have cheap ones. BTW, i bought mine at Zellers and I know Walmart carries them too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Daniel J. Ashley-Smith Posted October 10, 2005 Share Posted October 10, 2005 (edited) You can actually buy smoke pellets, literally just sit them on a dish and then light them with a match or something. Although.. I'd personally use a fog machine, since as you can regulate the amount of smoke. With smoke pellets it may be very smokey one minute, but then back to normal when it comes to shooting. (eBay is great for fog machines) Edited October 10, 2005 by Daniel J. Ashley-Smith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alvin Pingol Posted October 10, 2005 Share Posted October 10, 2005 I purchased a good-sized fog machine (can't remember the wattage or CFM, as I don't currently have access to it) for $30 USD on eBay. The fog juice was $16/gallon, plus $2 shipping. The juice doesn't go quick; although I'll admit I haven't used the machine much, I expect the remainder of the gallon to last for several more months. For best results, point the fog into the rear of a large floor fan. This will give you the most even spread in the least amount of time and effort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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