ASK & DISCUSS INDEX

8 years, 4 months ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin

Hiya, you're caught a bit wanting two extremes. Outdoor haze and smoke dissipates quickly, as there are no walls to contain it, and even a slight breeze affects it. That means being able to produce a lot of smoke quickly, which means a powerful element.

On the other hand batteries are terrible at producing high power for any length of time. Battery power is not what you need.

What you need is a gas powered unit, available from LeMaitre and others. They require a bit of training to use safely (there's a real chance of damage to the unit or of spitting boiling oil). Because of this, I don't dry hire mine out, but will happily wet hire... but I'm in the wrong part of the country for you - I'm out in Bath. I'm sure you can find local, but if you can't and want to cover my expenses that's an option to keep in backup!

8 years, 4 months ago - Andrew Ionides

Thanks for the swift response Paddy. What are your thoughts on smoke pellets? Just spoke to a smoke machine supplier and they highly recommended those as an alternative...

8 years, 4 months ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin

Less controllable, but they'll certainly generate smoke which you can waft around. A good second option I'd suggest, and they're cheap.

The smoke tends to be larger particle and more drying to the eyes (it's burnt sugar, in effect) so can dissipate more quickly where a gas-based hazer/smoke machine is more likely to use oil mist - tiny amounts of medical grade mineral oil which form a very fine vapour which increases hang-time. Depending on the wind that may be moot, but it may be the difference between being able to 'go again' and 'reset'.

8 years, 4 months ago - Andrew Ionides

Good stuff. Thanks for confirming and for your good advice as always!

8 years, 4 months ago - Ray Brady

Faced a similar problem on my last shoot, ended up buying a large Carbon Dioxide fire extinguisher. The hose made it very directional. When fully rehearsed we would run camera and sound, then fire off a large blast and shout action. It worked but as Paddy said, any wind about on the day and the effect would be very short lived and way too noisy to fire of over action unless sound could be dubbed afterwards etc

8 years, 4 months ago - Andrew Ionides

Hi Ray, thanks for the reply. Did you consider using smoke pellets before the extinguisher or was it just a budget/cheaper option?

8 years, 4 months ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin

The extinguisher is an interesting idea - the effectiveness will vary a LOT by weather as they work by cooling the air and condensing the moisture in it. I'd expect even without a breeze that it would dissipate pretty quickly?

8 years, 4 months ago - Yen Rickeard

Depending on your venue and lots of safety issues, an off ground charcoal BBQ and damp leaves/grass cuttings provides smoke for an open area where smoke inhalation will not be an issue. Dry ice packs and water also work well for low lying mist.
Be canny in your shots too, use the generator (whichever) close to the camera and shoot through the smoke/mist for establishing shots. Shoot close ups of your talent with the mist effect just off camera behind them and in front of the distant objects. Use lighting to pick out even light mist and show it up more (led banks of lights last reasonably well). Think hard how you can shoot to get as much of the mist effect in shot as possible.