How to make breath visible in a 65-70 degree room?

T

TeresofBlood

Active member
I wrote a short horror flick in which the basement of a building is to be cold enough for breath to be visible. Fact of the matter is, the location's basement is nowhere near cold enough and I doubt I will be able to get any kind of control over the temperature.

The visible breath isn't necessary, but it will really add some atmosphere to certain scenes, and actually it will enrich the underlying symbolism in the movie. So, I guess it is necessary haha.

Any ideas? Thanks!

Note: CG is a possibility, but I don't know how good that can be accomplished with the tools of CS5.
 
Great, thanks for the link. Hopefully they've helped streamline this process in CS5, as I'd have be adding this effect to a multitude of shots.
 
just don't base your breath off of The Social Network, which butchered cold breath CG like I've never seen done it before
 
FWIW, if it is VERY cold and you DON'T want to see their breath, have the actors suck on ice cubes right before the take. works great...for a short take.
 
dry ice in the mouth.
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OK, I'm going to give the benefit of the doubt and say you were being funny, BUT

There are a whole lot of newbies lurking arond here that might just think this was a valid idea. SEVERE frostbite and damage to the tongue and other mouth parts would be almost instantaneous - it's temperature is roughly 100 degrees below zero farenheit.
 
pixelated said:
OK, I'm going to give the benefit of the doubt and say you were being funny, BUT

There are a whole lot of newbies lurking arond here that might just think this was a valid idea. SEVERE frostbite and damage to the tongue and other mouth parts would be almost instantaneous - it's temperature is roughly 100 degrees below zero farenheit.
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It is valid as long as you are willing to take the risk and responsibility seriously.
Some people might say its not a valid idea to jump off a building into a pile of cardboard boxes / inflated air bag, or to get in a car and hit a rail that makes it flip onto its back and then explode.

Also here is the science, the dry ice sublimates at such a fast rate, that it creates a layer of gas that seperates it from being in direct contact with your mouth/tongue, this method is also used for the people who put molten metal on their tongue.
As long as you keep the dry ice in motion, it does not have enough time to damage anything.
That being said, you can still screw it up and its your own fault if you do.

Here is a video of a teacher pouring liquid nitrogen onto a student's hand
 
Kevin is right about the dry ice thing, I can confirm this from first hand experience, kind off.
There is this restaurant which offers a very special desert. Although I know the owner he wouldn't tell me what exactly goes in it, secret recipe and I believe it's the only place to serve it.
The guy uses liquid nitrogen and mixes it up with coffee flavoured powder... it's kind off looking like crumbles of popcorn... then you take it in your mouth and eat it... although it's liquid nitrogen (mixed with other stuff) it melts instantly and you breathe out supercold air.
So, yeah you can do this and at the same time have a excellent desert instead of hurting yourself! ;)
 
Yes, and some people do electrical tie-ins...

I don't and wouldn't recommend it to others.
 
The point I was making is that you should never be afraid of doing something, as long as you do it properly and understand the risks involved.
I'm in the camp where its best to just CG something like that, but that doesn't mean it is the only way.
 
It's a perfectly safe way to do it with liquid nitrogen if you know how. Improper use of anything can result in harm so you might as well stay at home and lock yourself in. ;)
 
I'm sorry the dry ice in the mouth is one of the Stu$%^st things I have seen posted. Have you ever handled the stuff??? It is not a trivial thing and what you suggest could permanently injure someone, as in an actor that can't talk anymore. Talk about law suit. The video is in another country where safety is??? If your doing it in the US you are risking a LOT. And he is poring at a distance and the Nitrogen is evaporating before it hits her hand.

But Dry Ice is not liquid Nitrogen. It's solid CO2. It will freeze the moisture in your mouth (like licking a light post in sub freezing temperatures) and cause a lot of damage.

Being "adventuresome" is one thing being negligent is another.

Saying the risk is up to the actor to decide is also complete BS. Actors are not making an informed choice. THey are going off what you tell them mostly. Most of the serious injuries that I saw in years of theatre were because of someone asking an actor to do something that they "thought" would be safe. If you want an actor to do it you do it first. YOU demonstrate it's safe, and THEN ask others to do it.

Back to the OP. CG can work, If you can chill the room a bit you bay be able to get them to drink something hot like tea and get a breath or two. But CG is probably what you will end up needing. Also some cleaver angles that mask the mouth a bit will help a lot in making it more believable. You need maybe one great mouth/ fog shot and the rest can be implied.

And don't ask your actors to do anything the person suggesting it wouldn't do is a good safety rule. It is very easy to be confident in something if YOU are not the one at risk.

I had a director once (in theatre) who wanted to fog the theatre with Dry Ice fog over the heads of the first row. We talked him out of it by pointing out that it would kill the entire row. CO2 displaces oxygen. Anyone under the fog layer WILL die of asphyxiation.

Simple things can be extremely dangerous. So it's important that when doing these kinds of things you have a source better than this forum to rely on. Heck I could be a dimwit as well as anybody else on here. This is a great source of info BUT on things regarding safety you need to go beyond the online community and find people who actually have done the things you want done and can demo them so you KNOW you wont kill anybody.

I am very experienced in a lot of areas and I have made stupid mistakes. It is MUCH easier to get hurt than anyone can imagine BEFORE the gag that hurts people. So have someone who is obsessive about why something can go wrong and to tests. You will sleep better at night.
 
Noiz2 said:
I'm sorry the dry ice in the mouth is one of the Stu$%^st things I have seen posted. Have you ever handled the stuff??? It is not a trivial thing and what you suggest could permanently injure someone, as in an actor that can't talk anymore. Talk about law suit. The video is in another country where safety is??? If your doing it in the US you are risking a LOT. And he is poring at a distance and the Nitrogen is evaporating before it hits her hand.
Click to expand...

Ok here is one in America for you, since you think location has an effect on risk. He even picks it up with his bare hand at one point (drops it of course, but his hand didnt turn to ice, nor did he loose his fingers)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3B5I4rpMrs

I had a director once (in theatre) who wanted to fog the theatre with Dry Ice fog over the heads of the first row. We talked him out of it by pointing out that it would kill the entire row.
Click to expand...
For that to be true, the ammount of fog needed would be so much that people would not be able to see the show anyways. A little CO2 will not kill you, you are surrounded by it right now! GASP
Now if you did it in a enclosed space you would have a problem, not if you did it in a wide open theater with AC vents pumping in tonns of air.

Again, I would go the CG method, but alarmist reactions and fear mongering wont help

Also
It will freeze the moisture in your mouth (like licking a light post in sub freezing temperatures) and cause a lot of damage.
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Metal is a great conductor, air and water isnt, so no, you are wrong on this. It takes time for things to freeze, its not instant.
See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddST_7n9peg
Even with such a thin layer of liquid, it takes seconds for the bubbles to freeze.

the_more_you_know2.jpg
 
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smoke can look like breath if you exhale correctly, but given that your actors dont smoke... E cigarettes can be filled with non-nicotine vapors and would even look better than real smoke.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5ss8xlp_6A&feature=related

noptice he is taking pretty big hits from the cig to get more vapor but if your actor took moderate hits i think it would look very close to breath.
 
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