Light Rays, Smoke, Fog

T

tommygdawg

Well-known member
Howdy ya'll

I got my fog machine a while ago, but I just recently got around to doing some tests with it. It's just a basic $30 dollar water-based unit. Does anyone have any tips on using these darn things to get a nice effect? It kicks out enough fog to really fog up a small or medium sized room okay, but the problem is that it just looks like smoke wafting through the air. I tried to get some light rays by placing an 800 watt light outside the window shades and shining into the smokey room, but I get no light rays. I tried blackwrap with holes in it on the lightface, nothin.

These probably all sound like really beginner questions, but I've never really used a fog machine before. Does anyone have any tips on how to get the best out of your fog machine?
 
Hazers are generally preferable, & rarely set off smoke alarms, but cost substantially more than inexpensive DJ style foggers.

When using foggers I often set them up in adjoining rooms, & left the fog drift in on it's own, or have someone fan it with a piece of board. This tends to make it less billowy, & defined.
 
The basic of getting shafts of light:

A "sharp light" (eg fresnel, narrow par, spotlight ) set at a long distance from a hard edge ( eg cutter, window frame..).

Distance (sharp, long throw) example : the sun, theatre lights

Theory: You are lighting the fog (atmosphere) so it is visible ( bright). The cutters are shading light off the atmosphere (shadow/dark).

Amount of fog has variable degrees of effect on the dark and bright areas.

A very little fog / haze usually goes a very long way. It is normal to over fill then just wait til it disperses evenly to a level where all the contrasts (subject / bg) work together.

It can take a while . Wafting it helps initially them let it settle. It is time consuming on set. Draughts, hot and cold air convection..dont make it easy.

Tip: I usually try to roll a take even when I know its a bit heavy for purpose..and then do another and another in quick succession.
Its like a sunset / sunrise. Its only right for a very short time ( with a long reset)
 
Thanks for the the thoughts, everyone. What you all recommend for fogging and light rays outdoors, say in a woods? Or is that really not doable without larger, more expensive machines?
 
FWIW

We used to use a device called a Pulse Fog.

Basically it was an agricultural fogger driven by a pulse jet ( V-bomb) engine. designed for fumigating orchards and large greenhouse. Cost effective and efficient for huge areas.

These days ... large fx foggers are available (and we would rent them).
 
What direction was your 800w light coming from relative to the camera? Shafts of light are most visible when they're backlighting the fog. If it was coming from near the camera, you won't get the same effect.
Also, when you say 800w light, I'm guessing it was either an 800w open face or HMI PAR; I'm not aware of any 800w fresnels. But a fresnel or ellipsoidal is probably a more preferable fixture for this purpose.
 
I've gotta say though - that "smoke in a can" has saved my ass plenty of times, I usually have a can tossed in a case somewhere (had a hazer die on set once, shooting smoke effect plates... I was one lucky bastard to have that can!) Or times when someone realizes a hint of haze would make a shot. It can leave little "flakes" floating around, but... they can look like "real" dust, too. It disperses decently for a uniform mist if the air is still enough. For the $$ and space it takes, why not?
 
With a cheap fogger, if you just want a decent haze to show beams of light, inbetween takes run the fogger a little bit, and just grab a flag or bounce board and waft it around to evenly disperse the fog. Just stay aware of trying to get a similar amount of haze between your takes!
 
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