Something to fill 'space' in a dark forest?

S

seven.b

Well-known member
Hi guys-

I'll be shooting some mountain biking in a dark forest using lots of lights next month. I would be very ecstatic if there was some fog hanging around that night, but chances of that happening are slim in this area. Is there some sort of dust, small explosive, or artificial mist that would work for a fairly large area? I would have no problem doing this for every shot.

Thanks,

Steve
 
Since you'll have a lot of lights, I'm guessing you'll have a lot of power. There may not be a lot of fog hanging around, but is there anything stopping you from hanging 2 or 3 of these (they go for $300 new of $150 used). You could buy a couple, use them, and sell them on ebay later if you don't want to keep them. Add a couple of fans to spred the fog around and.... Well, just watch the video for the kind of output you get from one of these.

 
You should look into a pressure washer... you can adjust it towards a fine mist spray. One of the smaller ones can still cover a very large area with mist.
It wont chew through water too badly... only problem is, you need around a 1000watt inverter and have a car or car battery near by.
There are the garden self pump (insecticide sprayers too)... but i really doubt those would be of much use.
My thought would be too, spray a mist as a biker passes though some kinda tight turn or a jump, that way your not having a cover a large area and you still give the sense of drama... in a more or less standard bike shot.
 
> You should look into a pressure washer...

That's a new one for me. Have you seen this used in a film setting? Any examples?
 
Not necessarily (beyond photos showing something similar, used for creating snow and mist/rain on a studio movie set), I own a pressure washer so there is some personal experience (although i havent used it for a film...yet.)
But almost anyone can see at a car wash that a HUGE fine mist, it can produce instantly... sorta like an instant cloud rushing by...and i know that it doesn't chew through water like a garden hose would.
So a bunch of huge water containers would last most of the day.
I can clean my bike up with about 5 gallons (including the gears and chain..."proper clean").
Anyhow, it'll cost most people 50c to try out the theory at some local do-it-yourself carwash.
 
daihard said:
You should look into a pressure washer... you can adjust it towards a fine mist spray. One of the smaller ones can still cover a very large area with mist.
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The water will drop right away and doesn't give much throw. Plus, I don't think it'll give you a very natural look. Might give you mud though.

And if it was me, I'd probably want to keep my expensive cameras and lights away from a mist of fine water.

I mean, this is kind of frightening:


Even something gentler like this, which looks better, would quickly drench my gear:

EDIT: Found one more video with a pressure washer creating a fine mist. Looks better, but I would still be afraid of soaking my gear and equipment over a fairly short time.

 
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Chris Johnston is right - for large outdoor scenarios, there is nothing like pyro smoke /fog - smoke granates or fog powder - cheap and effective.

....or burn some old tires - but that would give you dark smoke :evil:
 
Okay, well... i can do some tests. However, i think anyone who would actually "aim" the mist towards their gear would be insane anyhow. My guess is the OP would be shooting with somewhat of a zoom (probably around a 50mm - on a crop, so like 85mm or higher - or higher zoom, so they wouldn't be right next to the action.
The "action" would pass through or under the mist... with the camera man sitting in the nearby bushes, off to the side.
Lights and what not, can easily be covered from the mist, so thats a none issue.
Look guys, this is a suggestion... I havent actually myself used a pressure washer in this manner. However, from what i've seen I think its actually perfectly suited for creating the desired look.
Also, a side note. No one would actually consider using the washer continuously, so per scene/shot... using the washer for a few mins would NOT create much mud/puddles/or get things soaking wet.
The mist is so fine, its much closer to a thick cloud/fog passing through. (i can only use the mist feature - cleaning - when the sprayer is a few feet from my bike... or else its useless)
stand about 7-10 meters/yards from a pressure washer set on fine mist, and I bet you BEERS you'd be still VERY dry after 1 min. (mid spring/summer day)
 
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daihard said:
Okay, well... i can do some tests. However, i think anyone who would actually "aim" the mist towards their gear would be insane anyhow.
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I could be wrong, but I got the sense that the lighting gear will be hidden around the scene and will probably get hit by whatever fog the OP generates. And I suppose I was visualizing how I'd probably shoot such a scene, with the camera moving along with the action. So I'm not sure how I would avoid getting hit with the "fog".

Then again, the OP also said in his title, "Something to fill 'space' in a dark forest?" - so maybe his equipment will be nowhere near the fog. So maybe your idea would work.

But I like the smoke bomb idea, although the risk of fire is always an issue with those, especially in a forest. And they don't last all that long (1-2 minutes).

Hey - maybe a mix of smoke bombs and pressure washers!
 
Yes, I was thinking of the cams being behind the mist spray. Also the mist would be aimed upwards and sorta "fall" into the scene. But the real question is how to power one of these washers in the woods. These little guys still run at 1000 watts +, so its not your normal inverter (300-500 watts). But if you have a portable Gen/car... then i guess your all set.
Smoke bombs kinda work, but I feel the smoke rises too fast and doesn't stick to the ground easily.
The fog gens ARE THE BEST solution, but they can be a little costly to invest in at first.
Maybe dry ice in a large water bucket would be another consideration, its pretty cheap and creates a TON of low lying "fog"...
A pressure washer would allow some aim, would generate enough "mist" to cover the scene... and is CHEAP. But smoke bombs, dry ice, and maybe rental fog machines could all work as well.
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I've heard of people basically making those soaking hoses, but for fog, out of PVC.

Try a bunch of 20' lengths of PVC, maybe 2" in diameter, drill a bunch of small holes all the way along the pipe and then stick your fog machine in one end and cap the other. This way your fog will slowly seep out and evenly cover a large area at one time.

I've never done it myself, but it sounds like a good idea. Could work well.
 
RyanT said:
I've heard of people basically making those soaking hoses, but for fog, out of PVC.

Try a bunch of 20' lengths of PVC, maybe 2" in diameter, drill a bunch of small holes all the way along the pipe and then stick your fog machine in one end and cap the other. This way your fog will slowly seep out and evenly cover a large area at one time.

I've never done it myself, but it sounds like a good idea. Could work well.
Click to expand...

Sounds like a good idea, although you'll probably want to make the holes slightly larger the farther down the pipe you go, because the pressure won't be as great at the far end.
 
I prefer a bee smoker for exteriors - they are cheap, you might want to have one or two guys on set just for smoking, but the real smoke hangs in the air much nicer than fog from a machine in my opinion.

Use Olibanum in the bee smoker for a nice white haze.
 
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