Small mushroom cloud

[aemeeich]

I am trying to figure out a way to make a small device that will create a safe small mushroom cloud of smoke. The device can be hidden in a cauldron. I know that flash pots are out of the question since it happens so close to actors. The show we are doing is "Once Upon A Mattress". Near the end of the show, the wizard and queen make a sleeping potion to put the princess to sleep. According to the script, the princess' head is supposed to be enveloped by the cloud.

Does anyone have any suggestions to make a small cloud? If her head can't be in the cloud, I'm ok with that.

Thanks for any help.

Michael

[cprted]

What about a fogger?

[Van]

We had a similar question a while back, I think. I'm remembering I answered something along the lines of one of those toys looks like a ray gun. You pull the trigger and a chamber fills with fog, then you pull and release this lever on the back which causes a membrane to snap forward and the thing shoots out smoke rings. You could probably google " smoke ring gun" and find it. Anyway, using that as a basis for your engineering might be a good idea. the mushroom cloud effect is going to be best achieved by filling a cylinder with smoke then releasing air pressure below it. This is definately a HVLP aplication < High volume, low pressure.
My only caveat, and I think you already see this comming, is the dangers of the actress winding up with something getting in her eyes. My normal suggestion for a convincing dust on stage is rye flour, low incidence of allergic reaction, very fine particles, but in this case I don't think it would work well on the off chance that she wind up with something in her eyes or inhaling a large quantity.

Hope that helps a little. I'm gonna ponder this one a bit as I sit through techs this week.

[derekleffew]

aemeeich, are you sure it has to be a mushroom cloud,

Search for afterthought at microscopiq
which is always associated with a nucular explosion?

I'm thinking Smoke in a Can would work for this. Or there are some small smoke machines you could hide in the cauldron. See http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/s...er-rental.html.

[aemeeich]

Thanks for the suggestions so far. The ring shooter shows some potential promise after some modifications.

derekleffew - I originally thought of the smoke in a can, and I just picked up a can of it this afternoon. It doesn't really work for creating a cloud. It comes out to thin and slow to look like a mushroom cloud. It is also pretty noisy so her microphone would pick it up too much.

Michael

[FatherMurphy]

I did an 'Odd Couple' (or was it a dinner theater farce?) some years back that used a bit of dry ice in a covered pan to simulate a burned food dish. Incense cones put out quite a bit of smoke when first lit, perhaps putting them in a lidded dish would load up the air inside the dish, and removing the lid vertically would draw the smoke up towards the actor's head.

[Insert standard warnings for 'dry ice handling' and 'burning materials on stage' here]

[gafftaper]

When i did "Once Upon a Mattress" I used a cauldren, with a pot of hot water and some dry ice. They mix the potion and we see stuff bubbling out of the pot. Had a bunch of crazy red lighting with weird shadows. No smoke trick's around the actress' face... to difficult, dangerous, and expensive.

There are other fire and smoke options out there in the world of Magic that can be safe when used properly by trained people. Contact your local magic shop for more information. Be sure to talk to your fire marshal about local regulations before purchasing any of these tricks. Nothing more on that topic can be discussed here due to TOS regulations, go to your local magic shop.

You could consider doing it with light too...what about something like this or this in a gobo rotator?

[willbb123]

I've never done this effect, but I have an idea that works in my head.

Get a 5 gallon bucket, place it upside down, cut the bottom out, replace it with a door. Fill the bucket with smoke, then when you want the effect pull open the trap door.

I'm not sure if the smoke will fly out like I think it will. Probably wont . You could take a small computer fan and put it in the bottom of the upside down bucket. That way you have a bucket full of smoke waiting there.

[epimetheus]

Originally Posted by Van

We had a similar question a while back, I think. I'm remembering I answered something along the lines of one of those toys looks like a ray gun. You pull the trigger and a chamber fills with fog, then you pull and release this lever on the back which causes a membrane to snap forward and the thing shoots out smoke rings. You could probably google " smoke ring gun" and find it. Anyway, using that as a basis for your engineering might be a good idea. the mushroom cloud effect is going to be best achieved by filling a cylinder with smoke then releasing air pressure below it. This is definately a HVLP aplication < High volume, low pressure.
My only caveat, and I think you already see this comming, is the dangers of the actress winding up with something getting in her eyes. My normal suggestion for a convincing dust on stage is rye flour, low incidence of allergic reaction, very fine particles, but in this case I don't think it would work well on the off chance that she wind up with something in her eyes or inhaling a large quantity.

Hope that helps a little. I'm gonna ponder this one a bit as I sit through techs this week.

I'm certainly no expert here, but I did this chemistry experiment in high school with a very fine, non-flammable powder...

Big Boom!

Think grain silo explosion. Probably not a good thing with electrics overhead.

[renegadeblack]

ThinkGeek :: Zero Fog Blaster

Rewire the trigger with either a dmx low voltage relay or have some stage hand with something (maybe an extended trigger) elsewhere and trigger it.

Disclaimer: I've never used one of these, I don't know whether or not the trigger is electronic, I don't know if it works pointing straight up, but you may want to look into it.