I'm trying to think of ways to design a trash can prop that can have several items of clothing thrown into it, and then set on fire.
Fog/mist and
LED seems like an option, or air blowing plastic flames. Realism isn't incredibly critical but would be nice. I think the 'emitter' would need to be a ring inside the opening, so clothes tossed in wouldn't risk
blocking the flame.
Has anyone built their own water mist fire prop? I see a few good tutorials online, but the requirement of it being a usable trash can are complicating things.
Realistic flame effects like this are harder to pull off than most people expect. Staging the
effect and associated
props will go a long way to help the effects hardware pull off the
gag.
If the production design allows it,
beat up and age down the trash can. Cut some gashes in to the can sides so that there is a tiny amount of visibility in to the can. Inside the can, arrange your gear to be on the
down stage side of the can so that the clothes fall behind the efx hardware. Locate the "flame"
effect,
mylar, silk,
etc so that it rises up across the opening you cut in the can. Allow a very small amount of the flame tips to pass above the
edge of the can rim. Let the audience minds fill in the blanks. You just need to hint the flames.
Using an ultrasonic humidifier puck can work but by it's very nature , it needs help lifting the "
fog" up into view. You can take some low cost
fog bricks and mount them in a water proof container. Put a lid on the container and add a small muffin
fan in the lid, oriented to suck the
fog up and out. Use a
DMX interface to turn the
fog bricks on a few seconds in
advance to charge the box/plenium, then turn on the fan. A positive pressure blower is a better way to move the
fog quickly if you have an old blower. Your only going to get a few seconds of
fog using this approach unless you put a lot of
fog bricks in the can. Lots of water for this approach.
Or, just use a small glycol based smoker if you are allowed to use it on
stage. Real
smoke rises and will look natural and disipate in a belivable way.
Build a
smoke diffuser over the
fog output so it does not look like a
fog geyser.
So, timing is everything. Once the clothes get tossed in, trigger a lighting event inside the can. It can be
LED tape strips,
LED RGB lamps or even old incandesent A lamps. You can still get red and amber A-lamps . They have really natural ramping and their
color temperature for flame effects. This is assuming you have an actual
incandescent dimmer! This initial light
cue establishes the ignition of the fire. Probably audio support with a sound
effect.
Throw an old rag or piece of clothes over the rim of the can as a prop, so that the edges of the rag catches some of the initial lighting
effect. Then, trigger the fogger/ smoker while flickering / ramping the internal effects lighting.
If the can is near a scenic
element, see if the LD can give you some flickering support lighting on a wall or set piece, cued with you
effect event. keep everything subtle. Less is more.
Good luck! It sounds like a fun special
effect.