Alternative to A Hazer

SketchyCroftPpl

Active Member
Hey Guys

First, sorry for the absence, Show schedual has been crazy and then HD decided to go so I didn't have a computer for a good half a week. Back up and running now and i have what'll hopefully be an interesting question.


For the show we're doing, On The Twentieth Century, there's a part where celestrial beams of light come down and our dirrector wants to be able to see the light, much like what a hazer would do. The problem is that the effect only last a few seconds and I thing that the hazer might leave the effect in the air for too long afterwards, and they're expensive.

I was wondering if anyone had any ideas, used or never tested, on how we might be able to get somewhat the same effect of being able to see the light coming down. Any ideas would be great.

~Nick
 
You may waqnt to check with either online or retail theatrical supply stores. At one time you could buy an aerosal can filled with a haze/fog, that y9u could use for quick effects. I think that Rosco made it. Do not know if it is still available, but you may want to look into it.
 
alright, I didn't know they made that but I was wodering if there was something like it. Even a spray can with like water in it or something like that I thought might be able to catch the light. Rosco? I'll check it out.

The other thing I heard was maybe trying to put something physical in the air like glitter or something like that but the dirrector didn't seem to like it all that much.

~Nick
 
Well if you really dont want to have haze in the air, then the best advice I can give is to use a brighter light. A higher intensity source will catch more dust particles in the air and therefore be more visible.

I would recommend an HMI Source 4 or Fresnel with a douser. Find a good spot to strike the unit (4 or 5 cues before) then use the douser to dim the intensity.

Also, could you just shoot a fog machine for that scene? It will pick up enough defraction and dissipate quickly.
 
The effect light wise that we want is that we have a source four about 8 feet above the stage, and joke about it setting the actor's hair on fire. Its just about the most intense thing that we own. I asked about a fogger but it looks like a no go. The fog we have is a thick white and its such a short effect I don't think it would make any sense at all.

Just wondering, I've never heard of a douser before. What does it do?

~Nick
 
sae99 said:
You may waqnt to check with either online or retail theatrical supply stores. At one time you could buy an aerosal can filled with a haze/fog, that y9u could use for quick effects. I think that Rosco made it. Do not know if it is still available, but you may want to look into it.

I can't find anything on the rosco site, do you know at all what it might more specifically be called? It sounds simple enough but after looking through their hazer / fogger page I don't see anything.

~Nick
 
Heres an add on question. If you put a bunch of haze in the room, so that you could see the light of a special right above the stage, when your turned on the wash would it let you see all the beams or light or only that really focused original one? That might swing which way we go for a hazer.

~Nick
 
The only what I know of to see light quickly is to use CO2.

But, LeMaitre makes a xtra quick dissipating fog fluid that works really well in my opinion. It's about $30 depending on what dealer you use.

I suggest LeMaitre fluids for all needs. I have never had a problem with them an d it seems to be the best quality fluids on the market today.

SketchyCroftPpl said:
Heres an add on question. If you put a bunch of haze in the room, so that you could see the light of a special right above the stage, when your turned on the wash would it let you see all the beams or light or only that really focused original one? That might swing which way we go for a hazer.
~Nick

Haze will still make your beams show up. If you use small blasts at precicly the right angle, you should be able to do a short effect for your special.
 
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A fine mist of water might just be of interest - given the effect were not long enough to make the stage damp, and you found a way to project the fine mist of water without being seen. Could get complex.

A quick haze sounds like a good idea. In the past if one wished to clear fog of haze otherwise, one opened the smoke vent above the stage or mounted some fans in the grid to blow it out of the way.


Here is a few products that I'm aware of:

Quick Dissipating LeMaitre #CFF2725 4L/1Gal Special Effects, Lingering, Low Lying, Fast Output esp. w. Nitrogen Burst, dissipates 2x as fast as Molecular.

Water Based Fog LeMaitre#CFF2730 4L. (Quick Dissipating, Extra Fast)

Molecular LeMaitre #CFF2901 4 Liter,(Clean White Thick) (Low Lying, Standard Volume Fast Dissipating “Dry Ice Effect with chiller”)

Pro Smoke Studio (DX) Martin 1Gal/2.5Gal/55Gal. Lighter, Faster Dispersing, Less Dense

Natural Low-Ground CITC #150490 1Gal Water Based, Clean, Low Odor, (Quick 3 Minute Fog for Polar Controller & CFS-2000)

Natural Custom Quick CITC #1550491 1Gal Water Based, Clean, Low Odor Fog Fluid

The Arosol Haze used to be called "Diffusion." Here is the stuff it's currently called:

Fantasy FX-Auto CITC #100011 Aerosol Haze Spray Horizontal Spray 30sec. Lasts about 30min

Fantasy FX-Regular CITC #100010 Aerosol Haze Spray Vertical Spray, 30sec. Lasts about 30min

Poof! CITC #100015 Aerosol (Halloween Label Regular) Horizontal Spray 30sec. Lasts about 30min

Note the hang time. The spray cans are cheap to buy but sounds like you are spray painting stuff thus can't easily be used during a show. A light haze in the air is easy enough to do but as above, the stuff does last a long time.
 
Sorry this probably doesn't help much but I remember seeing a very similar effect in Fiddler on the Roof on broadway last summer.
 
From my experience, a high output fogger w/ fan. Use Rosco's Stage & Studio fluid. It's fast disipating and doesn't stick around.

It's formulated a little differently from their standard fluid so it doesn't linger.
 

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