Creating a smell for a 600 seat room

[theatre4jc]

So I got a call today that made me a bit curious. I have heard Disney does things like this, but also know they don't exactly share how or rent out their gear. So the event is normally held at Sea World Orlando but this year it's going to be somewhere else. Well they still want the "ocean smell" but don't know how to recreate it. The guy that was asking for my help has developed a product of some kind that is liquid based and gives off the smell. He was curious if it could be added to haze to give the room a smell. Now if this was a rental hazer I would say lets try it...turns out this event will actually be held at my venue using my hazer so I was curious if this was possible to do at all. Preferably not using my Radiance.

So have any of you ever successfully put an aroma in the air? What is the best way to deliver this and then what would be the cheapest way? The event would last for a few hours so it's something that would need to be able to be constantly in use for about 7 hours. Thoughts?

 

[DuckJordan]

I'm not sure if it will work but those wall outlet refill packs may have the "scent" you want. Buying a bunch of those and cutting a few open (make sure not to use the pressurized but rather the heat activated ones) might work, although they may have to be refreshed every couple of hours.

 

[Cadmium6855]

I'm not sure if it will work but those wall outlet refill packs may have the "scent" you want. Buying a bunch of those and cutting a few open (make sure not to use the pressurized but rather the heat activated ones) might work, although they may have to be refreshed every couple of hours.

Well they do make aromas to put in hazers to make scents... what you would want (depending on the size of your venue) is quite a few hazers, you might want to look into an ocean scented perfume, mix that with haze juice and then put it in hazers scattered around the room, running the entire show. If you don't want that fog/haze visible I can't help you, I am sure there is a way to do it, I just don't know what it is.

 

[ruinexplorer]

You might consider buying a cheap party fogger with fan to move the fog and add a fragrance oil (never essential oils) such as this. I wouldn't recommend this if you have Equity actors as I don't believe this has been approved by AEA. Here's a guide as to how much you should add. As with other effects (such as strobes), it would be good to notify the audience since there is always the risk of allergic/respiratory reaction.

I know that with the Rosco scents, it takes quite a while to get the smell out of the fogger, so this is why I recommend a "disposable" fogger.

 

[MPowers]

Hey guys, read the OP. He already has the "scent Juice" in that the client will provide it. His question was not how/where to find the scent juice, but rather how will it affect a fog machine. As none of us knows the components or composition of the fluid the client will provide, it is difficult to advise about it's use.

Someone else mentioned Rosco Scents, but Rosco no longer makes or sells the product. It seems that Rosco used an organic base for the actual scent and it would spoil in a short time on the shelf. The result was that it was only practical to make it in very large batches, custom mixed for each customer, about 100 gallons minimum. Do you know how long 100 gallons of fog juice would last????

Best Bet, as others have said, get a throw-a-way fogger go for it. If you do go for it, follow up and let us know how it worked, ...or not....!

 

[Theresa]

I am concerned about the effect scent would have on asthmatics or people with allergies.

 

[Tex]

I am concerned about the effect scent would have on asthmatics or people with allergies.

No more than the air freshener in the rest rooms or the person in the next seat that's swimming in cologne...

 

[nquinn2]

We have been working with a company called Snow Masters out of Alabama. They rent/sell a product called Eco Scent. The smaller scent machine that can handle 1000 people rents for $140 a week. Check out their websites: Eco-Scent - The New Edge in Fragrance Technology and Snowmasters - Special Effects Experts

Cheers,
Nick

 

[Les]

...you might want to look into an ocean scented perfume, mix that with haze juice and then put it in hazers scattered around the room, ...

Perfume is loaded with alcohol and as a result, is inherently flammable.

 

[cdub260]

This is actually a very simple effect to pull off. First off, you're going to need a fairly powerful fan. When we did a similar effect at the Pageant, we used a CITC Hurricane 5000, but as this particular fan was discontinued several years ago, you'll have to come up with your own alternative. Next you're going to need a piece of some sort of absorbent fiberboard roughly 6 inches by 18 inches. For the effect we did, I sandwiched the fiberboard between two attic vent screens. This assembly became our scent wafer. Then I had our metal shop weld up a bracket to hold the sandwiched fiberboard in front of the fan. Rather than going to this much effort, I could have simply zip tied the wafer to the front screen of the fan, but a two month run coupled with the need to switch between two different scents required a set-up that was more amenable to a quick change. Prior to each performance I would apply about a half a cup of the scented liquid to the wafer then secure it to the front of the fan. When not in use, store your scent wafer in a polypropylene or metal container. This will help to keep the scent from dissipating.

Just a word of warning, noise may be an issue with this means of scent distribution. Oh, and wear some variation on latex or vinyl gloves or you'll smell like your scent for a week or so.