Hazy Lighting

I would have to ask your reason for not wanting to use a smoke machine?

If it's because of fire alarms we use a water based DF-50 hase machine and instead of official fluid we use mineral oil from the local pharmacy.

It's possible to use dry ice going through a heater to heat the air to raise ot off the ground, but that's kind of counter productive and it's not very effective but if you needed a smokeless system that could work. Especially if you needed a quick dispersing system.

It really depends on how much smoke you need.

If it's a really well ventilated or outside area you can make some small smoke bombs.

You can also buy canned smoke. And canned smoke bombs in a color.

Or you use scentless incense, again not very effective.

If you're just going to make the set look hazy than you can just put everything behind a scrim.
 
I would have to ask your reason for not wanting to use a smoke machine?

If it's because of fire alarms we use a water based DF-50 hase machine and instead of official fluid we use mineral oil from the local pharmacy.

It's possible to use dry ice going through a heater to heat the air to raise ot off the ground, but that's kind of counter productive and it's not very effective but if you needed a smokeless system that could work. Especially if you needed a quick dispersing system.

It really depends on how much smoke you need.

If it's a really well ventilated or outside area you can make some small smoke bombs.

You can also buy canned smoke. And canned smoke bombs in a color.

Or you use scentless incense, again not very effective.

If you're just going to make the set look hazy than you can just put everything behind a scrim.
@ChrisB_SanDiego @GreekTheatre Posting in complete agreement and suggesting the consideration of hazers rather than foggers. I believe a search of this site should reveal a number of threads on the selection and deployment of various types of hazers.
@derekleffew Would you care to point the OP towards an appropriate thread?
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard.
 
I would have to ask your reason for not wanting to use a smoke machine?

If it's because of fire alarms we use a water based DF-50 hase machine and instead of official fluid we use mineral oil from the local pharmacy.

A few things. 1) If you use mineral oil, it's no longer water based.

2) Standard oil-based DF-50 fluid is mostly mineral oil, with a mix of some other bits. It's a fantastic hazer, but I (and I suspect many others here) can certainly attest to it's ability to set off fire alarms.
 
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... to make the lighting look hazy...
That's akin to making something sound like bacon, or taste like purple. Haze is only apparent when light reflects off of it. No light, no haze (but not the reverse.)
@derekleffewWould you care to point the OP towards an appropriate thread?
You mean besides typing "haze" into the search box?
https://www.controlbooth.com/threads/fog-haze-without-setting-off-fire-alarms.40245/
https://www.controlbooth.com/threads/keeping-the-haze-with-the-ac-on-during-the-summer.29014/
Like @ChrisB_SanDiego said, if we had more information, we'd be better able to offer more relevant suggestions.
 
Or just hand out glasses that are really really dirty and greasy.
 
I would have to ask your reason for not wanting to use a smoke machine?

If it's because of fire alarms we use a water based DF-50 hase machine and instead of official fluid we use mineral oil from the local pharmacy.

It's possible to use dry ice going through a heater to heat the air to raise ot off the ground, but that's kind of counter productive and it's not very effective but if you needed a smokeless system that could work. Especially if you needed a quick dispersing system.

It really depends on how much smoke you need.

If it's a really well ventilated or outside area you can make some small smoke bombs.

You can also buy canned smoke. And canned smoke bombs in a color.

Or you use scentless incense, again not very effective.

If you're just going to make the set look hazy than you can just put everything behind a scrim.
I am concerned about the fire alarms. This is for a production for my college and the administration is pretty tight about not letting us use fog machines because we hosted a Lorie Line concert and she set them off using fog machines. I understand that it depends on the type of fluid you use and the type of smoke detector, I just don't see it getting through the administration. Using a scrim is a possibility though.
 
Playing everything behind a scrim is a choice... a very artistic and strong choice, so I would make sure everyone is on board before heading down that route. Atmospheric Effects are always tricky, I can run them for hours in our venue with no problem and come in tomorrow and set them off with the first cue... There are a myriad of factors that play into why.

It should be possible to contact your campus safety department and they can work with you on a number of options depending on your system. It's possible that no one has done it before, but that doesn't mean it can't be done. Alarm systems have been made with zones, testing mode and offline monitoring solutions for many years now to handle situations exactly like this.

Approach your administration about options to avoid fines and interruptions to service, often times they don't understand the art, but they'll appreciate preventing issues and loss of revenue. Make it a standard practice and find a fire marshal or safety officer to vouch for you and you should be able to make it happen.
 

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