Making props float?

[Pierson Denning]

My school is doing Mary Poppins for our Elementry theatre program and the highschool does the tech, props, and special effects. I was tasked to figure out how to make the paper fly out of the chimney when the father burns the help wanted poster. We have no floating mechinism except for lights and going off of our previous discussions, we are at full stage. Any suggestions to make the paper kinda flow out of the chimney?

 

[macsound]

I'm not certain of the exact effect, but I've previously used confetti for Beauty and the Beast.
We used a pool skimmer basket because the housing could be mounted into the structure and the basket was removable. Then we placed a HVAC duct boost fan to blow up.
These type of fans are usually variable speed so you can rehearse the proper amount of air needed and then trigger it on a dimmer set to 100%, or a relay, or a tech with an extension cord.

 

[Pierson Denning]

I'm not certain of the exact effect, but I've previously used confetti for Beauty and the Beast.
We used a pool skimmer basket because the housing could be mounted into the structure and the basket was removable. Then we placed a HVAC duct boost fan to blow up.
These type of fans are usually variable speed so you can rehearse the proper amount of air needed and then trigger it on a dimmer set to 100%, or a relay, or a tech with an extension cord.

That could work, but she want's it controlled and not have it fly all over

 

[aeh20s]

I would attempt to individually attach each torn piece to a monofilament line, rig the line through a pulley in the grid over the chimney and manually pull it.

 

[Pierson Denning]

I would attempt to individually attach each torn piece to a monofilament line, rig the line through a pulley in the grid over the chimney and manually pull it.

She has suggested that, but we don't have any pully system on our grid we only have lights stuck to one position. our stage is old school and have no modern equipment hanging

 

[almorton]

You can attach small pullies to the lighting rig to take the monofilament and bring it down to a position in the wings where a stagehand can pull it. You're only pulling pieces of paper, it doesn't need to rated for lifting a moving head.

At a pinch we've done this just using the surface of the bar as the "pulley" as with so little load there'll be little friction - then your problem is just keeping the filament in the right place until it's needed.