Fog for time machine

[mcentrye]

For our children's theatre stage, we've set up a phone booth that allows entry from backstage. The idea is to use it when we have a bible character coming on stage. We would like to do as many special effects as possible to bring this across as a time machine. Any ideas are appreciated!

One thing we're thinking about, but not sure the best way to do it would be to release/blow fog around the machine when it's turned on. How can we do fog that very localized and can be produced fast on cue like that. We thought about some kind of sinking fog from the top of the booth that would flow down and envelope it ... but not sure how to accomplish that.

I'd prefer everything be DMX controlled.

Ideas?

[Esoteric]

I would not use fog in a confined space like that.

Maybe some tri color LED rope light doing a chase with a blackout?

Mike

[petereit]

Actually, I think a water-based fogger would work great. It'd just take a short blast to fill the phone booth.

Kill the house, cue a nice "time warp" sound effect, turn on strobe light or a nice "rays" gobo from backstage, pulse the fogger to fill the booth, kill all lights, talent quickly enters booth from backstage, bring up rear strobe or gobo again so you see the silhouette of the talent "appearing" in the fog, talent exits phone booth onto stage with fog spilling out, bring up house lights.

That would be very cool!

[SamG269]

You seem like you had a little fun thinking that up Mark.. lol.

[Esoteric]

Yeah, the problem is Mark most of the safe water based hazers couldn't generate enough haze in one burst by one machine to instantly fill a normal sized phone booth. My experience tells me it would take 30 sec - 2 min to fill it. You just don't get the same burst from a Radiance that you do from say an F100 (which would do the job but would be extremely dangerous for the talent).

Mike

[petereit]

Originally Posted by SamG269

You seem like you had a little fun thinking that up Mark.. lol.

My mind IS my favorite playground.

[petereit]

Originally Posted by Esoteric

Yeah, the problem is Mark most of the safe water based hazers couldn't generate enough haze in one burst by one machine to instantly fill a normal sized phone booth. My experience tells me it would take 30 sec - 2 min to fill it. You just don't get the same burst from a Radiance that you do from say an F100 (which would do the job but would be extremely dangerous for the talent).

Mike

LOL!! You're talking to the guy that "walks" across the sanctuary by jumping up and down on the top of a 20' ladder when I'm focusing lights. (And yes, I HAVE tipped it over.) Talent can hold their breath.

[Esoteric]

Hahaha... Man, I used to do that when I was younger. I don't go up on ladders anymore without fall protection (and I hardly go up on them at all, rent me a man lift). But I have an electrician that works for me that will walk any ladder. He also walks on drywall ceilings and AC dust work. I have an AV tech that once stood on a ladder that was balanced on a palette on a forklift extended all the way to reach a light. They don't do that junk when they work for me. Its just a show, no need to risk your life.

I have, in the course of my career, almost fallen to my death 3 times and almost had a hand on two different calls fall as well. I remember every second of all those events in vivid detail. I don't want anything like that to ever happen again.

We do some dumb stuff.

Mike

[mcentrye]

For safety, I was thinking of fog being on the outside of the booth, not the inside. I was picturing something like sinking fog you get from dry ice. Originating from the top of the outside of the booth and it flowing down and enveloping the booth. I just don't know much about the different types of fog and ways to deliver it.

Chris

[Esoteric]

That effect would work and look really cool, but it would require an extra hand do drop the dry ice into the water or a dry ice fogger (expensive if you want DMX control).

Mike