FX Smoke New

John Jordan · Mar 30, 2005

this one is a strange one but it works good out side, I was telling Will about it on the phone a few weeks back.

ok so this is that you will need.

1. Bag of Icing Sugar
1. box or bag of Saltpeter
Paper
Some sort of tape it can be electrical tape
Wooden match heads

Mix the icing sugar and saltpeter together in equal amounts
Place it all onto your paper then place your match heads into the saltpeter and icing sugar then make your paper into a ball, the size of the ball will tell you how much smoke you will get wrap that paper up into a ball with the tape.

You must make a hole at the top of your ball of paper then light it and there you go Smoke.

You can also pick yourself up a small box of dry ice sticks they come in a pack of 12 if I remember, now for a very cool Effect in the woods place buckets of water all over the place then brake off a small chunk of dry ice and place it into each of the buckets then film away, the smoke will rise up into the sun coming threw the trees.

They used this Effect in such shows as The X-Files, Sliders and First Wave.

Cheers and Enjoy

Shaw · Mar 30, 2005

Almost the recipe for gun powder

Will Vincent · Mar 30, 2005

Dry ice works best in warm water too.. it'll work in cold water, but the warmer it is the more fog you get.

Mikey D · Mar 30, 2005

Ummm I hate to seem uninformed but... well... :blush:

..... I am. Where does one go, exactly, to purchase dry ice???

Shaw · Mar 30, 2005

I think you can get it at most large grocery stores. Not entirely sure. I think you need to have an ID and proof of age though as it can be dangerous (ie you can make explosives with it).

Will Vincent · Mar 30, 2005

look in the phone book for an ice supply store. Typically they're called things like "The Ice Man" and such.. but you can go in and get chunks of it in whatever size you need. It's all fairly cheap.. another potential place to get some (possibly free even) would be from a community theater or similar, a lot of theater groups make their own dry ice, or so I've heard. Apparently it's cheaper for them to make their own than to buy it from an ice supplier. So maybe they'd make you some. Dry ice is very cool.

Oh, if you DO use dry ice, don't touch it with your bare hands.. I think it's cold enough to give you pretty bad frost bite on contact, so gloves, preferably leather, are best.

Zensteve · Mar 30, 2005

About the dry-ice in the water trick...

How does that work out, compared to a fog machine?

Will Vincent · Mar 31, 2005

Well.. you don't need power, so that can be a bonus.. depends on the size of the chunk of ice, and the water temp for how much/how quick/how long the fog appears and lasts. Also it tends to hug the ground a bit more than a fog machine, unless you were using a fog machine with a "chiller"

John Jordan · Apr 7, 2005

what ever you do only put a small chunk of dry ice in the water or LMAO you will be smoked out in 2 secs.... can make for a bit of a goof with that stuff....

LOL what Will said

King Goldfish · Apr 8, 2005

I dont think you can mix these chemicals in the USA in this day and age without being charged for terrorism LOL

Gun Powder = Sulfur, Saltpeter, Charcoal

Ancient Chinese gun powder was made with sugar or honey, saltpeter and sulfur. so yes, this is almost a crude gunpowder. But i guess you can get a permit to use it for a film but im guessing you would have to hire a fireman or fire crew to standby.

not very indie like. I like your tips though. I wonder if you can make realistic smoke from dry ice as mentioned.

Will Vincent · Apr 8, 2005

Dry ice makes more of a fog than smoke.. but it's still pretty darn cool..

Suppose, you had a scene in a murky forest, where there was supposed to be fog and mist and whatnot.. I'd put some buckets all around the forest floor, with dry ice, and a couple up in trees... the ones in the trees would be cool, 'cuz it would kind of flow down the tree trunks, which, at least in my head, should look pretty cool.