Shooting with fog « Videomaker Community Forums

SpencerStewart
Member

I have a cheap fog machine and plan to have a scene in a shed or garage filled with fog. Will the fog be of any harm to the electronics or lens?

Thanks a lot,

Spencer Stewart

Posted 4 years ago #
Ken
Member

I've heard that fog machines often use linseed oil to make the "fog". Seems like, if you're in an enclosed room, you'd eventually be getting oil all over your equipment. :? Maybe you coud put a UV filter on the lens, then put the camcorder in a plastic bag, and seal it to the edge of the filter with tape.

(But hey, if hollywood's been doing this for years, how bad can it be?)

My 3 cents worth, :)
Ken Hull

Posted 4 years ago #
SpencerStewart
Member

hmm. thanks a lot for your advice Ken. I'll post is something goes terribly wrong, haha. :?

Posted 4 years ago #
paulears
Member

Complete and utter rubbish, I'm afraid. I use this kind of thing every day. There are so many Health and Safety regulations in the entertainment industry and the fluid used in smoke and haze machines is very tightly controlled. Linseed oil is NEVER used, and if it was it would burn on the element and clog up straight away - the result would be very nasty when inhaled - and possibly truly dangerous. Burnt oil is nasty stuff. Linseed also stinks. Most modern smoke fluid is water based and usually glycol based. It does of course eventually settle and leave a slimy layer on the things it lands on, however, this is after weeks of intensive use.

You won't find any major problems on your camera and lens - the fluid is quite neutral - after all as has been said, it isn't uncommon nowadays, and if it damaged the kit - you'd have heard about it by now.

Posted 4 years ago #
Ken
Member

paulears Wrote:
Complete and utter rubbish
8-O
Apparently Paul's fog machine works differently than my friend Tom's fog machine. Tom says the instructions specifiy linseed oil. So Spencer, what does your fog machine use?
(In any case, I still think I'd protect my equipment with plastic. ;-) )

Good luck,
Ken Hull

Posted 4 years ago #
SpencerStewart
Member

I check and my fog machine uses glycol. Thanks for clearing that up. Using a UV filter isn't a bad idea though, but i probably won't cover with plastic. Thanks very much both of you.

Posted 4 years ago #
TheDVshow
Member

If you would rather be safe than sorry, you can use dry ice (which is available at most ice manufacturing plants and is fairly inexpensive -- look up "ice" in the phone book, and never handle the stuff with bare hands!). When you place dry ice in hot water, it creates a dense fog that clings to the floor. This fog contains carbon dioxide and water vapor, so it is completely harmless to humans and equipment.

Posted 4 years ago #
;0)
Member

the main differences here are this:
propaine or electric, type inesct foggers use oil (linseed or canola). I'd be more worried about me (what pesticides were previously used) than my lens if I used one of those.
The other fogger is a dance/entertainment type that uses safe chemicals or dry ice to create the fog. This one should be safer for equipment.
With either one, I'd want my camera farther away and use the zoom. You don't need your camera IN the fog to FILM it!

Posted 4 years ago #
SpencerStewart
Member

haha, good point there. It won't be in the middle of the fog, and its a clean, dance/entertainment type.
I'll be taping this Monday, not really worried. It's not going to be super think

Posted 4 years ago #
SpencerStewart
Member

Huh. I did the shoot today. All the equipment was fine, but the fog didn't look good at all.

It has this even, greyish look, like it was a filter in post or something.

I'm wondering if it would look better with some backlight, to give it more contrast? Or does the fog need to be more uneven?

Here's a part of the sequence, please pardon some of the drug related dialogue, but any suggestions would be really appreciated.

Get the Flash Videos

Also, the light set up was pretty poor. I had a halogen work light camera left, and had some sun light coming in from the right. The sun light gave one of the actors a nice rim light type of look, but yeah, the color balance isn't superb, but works.

Thanks,

Spencer Stewart

Posted 4 years ago #
;0)
Member

can you reshoot?
if so, here's what I'd try:
get your worklight behind your subjects, and use reflectors to bounce light back into your subjects.
get a couple peices of plywood, or black foamcore and cut out some leaf or jigsaw piece shapes to mottle the light and use them between the lights (esp the sunlight).
the combination of rim light, and texture from the cutouts should add contrast and depth to your fog for added dimension.

Posted 4 years ago #
Ken
Member

Spencer,

One of the characteristics of fog is that near objects are clearer than far objects. If you reshoot, try some over-the-shoulder shots, so that the far person will be more hazy than the near person. Maybe even have someone suddenly lean forward (toward the camera), to emphasize a point. If the fog's thick enough, it would be a dramatic effect, as the face almost "comes out of the fog". ;-)

Also, the backlit fog idea would make a nice effect.

Good luck! Have fun! :D
Ken Hull

Posted 4 years ago #
SpencerStewart
Member

You guys are geniuses. Thanks for your quality advice. I probably won't reshoot but I'll keep those tips in mind.

PS. Editing it, just by "crushing the blacks" it takes out all the fog. Kind of funny in my opinion, how it just cut the fog.

Thanks again,

Spencer Stewart

Posted 4 years ago #
faqvideo
Member

Agreeing with all above, I would suggest to lit the fog. My understanding is that you wanted the fog to be seen. The fog consists out of micro particles, so you needed to throw a light on the fog to be able to see it.
Shoot-It-Yourself Wedding Video Guide, http://www.faqvideo.com/siy_book

Posted 4 years ago #