Mist in freezing temp?

[Sean-1966]

I have a shot to shoot at night in the snow that requires a mist. It'll be cold, probably below freezing. I haven't a clue what to use. Dry ice?? Will it even work? Client thinks it can be done in post but I'm not so sure. HELP!!

[Max Girth]

Wide shot? tight shot? Any sort of fog or haze outdoors is pretty tough unless you have at least two guys dedicated to FX. First, it's a lot of area to cover usually, and second, even the slightest breeze carries whatever you make away in seconds. This means there needs to be at least one person on top of it at all times.

Limiting the shot(s) you need it in to small areas (I'm talking about covering maybe a 10'x10' area) will help, as will keeping the shots short.

Post works of course, but if they don't have money, it'll look lame. To do it right you have to roto out foreground elements, etc.

[Sean-1966]

It looks like a wide shot according to the script. I'm wondering about filters. Anybody??

[Skipcam]

Can smoke achieve a acceptable substitute? It probably can swirl away just as easily, but it is easier to obtain (rent?) various sizes of smoke machines, and you can use a large piece of cardboard or a 24x36 flag to keep it moving in the right direction....and it isn't water based, which is something I would want to stay away from.

[Nino]

Sean, what's the FX budget (if any) on this gig? How much time will you have? Will it be day or night? Will you have time to experiment days prior the shoot? What's happening in the scene or what other elements will be there to be kept into consideration?

[Sean-1966]

Budget's probably close to nothing. The scene is at night. As close as I can tell its a backilit scene with the smoke swirling around. Kind of a mystical scene. Hope this sparks some ideas!! Something tells me I'll have to experiment a few nights.

[Max Girth]

No budget? I think either a camera filter or post filter is going to be it then. Good luck.

[Nino]

Without any budget you probably don’t have many options. How much control do you have of the shoot area?

Using a fog filter probably is your fastest and cheaper option, keep in mind that it will not be very realistic as the fog gets gradually ticker away from the camera. You could try to smudge a clear filter with Vaseline, almost like making your own grad filter leaving the bottom clear for the front area of the image and work the diffusion on the upper part of the filter.

Forget about dry ice and fog machines, dry ice will keep a layer of fog low to the ground and beside that, a brick size block costs about 8 bucks. Fog from a fog machine in cold weather will also keep the fog lower and will not disperse very easily. You can try real smoke from fire in a couple of steel barrels, being hot the smoke will raise and disperse in the air as it reaches the air temperature, of course if there’s wind you are out of luck. There are fog aerosol cans that you can try; I used them indoor but I have no idea what will happen outdoor.

If you have access to hot water where your shoot is you can make your own fog or mist by spraying a fine mist of hot water high in the air, as the mist of water cools off it becomes fog. Fog or mist is nothing more than humidity and a sudden change in temperature between the ground and the air. Even better would be if you can spray the hot water with compressed air, like with a commercial paint sprayer that can be rented at any tool rental center.

[Skipcam]

Do a Google on the Rosco model 900 fog machine. It is the smallest and cheapest of the Rosco line of smoke/fog machines. They are generally cheap and fairly easy to rent. (New cost is abut 4 hundred bucks, daily rental should be under 50 bucks.). It weighs about 12 lbs. They use a special liquid you pour in the machine. The machine runs off 110 AC and brings the liquid up to temp...then you can press a button and disperse the smoke/fog, directing it by pointing the entire machine, waving it about for the desired effect. I've used these and they can give quite an interesting effect with a little work. You will have to have one person dedicated to using the machine during the shoot. The Rosco model 1700 is also very popular and common, but weighs about 22 lbs and is more expensive.

[freedom]

Nino & Skip have good ideas but outdoors you are at the mercy of the wind, big time.

How about greenscreen for the forground action and shoot a BG plate on a real foggy night?