Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board: fake smoke - wireless

There are small radio control smoke emitters that might work inside the garment bag. These units are used in radio control model trucks, tanks, trains and planes. But an experienced hobbiest could spend as much as $100 to $150 to make this unit work for you. Here is a video, (but disregard the sound of the toy tank because the smoker is silent): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60vQNmlwSR4

Another tech gadget I have used in the past is a handheld magician's fogger. It's a toy that they sell at the gift shops at science museums everywhere. This battery powered toy makes very cool smoke! But your actor has to hold two buttons for a couple seconds to make it work. One drawback is that the natural bi-product of this kind of smoke is water...so you might stain any clothing in the bag. Here is a good link: http://tealco.net/wizard_stick_fog_toy.html

Otherwise, maybe try simply putting a little baby powder in the bag, and if the actor jerks it open rapidly, it might make a little cloud in the air that could pass as smoke.

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For a larger volume of smoke, if you needed your rolling closet wagon to be smokey, you would need a theatrical smoke machine. I have never heard of a wireless kind...wireless remote, yes...but not the machine. Because the heating element in a smoker draws a great deal of power and apparently common DC batteries just couldn't handle this load.

So I would recommend using a small AC powered theatrical smoke machine in your closet and have your stagehands bring out a black power cord from upstage of it. They would have to quickly and subtly plug and unplug the cord to the wagon as it is set for the scene and struck.

However, if I had to do this effect on my stage, I would ask the director to stage the closet directly over one of my trapdoors! Then I would cut a hole in the trap lid for a hose coming from a theatrical smoke machine under the stage! I would attach a funnel of sorts under the platform floorboards to help direct the smoke upwards into the closet...in case the stagehands missed the spike marks by an inch or two.

So during the scene, the crew under the stage could silently fire the machine...the smoke would flow through a flexible aluminum dryer vent hose up to the hole in the trap lid...(the hole in the trap lid would have a metal drain cover from a shower, so that actors would not drop a heel in the hole during the rest of the show)...and then the smoke would flow up to the funnel/gasket on the bottom of the wagon...and then flow out a screened hole in the platform deck to fill the "closet" area with a puff of smoke.

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By the way, we often use flameless prop cigarettes, which are very effective. They appear to be burning and the actor simply exhales through the cigarette to discarge little puffs of white powder. They can be ordered online at many places such as: http://www.zymetrical.com/product.asp?3=510&dc=3-2fb_pc&gclid=CLWss_za-aACFRQeDQodyBq-tg

Good luck with your project and let us know how it goes! -Dana

Edited by Mr. Lowell - 4/09/10 at 11:01am

Author	Message
bebop Walk-On Joined: 4/06/10 Location: Canada Online Status: Offline Posts: 0	Topic: fake smoke - wireless - controlable Posted: 4/06/10 at 4:20pm
	Hi, I'm proping a production of Sweet Charity. The calls for Charity to be smoking in a closet and blowing smoke into a garment bag. This would be simple aside from the following concerns... the actress is a non-smoker we have fire codes that prohibit a lit cigarette, matches , or lighter on stage the colset is an open concept design the closet is on a rolling truck Has anyone ever tried to "store" smoke in a container with any success? Thanks for your thoughts!
	cheers bebop

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Mr. Lowell Celebrity Joined: 1/30/07 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 269	Posted: 4/09/10 at 9:44am
	There are small radio control smoke emitters that might work inside the garment bag. These units are used in radio control model trucks, tanks, trains and planes. But an experienced hobbiest could spend as much as $100 to $150 to make this unit work for you. Here is a video, (but disregard the sound of the toy tank because the smoker is silent): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60vQNmlwSR4 Another tech gadget I have used in the past is a handheld magician's fogger. It's a toy that they sell at the gift shops at science museums everywhere. This battery powered toy makes very cool smoke! But your actor has to hold two buttons for a couple seconds to make it work. One drawback is that the natural bi-product of this kind of smoke is water...so you might stain any clothing in the bag. Here is a good link: http://tealco.net/wizard_stick_fog_toy.html Otherwise, maybe try simply putting a little baby powder in the bag, and if the actor jerks it open rapidly, it might make a little cloud in the air that could pass as smoke. --------------- For a larger volume of smoke, if you needed your rolling closet wagon to be smokey, you would need a theatrical smoke machine. I have never heard of a wireless kind...wireless remote, yes...but not the machine. Because the heating element in a smoker draws a great deal of power and apparently common DC batteries just couldn't handle this load. So I would recommend using a small AC powered theatrical smoke machine in your closet and have your stagehands bring out a black power cord from upstage of it. They would have to quickly and subtly plug and unplug the cord to the wagon as it is set for the scene and struck. However, if I had to do this effect on my stage, I would ask the director to stage the closet directly over one of my trapdoors! Then I would cut a hole in the trap lid for a hose coming from a theatrical smoke machine under the stage! I would attach a funnel of sorts under the platform floorboards to help direct the smoke upwards into the closet...in case the stagehands missed the spike marks by an inch or two. So during the scene, the crew under the stage could silently fire the machine...the smoke would flow through a flexible aluminum dryer vent hose up to the hole in the trap lid...(the hole in the trap lid would have a metal drain cover from a shower, so that actors would not drop a heel in the hole during the rest of the show)...and then the smoke would flow up to the funnel/gasket on the bottom of the wagon...and then flow out a screened hole in the platform deck to fill the "closet" area with a puff of smoke. ----------------- By the way, we often use flameless prop cigarettes, which are very effective. They appear to be burning and the actor simply exhales through the cigarette to discarge little puffs of white powder. They can be ordered online at many places such as: http://www.zymetrical.com/product.asp?3=510&dc=3-2fb_pc&gclid=CLWss_za-aACFRQeDQodyBq-tg Good luck with your project and let us know how it goes! -Dana Edited by Mr. Lowell - 4/09/10 at 11:01am
	Mr. Lowell, Lighting/Set Designer & Tech Director, for the Linda Sloan Theatre, in the Davison Center for the Arts, at Greensboro Day School
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Props, Scenery, Costumes and Makeup
Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board :Producing Theater :Props, Scenery, Costumes and Makeup

Topic: fake smoke - wireless - controlable( Topic Closed)