snow effect
Printed From: Community Theater Green Room
Category: Producing Theater
Forum Name: Lights and Sound
Forum Discription: Technical discussion
URL: http://www.communitytheater.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2637
Printed Date: 5/18/24 at 12:36pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 8.05 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: snow effect
Posted By: DnoMan
Subject: snow effect
Date Posted: 9/03/07 at 4:06pm
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We are doing "Barefoot in the Park" and want to do a snow effect at the end of a scene. I have been told about a technique that involves sidelighting bubbles from a bubble machine onto the backdrop of the theatre. Has anyone any info on this technique that may be helpful?
Thanks
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Replies:
Posted By: Gaafa
Date Posted: 9/04/07 at 7:40pm
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never heard of it but I suppose that would work. It would probably take a bit of trail & balancing with the general wash lighting. Also depending on the type of lantern used, you may have to diffuse with brushed silk gel &/or tweek the focus a bit. Also experiment with bouncing the light off mirrors may help to get a larger coverage area. I think the biggest problem is containing the bubbles, as they have a mind of thier own. They tend to stray, at the whim of drafts & thermals, before they pop or disapate. ------------- Joe Western Gondawandaland turn right @ Perth. Hear the light & see the sound. Toi Toi Toi Chookas {{"chook [chicken] it is"} May you always play to a full house} |
Posted By: Kathy S
Date Posted: 9/04/07 at 10:33pm
| Doesn't snow typically float down and bubbles typically float up? |
Posted By: biggertigger
Date Posted: 9/04/07 at 11:32pm
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This is the only thing I can find (besides the large stage ones) that would create snow for a small area. This model is on Ebay and I was too tired to google it. But hope this one will give you some ideas.
http://cgi.ebay.com/CHAUVET-SM75-SM-75-SNOW-MACHINE-SNOW-EFFECT_W0QQitemZ220144883940QQihZ012QQcategoryZ132997QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem - http://cgi.ebay.com/CHAUVET-SM75-SM-75-SNOW-MACHINE-SNOW-EFFECT_W0QQitemZ220144883940QQihZ012QQcategoryZ132997QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem ------------- The two greatest days in a theater persons life, the day you start a new show and the day the damn thing closes. |
Posted By: Gaafa
Date Posted: 9/05/07 at 4:12am
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Fair dinkum KathyS your a dinkydie gem! Trust a woman to bring in logic to the equation  !------------- Joe Western Gondawandaland turn right @ Perth. Hear the light & see the sound. Toi Toi Toi Chookas {{"chook [chicken] it is"} May you always play to a full house} |
Posted By: Topper
Date Posted: 9/05/07 at 9:25am
An interesting question and the same thought crossed my mind when I read the post. "Bubbles? Instead of snow?" But I was thinking of air bubbles, which when expelled underwater will float towards the surface. Air, of course, is lighter than water. However, soap bubbles, bubblegum bubbles, and balloons released into our atmosphere are heavier than the air around them and will succumb to gravity, falling (however gently) to the ground. Unless, of course, they are filled with a lighter-than-air gas, such as helium. So, technically, a bubble-maker of some kind will produce a snow-like falling effect, but why should anybody go to that kind of trouble when one can simply toss a handful of soap flakes from a ladder and achieve the same thing? ------------- "None of us really grow up. All we ever do is learn how to behave in public." -- Keith Johnstone |
Posted By: Gaafa
Date Posted: 9/05/07 at 10:47pm
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What I can remember of bubble machines, they basicly the same princple.
of the circular piece of wire with soapy water & lot of blowing,
untill your light headed. The difference being the wire is now plastic & a pump powered by 2 batteries. Heaps of them pour out of the machine, while the fluid & batteries lasts. Topper is right they should fall straight to the deck, but the skin buuble of the bubble being what it is they are pushed about & tend to upwards, caused by air movement & thermal pressure & what have you. They will tend to fill a room uo in short order, untill they pop. On a stage because of the lights & aor movement they swirl around upwards dissapate before they fall - But as a snow effect? The bubbles would be hard to control & contain. ------------- Joe Western Gondawandaland turn right @ Perth. Hear the light & see the sound. Toi Toi Toi Chookas {{"chook [chicken] it is"} May you always play to a full house} |
Posted By: Gaafa
Date Posted: 9/06/07 at 12:14am
Kathy I think your post should be nominated as a candidatefor the Annual 'Gaffer Tape Awards'.  ------------- Joe Western Gondawandaland turn right @ Perth. Hear the light & see the sound. Toi Toi Toi Chookas {{"chook [chicken] it is"} May you always play to a full house} |
Posted By: Kathy S
Date Posted: 9/06/07 at 12:32am
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Joe, Luvvie,
Thank you thank you thank you! You are too kind! Who are the other nominees and is there a trophy involved? Mmmwah!
Kathy
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Posted By: Gaafa
Date Posted: 9/06/07 at 2:11am
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as you would realise the nominations are scribled on bits of
paper & put in a hat & are drawn out, not unlike a secret balot! So they will be posted here, by the powers that be? In order to protect thier anonimity? However the award is not the most important thing to worry about, it is the acceptance speach & of course - the DRESS!  But as for the trophy I would image it a ball of Gaffer tape, spay painted individuly painted gold, silver & bronze. Mounted on a pice of ply board as a plynth, but the one that is for the 'vestibule of fame award' is Black! So start practising 'that' speach & think about the dress Duckie!  ------------- Joe Western Gondawandaland turn right @ Perth. Hear the light & see the sound. Toi Toi Toi Chookas {{"chook [chicken] it is"} May you always play to a full house} |
Posted By: DnoMan
Date Posted: 9/06/07 at 2:44am
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Thank You for all your thoughful replies. Kathy, you do bring common sense to the table. I hope that Toppers theory will work and gravity will pull them down. Any wind at all will be a problem. The reason the director doesn't want to drop the snow from above is that the snow is supposed to be coming from the skylight onto the couch and the actors will be getting it everywhere. If it doesn't work well we could think about behind the window...
Thanks again, You are all a great help
 Any more info would be appreciated. |
Posted By: Gaafa
Date Posted: 9/06/07 at 5:08am
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Behind the window sounds good, put a scrim upstage of the window. which
will contain the snow flakes even if you use a fan to blow them about.
I f you have a cyc or act drop beyond the window. With a tweek or a
play about bit, you can change the lighting state, if it has to be
snowing heavier.
------------- Joe Western Gondawandaland turn right @ Perth. Hear the light & see the sound. Toi Toi Toi Chookas {{"chook [chicken] it is"} May you always play to a full house} |
Posted By: MikeO
Date Posted: 9/11/07 at 6:56pm
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We just did a melodrama with snow. We used instant mashed potato flakes and a fan set on low . I thought it looked pretty good. ------------- I'd rather act, but they found out I can do tech & sets!! |
Posted By: Spectrum
Date Posted: 9/14/07 at 12:30am
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I built a small, motorized "hopper" (I used a synchronous timing motor - very slow RPMs and completely silent - controlled from the tech booth) that metered out pulverized styrofoam (packing peanuts run through a blender - CAUTION! It generates a pretty good mess) and positioned it up in the ceiling, directly over Paul Bratter's head as he lay on the sofa. We used subdued (blue) lighting and the "snow" started coming down on his head, right on cue. The styrofoam bits are so light they floated down perfectly. You don't need much of it since that event is right at the end of a scene. ------------- Growing old is mandatory. Growing up is optional. |
Posted By: DnoMan
Date Posted: 9/29/07 at 6:32pm
| Well we have started our show using the bubble machine for the snow effect. It is working pretty good. Unfortunately the bubble machine is a little noisy so we had to carefully time its start up at a phone cue. We also had some restrictions on our light beams washing over into the set so our area isn't quite as big as we wanted. The bubbles do go a little crazy but because the machine is on the catwalk and most of the bubbles shoot up it isn't total chaos in front of our light. Anyhoo I am off to another performance this evening. Playing is so much fun!! |
Posted By: whitebat
Date Posted: 11/25/07 at 11:58pm
| I believe Theatre FX (theatrefx.com) sells the bubble machines designed to make "snow". They claim the bubble fluid they use does not make the stage slick or anything like that. |