Froggy's Blog

My parents aren’t always supportive of my decision to study film at college. They tend to voice the same old tired objections: How will you get a job out of school? Why do you need to pay for course credit just to watch movies? Wouldn’t you prefer to go to medical school? The fact is, I enjoy making movies more than anything else in life. And anyway, I cover all of my own expenses with a day job at a restaurant.

The latest project I’ve been working on is a horror movie that requires a number of special effects. It goes without saying that I’m on a shoestring budget, but I still needed to establish a spooky atmosphere. Several of the scenes take place in a dark churchyard afterhours, so I used a smoke machine to create fog effects. The script could probably use a bit of work, but the shots I have so far are perfect.

Most people recognize smoke machines for the atmosphere they lend to stage performances and Hollywood movies. Although fog generators come in handy for entertainment purposes, they can also help save lives. Emergency rescue workers implement highly realistic fog into their training exercises. By practicing in a safe environment, firefighters and paramedics prepare themselves for the real thing.

Training smoke is designed to be emitted by a professional-quality smoke machine. Emergency workers can select between oil- and water-based smoke depending on the intensity and duration desired. This realistic smoke allows officials to perform their jobs with increased assurance and effectiveness.

DJs wouldn’t arrive at a party without their music collection, and it would be just as silly to show up withouta a fog machine. Dancers know it’s time to do their thing once the smoke billows out onto the floor and the lights are turned down low. Without that crucial cue, a DJ could end up with a lot of lackadaisical wallflowers on his hands.

By maintaining a steady supply of DJ fog, mix masters of any skill level can at least be assured that the party doesn’t go up in smoke. When it comes down to it, DJs should be able to focus their attention on the night’s track list. A fog machine will take care of the ambience, and a solid selection of tunes should do the rest.

In various Hollywood movies, live theater productions, and even music videos, fog machines are a staple for creating a particular hazy, alluring, or chilling atmosphere. To that end, a fog machine is capable of emitting a vapor that looks similar to fog or perhaps even smoke. Depending on the type of machine, they can be fueled by water and glycol or dry ice. It simply depends on the desired effect from the use of the machine.

While fog machines used to be used exclusively by professionals, they have been greatly reduced in price since the mid 2000s. This means the use of fog machines in the private sector has been greatly increased. As such, they are common now in residential haunted houses or other various Halloween displays. On the professional front, firefighters also use fog machines to train. A fog machine, after all, accurately simulates the poor visibility that will be confronted in some burning buildings.

What are some the uses of a fog machine?   The best known use is to create spooky effects in plays and movies.  Can you imagine a Dracula movie without the fog?  Fog machines are also frequently used in Halloween displays such as haunted houses or forests.

Smoke effects are also useful for industrial purposes, especially automobile manufactures for visualizing the flow of air, such as over a surface of an automobile in a wind tunnel or testing filters in air conditioning.

In order to simulate the effects of real smoke, artificial fog is often used in fire fighter training. This fog is produced from
smoke generators which are often placed throughout dummy homes where the fire fighters practice. The fog machines produce fog in various quantities, and the fire fighters must treat it like real smoke and use their skills to avoid it. While now and then firefighters will purchase a real dilapidated house and set it on fire to test out rookie fire fighters, most of the time dummy homes are used. There are certain kinds of fog juice that will simulate smoke better than others; because smoke rises, it’s important for the fire fighters to remain low to the ground to avoid the fog.

Fire fighter training is essential for rookie fire fighters because when there is a real fire, having the experience to deal with it and remain calm will help save lives, both their own and people who might need to be rescued.

Let’s face it, a lot of us have bought one of those fog machines for Halloween, used it until it ran out of juice, and then let it sit around in the closet, garage, or basement.  But now is the time to revive that fog machine with more fog juice!  With most fog machines, all varieties of fog juice will work.  It doesn’t matter if the fog machine was purchased from a store that sells party favors or is an industrial sized fog machine used to film Hollywood movies, all varieties of fog juice will work.  But what a lot of people don’t know is that fog juice comes in several different varieties.  You can find fog that dissipates quickly, fog that lingers on the ground, or fog that creates a thick haze in the surrounding area.  There are several different types of fog juice that have unique properties.

Don’t leave that fog machine gathering dust, fill it up with a new bottle of fog juice and let the good times roll.  Whether it’s for a costume party, a special occasion, or a spooky Halloween celebration, fog machines make it more enjoyable!