Newbie question - Haze v. Smoke

[BigYinUK]

I'm struggling to understand the subtle (?) difference between haze and smoke. Could someone explain which you'd use in certain circumstances please ?

 

I want to use haze/smoke to enhance my bands lighting, so which should I use ?

 

Regards all.

[paulears]

Well, smoke is dense, usually white, and comes out of the machine in a jet, usually accompanied by a wooshing sound - wind currents blow it around and it gradually disperses. Great for an effect, and if you can cool it (with bigger and more expensive machines0 then it ends to sink, and look similarish to CO2.

 

Haze is smaller particles that don't give that white cloud - more of a gentler haze - once the haze has circulated, it isn't usually visible until a beam of light hits it, then the beam becomes visible. So for the beam to be seen, haze is best. Fog does show the beam too, but is so dense it's very obvious, and has the knack of making people wave it away and cough a lot - normally nothing to do with the smoke at all, just a common reaction to the appearance of it.

 

 

So - if you need to see a big belch of white smoke - as in the Genie entering, or the fairy appearing, or the oven door opening to reveal burnt food - then smoke (fog) is what you want. If you just want to see the beams without the big cloud, then haze is the stuff.

[mac.calder]

It's all in the name really (Haze slightly obscures your vision, however pretty much invisible to the eye, whilst smoke or fog is litterally like looking through smoke or fog)

 

Both will highlight your beams - basically the beams you see is light being reflected off of the haze or fog particles suspended in the air.

 

The main difference being how they come out of the machine - however it is not unheard of for people to get a smoke machine and use a fan to cause it to disperse quickly - making it act and look a lot like haze.

[andylights]

I want to use haze/smoke to enhance my bands lighting, so which should I use ?

 

Depending on the band, you could use one or the other, even both...

 

I would never use Smoke for cabaret or jazz, only haze (also the brass section can get uppity with smoke). I would use smoke (as an effect in it's own right) for Rock and similar and may also use haze to keep the beam work.

 

Generally I wouldn't bother with haze for club/dance events -just smoke.

 

If you only have the choice of one then go for smoke and you can use a fan in front of the machine (set to low output) to create haze, as mentioned above.

 

HTH

 

Andy

[niclights]

There's really no difference. A haze machine is designed for constant output where a more traditional is not.

 

In days gone by continuous output machines were not available and so you would use heavy bursts with a fan. On more expensive machines with good variable output/timing controls you would effectively have a hazer but it's much easier to get the effect with a dedicated unit. Similarly, most (water/glycol-based) haze machines have variable output allowing you to create a very dense 'fog' should you wish.

 

The fluids, technology, particle size, hangtime etc. are the same for both with the exception that you can get mineral oil based machines for haze. These produce a much finer, longer lasting effect but are more expensive.

 

Use haze machines if you have the option.

[andylights]

My favorite smoke effects is when there is little or no dispersed smoke in the air and you punch out a nice big 'cannon ball' of smoke (like the old Volcano smoke machines-remember those?) and it just hangs in the air for a bit - even better when it's in a tent structure and there's a little wind - when the tent breaths in and out, the ball of smoke seems to move like a shoal of fish. Fantastic!

 

You can't get that with a Hazer. A difference to note about constant output and variable output.

 

Regards,

 

Andy