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michael

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Which show are you watching and we may be able to help a bit more but I can tell you that on most of the BBC Saturday night shows its am MDG atmosphere hazer that is used and the same is true for a lot of other shows though the hazer does vary on some shows.

 

Ben

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As Ben hints it's usually mineral oil type haze - much smaller particle and therefore more transparent. Most common machine is Reel EFX DF-50. The MDG machine is used because it works with silent CO2 cannisters to produce the compressed air instead of a noisy compressor.
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Tv cameras are not that good at resolving things that are dark or nearly black. Detail in shadows can be brought out by menu tweaking a bit, but although you can see haze, just, with the eye, the camera can't - which is really a good thing. The same thing happens sometimes with fine rain - the camera doesn't see it. I've also often wondered if the reason why we see haze, even when it's very gentle is that it's to do with perepheral vision - the slight movement is picked up letting us 'see' it. Not sure about the second bit, but it seems a possibility?
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Is this why tv shows often opt for what looks like heavier rain, in order for it to be seen as rain rather than the fine rain just becoming invisible to the camera, and thus to the viewer. Does HD tv show the fog/haze better than 'normal' tv?
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Does HD tv show the fog/haze better than 'normal' tv?

When I was recently watching the X-Factor on HD Sky+ (on a hd tv) I could see the hazefloating about on the stage and more so when it was in the beam of light, and arround the edges. I didn't watch any of it on a TV without HD so I am not sure if this was only seen on HD or not .... :blink:

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ok thanks is there anyway of using this fine haze in a normal haze or smoke machine???
It's a particular kind of haze machine known as an "Oil Cracker" or mineral oil hazer.

 

They produce by far the best haze, but are either quite noisy (integrated compressor) or quite expensive to run (bottled CO2).

I've used the former several times - they often sound rather like a petrol lawnmower!

(And quite often leak a bit, leaving lovely oilslicks)

 

They also usually take quite a long time to fill the venue, as the output is generally quite low compared to a glycol hazer.

- Which is good, as it means you don't get a nasty cloud by the hazer.

 

You can't turn a normal glycol hazer into an oil cracker - they work on entirely different principles.

 

In TV-land, they tend to have a few of them scattered about the studio (dependant on size), with big fans to blow the haze up towards the grid.

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The best way to achieve "tv haze" with water based haze fluid used in Jems etc is simply to position it well away from the live area and place an oscilliating fan behind the unit, to distribute the output evenly. Run the hazer on low though and let the fans do the work. That way you dont get any "clouds" of haze anywhere and its nicely evened out over the live area.
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p.s. I cannot stand that song.....

 

I did like that song, but she has ruined it for me now!

 

Do they have to get the balance perfect of the haze or do they not matter much about it? It's a good effect, works well.

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Just don't do what GMTV like doing and stick the hazer just off from sight....
To be fair, the GMTV studio is tiny - they don't really have anywhere else to put a hazer!

(Either the cameras trip over it, or the weathergirl does)

 

In a theatre, the first gallery is often a good place to put it.

But every venue is different - the local crew usually know the best places to put the hazer(s).

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There was a good thread on this a while ago where I think someone from X factor commented that the cameras only see haze when a beam of light is shining through it (due to the scattering effects of the haze particles?). This is why a camera at the back of the studio can get a perfectly clear shot of a presenter - the lighting is designed such that the only light beams between camera and the presenter are the very shallow ones illuminating that person. If the camera has to "look" through thicker beams, everything starts to look rather foggy.

A good racks engineer is also essential - too much haze will make blacks appear more grey but they can be pulled back down again electronically to maintain a balanced picture.

The air con in TV studios is also pretty ferocious - you need to produce a lot of haze as it's constantly being removed - bit of a balancing act.

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