Custom Snow Machine

[jagardner1984]

Ok, so here is my situation. Christmas Show, usual low budget stuff, needs a snow drop in a QUIET song. A linear effect about 8-10m wide basically.

 

So of course, I am trying to avoid the usual Foam snow from these kind of machines:

http://homepage.mac.com/james.gardner/forumfiles/foamsnowmachine.jpg

 

as the accompanying Aircraft take off Sound effect will not be appreciated !

 

There are the packman type snow machines, this one for example:

http://homepage.mac.com/james.gardner/forumfiles/fallingsnowmachine.jpg

 

but at £100 a week + Vat and delivery, and I would need about 5 of them, its out of price range.

 

So I am thinking of a DIY Solution. It might not be pretty, but is hidden from view, and I don't need DMX Control or anything like that. What is in my head is to use some 3inch drain pipe, or similar, to make multiple holes in it, and to fabricate steel end caps which then go onto motors akin to those found in Mirror Ball rotators, add to that a yoke, some safeties all the way round the drain pipe, and I may have something workable ?

 

In theory and with the right steelwork I think that would work, but perhaps there is a much more sensible/simple solution the lovely Blue Roomers would share with me. Surprisingly there doesn't seem to be too much discussion of the dry snow machines, rather than the foam ones, in a search of previous posts.

 

Any help welcome

 

James

[J Pearce]

Stagehands with buckets of shredded plastic snow stuff throwing it up over the stage (or off from fly floor if you have such a thing)?

 

There are some clever things you can do with fabric troughs with holes in being jiggled with a line from the deck.

[the kid]

I will utter the words said by my favourite snow suppliers, snow business when I called them.

 

"how long does it need to drop? does it need sparkle? what happens once it's on the floor? how high is your drop?"

 

I created a good tube drop last year for a show. It was about a 5in card tube (carpet shops are your friends) in half, some small blocks on the bottom to give some weight. Ropes from the tube to the bar, and then a pulling rope from tube back to who was using it. I had to use some doughty rings to guide the rope as it kept on drawing them in back to the main line, but a bit of jiggling and it was a very good drop. I had threaded it a bit cackhanded but if you get it right it should look good.

[AndyJones]

Easy! If you have access to flys...

 

You will need:

2 bars

1 old border (or similar sized bit of tat)

 

1)Hang the border from a bar as you would normally.

 

2) Modify your border so that the bottom of the border can hang from your second bar, This should give you a border that is basically hanging from both the top and bottom in a loop, (I hope that makes sense!)

 

3) Cut holes in a line all the way along the border horizontally a few inches from the bar on one side only, repeat this with a few rows of holes.

 

4) Fill the border with snow (paper fireproofed snow)!

 

5) By lowering the side of the border that has the holes, and jiggling it, then you can get a nice even snow effect.

 

I know I haven't explained this very well, I shall come back and edit it when I can think of a better way to word these instructions!

 

I am using this very technique at the moment and it works brilliantly. I can get some photo's if any one is interested?

 

HTH (I'm not sure it does!)

 

Andy Jones

[GridGirl]

Jon Pearce is right - a snow bag is going to be a good solution for you, if you have the ability to hang things from a fly bar or the roof. All you need is a piece of fabric the width of the stage, hung off two pipes so that it is U-shaped. Make vertical cuts in the fabric, up to about 2/3 the height of the bag, and fill it with shredded paper or plastic snow; when you need the snow to fall, shake the bars (works best if you push the bars in opposite directions), or if you don't have a flyfloor you can shake the bars from, just tie a rope to either end of the bars and get a stage crew member in each wing to shake it from the floor.

 

EDIT: Snap!