jonathan.1 Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 hi all I am working on a school production of return to the forbidden planet and had been asked to create a back lit air lock. we have a wall and the back of the stage with a sliding door in that has a a chamber built behind. what would be the easiest and cheapest was to fill this with smoke and then be able to discharge it very quickly. would 2 400w holgen flood lights also be bright enough to create a "blinding" light as a member of the cast walks out of the airlock. sorry for so many questions but help would be greatly appreciated many thanks in advance Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J Pearce Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 Smoke machines tend to be very good at making smoke. Check for smoke sensor alarms first though! Halogen floods sound a good idea, make sure they're not near anything flammable as they'll get hot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonathan.1 Posted November 3, 2011 Author Share Posted November 3, 2011 Smoke machines tend to be very good at making smoke. Check for smoke sensor alarms first though! Halogen floods sound a good idea, make sure they're not near anything flammable as they'll get hot. thanks :-), I have checked for smoke alarms, would I need to use an external fan to get the smoke out of the air lock quickly tho? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J Pearce Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 Best bet is try it out. You may find the movement of the actors is enough to pull the smoke out.A good solution I've used before is two crew with big lumps of hardboard wafting the smoke out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timd Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 We did it with a double skin of perspex as the window, with a smoke machine and hoover piped into the void. It gave a very nice swirly effect. Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 We had a single open white parcan immediately above, and 20 ceiling type recessed fittings on the frame pointing outwards towards the audience as blinders - which when the stage lighting dimmed out and the air lock door lifted up worked pretty well when the smoke came out. Just a case of experimenting to see how long a burst of smoke you need without the actor coughing. Most of the version we did was modelled on the touring version going around in 1996/7 and I did manage to get my hands on the lighting plan at the time - if you're interested in a no moving head rig here it is.http://www.earsmedia.co.uk/PLANET4A.png Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gareth Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 I remember that version - it visited the North Wales Theatre while I worked there. A cracking show with some great songs in it - lighting design by Benny Ball, if I recall correctly. It was a fairly big touring rig for its time - the lights on the above plan are only part of the story, the practicals and eye-candy stuff mounted in the set filled an entire 72-way Avo rack! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Coker Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 We had a single open white parcan immediately above, and 20 ceiling type recessed fittings on the frame pointing outwards towards the audience as blinders - which when the stage lighting dimmed out and the air lock door lifted up worked pretty well when the smoke came out. Just a case of experimenting to see how long a burst of smoke you need without the actor coughing. Most of the version we did was modelled on the touring version going around in 1996/7 and I did manage to get my hands on the lighting plan at the time - if you're interested in a no moving head rig here it is.http://www.earsmedia.co.uk/PLANET4A.png Humbug....... KC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonathan.1 Posted November 6, 2011 Author Share Posted November 6, 2011 thanks for all the advice, after a little thought a smoke machine and 4 400w halogen floods with 3 standard desk fans all into a portable dimmer with a switch facility did the job quite nicely gives a pretty good effect when the main foh bar is dimmed many thanks for all the help Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbuckley Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 Humbug....... Yeah, I couldn't find the OHP on the plot either... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Coker Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 Humbug....... Yeah, I couldn't find the OHP on the plot either... Mind reader...... KC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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