7. Fog-ology in brief

is produced in fog machines by vaporising special fog fluid using heat and pressure.

As long as high-quailty machines and fluids are used, the fog generated is absolutely safe and only emits a slight smell.

Chemical fog rises slowly and dissipates into wisps of fog over time. Avoid interefering with the view of your audience too much - your show is there to be seen, after all. To enhance the impact of your smoke effects, you can use wind machines which drive the smoke across the stage or dissipate thick fogs. After all, lighting effects can be absolutely stunning in slight fog, too.

is produced using the haze cracking process. There are a lot of scenarios for which chemical fog is unsuitable, since the intention is to render light beams more visible without concealing the entire scenery in clouds of thick fog. This led to the development of the novel hazers which function by atomising a water-based haze fluid either through vaporisation or using a compressor.

Advantages:

• immediate and rapid distribution in space
• no dense clouds
• durable haze, excellent floating characteristics
• thus, re-hazing rarely necessary
• minute haze particles, dstributed through space
• almost invisible to the naked eye
• economic in fluid use
• very low wear and tear
• thus, maintenance friendly

is converted into ground fogby adding it to hot water in a special container.

Although this ground fog is very attractive, it comes with a number of disadvantages which have led to dry ice falling almost completely out of use.

Disadvantages:

• Unsuitable for long storage, as temperature of -78°C
• dry ice prices have risen steeply in the last few years
• Leaves the floor wet and slippery
• heating time of 25 to 30 minutes
• machine first has to be filled with water, then emptied after use