As we all know, a haze in the air certainly helps the light beams stand out. Unfortunately, many clients hate any kind of smoke, so we must sneak it onto the stage.
Without a haze in the air, your lights will simply illuminate whatever they are focused on. Of course this is the main intention of stage lighting, but all lighting designers would rather see their beams as well. The beams are actually a big part of the each lighting look I try to come up with. They can serve as your backdrop to any scene.
Without smoke, gobos shining from behind the band are worthless. And I believe gobo patterns lighting air are just as important as the patterns one shines on a set, scrim, or performer. Many gobos are simply breakout patterns that are meant to light air and they look great. Until your client tells you they hate smoke and demands it be turned off immediately and for the rest of your show.
So I follow a few small rules. First of all I try and always use a hazer that emits a fine haze of “atmosphere” as opposed to a smoke machine that belches out huge puffs of smoke. The Real EFX DF-50 has always been a fave of mine.
Next I always make sure that I can quickly turn on and off the hazer. If it starts to get thick, I want to kill it before an artist or speaker notices it is there at all. Most often, I’ll put the control on a console and control it either thru dmx or a dimmer set to non-dim.
Other times I try and hide the source so nobody sees where it is coming from. I have found some good places for this. Sometimes I will put the hazer just upstage of the rear cyc or scrim. It will take a few minutes, but the smoke will usually rise then spread through the whole room. Another good place is to hide it just upstage of your curtain “legs” that mask the sides of the stage. Make sure it’s not by a stage entrance where the artist can trip over it or see it spouting out oil by the stairs. When all else fails, I hide it under the stage or at the front of house and turn it on a half hour before the act hits the stage.
Always bring some sort of fan. I like the little rabbit fans that resemble one of those round running devices one sees in gerbil cages. I also like rotary fans that swivel from side to side. The fan has two purposes. One: it will immediately thin the smoke out so there is not one big puff of haze. Two: The fan will spread the haze from upstage to downstage, so one can see their light beams evenly.
And most important, if you are gigging in a ballroom, make sure the smoke alarms have been turned off for the performance. Not only is the fire alarm disruptive to a show, I’ve seen the sprinkler systems turn on because of smoke. Always a big hit at any show.
