- As filmmakers, we all want to make
our visuals more cinematic.
And in today's video, I'm gonna show you
two tools that you can use to instantly
up the quality of your visuals.
Today, I'm talking about fog and haze.
By the end of this video, you'll understand
the key differences between them,
when and why you should use them
as well as the pros and cons of each.
As a bonus, I'll also be sharing with you
a way that you can use fog or haze
in situations where you don't have access to power
or you need to be nimble and you don't want to be
hauling around a haze or fog machine.
So make sure you stick around 'til the end
of the video for that one.
If you want to see more content just like this,
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I decided to put together this video
after a recent music video shoot that we just completed
with the very talented, Rory Webley
for his new music video,
"Friendly Neighbourhood Poltergeist."
Fog and haze were instrumental in bringing the visuals
of that video to life.
So if you want to check it out,
link's in the description,
go ahead and check out Rory's channel.
Fog and haze can be terrific for adding extra depth
and dimension to your shot
but if you've never used them before,
the differences between the two can be a little confusing.
So let's start with fog.
Fog or smoke is generated using a fog or smoke machine.
And the two terms get interchanged quite a lot
but they mean the same thing.
These types of machines tend to be quite common
and they're also very affordable.
You can pick one up for about $100 or less
but do bear in mind, you get what you pay for
so buy well if you can.
Fog machines heat a water-based fluid and they
push it through a pump very rapidly.
So what you end up with are these large,
dense billows of smoke,
which are perfect for special effects.
This is a perfect tool if you want to re-create
heavy fog or smoke.
We want to see that billowy effect in the air.
Fog is designed to be noticed.
You see this used a lot particularly in
horror and sci-fi films.
When choosing a fog fluid,
make sure you get a good quality one
like the ones from Antari.
They come in three different grades.
Light, medium and heavy.
Each of these three grades has different hang times
and density, with light dissipating faster
and heavy sticking around longer
and being more noticeable.
And now, on to haze.
Compared to fog, a haze machine produces much finer
and more translucent particles that also
typically hang in the air a little bit longer.
It's more subtle but in my opinion,
it produces a much more cinematic image than fog.
Haze machines typically use a mineral-oil based liquid
and instead of heating the liquid,
they use an air compressor to gradually release
a fine mist into the air
instead of this big billow like you get from a fog machine.
The downside of using an oil-based liquid
is it can leave an oily residue on all of the surfaces
around you and this can be very difficult to clean off.
This typically only happens if it's in use
for extended periods of time.
The images that haze can create are really lovely
and it's perfect if you want to capture those
beautiful beams or shards of volumetric light.
It also gives practical light sources a lovely, glowy effect
and really helps to bring them to life.
Haze is subtle but powerful.
The main downside to haze machines
is that they are a lot more expensive.
At the low end, you're looking at at least three
to $500 and a good haze machine can set you back thousands.
Now, don't get too discouraged.
There is a way that you can approximate the look of haze
with a fog machine.
What you want to do is waft those billows
into the environment and wait for it
to settle and dissipate.
It doesn't quite catch the light in the same way
but it will get the job done.
Bear in mind that you will need to repeat
that process every one to two takes.
You can also find these machines called fazers,
which are kind of in between hazes and fog machines.
Fazers use fog liquid but instead of blasting it
through a pump, they release it more gradually
using a fan instead.
This is what we ended up using
on "Friendly Neighbourhood Poltergeist,"
because unfortunately, the haze machine that we
had originally booked, had to go in for repair.
Please note that you cannot mix haze fluid
with fog machines and fazers.
The two do not mix and they will damage your machine.
The same thing goes the other way around as well.
Another factor to consider is that haze machines
can be run continuously whereas fog machines
or fazers need regular warm-up periods,
which can delay your shoot and interrupt production.
Another thing that I want you to be aware of
is that although they're not supposed to,
both types of machines can set off fire alarms.
So if you can and you have the opportunity
in pre-production, it's always a great idea
to get into the location and test them out
to see if you're gonna have problems on the day.
Now all of this is awesome but what if you're out
on a location and you don't have access to any power
or you don't want to lug around a big, heavy machine?
Well, that's where my bonus tip comes in.
Haze in a can.
This stuff is super awesome, particularly in smaller spaces.
We used it in our attic location
and it worked an absolute treat.
I definitely recommend keeping a few cans of this stuff
in your kit for those times when you want to
add some last minute ambience.
However, if you're going to be outside
in any sort of breeze or you need to fill a larger space,
you're definitely going to need a few of these cans
and that can get expensive real quick.
Another cool fog-related hack is,
if you're going to be doing tabletop product photography,
I've seen an awesome hack from Caleb Pike
over at DSLR Video Shooter where he uses
a little puffer and a vape.
Yes, a vape as a miniature smoke machine.
It's pretty cool and Caleb's content
is always awesome.
So I'll put the link to that video in the description.
Well, that's it for today's video.
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And if you have any questions or you just want to say hi,
leave us a comment down below.
Thanks for watching guys and we'll see you
in the next video.