Creating a shaft of light.

[MattN]

I need to create a shaft of light, well I guess it would come from a crack in a garage door, and I'm wondering if there are any other techniques to use beside the first thing that popped into my head, which is to fold the barn doors down so they're almost closed.

Anything else you guys do to control a very small amount of light? I know a fog machine was talked about at one point to accentuate the shape of the light column.

[Jared Caldwell]

Fog machine FTW.

[David Gray]

Yeah fog machine is the way to go.

If you can afford it rent a decent fog machine. Cheap smoke machines will do the job however they the smoke tends to be a bit more broken up therefore is more obvious.

[Peter Mosiman]

These guys know their stuff. They are correct on the fog machine. Dust also works (not that great for the actors though) if you can't get a hold of a fog machine.

Shafts of light are a personal favorite of mine. :D

[JonFairhurst]

Yes. A fog machine. And many, many lumens. And something to interrupt the light.

I saw Pink Floyd's The Wall concert. The highlight was when Gilmore stood at the top of the wall that had been constructed during the first half of the show and played a screaming guitar solo with a blazing spotlight shining from behind him and fog in the air. It was as if all his energy was radiating out into the audience.

A fine, fine show!

[Tim Hole]

I would use a blinder of par64's (depending on how much you want to light - one might do!) and a smoker. You could make yourself a butterfly if you wished to evenly spread the light but it depends on how much of the crack you are lighting and how much ambient light you have on the camera side of the garage. If you want to go crazy you could fit the Par 64 cans with ACL's (Aircraft landing lights) they fit nicely and the whole rigs very cheap. They create a nice narrow beam with long throw.

If you want or need ambience a few chinese lanterns would be more than sufficient. The light from the crack may create enough ambience for you but again it depends on how much of the 'crack' you are lighting.

[caliboss]

Couple of questions, where is the source of light and where is it beamed to? From inside the garrage to out side? Or vice versa. This is very important. Whereas a fog machine may affect the quality of the light beamed, the location the light is beamed to also plays a major role, dont reveal fogged light patterns on a warm dry night as oppossed a nornal steam foggy cold nights. Dont reveal dusty fumes in a non active garage as it will seem somwhat odd, like the rock video referenced, the active image in a scene propells the visuals story point in any plot. So if I'm making any sense at all it will be that light source/relayed point should be factored to location and story elements.

[JonFairhurst]

...like the rock video referenced...Video? I saw The Wall concert live in 1979 - hence, the huge, powerful spotlight. One PAR just wouldn't have had the same effect. :)

[Pietro Impagliazzo]

Fog + Beamy sources.

Spread the fog till you have an even mist and then light up a very beamy light source.

Tiny holes letting daylight through is nice too.

http://www.reduser.net/forum/showpost.php?p=292350&postcount=1386

http://www.reduser.net/forum/showpost.php?p=292552&postcount=1390

And also this:

http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?t=28870

:thumbsup:

[caliboss]

Sorry John, I should have read slower, my bad.

[JPSendall]

Just in case the terminology is important here. Don't use a traditional fog machine, use a 'hazer'. They are much better than a fog machine. I think they use a different substance and are finer in the haze.

[MattN]

Fog + Beamy sources.

Spread the fog till you have an even mist and then light up a very beamy light source.

Tiny holes letting daylight through is nice too.

http://www.reduser.net/forum/showpost.php?p=292350&postcount=1386

http://www.reduser.net/forum/showpost.php?p=292552&postcount=1390

And also this:

http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?t=28870

:thumbsup:

Thanks, those posts illustrate the effect I'm going for very well. Now to find out where I can find an actual haze machine.

[Pietro Impagliazzo]

David Mullen once talked about a "smoke cracker" that created smoke through compressing mineral oil.

He said the smoke was very thin and stayed in the air for a very long time.

Looks like that's what you need.

And yes, as said, fog machines suck for creating a spread out uniform mist.

[Stefan Christou]

David Mullen once talked about a "smoke cracker" that created smoke through compressing mineral oil.

He said the smoke was very thin and stayed in the air for a very long time.

Looks like that's what you need.

And yes, as said, fog machines suck for creating a spread out uniform mist.

That sounds like a case for the ask David Mullen anything thread over on Reduser

[J Davis]

Roll up a 12 paper and pass it. That should create the effect you want.
:sifone:

[Mark A. Beal]

I need to create a shaft of light, well I guess it would come from a crack in a garage door, and I'm wondering if there are any other techniques to use beside the first thing that popped into my head, which is to fold the barn doors down so they're almost closed.

Rather than just closing the barn doors down, you'll get better results by rigging something up that you can point the light through -- a hunk of cardboard with a hole cut in it, some flags arranged to create a slash, an actual crack in the garage door, many different option here. But what you want to do is get some space between the light and the object you're shining through in order to give it a sharp edge.

[Peter Mosiman]

Rather than just closing the barn doors down, you'll get better results by rigging something up that you can point the light through -- a hunk of cardboard with a hole cut in it, some flags arranged to create a slash, an actual crack in the garage door, many different option here. But what you want to do is get some space between the light and the object you're shining through in order to give it a sharp edge.

Thats a very good point Mark. I'd like to add that its important to have a powerful light doing this because I tried to create a shaft of light once through a cracked door and it worked pretty well but it did not have a physical presence to it...it wasn't something you could reach out and grab, just a sliver of weak light peeping through. It worked for what we were doing but not really for creating an actual shaft of light.

[MattN]

Well we ended up getting a fog machine from someone. The shaft of light didn't seem to be quite the issue I thought it might. I didn't really get a good shot of it, but I'm perfectly fine without it.