From enhancing the lighting to eliminating unwanted pests, CO2 offers the entertainment industry many advantages.
Whether it’s TV shows, live concerts or theatrical shows, their experiences would not be the same without the use of CO2 fog machines. We explore how they work, where they are used and how to ensure your next on-stage appearance is the best it’s ever been.
The Properties of CO2
CO2 is used for many purposes across many industries and offers excellent use on stage for various reasons. Carbon dioxide gas is colourless and is produced from the combustion of coal or hydrocarbons, by fermentation of liquids and the breathing of humans and animals, and by volcanoes. Within entertainment, and with a specialist machine, you can use CO2 for special effects and offer your performance a cloudy fog-like appearance in various ways.
How Does a CO2 Fog Machine Work?
Two kinds of fog machines use CO2 to produce harmless misty smoke.
Heated fog machines use an inert gas like CO2 (or even nitrogen) to propel either mineral oil or glycol-based fluids into a heat exchanger. Once the liquid is warmed, it will evaporate into vaporised particles, which creates a dramatic fog-like appearance. Each fog machine varies in features, but most will allow you to control the output by varying the amount of gas used to propel the liquids.
Chilled fog machines work differently and have a specific purpose compared to the generic heated fog machines. Unlike its counterpart, chilled fog machines were designed to offer a thick cloud just above the surface of the floor. This machine works with the help of boiling water and dry ice (compressed CO2). By placing a piece of dry ice into the heated water, the solid CO2 vaporises into a gas and is propelled with fans, and as it rises, the fog will disperse.
Fog Machines for Pest Control
Although fog and smoke are predominantly used for exaggerating and impressive effects, it is also used for cleaning and pest control. Ultra-Low Volume fogging offers fine droplets between 20-30 micrometres, which is optimal for pest control. This helps prevent rats, roaches, and fleas from creating devastating damage to a building that is regularly empty for long periods, such as cinemas and theatres, which remain closed for most of the day.
Make an Entrance With CO2 Fog Machines
Fog machines offer excellent additions if you wish to make an impression with an on-stage entrance. The likes of singers and musicians use the mystery of fog to conceal their entrance until it disperses. This can often be seen used in conjunction with a rising stage. As the floor rises, the smoke will too and reveal the singer.
Entrances like this encourage suspense and build up excitement in the audience. Often fog machines will undergo tests before the show, which can start to engage the audience’s interest and captures their attention for when the show does begin.
Other examples can be seen in reality TV and competition shows. For example, Stars In Their Eyes utilised fog in the 90’s to transition between costume changes and is still used in contestant-based shows such as The Voice and The Masked Singer.
Create an Ambience
With the likes of dry ice fog machines, you can create a sense of mystery. As the fog lays close to the floor, it acts as a blanket, insinuating something eery or concealing. This effect is utilised heavily for the likes of plays and theatrical shows and has started to become popular around Halloween for domestic decorations.
It is done so due to the immersive effect. It can draw in the audience. As the fog spills over the edge of the stage or the threshold, it flows and disperses into the audience, connecting onlookers to the story and display on a more personal basis.
Adding a fog machine to your equipment list instantly upgrades any dull room to one filled with beauty, mystery, and excitement. Over the past few years, there has been an increase in couples using them for weddings to add that natural romantic dream ambience to the couple’s first dance.
Enhance the Lighting
Whether it is a concert, light show, or event, if there have been lasers and lighting, there will have been the use of fog somewhere down the line. Although lights can look beautiful on their own, lighting teams have discovered their impressive effects when supplied by under haze of fog.
Haze machines are very much like fog machines, the only difference being the involvement you wish to add to your performance. A fog achieves a feature and an effect by itself, whereas a haze machine will help to accentuate the lighting and effects.
Lights and laser shows rely on the thickness of the haze to bounce the light off the droplets, allowing it to reflect. Imagine the old school cartoons of burglars finding the alarm beams with a spray can; the same is used with haze. Beams of light offer many better experiences and can provide a more enjoyable display.
How To Make the Best Quality Fog
What you intend to use the fog or haze for will depend on which machine will suit you. You would choose a cooling fog machine for a spooky and eery blanket for the likes of Halloween. Whereas if you wish to add some thrill to an entrance, then a heated fog machine would work best. Either way, for CO2, you must ensure you are only getting the best quality CO2 gas bottles.
Poor-quality gases can result in poor-quality effects, and when you have an audience looking for something incredible, you need to be sure that your equipment can live up to expectations. As a responsible bottle gas supplier, we triple-check all our gases to ensure that there are no contaminants and our customers are receiving high-quality products.
We offer online and speedy delivery of our gases, so why not order yours today?
