The Importance Of Haze & Smoke At Events

05 Oct, 2022 By Audiotech

Add some wow to your event with smoke and haze and enhance your lighting effects.

Haze and smoke help add a sense of magic and wonder to an event. They let you alter the look of any scene to create certain types of ambiance and make specific lighting effects easier to achieve. Haze and smoke over the years have been used at events to maximize the lighting effects — making them more pronounced, outstanding, and visible for moving lights.

Difference between smoke and haze

You may hear the terms such as smoke machine and fog machine or even hazer used interchangeably, there is a distinct technical difference between each of them.

Smock:

Smoke is an effect that starts out thick and white, then gradually rises and dissipates. Smoke machines use a special fluid that is heated to produce the initial smoke, which rises because it’s warm. This is the best choice when you want a smoke-filled room effect for parties, spooky atmospheres, and concerts.

Haze:

Haze is designed to create specific lighting effects for general atmosphere. Hazers use either oil based or water based fluid to produce tiny particles that essentially hover in the air. As the particles are translucent, beams of light can shine through them — making the beams visible to your audience if the light is shining toward them. A fan is sometimes used to gently move the haze around, creating a misty feeling.

Importance of Haze & Smock

Set The Scene

Stage productions make excellent use of fog and smoke machines to create the right atmosphere on stage. For these types of events, ensure that you hire or buy a smoke machine which can be safely used indoors. Smoke machines can be used to set the scene for an event.

Create A dramatic effect

Top of the range hazers create high-quality haze which hangs in the air for a long time and adds drama to lighting effects on stage. Therefore, haze machines are a great choice if you’re looking to create a buzz for a music concert or other gig. They will liven up any event and add a touch of theatre.

Types of Machines Used

Fog Machine

Fog is also thick and whitish, but it drifts around close to the floor or ground. Fog is a good choice for times when you want a smoky effect but want to see across the room. Ideal for wedding receptions, shows, concerts, and halloween or other themed parties. Fog machines use either dry ice or liquid CO2 to produce this low-lying effect.

Hazer

These machines are quite common throughout the events and live productions. There are entry-level units that are normally good for small functions. For bigger events, you would have the need to step up to professional, high output haze machines.

Smock

Smoke machines produce a thick cloud of white smoke which disperses relatively quickly, and can be used to obscure vision. Although coloured smoke isn’t possible from a smoke machine, great effects can be achieved by lighting the smoke in different colours. Some vertical smoke machines have LED lights built into them, so dense vertical plumes of colored smoke can be created.

Low Smoke

Low Smoke gives an effect similar to dry ice, and uses a normal smoke machine feeding through a chiller unit or module. This cools the smoke, and makes it hang lower towards the stage. It is not as effective as dry ice, but is far more cost-effective, and has none of the safety hazards connected with dry ice.

Dry Ice

Dry ice is frozen solid carbon dioxide which when placed into hot water sublimes into a gas and forms a thick white cold vapour which hangs low to the ground. Dry ice is available in two main varieties – pellets and blocks. Pellets have a larger surface area, so produce a larger effect. A block will last longer, but won’t be as spectacular. Due to it’s extreme cold, dry ice must only be handled wearing thick non woolen gloves.

At Audiotech, we will help elevate your production to the next level. We are experienced professionals that provide the latest lighting technology with the best minds combined. Our team will help you make your event memorable and compelling for your audience. Call us on your next event!