DTFX - Special Effects

THE SNOW REPORT

This report was compiled by STM Studio Supplies, a leading Australian Special Effects and Film Equipment Supply Company, and reproduced with their kind permission.

It gives an overview of some of the many options available for creating a snowy environment.

Generally you will need a combination of the products and techniques listed to create a realistic snowscape.

Please contact DTFX for advice about the combination that best suits your job.STM studiosupplies has an ever-expanding range of snow products sourced both locally and internationally. We represent the major players in the artificial snow market and combine this with our local knowledge and expertise. From the ground up the following is an indication of the many different products we supply. Trust us there are many ,many more!

Snow Blanket

Our heavy snow blanket is an Australian made fabric developed to retain sand walls. As such it is extremely durable, washable, re-useable and incredibly strong. From our point of view it is also very white! In far background it is adequate on its own. In mid ground it only needs to be lightly dressed. In the foreground and in all instances it provides an excellent underlay that is able to withstand heavy traffic and ideal for gathering up surface dressing on wrap. Even better it is 4m wide and up to 100m on the roll.

Our light snow blanket commonly known, as “Merrick” is similar in appearance to a white Chux and is really a single use commodity. Essentially it performs the same functions as the heavy blanket but without the steroids! Stand alone it is likely to be wind affected if not adequately fixed and can tend to tear and snag vacuum equipment on clean-up. It’s also not as wide at 3.15m. It is however a big bang for your buck.

Dacron the classic “snow blanket “ we can supply 250 gsm Polyester wadding in 25m rolls x 2.2 m wide. Different weights and thicknesses are available.

Dressing Snow
Unfortunately there is not one artificial snow that suits all needs every different one has its pros and cons. Generally a combination of different products creates the best result.

SnoBizâ from CITC http://www.citcfx.com/products/snow_machines2.htm
The award winning CITC “starch snow” is generally recognised as the best in the business. It is the recipient of many awards in Film/TV industry, used in “Lord Of The Rings” and many other films. SnoBiz is 100% Biodegradable, 100% Child Safe, water-soluble and can be adhered to surfaces and objects without the use of toxic adhesives. Simply apply a light mist of water and apply snow as required. (however it does gets quite sticky when wet) SnoBiz is extremely effective for falling or flying snow effects. Made from food sources such as wheat, rice, potato etc it is puffed, whitened, ground, sifted sized and vacuum packaged to create the cleanest environmentally sound artificial snow available. We were allowed to place it right next to Sydney’s major water reservoir and the NY City governors allowed it in Central park. Available in fine or close up it comes in vacuum sealed boxes that when opened expands out to the fluffy white product we recognise as snow,
Clean up is as simple as gathering up the bulk and hosing down the rest. We stock two grades, fine and Close up Generally we are happy to supply more than you need and refund unopened Boxes

Paper Snow
In a studio environment or where there is heavy traffic within the snow, paper snow from snow business www.snowbusiness.com comes into its own.
Fully fire retarded the paper snow has many advantages in it the fact it doesn’t “stick to your boots” the way starch does, it is however more bulky to dispose of and more expensive. As a lay down the ideal combination is a 50/50 mix of full size and 1/2 size. As the full size can be a little “clumpy” and the 1/2 size a little “dusty”, the two complement the other perfectly particularly when used with a sprinkle of shredded poly plastic snow on top to add some “sparkle”. This “recipe” was used on Superman “Red Sun”. The other plus is that paper, unlike the starch, can be used in combination with the polymer snow.

Polymer Snow
This is probably the nearest thing to natural snow available. This product has the crystalline structure sparkle and tactile values of real snow. Young and old love it when you add 1 rounded teaspoon to 1/2 pint of warm water and watch it expand out 40 times!
The particle is soft slippery and “dry” to touch and is ideal for close-ups and equally pouring. As such it is perfect to simulate avalanches or snow slips via tip boards or tanks. Mathematically I kg of powder will make 0.1 cu m of snow (10sq m x 10mm deep)
10 kg of powder will make up 1 cu m of snow (100sq m X 10mm deep). In reality though it is safest to halve these estimates for practical application. The downside is it is extremely slippery and will dry out back to powder if left. Whilst you can re-hydrate by adding sprayed water it gets “dirtier each time” Naturally the speed of drying varies according to humidity and temperature. You also have to be careful when cleaning up. Whilst inert and ok for normal tipping it will block sinks and drains. If you get a blockage just add salt.

Airborne Snow Blowers
The Flagship of the CITC range is the Little Blizzard SP DMX. This is unquestionably the best Snow machine on the market.

http://www.citcfx.com/products/snow_machines.htm
The Little Blizzard® Sound Proof (SP). Besides being the quietest snow machine in the business, it has several features that set it apart from the imitators. Included is:

*    A control that changes the size of the flakes with a mere touch of a lever, called the Flake Size Adjuster
*    Easy to Install Compact Size
*    A safety fuse with extra fuse
*    More insulation for quietness
*    Heavy-duty powder coating
*    Curved vents that bend sound waves
*    A DMX control with “in/out” 5-pin XLR connectors for daisy chaining several machines from one remote control.
*    Hanging bracket, adjustable
*    Continuously “snows”; will never heat up like the imitators do in 10 minutes*
You can control the perfect size snowflakes and have them float (not fall like rain drops or clumps of foam) until they evaporate. When used as directed, Little Blizzard® Snow Fluid leaves no residue or mess to clean up. Our preferred fluid is the Extra Dry. At medium volume this evaporates after about 15 seconds of ground contact. Running flat out with the largest Flake size the Little Blizzard uses about 5 litres an hour of continuous running.

On its own the little blizzard can throw the flakes about 6 metres. Like all ambient snow though it is best assisted by as big a wind machine as circumstances allow and this distance Usage rate: 5 Litres per hour continuos running

Snow Business Display coarse

To mix up your effect and when adequate wind is available the best possible result is to mix Little Blizzard Foam with Snow Business Display coarse. This gives two different airborne particles travelling at different speeds and with different aerial dynamics. In combination they create a better than natural and incredibly realistic effect. Once again this is the method employed on Superman “Red Sun”

SnoBizâ

Don’t discount for a moment though the starch as a falling medium. Paper snow is much heavier than starch making it a less realistic fall. The paper snow is made up of small flat pieces of paper that flutter when dropped, whereas, SnoBiz is made up of 3-dimensional pieces of snow that float, creating when used alone a much more natural effect. Photographically in fact it is better than the real thing. With gantry hanging or a hopper rig, and as always a fan assist the effect is fantastic, reusable and totally realistic.

We are also able to offer a range of close up effects including Trengove http://www.trengovestudios.com
Artificial ice and ice powder, Crystal ice and Ice Powder

This site is owned by David Trethewey: Special Effects Supervisor, Copyright DTFX Pty Ltd, 2010. Site last updated: 12 April 2010.
DTFX.NET is powered by VISION

	THE SNOW REPORT This report was compiled by STM Studio Supplies, a leading Australian Special Effects and Film Equipment Supply Company, and reproduced with their kind permission. It gives an overview of some of the many options available for creating a snowy environment. Generally you will need a combination of the products and techniques listed to create a realistic snowscape. Please contact DTFX for advice about the combination that best suits your job.STM studiosupplies has an ever-expanding range of snow products sourced both locally and internationally. We represent the major players in the artificial snow market and combine this with our local knowledge and expertise. From the ground up the following is an indication of the many different products we supply. Trust us there are many ,many more! Snow Blanket Our heavy snow blanket is an Australian made fabric developed to retain sand walls. As such it is extremely durable, washable, re-useable and incredibly strong. From our point of view it is also very white! In far background it is adequate on its own. In mid ground it only needs to be lightly dressed. In the foreground and in all instances it provides an excellent underlay that is able to withstand heavy traffic and ideal for gathering up surface dressing on wrap. Even better it is 4m wide and up to 100m on the roll. Our light snow blanket commonly known, as “Merrick” is similar in appearance to a white Chux and is really a single use commodity. Essentially it performs the same functions as the heavy blanket but without the steroids! Stand alone it is likely to be wind affected if not adequately fixed and can tend to tear and snag vacuum equipment on clean-up. It’s also not as wide at 3.15m. It is however a big bang for your buck. back to top^ Dacron the classic “snow blanket “ we can supply 250 gsm Polyester wadding in 25m rolls x 2.2 m wide. Different weights and thicknesses are available. Dressing Snow Unfortunately there is not one artificial snow that suits all needs every different one has its pros and cons. Generally a combination of different products creates the best result. SnoBizâ from CITC http://www.citcfx.com/products/snow_machines2.htm The award winning CITC “starch snow” is generally recognised as the best in the business. It is the recipient of many awards in Film/TV industry, used in “Lord Of The Rings” and many other films. SnoBiz is 100% Biodegradable, 100% Child Safe, water-soluble and can be adhered to surfaces and objects without the use of toxic adhesives. Simply apply a light mist of water and apply snow as required. (however it does gets quite sticky when wet) SnoBiz is extremely effective for falling or flying snow effects. Made from food sources such as wheat, rice, potato etc it is puffed, whitened, ground, sifted sized and vacuum packaged to create the cleanest environmentally sound artificial snow available. We were allowed to place it right next to Sydney’s major water reservoir and the NY City governors allowed it in Central park. Available in fine or close up it comes in vacuum sealed boxes that when opened expands out to the fluffy white product we recognise as snow, Clean up is as simple as gathering up the bulk and hosing down the rest. We stock two grades, fine and Close up Generally we are happy to supply more than you need and refund unopened Boxes Paper Snow In a studio environment or where there is heavy traffic within the snow, paper snow from snow business www.snowbusiness.com comes into its own. Fully fire retarded the paper snow has many advantages in it the fact it doesn’t “stick to your boots” the way starch does, it is however more bulky to dispose of and more expensive. As a lay down the ideal combination is a 50/50 mix of full size and 1/2 size. As the full size can be a little “clumpy” and the 1/2 size a little “dusty”, the two complement the other perfectly particularly when used with a sprinkle of shredded poly plastic snow on top to add some “sparkle”. This “recipe” was used on Superman “Red Sun”. The other plus is that paper, unlike the starch, can be used in combination with the polymer snow. back to top^ Polymer Snow This is probably the nearest thing to natural snow available. This product has the crystalline structure sparkle and tactile values of real snow. Young and old love it when you add 1 rounded teaspoon to 1/2 pint of warm water and watch it expand out 40 times! The particle is soft slippery and “dry” to touch and is ideal for close-ups and equally pouring. As such it is perfect to simulate avalanches or snow slips via tip boards or tanks. Mathematically I kg of powder will make 0.1 cu m of snow (10sq m x 10mm deep) 10 kg of powder will make up 1 cu m of snow (100sq m X 10mm deep). In reality though it is safest to halve these estimates for practical application. The downside is it is extremely slippery and will dry out back to powder if left. Whilst you can re-hydrate by adding sprayed water it gets “dirtier each time” Naturally the speed of drying varies according to humidity and temperature. You also have to be careful when cleaning up. Whilst inert and ok for normal tipping it will block sinks and drains. If you get a blockage just add salt. Airborne Snow Blowers The Flagship of the CITC range is the Little Blizzard SP DMX. This is unquestionably the best Snow machine on the market. http://www.citcfx.com/products/snow_machines.htm The Little Blizzard® Sound Proof (SP). Besides being the quietest snow machine in the business, it has several features that set it apart from the imitators. Included is: * A control that changes the size of the flakes with a mere touch of a lever, called the Flake Size Adjuster * Easy to Install Compact Size * A safety fuse with extra fuse * More insulation for quietness * Heavy-duty powder coating * Curved vents that bend sound waves * A DMX control with “in/out” 5-pin XLR connectors for daisy chaining several machines from one remote control. * Hanging bracket, adjustable * Continuously “snows”; will never heat up like the imitators do in 10 minutes* You can control the perfect size snowflakes and have them float (not fall like rain drops or clumps of foam) until they evaporate. When used as directed, Little Blizzard® Snow Fluid leaves no residue or mess to clean up. Our preferred fluid is the Extra Dry. At medium volume this evaporates after about 15 seconds of ground contact. Running flat out with the largest Flake size the Little Blizzard uses about 5 litres an hour of continuous running. back to top^ On its own the little blizzard can throw the flakes about 6 metres. Like all ambient snow though it is best assisted by as big a wind machine as circumstances allow and this distance Usage rate: 5 Litres per hour continuos running Snow Business Display coarse To mix up your effect and when adequate wind is available the best possible result is to mix Little Blizzard Foam with Snow Business Display coarse. This gives two different airborne particles travelling at different speeds and with different aerial dynamics. In combination they create a better than natural and incredibly realistic effect. Once again this is the method employed on Superman “Red Sun” SnoBizâ Don’t discount for a moment though the starch as a falling medium. Paper snow is much heavier than starch making it a less realistic fall. The paper snow is made up of small flat pieces of paper that flutter when dropped, whereas, SnoBiz is made up of 3-dimensional pieces of snow that float, creating when used alone a much more natural effect. Photographically in fact it is better than the real thing. With gantry hanging or a hopper rig, and as always a fan assist the effect is fantastic, reusable and totally realistic. We are also able to offer a range of close up effects including Trengove http://www.trengovestudios.com Artificial ice and ice powder, Crystal ice and Ice Powder back to top^ back to top This site is owned by David Trethewey: Special Effects Supervisor, Copyright DTFX Pty Ltd, 2010. Site last updated: 12 April 2010. DTFX.NET is powered by VISION

	This site is owned by David Trethewey: Special Effects Supervisor, Copyright DTFX Pty Ltd, 2010. Site last updated: 10 Nov 2010. DTFX.NET: powered by VISION