What sort of “smoke” is available?
There are at least five different sorts of smoke/fog/mist used in theatre, pyrotechnic smoke, smoke machines, CO2, liquid nitrogen foggers, and cracked oil foggers. Pyrotechnic smoke is the only effect that produces colored smoke. It is also real smoke and can trigger sensors in your building. All precautions and licenses applicable to pyrotechnics apply to this effect. Professional smoke machines use an electric pump to feed juice from an external tank into a heated chamber. The liquid becomes a vapor “smoke.” The electrically pumped machines tend to give a lot more control than consumer grade foggers. The smoke will hang in the air for a time, depending on the ventilation of the building and the formula of smoke fluid. Smoke from a smoke machine can’t be colored, but the dense white smoke takes color from lighting well or the room can be filled with haze. Hazing the room produces a very pale smoke. It is not as obvious as normal smoke, until you shine light through it. This technique
