Fake the weather in a movie

[jdom]

I wanted to know if anybody had some tips on how to fake cold weather in a scene. This is what I came up with so far, please give me your sense on the subject.

My problem is I am in the south and it doesn't get that cold in Oct. and barely snows at all. plus I have a deadline so its not like I can wait for weather to cooperate.

The Set up- outdoors in woods, a large area in background, LOW BUDGET

Some tips so far-
Fake Snow- I looked into artificial snow and It is do-able however I need to cover a large area of ground. Is there a better/cheaper way. I was thinking CGI but didn't want to spend the time in post.

Visible Breath- This would be easier in post just get some stock footage of smoke bubbles (etc) and create fake "visible" breath in after effects. Or is there a way to avoid visual effects?


Any other tips/tricks to create the illusion of chilling cold weather?
Thanks alot for your help!

 

[CB2001]

For fake snow, try soap bubbles. Lots and lots of soap bubbles. Or lots of sheets of cotton. Or a matte painting.

For fake breath, short of doing it CG, the only other option you may have is to wait until it is cold to do it. Or shoot the scenes in the inside of a set and have the A/C cranked up (like the interior scenes for John Carpenter's "The Thing", which were shot on a soundstage with A/Cs at full blast and it was shot during the summer).

 

[Sigma-LS]

The other "The Thing" trick was doing things like stuffing dry ice in their mouths and breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth.

With the AC trick it helps to drink stuff like hot coffee to warm up your breath a bit.

Man that show had the best commentary.

 

[CB2001]

The other "The Thing" trick was doing things like stuffing dry ice in their mouths and breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth.

BAD idea. Dry ice sticks to flesh. Not to mention the fact that it's a solid form of carbon dioxide. If you put a piece of it in your actor's mouth, you'd pretty much risk killing them. If you pay attention to the scene in Big Trouble in Little China where they drink the potion before heading down to Lo Pan's wedding, Egg, Wang and Jack drink from cups. They used dry ice in the cups, but they held their breaths and they didn't "knock it back" like people would when drinking. That's because the dry ice would have stuck to their lips, and breathing it is a bad thing.

 

[darthgordon]

Home Snowmakers - SNS Affordable Home Snow Makers

SNOWatHOME

I don't like the idea of using fake snow (snow that isn't frozen water) in the outdoors. It's messy and bad for the environment. It can blow away and get in/ on someone else's property. Plus, I'm sure it's going to tick off the authorities.

Cover an area with artificially made, real snow, and frame your shots so that you only see the area with snow on it.

 

[blip]

I wanted to know if anybody had some tips on how to fake cold weather in a scene. !

Just film it normally then remove the warm tones in post production. Shift it into the blues and lighten it up. Go slightly surreal to get the sense of desolation rather than the actuality.

 

[Gigatron]

To add to the "feel" of cold, try using a blue filter. It doesn't have to be "blue" blue, just maybe a 15% - 25% blue. You could probably get away with doing an old school, blue gel filter in front of the lens, or possibly add a blue hue, in post.

-Fred

 

[EyeofSauron]

for fake breath, there is an awesome tutorial on videocopilot.net, if you are still in need of that

 

[robstyle]

best bet, CGI. Your going to spend time and money then be limited on what you can see by trying to lay down a practical white ground. Do some simple story boards, even stick figures, so you know where to cheat your camera angles.

 

[CB2001]

Additional: About the dry ice idea and why its bad - Not only does Dry ice stick to flesh, it can BURN the skin, kill every cell in living tissue for prolong exposure. So, in addition to the carbon dioxide (which with a couple of inhales of it, could result in killing your actor), it's DEFINITELY a bad idea.

 

[rollerboi]

If you have girls in the movie and they are in flimsy t-shirts, you may have to hire a "fluffer" or otherwise be aware of physiological reactions to the cold. Environmental stuff can be added post-proc, but it's the little details that really sell the show. Stuff like goosebumps, shivers, and so forth. Breath can be added CGI, but do watch the breathing rate - it'll be affected a little in cold environs.

After watching several seasons of Friends, I am convinced that they never turned on the heat in those apartments.