Removing vapor from actor's breath

S

savski

Hi,
I'm wondering is there a trick to remove the vapor that occurs when actors exhale on a cold day? I've heard of people putting ice cubes in their mouths, but that's not really a fortunate solution for us since they will be doing it for ten days in a row.
Thanks a lot!
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
Because our film takes place in one day and we've already shot a lot of exterior scenes in which the actors didn't have visible breath, and now it's getting colder and colder and we have some exteriors left to shoot, some happening before and some after the ones we already shot, so it's a matter of continuity.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
It's pretty difficult to do, without warming up the temperature.

Intriguingly, I was talking to a Director friend about this recently, and he showed me a clip from a recent film he shot. It was a cold day, but it was meant to be in the middle of summer. He put a cigarette in the actor's mouth, and though we never see him light it, or really smoke it all that convincingly, it had me fooled on the first watch (before he explained what was going on)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I tried fiddling in post to remove these and didn't have much success.

Why not shoot a number of WS with everyone holding their breaths, then shoot close ups elsewhere indoors against similar (or reconstructed) background.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
We can't add vapor to the shots we already made, because we don't have that kind of a budget for effects, there are too many of them, and it will never look as real and plausible. Shooting closeups indoors is also not an option, we're in the middle of filming and need fast and cheap solutions.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
sounds like your solution might not even exist.

okay this is the best i've got for you but it sucks.
instead of talking just have your actors mouth the words and say nothing. no vapor will come out if they're not talking or breathing. then add the words in post..

man that's got to be one of the most ridiculous things i've ever said on here.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
so if exterior is happening at different time of a day and you don't intercut a dialogue scene,why can't u leave it as it is? Weather can change drastically throughout the day. Do you match lighting ?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
We're matching lighting, plus we can't leave it as it is because we're shooting out of chronology, so the weather would change radically about five times during the movie - which is too much. I asked the same question on a science forum, and they say there's basically no solution - it's either the ice cubes, or raising the temperature of the air surrounding the actors.
Thanks everyone for your replies and help
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
What if you focuses a lot on reaction shot close ups? Have your actors hold their breaths and just get shots of them reacting to the character who is talking. Then in your editing, throw in lots of reaction shots, and don't show the actors who are talking. We can hear them but we cannot see them and only see the actors who are reacting.

I know it will lessen your editing and shot options though...
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
warm air rises..
build a column of warm air around the actors...

Dont know if this will work, but something like it might..

Set up a butterfly above the actors to capture some of the rising heat
Frame your shots mid or closer, have heaters below the frame and the the buttery fly above.
Crank heaters, rehearse etc. Might have to turn off the heaters just before the camera starts..
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
clear%20sidewall.jpg
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top