Sometimes filmmakers are adding fog/haze in order to achieve a creepy aesthetic. But fog/haze will also act as an in-air diffusion, spreading your light and carrying its color all through a set. It also adds dimension to your shot, softening the background and making the foreground subject appear crisp and sharp.

For a average “haze” mix about 15% glycol with distilled water. You can mix fog fluid with the distilled water but you will just have to experiment as the mixture of the fog fluids are different. The more water, thinner the haze. The risk with this is that you “boil” the water in your fog machine.

Haze is something that you’ll find on almost every modern Hollywood film set. It adds depth to your shot because the light has to pass through the haze to get to the sensor, which diffuses the light. The further the light travels through the diffusion, the more color and sharpness it loses.

Essentially a fog machine is designed to pump fog liquid or “fog juice” from a reservoir into a heat exchanger where the liquid is then heated and turned into vapor. The vapor is then forced out through the fog machine’s output and into the room.

How do fog machines work? Most fog machines operate in conjunction with fog “juice” or fog fluid made up of a combination of water and glycol. This mixture heats up to produce the white fog that you see in the air.

Fog machines create this effect by cooling fluid to liquid particles. The effect of a low fogger is similar to that of a smoke machine– they are both designed to create a visual effect / impact, whereas a haze machine is designed to emphasize other effects such as lighting beams or lasers.

Fog and haze differ in that fog is a thick, opaque effect that lasts a short time, while haze is a thin, translucent effect that lasts a long time. Fog is used as a special effect, whereas haze is used for lighting/atmosphere enhancement.

Fog machines, on the other hand, produce lighter mist that extends from floor to ceiling. This helps amplify the lighting effect of a haunted house, a Halloween party, or even a seasonal party like a New Year’s Eve bash.

The best way to accomplish this is with a fog machine cover styled like Halloween pumpkin or graveyard ghoul, which will not only protect the fogger but enhance its effect by masking the source of the fog and blending in with the landscape.

Graveyard sets take on a whole new layer of fright when the ground fogger goes to work; it’s also great for school theater productions. Picture the dense, eerie fog of a classic Hollywood horror film: that’s the work of a ground fog machine and a little creative lighting.

On average, haze has a less detectable scent than fog. Haze will accentuate your lighting (making light beams more visible), but not as dramatically as fog. Fog machines vaporize fluid using heat, while haze machines do this without heat in a compression chamber. Looking for an article on hazer vs. fogger? Check it out here!