Brooklyn-based special effects company Jauchem & Meeh didn’t have to look any further than Look Solutions to meet its effects needs for two major new musicals, The Pirate Queen and How The Grinch Stole Christmas.
Based on the extraordinary life of 16th-century Irish chieftain and lady pirate Grace O’Malley, The Pirate Queen combines epic storytelling and a sweeping score with the traditions of Irish dance and song. The musical is playing its world premiere engagement at Chicago’s Cadillac Palace Theatre and will move to Broadway for previews in March 2007.
Jauchem & Meeh is deploying 12 Look Solutions Viper fog generators, one Power-Tiny and two Tiny-Foggers to provide an array of effects for the show. When hung off ladders in the wings, the compact but powerful Vipers provide pretty, wispy clouds. The Vipers also lend Irish-style ground fog and smoke bursts to battle scenes as well as a post-fight smoldering charred effect. The small, battery-operated Power-Tiny is utilized where the Viper’s size would be a tight fit.
The pair of palm-sized Tiny-Foggers, the world’s tiniest fog generators, are used in a tavern scene. “We have tons of pillar candles across a rafter. We’ve ducted the Tiny-Foggers with tubing to three or four of the candles making them appear to be smoking,” notes assistant special effects designer Jeremy Chernick.
The Tiny-Foggers are also Jauchem & Meeh’s choice for the Broadway debut of the Dr. Seuss classic, How The Grinch Stole Christmas, which opened in November at the Hilton Theatre. “There are 10 miniature chimneys in the Who village,” Chernick explains. “We’ve connected the Tiny-Foggers to them with tubing to get puffs of cartoon-like smoke.” An additional Power-Tiny is used for a bigger chimney and to create some low-lying fog.
“I love the Tiny-Foggers,” says Chernick. “They’re solid, reliable and work for a really long time. I tend to deal with subtle effects, and the Tinys can produce very small, controllable amounts of smoke -they’re amazing! The Power-Tiny is ideal in situations where a Viper would be too big. It gives you a nice amount of output, and its wireless operation is very helpful.”