# Blowing Hair Onstage



## urban79 (Jan 18, 2012)

The proposal: how to make a girl's hair and dress blow in the wind onstage...

A giant fan of course works, but is loud. This has to take place over a dream sequence ballet (Oklahoma-esque, but actually from the show 13). Is there a solution that I'm not thinking of?

Budget is of course an issue, as it is with everyone, but we are resourceful. Any thoughts?

Chris


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## erosing (Jan 18, 2012)

Build a large (wo)man-powered fan. Or use a large piece of fabric to push air on stage.

How windy do you need it to look?


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## urban79 (Jan 19, 2012)

Arez said:


> Build a large (wo)man-powered fan. Or use a large piece of fabric to push air on stage.
> 
> How windy do you need it to look?


 
I don't need tornado or hurricane, more like an Herbal Essences commercial...


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## MarshallPope (Jan 19, 2012)

I'm picturing a large steamboat wheel-type thing with a crank on the side, for what it's worth.


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## seanandkate (Jan 19, 2012)

Are you looking for a gust, or a sustained effect? I like Arez's idea of fabric -- something that can be integrated seamlessly into the choreography.


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## Lambda (Jan 19, 2012)

Well, the faster a fan spins the noisier it is. If you could build a fan with large, scoop-like blades, you could spin it quietly with a crank and it would still move a respectable amount of air despite moving slower. The question is, how close can your actress be to the fan? If she's going to be far away from it, it might not be an option to have it in the wings and you'd have to have something you could incorporate in the performance. 
If it's a dream sequence dance scene, it might look good to have somebody out on stage, in costume, waving a large ornate oriental-type fan.


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## rochem (Jan 19, 2012)

I just did a large dance piece that was based on flying birds where the choreographer at one point wanted the dancers to lay down on the stage and have the wind whipping around their costumes. We did a lot of research on types of fans, and we ended up doing two sets of fans in each entrance, essentially a "near shot" and a "far shot" fan. As someone said, the larger you can make the fan, the slower it needs to spin and the quieter it will be. I'm not familiar with the song, but the noise wasn't as loud as we were expecting and was pretty easily covered by some medium-volume music. Hope that helps.


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## derekleffew (Jan 19, 2012)

It seems to me that if there are fans quiet enough for TV/film studios, the same should be fine for live use.

From 24 :

> Mole’s unique blade and housing design make them the quietest fans available at almost any speed.






Also, Products: Wind | JandM Special Effects , including Reel EFX .


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## DrPinto (Jan 19, 2012)

derekleffew said:


> It seems to me that if there are fans quiet enough for TV/film studios, the same should be fine for live use.
> 
> From 24 :
> 
> ...


 
Pretty fan, but I would never spend $7,000.00 on it!

Mole-Richardson Windmachine Fan with DMX Control - 5971 B&H


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## gafftaper (Jan 20, 2012)

You could setup a big air compressor in a separate room to keep things quieter and then run hoses to the stage. Flip open a valve and air blows. 

Not sure if this will work but you could, try running the compressor hose into like a 1" PVC pipe half way down the line to keep the point where the air escapes the valve farther away from the stage to see if it makes things quieter.


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## urban79 (Jan 20, 2012)

Lots of great ideas here! Thanks! I do like the idea of incorporating into the choreography - now we just have to see what the choreographer says! I'll keep you posted on what the final decision is.

Chris


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## gafftaper (Jan 21, 2012)

I don't know the show at all, the but depending on how silly you can get, the I can imagine a lot of fun with mime and choreography. For example, I imagine a swarm of extras rushing around the girl blowing her hair (perhaps with hair dryers), and fluffing up the edges of her skirt. It could be hilarious. 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk


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## shiben (Jan 21, 2012)

gafftaper said:


> I don't know the show at all, the but depending on how silly you can get, the I can imagine a lot of fun with mime and choreography. For example, I imagine a swarm of extras rushing around the girl blowing her hair (perhaps with hair dryers), and fluffing up the edges of her skirt. It could be hilarious.
> 
> Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk



That would be hilarious. Perhaps some sort of crazy blow dryer contraption with a couple nozzles and whatnot. Really depends on what your going for. Realistically, having people on stage with anything other than a palm leaf is going to work best in some sort of industrial feeling dance, or something more abjectly loopy...


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## StewTech (Jan 22, 2012)

Just thought I'd share:

A local school that did the dream sequence from Oklahoma had a great take on it. They used dry ice fog, with three angled fans on low to make it 'swirl'. They then lit it with no color pink and Italian blue in some fresnels in different areas. It came out really impressive.


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## JohnHartman (Jan 23, 2012)

Have fun with 13.. We just had our run this weekend... It was a blast 
The songs are all stuck in my head...


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