BST Blog

Smoke Fluid in Mass Production

admin — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:29:00 +0000

Here at Backstage we are excited to announce some new contracts in the near future. One of which we have already started mass production, and will continue to do so throughout the year with over 1000 five litre bottles every week.

We aim to improve on this figure, while maintaining the constant quality of our products. With the different contracts on the horizon, we are hoping to be in production of 5000+ per week by the end of the year!

This is just a taste of the many great things we have planned for 2012…so don’t forget to check back to find out more and see how we’re getting on!

Paint Party Craze

admin — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:34:32 +0000

As some of you may already know, we supply the majority of Party Paint being used in the newest scene in clubs and student universities nationwide.

As part of this massive craze, we didn’t want the public feeling left out so we now have a whole new page dedicated to paint products that can be purchased direct from us – which means you can look the part when attending one of these hit events!!

The new paint products page can be found under consumable sales.

Some of the new products in our essential paint range include 150ml Fluorescent & Glitter Face Paints and Body Paint – available in 250ml bottles, to take with you to the event, 5 litres, or even 25 litres (liquid and powder form). These are available in a variety of different fluorescent colours, including orange, yellow, pink, green, red & blue, and now even available in metallic colours – gold, silver, bronze, yellow, green, red & blue.

We have even included some brilliant products such as Glow Sticks and LED Shutter Glasses as part of our new range, so you can stand out with these bright flashing LED shutter glasses! There is even some clothing and face protection on the new page for those more cautious of you out there.

New & Exciting things happening at BSTE!

admin — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:03:59 +0000

We are very proud to be bringing this new ‘Ultra Haze Fluid’ to the industry. This product is not like most usual smoke/haze fluids as it is not glycol based, the fluid is based around sugar derivatives – which means it is a completely safe and user friendly fluid.

Our ‘Ultra Haze Fluid’ is very light and extremely long lasting, which makes it ideal for use in applications such as theatre, TV productions, etc. It is for use in all types of water-based haze & smoke machines and there is no odour to the product.

BSTE are excited to announce that this fluid is even available with your own personalised label – please ask for details.

This product comes packaged in 5 litre bottles, which there are four of in each case; we also package it in 25 & 60 litre barrels. More options are also available upon request.

Our Favourite Blogs

admin — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 23:18:38 +0000

ONE – FLYING GHOST

DIYFX is out of this world…..In this popular blog they show you how to create your very own flying ghost! With the right lighting, this could be a great way to scare the life out of your friends at your next Halloween party – Or just because you fancy playing a prank!

http://www.diy-fx.com/special-effects/flying-crank-ghost.php

TWO – REALISTIC COMPOUND FRACTURE

This gruesome one from instructables.com is the “How to make a realistic compound fracture” effect. Wow………..makes you queasy just looking at it! This would even fool a doctor don’t you think?

Find out how you can do this at – http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a-Realistic-Makeup-Compound-Fracture/

THREE – REALISTIC SCAR EFFECT

This one from our friends at blog.makezine.com has to be the most realistic scar with stitches I have ever seen …… how good is that! A pretty simple effect to create but realistic nevertheless.

HOW TO – Realistic scar with stitches – http://www.instructables.com/id/a-VERY-easy-to-do-VERY-convincing-scar/

FOUR – FAKE BLOOD

This is your good old-fashioned fake blood from a great site which provides free vfx and sfx tutorials at www.effectsportal.net . This video is about how to make it and how to use it, including a really good tutorial on how to make blood splatter! Just what you need. All this and more at -

http://www.effectsportal.net/index.php/fake-blood/

FIVE – SOUND EFFECTS

Now we bring you to something slightly different, sound effects and a site called epic sound which includes a fantastic Guide to Sound Effects – Sound Designer David Filskov’s collection of tips for making your own sound effects. Check out A – Z at www.epicsound.com/sfx/#a

We hope you’ve found this very useful, and we hope you remember us when you make it big and need some professional fire like our FakeFlame system, which you cannot make yourself – as we have it patented!

Cool Gift Ideas for Everyone

admin — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 08:00:25 +0000

For the WIFE: Spa Lights

£4.95 from EBUYER.COM

Light up your bath like a movie set! We know the special effects enthusiasts will secretly love a bit of this themselves. But imagine the smile on your wife’s face when she finds out you’ve finally understood the appeal of the hour long luxury baths – After all, “baths aren’t just for getting clean”!

For the HUSBAND: Home Cinema Lighting Kit

£20.99 from PLAY.COM

This will add a whole new level of cool to your LED TV; simply wrap it around the set to add the impact of being in a cinema with LED Lighting – The kit even comes with a remote control, so finally he’ll have a remote HE is in control of!

For the COMPUTER: Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD

£34.99 from AMAZON.CO.UK

Budding film-makers have more options available to them than ever before…It is now possible to add your own special effects to videos – It’s not going to get quite the same effect as a big budget Hollywood flick, but with a little creativity and a lot of post-editing using Sony Vegas Movie Studio you can get the look you want on a tight budget!

For the HOME: Candle Bowl Fountain

£18.87 from ECRATER.CO.UK

This may not be quite as impressive as our FakeFlame, but it does have the safety and effect of a home candle, without actually using fire. Furthermore, it’s surrounded by a beautiful running water fountain, making it a safe and attractive “home special effect” to add to your Conservatory!

For the KIDS: The Science of Special Effects

From £39.99 by EDUCATION INSIGHTS

The Science of Special Effects kit by Educational Insights is an incredible kit which contains multiple experiments to get the young ones involved in making fun effects that they can make themselves, safely at home. As well as being hugely entertaining and offering them a distraction from beating each other up it’s also educational, with a practical science learning angle, so not only will they know why the effect was cool, but how it was made and who knows, maybe they could end up coming to work for us in the future! Experiments include “Ghost Submarine” and “Hole in the palm of your hand!” Spooky!

(Faux) Snow is on the way!

admin — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 15:51:11 +0000

Depending on the clients requirement, we can make snow that settles on the ground and lasts a long time or snow that disappears quickly. Our picture shows an effect we created at Longleat House recently to enhance an otherwise mild winter!

Our elves are clever folk and can even give the snow a seasonal fragrance – like Mulled Wine (my personal favourite), Christmas Pudding and Orange & Cinnamon, as well as a neutral smell for those who like their snow as near to the actual thing as possible. We also produce a version that glows under ultra violet light, ideal for nightclub use.

Our snow fluid works in all snow machines, is non-toxic, non-hazardous and easily cleans away. As you would expect from clean-living, good old-fashioned elves, it is also made from renewable sources and is biodegradable.

It is available in RTU (ready to use) or concentrate which you dilute with water.

We pack the product in 5, 25, 60, 120, 210 and 1000 litre containers for next-day delivery.

If you want to be certain of snow this year – It’s better to make it yourself than rely on the British weather!

Our Ultra-Violet Snow!

Firework Display in Christian Malford

admin — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 15:21:05 +0000

PETROL EXPLOSION

MAIN FIREWORK DISPLAY

Warwick Castle

admin — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 09:06:05 +0000

Based on the BBC television series, Merlin, this walk-through attraction is an interactive experience with actors guiding the young wanna-be sorcerers through various scenes from the television series which culminates in an exciting meeting with The Great Dragon himself.

We provided some interesting effects for the final sequences of the show which include many large fire effects which create a gasp from the audience, smoke, lighting, air blasts and fragrances which make the children squirm!

The attraction is based in one of the towers of the Castle, formerly the Princess Tower, and the attraction involves many winding staircases and a brilliant photo opportunity with The Great Dragon.

This new attraction opened at Easter 2011 so we don’t want to give away too many of the surprises – you will just have to go and see it yourself

Ferrari World

admin — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 09:04:56 +0000

The largest installation was on the indoor water ride called V12. This is a log-flume style ride in the dark where you travel through the intricate workings of a V12 Ferrari engine experiencing how the engine works – from the inside!

We added 12, high powered, air cannons (one for each cylinder in the engine) that sit both sides of the boats and that are hidden out of sight. Powered by a massive 60HP screw compressor these cannons can cycle in 30 seconds (to catch each boat as it passes) and hit the riders from both sides of the ride vehicle with a rapid succession of powerful air blasts to simulate the explosions of the fuel/air mixture in each cylinder.

Initially we had the cannons set too high and it nearly knocked our volunteer riders out of the boat as well as nearly deafening them with a noise similar to that of a machine gun being fired just inches from your ear! This has been tamed down now but still gives a very exciting and noisy experience to all the riders.

Amongst other effects we also provided a range of sophisticated fragrance machines to create ambience within certain attractions and exhibits. These machines run on cartridges so there are not messy fluids to deal with and are also controllable by DMX so the intensity can be varied as required throughout the day. Some of the fragrances used included: Foggy Forrest, Sea Water, Burnt Rubber, Mechanical Workshop, Hot Metal and Dutch Flower Shop!

Another effect included water spritz units disguised as CCTV cameras. These units were built into CCTV cases so they were indistinguishable from the real cameras but contained a system to allow the operator or the show controller to shoot fine sprays of water into the faces of the riders as the ride vehicles passed to add both realism to the scene and to make the guest jump!

Fake Flame

admin — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 08:24:38 +0000

With our simulated flame system you can touch or stand in the flame which has been used to great effect in the London, York, Edinburgh and Hamburg Dungeon attractions where members of the public are actually burned at the stake!

Fake Flame offers a huge benefit to both cruise liners and listed buildings such as some theatres where real fire and flame effects are not permitted for legal reasons or are not consider safe in light of the conditions. Fake Flame can also be used in illusions and magic shows to create a truly mystical spectacle of people or objects appearing to be actually within a ring of fire!

Fake Flame is available in standard widths of 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5m although custom widths can be made to order. Each flame can be butted-up to its neighbour to give one continual run of flame. Current systems include surface mounted models and flush-fitting models for sinking into stages or scenic elements.

We currently have smaller versions of the Fake Flame on our development bench and hope to introduce wall mounted flambeau’s and Olympic-dish styled flame units in the very near future and , of course, without any of the inherent risks associated with real flames.