Realistic Flickering Flames??

[jim6918]

Finishing up my witch and cauldron, and tried the effect out using red flashing (two circuits, 100 light string) Christmas lights beneath the cauldron, and was pretty disappointed with the look. It looked just like two strings of Christmas lights.:( The green set inside the cauldron will work ok, expecially when I pipe in some fog. This is such a cool prop and I spent much time and $$$ and don't want to settle for something cheesy looking.

Are there any alternative ideas for flickering lights that might work in this situation?

[BTH]

jim, I used 4 sets of 50 lights(orange) from big lots. I believe they were around $1.50 a string. Three of the strings have a flashing bulb while the forth is lit all the time. I'm pretty happy with the results. Cheap!

[slimy]

Go to the sewing section of Walmart or where ever and get something called 'batting'. It is a filler for quilts. Take the 'batting' and wrap it around your christmas lights ( get the 50lite strings) and spray paint lightly ( i used black) the folds. This will help dissapate the light and hide the strings. It worked out good for me last year.

[otherworldly]

Seriously cool ideas - I should bookmark this thread. I don't think I'll be fire-ready this year. I'll be happy if my witch gets a body. ;)

[Wildomar]

One other idea that I used for my Skeleton Rotissire prop was three individual flicker circuits using the Flourescent Light Starter system and regular light bulbs painted red and yellow. I ended up using this since I was throwing props together last minute, but was extremely pleased with how well it worked. Very realistic.

The bulbs were low wattage and I surmise the more you use (to acertain extent) the better, but three worked really well. Just a thought

[jim6918]

Thanks for good ideas. BTH, I think you might be on to something here. With three blinking and one steady set, there should be more blinking action, plus the steady burning string will always give some glow. I also like the idea of surrounding the lights with batting. That should tone down and difuse the lights. Thanks.

[dacostasr]

I used Wildomar's set up for my BBQ guy...looks great. I added some red mini Christmas lights also...very toasty looking.

Dennis

[UnderMan]

What about putting two flashing bulbs in a fifth string for some and really random flashing along with the rest? I haven't tried it yet, but plan on getting some soon. Hard to find green minilights at halloween here. grrr.

I read, on Halloween-L, someone wanted to make it look like burning embers, and someone suggested cotton and tinfoil or something like that. The cotton would glow and the tinfoil would block light. He painted it to make it look more realistic. I assume some black paint peppered over the cotton. Might be worth a try. At least it would hide the lights better. You could also leave a portion on the top open with the lights deep inside to have it shine on the bottom of your cauldron.

[Troy]

I used two strings of red CHASER lights they were set at different chase settings ans two strings of 50 orange lights with blinkers installed. I put sticks over & around them, the effect is stunning. From the street about 40 feet away it looks almost exactly like fire.

[UnderMan]

Glade now makes a "flameless" candle for their deodorizers. I haven't gotten one yet, but it appears to have the same flickering pattern as a candle light, according to what the advertisement demonstrates. I will be purchasing one or more to pull apart. This would be a great addition to my cauldron, on a bigger light circuit scale. IE: a string of lights, to work off 120v.

[airscapes]

I made one of these years ago, a bit finicky to get adjusted correctly but once you get it right, a red 100w flood light behind a stack of fire wood looks very realistic. Used to have a guy named Stew in the pot spinning with fire under the pot.
http://www.phantasmechanics.com/fpilot.html

http://65.78.32.161:666/halloween-2004/outside/photos/outside-halloween-20047.jpg

[dynoflyer]

I used three 100 light strand of orange christmas lights and one 100 light strand of red tied in bunches of 20. The strings each flash 50 at a time so there's 8 separate pulses. Placed some logs coming away from the cauldron base and the effect is pretty good.

There's another trick you can try with the setup you already have. Spray flat black on one side of heavy duty tin foil, then cut lots of S's vertically with a razor knife, don't open them up yet. Wrap the tin foil with the shiny side towards your lights. When the S's open up a little they let light through that fools the eye into seeing a flickering effect.

Here's a blurry picture, sorry was too lazy to get out the tripod, I'll replace the photo tonight if it doesn't rain.

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p7/dynoflyer/Halloween%202007/PA170005_sm.jpg

[Hauntmore]

They make flickering candle lights you can buy at Home Depot or Lowes. They are in the shape of a flame and flicker randomly, designed for use in the light sockets they put in the plastic christmas "candles". We took two candle lights and put them inside skull goblets to make skull candles. See pics:

Flickering Skull in the Dark (http://www.tetraboy.com/gallery/Haunt07inthedark/flickering?full=1), Flickering Skull lights in the light (http://www.tetraboy.com/gallery/Haunt07LightsOn/flicker_lights?full=1).