Pure Smoke vs. VAPR

[WitchDocIsIn]

How do you mean? I can understand how some applications would be significantly better than others, but it seems like it would be pretty hard to use something like this (without getting caught) and have it take away from the magical moment or the effect.

Once again, Steerpike put it better than I could.

However I'm going to try anyway.

Smoke is really cool - but it needs to be used at the right point, and not so often it gets old. Less it more. What our spectators imagine is happening is probably better than anything we can actually show them. Therefore, if you use the smoke too often or when it doesn't enhance the effect more than not having it will allow them to imagine, it will fall flat.

It's easy to use these things wrong. Much like it's easy to perform magic at the wrong time or too much.

 

[TylerRouss]

That makes sense. Sort of like saying the wrong thing at the climactic moment, ruining the climax?

 

[Steerpike]

Something like that. Alternatively, it's like a monster movie where you can see the zipper on the costume. To get really specific, he's your movie nerd moment for the day. There's a sequel to The Creature from the Black Lagoon called Revenge of the Creature. In one scene, the Creature sneaks up behind two guys and kills them. The first one is killed when the Creature lifts him up in the air and throws him into a palm tree. Trouble being? The guy flies in an arc that could only result from being on a block-and-tackle zipline and the palm tree he hits is obviously a padded fake. It looks like the world's worst trick shot. Yeah, it was mid-20th century movie tech, but still breaks the immersion.

 

[Craig Browning]

Watching the bickering over these devices makes me so glad I don't spend money on this sort of thing anymore. Too many moving parts.

That said, out of academic curiosity I'm waiting a few months to see reviews from people who don't believe they have a horse in the race to see if VAPR actually solves the problems inherent to these sorts of devices. There's a rant for another time in there, but I digress. What I'm wondering is how many people who buy these things actually end up using them effectively. This is the sort of thing that's really easy to do badly.

One of the "advantages" I have when it comes to having to live on a budget, is that I have to seriously think through anything I invest money into. From what I've seen this piece has a heck of a lot going for it BUT, I see it as one more cog in a particular gear work I am wanting to create as part of a Seance or Haunt program and as such, it would be one of at least 3 devices I'd use for manifesting "ectoplasm". From what I've seen this new system is very much on par with the set-up I've been trying to make for personal use (I've just been having a problem finding the right eCigs for producing the smoke). . . and yes, this new system worked out one issue that I'd not considered -- the thick-walled tubing.

I'd have to say that this is a safe investment, now if T-11 would only allow me to make monthly payments. . .