Today I'm going to show you how to create a concealable smoke generator. It's a perfect addition to your indie film set—the tiny nature of device will allow you to show smoke coming from the most unexpected and hard-to-reach places.

Before we get started, you're going to need:

- a few pieces of dry ice
- a good set of gloves
- boiling water
- stainless steel popsicle molds . (Use elongated molds, like those in the photo .)
- something to hold the molds in place. A ring clamp or electrical tape will do.
- a noiseless, handheld fan

Step 1: Assembling the Device

Find a place where you want smoke to emerge from. Next, line up the mouth of your popsicle molds with this location. Make sure only the opening of the popsicle mold is visible.

Using electrical tape or a ring clamp, fasten the popsicle mold tightly to the area so it won't tip over.

Step 2: Letting Her Rip!

Carefully pour your boiling water into the popsicle mold(s). Try to fill the molds almost completely.

Just before starting the scene, start dropping a couple of chunks of dry ice into the water-filled popsicle molds. The ensuing reaction should make smoke billow forth from your popsicle molds.

Step 3: Optional

You may find that one popsicle mold isn't emitting enough smoke. In that case, you might have to use several popsicle molds.

There's also another problem. Dry ice likes to hug the ground, so you might need something to keep it in the air. You can
use a noiseless fan to blow the smoke in your desired direction. I suggest using a handheld fan because they're very small
and can be attached to popsicle molds. Oh, and if you do use a fan, please make sure it's noiseless or else it will be picked up by your audio recording equipment.

That's a wrap! You are now "set" to film your moody scene on a relatively low budget. (Disclaimer : dry ice isn't cheap, but everything else in this guide is).