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Using scent in mini-theater setting

post #1 of 14
4/9/12 at 2:28pm
Thread Starter 
I hope the following is not too odd. I am brand-new here as someone interested in perfumes, but a good friend of mine just asked an interesting question that I think you all might be able to give some good advice on or point me in a good direction on.

As a hobby, he runs some very small theatrical experiences for groups of about 6 people. They each take on unscripted roles and improvise interactions with each other as he explains and acts out portions of a general storyline that involve characters not played by members of the group he is doing this for. The experiences are usually in a single room in which he sets up basic stage lighting, and he always has a soundtrack as well. The outcome of the story is not pre-determined, which makes it a pretty interesting experience!

So, he is interesting in figuring out the best way to add scent to this experience. He's mentioned pine and a "sweltering hot jungle" scent. (Um, he also said "Of course some scents are likely to be too much. It could be fun to think of the ones we might not use like "earthen corpse rot"--yikes LOL!)

Anyway, I am wondering if any of you have recommendations as to how to get a reasonably authentic-seeming pine forest or sweltering jungle smell quickly into a room and then how to make it dissipate fairly quickly as well. And if you know how best to find a scents (I would imagine not actual perfume) for such an endeavor, as well as if you have specific recommendations for these particular scents. Note that in some of the locations where he does this, open flame (candles) would not be allowed, though in others they would.

Moderators, if this is not the appropriate thread on which to post this subject, or is not proper for this website entirely, please feel free to move or remove.

Thanks, all! Hope this is an interesting question for you!
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post #2 of 14
4/9/12 at 3:10pm
I remember reading about a failed attempt to bring perfumes to movie theatres in the book What the nose knows

http://www.amazon.com/What-Nose-Know.../dp/140008234X

A machine was created, but the attempt didn't go too far, mainly because of the problems you cite, that is, while it is easy to get the perfume in, it is next to impossible to dissipate it.

However, if we're talking about very small environments and a smell that should stay for the whole act, I assume that most room perfumes would do - if you simply put a perfume soaked cloth next to a heat source (like a radiator or a light), the smell will diffuse very quickly (but again, it will take time for it to disappear). Some brands have terracotta rings or the like where you can pour perfume oils and then put them close to a source of heat. Candles are probably too slow and too light for the purpose (apart from the fire hazard).

I'm sure many brands have lots of pine scented room perfumes. I don't see any problem with using regular perfumes. For a sweltering hot jungle, I'm thinking Cacharel Eden, which smells like a tropical swamp. I'm not too familiar with the smell of decomposing bodies (there is a perfume called "Charogne" by Etat Libre d'Orange). But we can all certainly tell you lots of perfumes which smell like decomposing shellfish (the king is called "Secretions Magnifiques", but you'll have people storm out of the room in disgust).

cacio
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post #3 of 14
4/9/12 at 3:45pm
Thread Starter 
Cacio, very helpful! Thank you so much! I will look up Cacharel Eden and the room perfumes with the terracotta rings. Tropical swamp sounds like a perfect scent for one of his scenes.

Oh my on the decomposing shellfish! I will look that one up too! My sense was that A. was a saying it would *not* be a good idea to use terrible smells like that of a corpse, though he was amused by the thought. Then again, I would not put it past him LOL. Wow--there are a lot of positive reviews for Charogne here, and it looks like it means "Carrion"?
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post #4 of 14
4/9/12 at 4:28pm
Thread Starter 
Ok, so it is looking like essential oils are used for this sort of thing. If anyone has any recommendations on which ones/where to get them I would be very interested. The games tend to have a rather foreboding sense to them--I am guessing that a dark element or a note of decaying vegetation would not be amiss.
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post #5 of 14
4/9/12 at 6:53pm
Room perfumes come in two forms, alcohol based sprays (like regular perfumes) and in oil. Both work well for the purpose. Oils may be thicker and last longer, but both, when put near a source of heat, will project very well.

Simple oils can be found in many stores, even stores like wholefoods or similar supermarkets. However, these are usually single note oils, you will certainly find things like pine, rose, and incense-like resins (so that will work for pine forest). Ylang ylang is a tropical flower with a vague unripe-banana note, but it's not really as complex as a tropical forest. For more complicated effects, you will have to go into regular perfumes.

cacio
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post #6 of 14
4/9/12 at 6:56pm
Room perfumes come in two forms, alcohol based sprays (like regular perfumes) and in oil. Both work well for the purpose. Oils may be thicker and last longer, but both, when put near a source of heat, will project very well.

Simple oils can be found in many stores, even stores like wholefoods or similar supermarkets. However, these are usually single note oils, you will certainly find things like pine, rose, and incense-like resins (so that will work for pine forest). Ylang ylang is a tropical flower with a vague unripe-banana note, but it's not really as complex as a tropical forest. For more complicated effects, you will have to go into regular perfumes.

cacio
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post #7 of 14
4/9/12 at 9:52pm
While I don't recall the name, I clearly remember a scratch-and-sniff movie in the late 70's or early 80's. We were given a card with numbered s-a-s spots on it and when the corresponding number appeared on screen, we scratched and sniffed...
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post #8 of 14
4/10/12 at 3:51am
Thread Starter 
Cacio, thanks--I hadn't thought about the difference in longevity. I bet some experimentation with perfumes and oils and amounts used might help A. figure out timing. Since perfumes dissipate more quickly they will probably be better for this purpose. I hadn't thought about adding resins to pine for the forest, so that is very helpful. Sounds like the perfumes would definitely be better for the tropical jungle! I'll add Eden to my next sample order so A. can check it out.

MarkStar, too cute about the scratch-n-sniff!
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post #9 of 14
4/10/12 at 6:29am
I saw a pretty hilarious video recently of a perfume launch (Clive Christian?) where people sprayed the perfume into the air and then fanned it around (using actual hand-held fans) for the crowd to smell. If you're trying to get the scent into the room quickly, that may be the way to go - or even better, maybe use a couple of electrical fans, as they'd diffuse and disperse the scent quickly.

And not to cause undue concern, but be aware that some people have pretty serious sensitivities or allergies to perfume, so it may be worth thinking about how to mitigate any potential problems - maybe warnings to potential attendees, for example.

And just for the record, Charogne doesn't smell like decomposing bodies; it's a pretty tame leathery floral. Secretions Magnifiques is another story, however. The SA at Les Senteurs in London told me they won't even allow to to be sprayed in the shop. They keep the tester out of sight and only spray outside the front door if you ask to smell it. I can't blame them - the stuff is nauseating.
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post #10 of 14
4/10/12 at 6:31am
Sorry - double post
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post #11 of 14
4/10/12 at 7:01am
Thread Starter 
Kagey, I had already spoken to A. about potential allergies/sensitivities, and I should have mentioned it here too, so thank you for doing that for me. I think it's important to point out! If A. ends up using scents he will definitely note it in the event program and ask participants to contact him if they have any concerns; he will be ready to omit the scent portion if anyone has allergies or is concerned. For the public ones he'll probably need to run it by the convention and hotel staff as well. Secretions Magnifiques is cracking me up! I wonder if A. will want to check it out...we shall see! I did read the notes on Charogne and it definitely didn't sound helpful in that regard even if he actually did want to add a real carrion note. I imagine the hotel staff would be none too pleased if he left the room smelling awful. He tends to test things extensively so I am sure whatever he ends up doing will not be something that stays in the room overnight to linger for the next user!
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post #12 of 14
4/10/12 at 4:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MarkStar View Post

While I don't recall the name, I clearly remember a scratch-and-sniff movie in the late 70's or early 80's. We were given a card with numbered s-a-s spots on it and when the corresponding number appeared on screen, we scratched and sniffed...

That was Polyester, a comedy directed by John Waters in 1981
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post #13 of 14
4/10/12 at 8:02pm
I would imagine not actual perfume) for such an endeavor, as well as if you have specific recommendations for these particular scents. Note that in some of the locations where he does this, open flame (candles
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post #14 of 14
4/11/12 at 12:51pm
OP, I think your best bet would be a small ScentAir unit. This is the company that runs fragrance through the duct work of large hotels, stores, etc. For smaller settings, they sell a diffusing fan w/ subscription service for about $50/month. It's programmable in terms of strength of scent and timing of release. I use it at work and it ROCKS.

Plus they have MILLIONS (okay, maybe not really, but a LOT) of choices, some of which are not traditionally "pleasant."

If you aren't into the monthly refill service, you can just buy the unit itself from Westin hotels. It comes prepackaged with their custom scent that they pump into your hotel room, which is nice, but not jungle-evoking. The cartridges are just saturated in some heavy duty scented oil, so for the theatre, I'd probably get the thing from Westin.com and use it to DEATH. Like run it 24/7 for 8-9 weeks on full blast. Make sure allllllll that nicey nice juice is gone. Then DRENCH it with the stinky stank of your choice and let the good times roll!
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