Fake Snow from Potato Starch

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Posted by Hemos on Monday December 23, 2002 @12:59AM from the can-you-deep-fry-it dept.

Makarand writes "According to this article on Nature.com German chemists have created a new biodegradable type of fake snow from potato starch for the film industry. Most artificial snow types are plastic and it is impossible to pick up all the snow flakes scattered on film sets. The new snow presents no such problems. A good soaking is all that is needed to dissolve these biodegradable snow flakes. The process involves using starch from corn, potatoes or seaweed and puffing it up to make a spongy foam resembling snow."

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Evil plot to off a superhero by grammar+nazi · 2002-12-23 01:05 · Score: 3, Funny

How will Iodine-man stay camouflaged if the snow is made of starch? Without Iodine-man's camouflage, the world is doomed!!!

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So this is what happened to HAILSTORM? by Tune · 2002-12-23 01:30 · Score: 2

Wow. So Hailstorm wasn't about a brave new e-service. Rather just another plot of Microsoft to take over the movie industry. But it's sad they need German scientists to cover up their involvement, why can't they just admit they like both Hollywoon and potatoes?

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how is this "new" ? by spike666 · 2002-12-23 01:35 · Score: 2

filmmakers have been using potato buds for decades to fake snow scenes...

i know that in Home Alone for some of the winter scenes they used a combination of real ice-made snow and potato buds to create snow in 50F weather...
1. Re:how is this "new" ? by stickb0y · 2002-12-23 08:53 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  Indeed.
  
  http://csmweb2.emcweb.com/durable/2000/08/01/p18s1 .htm has more information on various techniques filmmakers use for making various storms.
  
  This new development seems more evolutionary than revolutionary.
Fake Potato by Tin+Weasil · 2002-12-23 02:47 · Score: 3, Insightful

Interesting.

It sounds like it would take a LOT of potatos to blanket a complete scene in this kind of fake snow.

I wonder if anyone has considered using all of these potatos for any other purposes... like maybe feeding hungry people?

Seriously, I think that everyone would be better served if they would just develop a better method for collecting all of the old plastic fake snow after it had been used. That way it could be recycled as fake snow for the next motion picture.
1. Re:Fake Potato by exploder · 2002-12-23 03:38 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Riiight...because as we all know, the reason people are hungry is because there just isn't enough food to go around.
  
  Idiot.
  
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2. Re:Fake Potato by bill_mcgonigle · 2002-12-23 05:05 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  Seriously, I think that everyone would be better served if they would just develop a better method for collecting all of the old plastic fake snow after it had been used. That way it could be recycled as fake snow for the next motion picture.
  
  Fine, except then the snow will be dirty after it gets swept up off the ground. So, unless the directors will accept beige snow, you're going to have to wash the fake snow, which requires quite a bit of water.
  
  Did you consider using all that water for other purposes... like maybe irrigating crops to feed hungry people?
  
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3. Re:Fake Potato by helix400 · 2002-12-23 08:33 · Score: 3
  
  I wonder if anyone has considered using all of these potatos for any other purposes... like maybe feeding hungry people?
  How dare those evil Hollywood producers, using their own money to buy things for themselves! There should be a law against that!
  Oh wait, that's called Communism
4. Re:Fake Potato by MaverickUW · 2002-12-23 15:33 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  Okay, you're missing a few things here. I happen to work for a farm that supplies potatos to Frito Lay (occassionally up to a million pounds a day). If you saw the number of potatos that normally get rejected or filtered out for some reason, you could understand how this could be a good thing. Like many foods, potatos for human consumption have to meet certain requirements, and those used for stuff like chips have to meet even tougher requirements. As a result, many many tons of potatos are generally thrown out in some fashion or another. Many times they're sent to be mashed up for non-human use, so it's actually doubtful that the people doing this would actually use the human-consumable quality, as that's worth more than double what the really crappy quality stuff is, and the crappy quality stuff still has all the starch in it.
  Perhaps paying farmers for the crops they have to throw away will make more of them more willing to grow more food for feeding hungry people?
5. Re:Fake Potato by Alsee · 2002-12-24 00:04 · Score: 2
  
  Well, now that they aren't using the plastic snow anymore they can just feed that to the hungry people.
  
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6. Re:Fake Potato by Fat+Casper · 2002-12-26 12:44 · Score: 2
  
  I wonder if anyone has considered using all of these potatos for any other purposes... like maybe feeding hungry people?
  They might even do it with the potatoes.
  Seriously, I think that everyone would be better served if you just took the money you were going to waste on a ticket to the movie with fake snow and donate it to the hungry.
  Waste is in the eye of the beholder, pal. Think of the man hours or energy or time on the set. Would you rather the producers spend more money on those instead?
  
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That's nice but... by uncoveror · 2002-12-23 02:57 · Score: 2

...Can you ski on it?

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Tidbit from the History of Snow in Movies by Paul+Burney · 2002-12-23 03:17 · Score: 3, Interesting

The movie "It's a Wonderful Life" won a special Academy Award (Oscar) for its invention of a new way to make realistic looking snow for the movies (a kind of plastic/foam used by fire departments).

Before that, movie productions used cornflakes painted white. They were loud, leading to sound problems that required redubbing. Moreover, they caused rodent infestation problems.

I wonder if these potato starch snowflakes are going to cause problems simialr to ones the corn flakes caused?

BTW, I learned this from an interview on the Motley Fool radio show last night:

A conversation with film historian Jeanine Basinger about the business behind the Frank Capra holiday classic. (14:40)

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Watch the weather... by TheSHAD0W · 2002-12-23 04:46 · Score: 2

A little bit of rain, and the set will turn into potato soup.

[pictures Tara Reid floundering around in potato paste]
Re:Packing Pea ^H^H^HPotatos by Hubert_Shrump · 2002-12-23 06:45 · Score: 2

I was just going to ask if it's really that much of an "innovation" if I get a VCR packed in potato snow...

Also, to head it off, it doesn't taste good. I don't think you can spice it up enough. Maybe baking?

There should be a recipe book.

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unintended consequences by Tablizer · 2002-12-23 07:10 · Score: 2

Cook: "I don't understand why nobody is ordering potatos this week. Are they tired of them?"

On another note, it reminds me of a Hieniken (sp?) beverage TV commercial. You see a view of an office building with bunch of snow falling from the sky to the xmas tune of "Let it Snow". On the first floor is a group of people enjoying a drink in a cozy pub. The camera then pans up to near the top floor and you can eventually see that the snow is really a bunch of documents being shreaded by a roomful of worried accountants. Closing caption:

"To all those who have not been naughty this year: a Hieniken"

Why don't the studios simply buy some Worldcom and Enron confetti?

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In other news... by bobdotorg · 2002-12-23 08:27 · Score: 2

I looked outside and the ants are doing a victory dance.

I live in Studio City (a suburb of L.A.) and there are movie shoots on my street all of the time (I live down the street from Captain Kirk).

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How about rice? by jridley · 2002-12-23 08:58 · Score: 3, Informative

According to the DVD extras on the extended edition of Fellowship of the Rings, they used a rice product, not plastic. So apparently degradable fake snow is not exactly new.

(wow, how's that for geek karma?)
Fake Potato Starch from Snow by The+Gline · 2002-12-23 09:01 · Score: 2

...Now that's an innovation!

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SPONGY FOAM!?! by rasjani · 2002-12-23 09:38 · Score: 2

Oh man, allmost christmas.. Im looking out and its allmost -15C outside. Aah and the snow. That wonderfull spongy foam. .ffm! WHAT ! SPONGY FOAM!?!?!

Man i gotta lay off from that crack pipe for a while..

Seriously. I wouldnt describe snow as spongy.. Nor foam. Having lived thru quite a few snowy days down here in finland where polarbears poo icycles.

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1. Re:SPONGY FOAM!?! by Scrameustache · 2002-12-24 05:41 · Score: 2
  
  Seriously. I wouldnt describe snow as spongy.. Nor foam. Having lived thru quite a few snowy days down here in finland where polarbears poo icycles.
  
  Hurrah for finland!
  
  I'm writing from Canada, and I too think that "tv snow" looks nothing like real snow (except for the colour). But hey, it never snows in hollywood : )
  
  PS I never cared to check what polar bears poo...
  
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Hey, its even edible! by nurb432 · 2002-12-23 12:52 · Score: 2

So whey they smack someone in the face with a fake snowball on the set.. no need to freak out :)

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