London’s Burning: Colt 4 Smoke Machine Lands a Supporting Role
Every actor dreams of their big television break. Our Colt 4 got wedged underneath an overturned car.
Not quite a dressing room with a star on the door, but everyone has to start somewhere.
The opening episode of London’s Burning, Series 12, broadcast on ITV on Sunday 9 January 2000, features a brief appearance from a particularly hardworking member of the supporting cast: a Concept Colt 4 hand held smoke machine.
Around 22 minutes into the episode, firefighters tackle a vehicle rescue, working to free an occupant from an overturned, smoking car. There is plenty to hold the viewer’s attention. However, as the camera pans across the underside of the vehicle, eagle-eyed smoke machine enthusiasts may spot something familiar tucked into the chassis.
There it is. A Colt 4, busily providing the smoke and apparently deciding that being behind the scenes was no longer enough.
We would like to congratulate it on a convincing performance. Particularly impressive considering it had no lines and spent the entire scene underneath a car.
London’s Burning, produced by London Weekend Television for ITV, follows the professional and personal lives of Blue Watch at the fictional Blackwall fire station. The series began in 1988, following the original 1986 television film written by Jack Rosenthal. Now in its twelfth series, the programme combines dramatic rescues with the everyday humour and tensions of fire station life.
For Concept, the connection between firefighting and television special effects is a familiar one. Our smoke generators help create realistic conditions for fire brigade training, while also helping effects teams create convincing smoke for the camera. Occasionally, as this episode demonstrates, the equipment itself gets a little screen time.
Introduced in 1987, the Colt 4 smoke machine has been producing considerably more smoke than its compact size might suggest for over a decade. It has also spent many years working in film and television special effects, usually with rather more success at staying out of shot.
Its appeal is practical: substantial smoke output, persistent smoke and a portable format that allows effects crews to position the source close to the action. Once heated, the Colt 4 can also produce smoke for a limited period away from mains power, using energy stored in its heat exchanger. That makes a handheld smoke generator useful when an effect needs to move around a set or reach an awkward location.
Whether the brief calls for a smoking vehicle, an atmospheric interior or a simulated emergency, the aim is the same: make the smoke convincing and keep the machinery out of sight.
Well, most of the time.
Looking for a portable smoke machine for film, television or special effects? Explore the Concept Colt 4 or contact our team to discuss your application.
