There are some secrets to making Hallmark movies that make their way into the public domain from time to time. One of these is that often these movies film in the heat of the summer, or during parts of the year where snow would never happen. With this in mind, I was always under the impression that snow in any holiday movies was totally fake. As it turns out, however, there’s way more to the story.
Hallmark is popping out a sequel to one of the best Christmas movies of the past few years. Three Wise Men and a Baby is getting a second round full of dancing with Three Wiser Men and a Boy hitting the upcoming Christmas movie schedule on November 3, and ahead of time, series lead Paul Campbell, Tyler Hynes and co. shared a few fun facts about the movie. As it turns out, they very much did not use fake snow, instead choosing something called fish ice to get some powder-y white shots while the movie was filming in April of 2024.
Fish Ice Versus Snowcel
For years, a foamite mix was used to mimic fake snow on the big screen, per LAist. Back in the ‘80s a new standard was created for fake snow in movies with the advent of snowcel. If you look at snow in the Harry Potter franchise that’s what you are seeing – bits of paper created to look like real snow. Digital effects can often enhance fake snow on the big and small screen these days, but according to US Magazine, Hallmark does it the old fashioned way – at least on Three Wiser Men and a Boy.
Per the mag, fish ice– a type of ice that sticks around longer before melting – is imported in. Crew members use wheel barrels to throw snow down in areas where the cameras will catch it, giving the appearance of real snow in the background. A reporter on the set also note the crew members will hose down the sidewalk before dropping the fish ice onto set to give the appearance of melting ice, as well. This gives the impression it snowed a short while ago, but might be sunny now.
A Little More Movie Magic?
To really sell the just snowed look, Three Wiser Men and a Boy's director Terry Ingram actually used a plate of snow near the camera in order to make it seem like the fish ice-based snow is more omnipresent than it might seem otherwise. Genius.
Not all upcoming Hallmark movies seem to have a budget for these sorts of icy shenanigans, as another producer for the network once revealed they've used a "soft focus lens" to make blankets thrown about in the background look like snow. Yes, really.
But it's still worth noting not all snow in the movie is totally fake snow, although the jury is out a little bit --at least in my book -- if you can count ice that looks like snow as the real deal. It's certainly still cold and wet and perfect for making April look like December, however, should you ever have need of such a thing.