In 1918 a British expedition led by the intrepid Nigel Q. Waxybottom set out for a small island east of Bimini in search of the tomb of the tyrannical King Whatalottahooie. They were never heard from again. Some say they were lost to the sea, while others claim they fell prey to the curse of the candy king...
This was how I greeted my TOT's...
(sorry about the dark vid - more on that below)
All in all things went well this year, in spite of the few hiccups I had. The kids really loved it.
Lessons learned:
When you find something you want to use in your haunt, buy it then.
I found some really awesome green nylon camo netting at a local surplus store that I'd planned to use as a backdrop for the entire display, but didn't buy it when I first saw it. Then when I went back for it last weekend, they were sold out. D'oh!
When you build custom parts or effects, don't use oddball parts you can't easily replace.
I built some LED flood lights using some really high power LED's. I didn't have a 12V power supply with enough current capacity to power them (wanted something more weather tight than a PC power supply) so I used a 19V supply from an old printer I had laying around. The power supply died & I didn't have another one to replace it, nor did I have time to change out the resistors in the lights so I could use a different voltage. Wasn't a huge deal, but the yard was quite a bit darker than I wanted.
On another note, I've come to the conclusion that the skull I used for the idol is cursed itself & I shouldn't use it again. I've repurposed it for different props 4 times now, & every time it's broken on Halloween night. I think from now on it will be a static prop...
Happy Halloween all!
Monday, October 31, 2011
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Way to go Jason! Sounds like a splendid time as had by all!
ReplyDeleteMan, I know the feeling with cursed props and irreplaceable effects bits. If I find an oddball piece to use for something, I get three in case of failures. If three aren't available, I either make sure there's something else that will work, or I quickly rethink the design and find something else to use.
Every year when I bring animatronic pieces to Monsterpalooza, I pack as if I'm going into outer space -- *everything* and its spares come along for the ride, and I've been very glad each time that I did.
Still, we both know that the ToTs and just about everyone else visiting your display would never even notice the things you or I might see as problems -- heck, most people don't even notice the amount of detail and all the good stuff we put into our displays, haha! It's alright, 'cause WE know!
Congrats on a fine Hallowe'en night!