> you'd end up with heads that light would pass through and they'd probably hold up > better too. Or maybe you could even just coat the heads with the stuff and it > would reinforce the fabric stiffener - just don't use it INSTEAD of the fabric > stiffener or it might never come off the subject! > I'm not sure they could survive the process. When the stiffened fabric gets moist, it deforms. It would probably have to be a gradual process. Another option I thought of would be to spray the face with something like ceiling texture spray. There are products, sold in spray cans, for doing touch ups on "popcorn" ceilings. Some are very fine. It seems to have an odd propelent/medium that evaporates quickly. The material seems fairly solid but I don't know how strong it would be. Scott -- Scott Axworthy Phone: 206-649-7668 Cascade Design Automation Fax: 206-649-7600 scott@cdac.com http://www.cdac.com From owner-halloween-l Fri Mar 1 08:12:23 1996 From: Scott Axworthy Subject: Re: Cheap and Easy Flames To: halloween-l@netcom.com Date: Thu, 29 Feb 1996 12:27:46 -0800 (PST) Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: Lauren: Lauren Jones writes: > > The year we did The Inferno, we put a > string of C7 bulbs (Christmas lights) with > mostly red twinkle bulbs under and > behind the devil's throne. One yellow or > orange twinkle bulb for every 6 reds is a > good mix. Cheap, but it works, at least for > a small room. Another great topic - "Flames". I am a big flame fan and I don't like using the real thing at my functions. To dangerous when everyone has costumes, hair, and achohol. I am going to have to give the xmas bulbs a try and I thought you might want a few more ideas. Of course, we have to start with Disney flames 101, the Pirates of the Carribean. They seem to use several different flame techniques. The one I like for visible (fake) flames is the old "Blowing silk with lights" trick. I believe clear plastic can also work depending on the effect you are trying to achieve. A square to rectangular piece of silk, most likely white, is loosely attached to a frame. The material is left with some play so that a fan can blow across the surface and create wave motions. Lighting is then used for the flame color. The result is a visable flame that is quite convincing under the right conditions. I have been working on a similar trick for torches. I'm using a small muffin fan, like the one droning away on your computer, installed in the base of a open can. I took some silk and made a flame shaped "cone." I put a light inside the can with orange and red gels. The fan causes the flame to dance around and it can be very impressive. It is still a work in progress, they aren't very reliable yet. It is hard keeping the "flame" dancing in a consistent manner. But when it works, it really looks great. I have also seen a flame gobo in an ellisoidal lighting intrument used with a rotating curvy-slotted-wheel (how's that for a technical term) in front. This produced a larger scale effect that was very good as well. I now want to develop a cheap candle simulator. They sell some devices for this but they are not cheap. I have converted one candleabra to battery and used some small bulbs. I run the bulbs under voltage and it changes the color to a more orangy flame color. I have a small flakey power supply that I use with them that causes some flickering. Of course they all flicker at once. I took some wax and shaped it on top of the bulb to be as tall as a flame and they look real (at a distance.) They look okay up close, but they are safe. Scott -- Scott Axworthy Phone: 206-649-7668 Cascade Design Automation Fax: 206-649-7600 scott@cdac.com http://www.cdac.com From owner-halloween-l Sat Mar 2 01:27:19 1996 Date: Fri, 01 Mar 1996 11:05:47 -0600 To: halloween-l@netcom.com From: "D.D." Subject: Re: Cheap and Easy Flames Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: At 12:27 PM 2/29/96 -0800, you wrote: Deleted for brevity On one of the stagecraft newsgroups "way back when" someone mentioned using a lamp dimmer to drop voltage and a fluorescent tube starter (those little aluminum can things from any hardware store) hooked up in series to flicker incandescent bulbs. If I remember right it took some experimenting, trying different wattage starters to balance everything with the bulbs being used. The effect was said to be very realistic. Maybe someone else here saw the thread and will be able to shed more light (flickering?) on it. Denny B.T. Productions' Terror By Design From owner-halloween-l Sat Mar 2 02:15:25 1996 From: Stuart_McIntire_at_AISDC@ccsmtp.uage.com Date: Fri, 01 Mar 96 18:36:37 EST To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re[2]: Head Shot Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: Scott replies to Maryanne: >Maryanne: >Maryanne Torgerson writes: ...much deleted... I'm not sure they could survive the process. When the stiffened fabric gets moist, it deforms. It would probably have to be a gradual process. Another option I thought of would be to spray the face with something like ceiling texture spray. There are products, sold in spray cans, for doing touch ups on "popcorn" ceilings. Some are very fine. It seems to have an odd propelent/medium that evaporates quickly. The material seems fairly solid but I don't know how strong it would be. I've got a textbook somewhere on Stage Lighting and Design which covers prop making in some detail. They describe a product that is a stiff fabric (impregnated with some sort of chemical) that you dip in acetone and fit to a form. Of course, you wouldn't drape this over someone's face, but as it dries, it stiffens up again and holds it's shape very well. They called the product Celastic, but I don't know if that's a brand name, or a generic product name. Perhaps someone reading this has worked with the stuff (?)... - Stu [ stuart.mcintire@uage.com ] From owner-halloween-l Sat Mar 2 07:32:13 1996 From: Stuart_McIntire_at_AISDC@ccsmtp.uage.com Date: Thu, 29 Feb 96 14:11:52 EST To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Super 8mm Info Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: For those with Internet access... I just found the following URL for The Super 8 Home Page: http//www.NeoSoft.com/users/b/billpenn/super8/ The page appears to be a complete resource for those looking for Super 8 equipment, film, developing and the like. Happy hunting! - Stu [ stuart.mcintire@uage.com ] From owner-halloween-l Sat Mar 2 07:42:09 1996 Date: Thu, 29 Feb 1996 11:16:25 -0500 From: dallan@dow.com (D.S. Allan, Dow Chemical) To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: Re[2]: Vampire! Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: Dave said: >Stu McIntire added: >>If you were to add a poster or something similar >>(something with writing on it), have an identical >>poster made up - with one *big* exception...a >>mirror image so all of the lettering and image(s) >>is reversed! > Now > I need to decide what to format it with - most word processing > software doesn't offer horizontal flip as an output option, > and CAD seems tedious and limited. On your Macintosh, flip horizontal is an option for *every* program. Just go to "Options" in Page Setup. (Wow, my first contribution to this list! I love reading about your displays, and dreaming. I've even gotten a few ideas I may be able to try myself. :-) David Allan From owner-halloween-l Sat Mar 2 08:38:22 1996 From: revcoal@pcnet.com Date: Thu, 29 Feb 96 07:17:07 EST Subject: Bat pattern To: halloween-l@netcom.com Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: This is a somewhat mundane request, compared to all the really great fx discussed here, but someone on another list just asked if anyone had a pattern to crochet something with a bat motif - apparantly she has a friend who is a "vampire" nut (sounds like someone who'd be comforatble here!), and she wants to make a gift for them - she wants to make an afghan, but would adapt anything which contains a bat motif. Okay, all you macho guys...while you're busy in your workshops creating vampire mirrors and talking heads, any of your SOs doing more "homey" Halloween things? BTW, a current crochet magazine has a pattern for a "shawl" done up in black thread, very "spider-webby" looking...definitely wouldn't keep anyone warm, but would be a great Halloween accoutrement.... And on the same theme...there's a style of crochet called "spider web", usually made into doilies which look like, well, spider webs - done up in black, I can see them gracing the proper Halloween home.... ;-) ======================================================================= Instead of loving your enemies, treat your friends a little better. -- E. W. Howe: Plain People ======================================================================= Donna J. Logan revcoal@pcnet.com ======================================================================= From owner-halloween-l Sat Mar 2 08:50:38 1996 Date: Thu, 29 Feb 96 09:15:46 EST To: halloween-l@netcom.com From: Bill Lewis Subject: Re: Re[2]: Vampire! Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: At 12:51 PM 2/28/96 PST, you wrote: > >And wouldn't it be ideal if you could rig something > >up so when the vampire picks up a prop on the > >viewer side, the corresponding object in the mirror > >lifts in the air by unseen hands? > >Too cool! Wires? Black bar extending from a slit in the >backdrop? > >Dave Well, I drew up a little something in CAD to accomplish this. I can either post or send to you (via a BinHex, mime, or uuencoded) as an attachment. It's a 13k, 16 color image that I converted to *.pcx so it's viewable in Windows Paintbrush. I can also make other formats availible. Basically I came up with a system of link arms mounted under the table that would attach two goblets or wine glasses. My thought was to use the cheapo plastic wine glasses, that have "blood" painted on the inside surface. Painting it on reduces the weight, but it may be possible to do this with real liquid. Anyone who wants to see it let me know, I don't know how people feel about a global posting of it. but I can also do an interlaced *.gif format that is less than 4k, but some viewers don't recognize it. Bill now available at home: lewisb@erols.com or work: lewisw@oasys.dt.navy.mil You can't keep a down man good. You can beat a dead horse, but you can't make him drink. Even a blind nut gets a squirrel every once in awhile. If it's fixed, don't break it. Measure once, Cut twice. From owner-halloween-l Mon Mar 4 13:24:49 1996 Date: Sun, 3 Mar 1996 23:00:56 -0700 (MST) To: halloween-l@netcom.com From: snobuny@primenet.com (Snow Bunny) Subject: Re: Head Shot Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: >> some stuff I've seen in the floral department of craft stores. I don't know the >> name of the product, but it's a liquid that you pour into a vase and it hardens >> clear to look like water and hold the silk flowers in place. Michaels has a brand called "liquid glass" and its an acrylic medium that take around12 hours to totally harden and set up. Might be useful but youd have to wait till it got firm to spred it on. >> If you made the cheesecloth heads with fabric stiffener (the original method) and >> then could turn them upside down and cover them with something that wouldn't leak, >> you'd end up with heads that light would pass through and they'd probably hold up >> better too. Or maybe you could even just coat the heads with the stuff and it >> would reinforce the fabric stiffener - just don't use it INSTEAD of the fabric >> stiffener or it might never come off the subject! They have a GREAT new product that is actually the "Stiffy" brand fabric stiffener BUT its in a spray form rather then a sticky glue type that you spray on the fabric and use a hair-dryer to dry quickly to stiffen the fabric. This way you could indeed use it on the heads and many of the hair-dryers now have a "cold" setting that works just fine in drying. Maybe this will help a bit? */\Snow Bunny/\* From owner-halloween-l Tue Mar 5 11:35:12 1996 Subject: theatrefx web revisions To: halloween-l@netcom.com Date: Mon, 4 Mar 1996 14:55:26 -0500 (EST) From: "Nathan Kahn" Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: Pictures are now on for the lighting and fog machines. (Before they were just there for pyro and confetti.) I have taken your suggestions and put the prices there. I have taken Stuart's suggestion and made a text-only catalog as well. And I have provided a link from every page in the "text-only" version to the corresponding page in "graphics", and back again. So you can be perusing throught the text-only pages, find the product you're looking for, and then click over and see the picture of the product. More suggestions are welcome. I still haven't proofed the entire thing. But its getting there. http://www.theatrefx.com Nathan nathan@theatrefx.com From owner-halloween-l Tue Mar 5 11:38:03 1996 Date: Sat, 2 Mar 1996 20:19:49 -0500 From: wurst@eng2.uconn.edu (Karl R. Wurst) To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: Re[2]: Head Shot Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: > I've got a textbook somewhere on Stage Lighting and Design > which covers prop making in some detail. They describe a > product that is a stiff fabric (impregnated with some sort > of chemical) that you dip in acetone and fit to a form. > Of course, you wouldn't drape this over someone's face, > but as it dries, it stiffens up again and holds it's > shape very well. They called the product Celastic, but > I don't know if that's a brand name, or a generic product > name. Perhaps someone reading this has worked with the > stuff (?)... > > - Stu [ stuart.mcintire@uage.com ] I've never used Celastic, but I know a great many people who have. It used to be a very commonly used material for making puppets and masks, and the people here in the Puppet Arts program at the University of Connecticut used it extensively. However, they've stopped using it for two reasons. First was the toxicity of the process due to the acetone. But second, and more important, is the fact that it is no longer being manufactured. It seems that the manufacturing process for it involved nitrocellulose which is explosive. The company decided that the demand didn't justify the hazards of manufacturing it. The Puppet Arts program did some extensive testing of some possible substitutes for Celastic, but never really found a good substitute. Their results are detailed in an article in Puppetry Journal. I can find you the reference if you are interested. -- - Karl ____________________________________________________________________________ Karl R. Wurst "Paradise is exactly like where you Computer Science & Engineering, U-155 are right now, only much, much, University of Connecticut better." - William S. Burroughs 191 Auditorium Road INTERNET: Wurst@CSE.UConn.edu Storrs, CT, USA 06269-3155 PHONE: 860-486-3784/0005/3719 FAX: 4817 WWW HOME PAGE: http://www-rfcc.cse.uconn.edu/www/KarlHome.html ____________________________________________________________________________ Readercon-8, July, 1996: Guest of Honor, William Gibson http://web.mit.edu/terra/www/rcon.html ____________________________________________________________________________ From owner-halloween-l Tue Mar 5 12:23:31 1996 Date: Mon, 4 Mar 1996 23:06:23 -0500 To: halloween-l@netcom.com From: grizelda@astral.magic.ca (Ron Orr) Subject: Re: Cheap and Easy Flames Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: >I now want to develop a cheap candle simulator. They sell some devices >for this but they are not cheap. I have converted one candleabra to >battery and used some small bulbs. I run the bulbs under voltage and >it changes the color to a more orangy flame color. I have a small >flakey power supply that I use with them that causes some flickering. >Of course they all flicker at once. I took some wax and shaped it >on top of the bulb to be as tall as a flame and they look real (at a >distance.) They look okay up close, but they are safe. > >Scott One effect I've been using for (literally) decades is to use the good ol' flicker-flame bulbs. They're still available Up Here in Ontario. I built a candelabra from old electric lamp parts and new wiring (I never trust the old stuff.) A large flicker-flame bulb is in the centre; smaller ones are around it. I use this lamp every year at the Haunted Library and everyone loves the effect. When it's not there we use it as a night light in our master bedroom. Actually, the overall effect is more like gaslight, especially as the bulbs age. And as for that, well, the centre bulb has been burning night and day for around ten years now. It flickers _very_ slowly now but it's still going. Ron looking for more neat old lamps From owner-halloween-l Wed Mar 6 04:19:59 1996 Date: Tue, 05 Mar 1996 07:31:49 -0700 From: Lauren Jones To: Stuart_McIntire_at_AISDC@ccsmtp.uage.com, halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: Cheap and Easy Flames -Reply Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: Great idea! I'm always on the lookout for one of those old color wheels they used on silver Christmas trees, but I wasn't sure exactly what I'd use it for. A friend's father has one in his basement somewhere, and I told him I have dibs on it if he decides to get rid of it! >>> 02/29/96 12:48pm >>> >The year we did The Inferno, we put a >string of C7 bulbs (Christmas lights) >with mostly red twinkle bulbs under and >behind the devil's throne. One yellow or >orange twinkle bulb for every 6 reds is a >good mix. Cheap, but it works, at least >for a small room. Another method is a pin spot with a color wheel. Replace the color wheel with one that only has red and orange on it. These pin spots can be rented *really* cheap (I rented one two years ago for some- thing like $6.00 for the night). It gives a continually changing source of light that appears random - nice for flames! - Stu [ stuart.mcintire@uage.com ] From owner-halloween-l Wed Mar 6 05:29:38 1996 From: Stuart_McIntire_at_AISDC@ccsmtp.uage.com Date: Tue, 05 Mar 96 17:17:46 EST To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re[4]: Head Shot Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: Karl replies: (Thanks, Karl!) >> I've got a textbook somewhere on Stage Lighting and Design >> which covers prop making in some detail. They describe a >> product that is a stiff fabric... They called the product >> Celastic... >I've never used Celastic, but I know a great many people who have. It used >to be a very commonly used material for making puppets and masks, and the >people here in the Puppet Arts program at the University of Connecticut used >it extensively. >However, they've stopped using it for two reasons. First was the toxicity >of the process due to the acetone. But second, and more important, is the >fact that it is no longer being manufactured. It seems that the >manufacturing process for it involved nitrocellulose which is explosive. >The company decided that the demand didn't justify the hazards of >manufacturing it. Toxicity and pyrotechnics? What a great Halloween combo! ;) >The Puppet Arts program did some extensive testing of some possible substitutes >for Celastic, but never really found a good substitute. Their results are >detailed in an article in Puppetry Journal. I can find you the reference if >you are interested. Well, be assured, I'm *always* interested in something that will make my prop building easier and quicker...if that ma- terial is readily accessible, I'd like to get a copy (or find out how to get it from whatever source). Thanks for the feedback! - Stu [ stuart.mcintire@uage.com ] From owner-halloween-l Wed Mar 6 12:37:06 1996 From: Stuart_McIntire_at_AISDC@ccsmtp.uage.com Date: Tue, 05 Mar 96 08:29:32 EST To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Web Page Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: Denny, Nice additions to the web page! I notice you have competitive pricing on most (if not all) of your catalog items. Good job! - Stu From owner-halloween-l Thu Mar 7 12:05:48 1996 Subject: Re: Web Page To: halloween-l@netcom.com Date: Wed, 6 Mar 1996 19:28:31 -0500 (EST) From: "Nathan Kahn" Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: > > Denny, > > Nice additions to the web page! I notice you have competitive pricing on > most (if not all) of your catalog items. Good job! > > - Stu > Hey man!!! I'm not Denny. (Now is that a compliment or not . . . . . . . ) Nathan From owner-halloween-l Fri Mar 8 23:07:57 1996 Date: Sun, 3 Mar 1996 23:09:08 -0700 (MST) To: halloween-l@netcom.com From: snobuny@primenet.com (Snow Bunny) Subject: Re: Cheap and Easy Flames Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: >Lauren Jones writes: >> >> The year we did The Inferno, we put a >> string of C7 bulbs (Christmas lights) with >> mostly red twinkle bulbs under and >> behind the devil's throne. One yellow or >> orange twinkle bulb for every 6 reds is a >> good mix. Cheap, but it works, at least for >> a small room. One way we used the "flame factor" for a fireplace scene last year was to use the 8 function x-mas lights and set it to the "twinkel" setting and just used a mixture of the yellow and orange celephane that you can get at any craft store, and just crinkeled it up in the bottom of the fireplace and then used a proccess similar to Scotts to make the flames at the front, it worked WONDERFUL and you could see several people give it a double take to see if it was real or not. We actually had a person on a "converor belt" being pushed 1/2 way into a cremation chamber and had a person behind frying bacon with a speaker hooked up so you got the aroma and sound of frying flesh. Pretty nasty!!! You all are very Demented! Geez dont ya love it!!! *Snow Bunny* From owner-halloween-l Sat Mar 9 00:09:03 1996 Date: Wed, 06 Mar 1996 16:53:05 -0600 To: halloween-l@netcom.com From: "D.D." Subject: Re: Web Page Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: At 08:29 AM 3/5/96 EST, you wrote: >Denny, > >Nice additions to the web page! I notice you have competitive pricing on >most (if not all) of your catalog items. Good job! Hi Stu, Thanks! To tell you the truth, some of the other people on the net who sell Halloween stuff sell OVER recommended retail. The Ghostmasters book is a good example, I bought my copy of it on the net and paid $39.95 for it. The dust jacket says $29.95. Retail price on How To Operate A Financially Successful Haunted House is $12.00 now, I think $10.95 is a fair price. Anyhow... good threads going on with the list. Denny From owner-halloween-l Tue Mar 12 07:22:02 1996 Subject: Re: Web Page To: halloween-l@netcom.com Date: Thu, 7 Mar 1996 16:34:49 -0500 (EST) From: "Nathan Kahn" Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: > > > > > Denny, > > > > Nice additions to the web page! I notice you have competitive pricing on > > most (if not all) of your catalog items. Good job! > > > > - Stu > > > > Hey man!!! I'm not Denny. > > (Now is that a compliment or not . . . . . . . ) > > Nathan > Boy, I feel stupid now. When I got this first (top) message, I thought that it was addressed personally to me - didn't realize it had come from the list - so thinking Stu had sent it to the wrong party, I replied accordingly (middle). Duuuh :-( Nathan nathan@theatrefx.com From owner-halloween-l Tue Mar 12 07:27:18 1996 From: Scott Axworthy Subject: Re: Head Shot To: halloween-l@netcom.com Date: Wed, 6 Mar 1996 20:32:38 -0800 (PST) Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: Snow Bunny: Snow Bunny writes: > > They have a GREAT new product that is actually the "Stiffy" brand fabric > stiffener BUT its in a spray form rather then a sticky glue type that you > spray on the fabric and use a hair-dryer to dry quickly to stiffen the > fabric. This way you could indeed use it on the heads and many of the > hair-dryers now have a "cold" setting that works just fine in drying. Maybe > this will help a bit? > This sounds interesting. I used the original Stiffy fabric stiffener on one of the original heads but it should have been called "Limpy." This one head picked up a little too much humidity the night of the party and started deforming. But the spray form might be easy to use. Time for a trip to the fabric store. Scott -- Scott Axworthy Phone: 206-649-7668 Cascade Design Automation Fax: 206-649-7600 scott@cdac.com http://www.cdac.com From owner-halloween-l Tue Mar 12 07:37:18 1996 From: Scott Axworthy Subject: Re: Cheap and Easy Flames To: halloween-l@netcom.com Date: Wed, 6 Mar 1996 20:41:43 -0800 (PST) Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: Ron: Ron Orr writes: > > One effect I've been using for (literally) decades is to use the > good ol' flicker-flame bulbs. They're still available Up Here in Ontario. I > built a candelabra from old electric lamp parts and new wiring (I never > trust the old stuff.) A large flicker-flame bulb is in the centre; smaller > ones are around it. I use this lamp every year at the Haunted Library and > everyone loves the effect. When it's not there we use it as a night light > in our master bedroom. > Actually, the overall effect is more like gaslight, especially as > the bulbs age. And as for that, well, the centre bulb has been burning > night and day for around ten years now. It flickers _very_ slowly now but > it's still going. I wish they made the flicker bulbs in a candle size. They would be perfect. And speaking of candleabras, We just bought a real one last weekend. A silver (plated-not the real thing), 5 candle unit. It is going to look great at Halloween. Of course, it wasn't bought for that purpose. No really. Its a center piece for the table. Really. Scott -- Scott Axworthy Phone: 206-649-7668 Cascade Design Automation Fax: 206-649-7600 scott@cdac.com http://www.cdac.com From owner-halloween-l Tue Mar 12 09:28:51 1996 Date: Tue, 12 Mar 1996 09:21:22 -0800 (PST) From: Don Bertino To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: Cheap and Easy Flames Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: On Wed, 6 Mar 1996, Scott Axworthy wrote: Hi Scott! > I wish they made the flicker bulbs in a candle size. They would be perfect. They do! I just saw a whole string of them (25 lights C-7 bulbs) at a Christmas display store last week. I think they ran around $20 Ouch! don bertino@netcom.com ____/^\_____________________________________ Disney ascii art & / \ || FDC MCP || / \ animations are at <______\ [] [] [] || [] [] [] || [] [] [] /______> http://www.calweb.com \----------------||----------||----------------/=== /~bertino===============\______________||__________||______________/===== From owner-halloween-l Wed Mar 13 13:50:52 1996 Subject: Re: Web Page To: halloween-l@netcom.com Date: Wed, 13 Mar 1996 12:02:44 -0500 (EST) From: "Nathan Kahn" Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: > > >At 08:29 AM 3/5/96 EST, you wrote: > >>Denny, > >>Nice additions to the web page! I notice you have competitive pricing on > >>most (if not all) of your catalog items. Good job! > > > >Hi Stu, > > Thanks! To tell you the truth, some of the.... > > Hey all, > I didn't realize Stu's original post was sent to the list and not direct to > my address until after I sent a reply, which used the return address and > went back to the list. This reply did not belong on the list and this > mistake will not happen again. > Denny > This is really cool. Denny and I both made the same mistake at the same time, and due to the 3 day lag on our posts apologies are overlapping explanations, and maybe we can keep this thread going forever!!! Faraway man!!!! Nathan ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nathan Kahn, VP Sales Theatre Effects V: (301) 791-7646 nathan@theatrefx.com 642 Frederick St. F: (301) 791-7719 http://www.theatrefx.com Hagerstown, MD 21740 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- From owner-halloween-l Wed Mar 13 13:53:16 1996 From: Scott Axworthy Subject: Re: Cheap and Easy Flames To: halloween-l@netcom.com Date: Tue, 12 Mar 1996 10:00:40 -0800 (PST) Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: Don: Don Bertino writes: > > On Wed, 6 Mar 1996, Scott Axworthy wrote: > > Hi Scott! > > > I wish they made the flicker bulbs in a candle size. They would be perfect. > > They do! I just saw a whole string of them (25 lights C-7 bulbs) at a > Christmas display store last week. I think they ran around $20 Ouch! > I'm going to have to check these out. That is pretty steep for a string bulbs, but if dissected and used for individual electric candle conversions maybe its not so bad. Maybe they have packages of replacement bulbs, you wouldn't have to buy as many that way. I guess its time for a trip to my favorite display and costume store that stocks these types of things all year long. Thanks for the tip! -- Scott Axworthy Phone: 206-649-7668 Cascade Design Automation Fax: 206-649-7600 scott@cdac.com http://www.cdac.com From owner-halloween-l Wed Mar 27 07:04:58 1996 From: Scott Axworthy Subject: Re: Sounding Off To: halloween-l@netcom.com Date: Tue, 26 Mar 1996 15:50:42 -0800 (PST) Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: Paul: Paul Kelly writes: > > I think that I've been lurking about this list long enough to make an > intelligent post... > > I would like to hear (pun intended) about everyone's strageties/ideologies > regarding the importance and practical application of sound in their > mini-haunts. > > Personally, I'm a big believer in having sound as a major part of a neighborhood > mini-haunt. However, I think that it can easily be overdone. I personally > prefer a constant howling wind effect with the occasional wolf howl and sinister > laugh and very little else. I couldn't agree more, sound is a great mood setter. A dark night, a few of the right spooky sounds and who needs special effects. The human brain can conjur up far worse than we can ever produce. As I think I mentioned before, I use multiple audio zones when I do my party. I had two distinct zones last time outside (there are actually three but two were playing the same thing.) I haven't come up with a good scary soundtrack yet, but I have a tape that has organ music on one side (Bach-Tocatta and Fugue in D-minor) and some scary crap on the other. This cycles throughout the night. The organ music outside is *Fantastic*! I don't turn it up that loud but you hear it outside all around the house. I really need to loose the other scary soundtrack, I just don't like it. The other zone was the thunder zone. What a great effect the thunder and lightning was (Who's concept was this anyway...Don's? Denny's? ???) Denny gave a lot of input but I thought someone else had thought of this. Step forward and take your credit, this is a great effect.) I am still looking for a good thunder track. Like you mentioned, the sounds should be occasional. I made my own tape from another source and spread the thunder out. I may try to get some thunder samples and make my own CD. I hate to reinvent the wheel though. > > I plan on using my computer this year to play back a selection of digitized > sound effects, and I was hoping to get some suggestions on a good (I'm very > particular) wolf howl. With a computer, I control when the effects happen; they > are not random events, but rather can occur at just the moment a visitor is > passing the (very heavily hidden) speaker. I'm really impressed with the sound quality from modern soundcards. This gives anyone with a PC and a decent soundcard almost studio quality editing capabilities. Need a better trigger to sound interface though. > > a bunch deleted for brevity... > Having just returned from the Halloween show, there seemed to be quite a few new tapes and CDs on the market. Denny and Stu were paying much closer attention than I was to those, they may have some better comments. One thing I wanted to comment on was one company, was that Distortions?, that had created a high end audio track. It was a *real* production. It was, if I recall, designed probably for Haunted Houses but I didn't care for the canned pitch. It was well produced though, excellent quality. Scott -- Scott Axworthy Phone: 206-649-7668 Cascade Design Automation Fax: 206-649-7600 scott@cdac.com http://www.cdac.com From owner-halloween-l Mon Apr 1 07:18:02 1996 Date: Mon, 1 Apr 1996 07:14:46 -0800 (PST) From: Don Bertino To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: Archives location? Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: On Sun, 31 Mar 1996, MilesManor wrote: > > If you read the posts or check the archives, you'll find out a lot about > >me, my activities, successes and failures in regards to putting on my > >mini-haunts at Halloween. > > I am a total amateur, but I love Halloween. I joined the list, because want > to do more decorating and my dream is to have a haunted house. Can anyone > help me find the archives mentioned in Denny's note? Howdy! I am not Denny, but I'll give you the answer... :) http://www.calweb.com/~bertino Have fun! don bertino@netcom.com ____/^\_____________________________________ Disney ascii art & / \ || FDC MCP || / \ animations are at <______\ [] [] [] || [] [] [] || [] [] [] /______> http://www.calweb.com \----------------||----------||----------------/=== /~bertino===============\______________||__________||______________/===== From owner-halloween-l Mon Apr 1 07:38:02 1996 Date: Mon, 1 Apr 1996 07:30:26 -0800 (PST) From: Don Bertino To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: Jarad's Machine Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: On Sun, 31 Mar 1996, D.D. wrote: Hi All! > Does anyone know this fellow? His machine is sending automated replies to > its' own automated replies. This is going to snowball into a HUGE mess real > soon. Don, can you get him off the list 'til he gets back to his office. Thanks for giving me a call at home Denny. It looks like Jarad's computer has a broken vacation program. I have unsubscribe him and let him know that he is more than welcome to resubscribe when he comes back, after he turns off that vacation program. :) I am still waiting for all the trip reports from the convention. :) Come'on guys and girls, what's hot and what's not..... :) don bertino@netcom.com ____/^\_____________________________________ Disney ascii art & / \ || FDC MCP || / \ animations are at <______\ [] [] [] || [] [] [] || [] [] [] /______> http://www.calweb.com \----------------||----------||----------------/=== /~bertino===============\______________||__________||______________/===== From owner-halloween-l Mon Apr 1 07:52:29 1996 Subject: Re: Trade Show Review -Reply -Reply To: halloween-l@netcom.com Date: Sun, 31 Mar 1996 19:41:18 -0500 (EST) From: "Nathan Kahn" Cc: bertino@netcom.com Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: Don, please unsubscribe jasher@usagroup.com ASAP. I don't relish the thought of getting these messages every day until April 8. Other subscribers, friendly reminder, unsubscribe from mailing lists before setting an auto-reply. (In addition, many mailing lists offer a "suspend" or "hold" service.) (This message cc'd to Don 3/31 evening.) Nathan > > I am sorry I am unable to reply to your message at this time. I will be out of the office untill Monday April 8. I will respond as soon as I am able Monday morning to you message. If it is an emergency, I will be checking my voice mail periodically hi> le I am gone. You may leave a voice mail message for me at Ext. 6556 and I will answer your question as soon as I am able. > Thank You! > > Jared > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nathan Kahn, VP Sales Theatre Effects V: (301) 791-7646 nathan@theatrefx.com 642 Frederick St. F: (301) 791-7719 http://www.theatrefx.com Hagerstown, MD 21740 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- From owner-halloween-l Mon Apr 1 07:58:02 1996 From: Scott Axworthy Subject: Re: Trade Show Review To: halloween-l@netcom.com Date: Sat, 30 Mar 1996 14:51:35 -0800 (PST) Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: Stu, Denny, and list: > > At 10:30 AM 3/27/96 EST, Stu wrote: > > >A word to the wise...if you ever get a chance to meet Denny, Scott or Nathan, > >be warned. They are a wild and raucous bunch. I had to restrain one of > >these guys (names aren't important) from tearing up the beautiful displays. > >It was a brief outburst, I assure you. > >- Stu [ stuart.mcintire@uage.com ] > > Phew, I was worried you were going to mention Scott's name. He would have > been an embarrassment to his family and community. ;-) I wondered how long it would take for this to come up! It was a rotted corpse for goodness sake. It was bound to fall apart. I barely touched it. > > Anonymous > > PS. Scott claims the leg falling off the rotting corpse was the result of a > well designed prop. > I'm convinced they rigged it for this very effect. I was impressed. Scott -- Scott Axworthy Phone: 206-649-7668 Cascade Design Automation Fax: 206-649-7600 scott@cdac.com http://www.cdac.com From owner-halloween-l Mon Apr 1 08:08:12 1996 Subject: Re: Costume Ideas Anyone? To: halloween-l@netcom.com Date: Sun, 31 Mar 1996 19:20:09 -0500 (EST) From: "Nathan Kahn" Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: > > I will be attending a costume ball in a couple months that has the theme of > Come As Your Concept of Hell. Well, guess what was on, of all channels, > American Movie Classics recently - "The Towering Inferno"! From this I got > the idea to come as the blazing building. I am thinking of using foamcore for > the basic structure and then adding red, orange and yellow crepe paper flames > - maybe even add some little Xmas tree lights that twinkle. > > Anybody have any ideas, suggestions? Thanks in advance. > Where there's fire there's smoke! Get one of those little battery fans. (Can't remember the proper name, but you see them in dime stores.) Mount the fan on the roof of the building, and wire it to a momentary switch somewhere within hand reach. Mount a dish in the roof with the fan pointing at it. Fill the dish with makeup powder, talcum or flour. Occasionally give the fan an instantaneous burst with the momentary switch to create a cloud of "smoke" over the roof. Nathan ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nathan Kahn, VP Sales Theatre Effects V: (301) 791-7646 nathan@theatrefx.com 642 Frederick St. F: (301) 791-7719 http://www.theatrefx.com Hagerstown, MD 21740 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- From owner-halloween-l Mon Apr 1 09:39:08 1996 Date: Mon, 1 Apr 1996 09:35:59 -0800 (PST) From: Don Bertino To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: Re[2]: Blood Recipes -Reply -Reply Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: On Sun, 31 Mar 1996 sao@MIT.EDU wrote: > >I am sorry I am unable to reply to your message at this time. > > Given that Jared's broken auto-responder is going to be chirping this back > at us until April 8th, would anyone object to changing the "Reply-To:" field > for the mailing list from "halloween-l@netcom.com" to "Sender"? > > (And let's hope it doesn't start replying to its own replies!) Actually, that is what is happening. He is in a endless loop. :( Denny called me at home Sunday and told me what was going on. I ran upstairs and called in and unsubscribed him. I come in Monday at 6:30am PST :) and find that he is resubscribed (or I screwed up the override unsubscribe command :( ) He is certainly unsubscribed to the list and I will be notified immediately if he (or somebody else) tries to subscribe him again. I think there are more auto-posts to come. But all should be before Monday 6:30am (4/1/96) Hellva april fool's joke.... If I could get my hands on who ever...... don bertino@netcom.com ____/^\_____________________________________ Disney ascii art & / \ || FDC MCP || / \ animations are at <______\ [] [] [] || [] [] [] || [] [] [] /______> http://www.calweb.com \----------------||----------||----------------/=== /~bertino===============\______________||__________||______________/===== From owner-halloween-l Tue Apr 2 07:47:37 1996 Date: Tue, 02 Apr 1996 09:38:30 -0600 To: halloween-l@netcom.com From: "D.D." Subject: Re: Re[2]: Trade Show Review Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: At 10:49 AM 4/1/96 EST, you wrote: > But I don't have > any little spiders on my card... :( > > - Stu [ stuart.mcintire@uage.com ] Hey Evil Doctor Stuey, If you don't have little spiders on your card GET OUT OF THE BUSINESS! ;-) Denny From owner-halloween-l Tue Apr 2 07:52:02 1996 Date: Tue, 02 Apr 1996 09:38:27 -0600 To: halloween-l@netcom.com From: "D.D." Subject: Re: Show Review/Safety Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: RO X-Status: At 07:30 AM 4/1/96 -0800, Don wrote: >I am still waiting for all the trip reports from the convention. :) >Come'on guys and girls, what's hot and what's not..... :) Hey Don, This ain't a fun subject- One of the things that struck me about the show was the legitimate haunted house operator's and supplies dealer's growing concern for public safety. The interest in flame retardant materials or coatings, proper minimum lighting requirements, emergency lighting and marked emergency exits were all brought to my attention. It may be a worthwhile area for discussion here on the list. How many small (or big) haunted houses have adequate emergency lighting or have safely tested the flame retardancy of materials used both for construction and decorative purposes? There was a haunted house fire (8 died) about 12 or 13 years ago in NJ. that was started when a teenage patron used a cigarette lighter to find his way through a maze. The strobe light that normally lit the way had quit working a few hours earlier. Anyone care to discuss how they handle public safety in their attraction? I think we all could benefit. Denny B.T. Productions' Terror By Design Haunt Supplies & Scare Wares for the pro. From owner-halloween-l Thu Apr 4 07:07:19 1996 Date: Thu, 4 Apr 1996 07:00:38 -0800 (PST) From: Don Bertino To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: Jared {Thanks} Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: On Tue, 2 Apr 1996, thelazer {Jason R} wrote: > Thanks Don for getting him off the list. I was really getting sick of > picking up the mail here and finding, 20 odd messages from him. That's ok, it's the other 20 people a day that I am having to unsubscribe that's a pain. Newt and Clinton keep coming back for more..... :) (Someone is playing games with alot of mailing lists on the internet, like Netcom, and Best and a few others, they think it's funny to forge subscribes and unsubscribes to 2000 - 3000 lists, and having us list managers scrable trying to take care of it. It is similar to things done in HS where you fill out 100 maganzine subscription cards for your class mates.... A royal pain) :( don bertino@netcom.com ____/^\_____________________________________ Disney ascii art & / \ || FDC MCP || / \ animations are at <______\ [] [] [] || [] [] [] || [] [] [] /______> http://www.calweb.com \----------------||----------||----------------/=== /~bertino===============\______________||__________||______________/===== From owner-halloween-l Mon Apr 8 11:18:09 1996 Subject: Re: grand illusions To: halloween-l@netcom.com Date: Mon, 8 Apr 1996 10:58:13 -0400 (EDT) From: "Nathan Kahn" Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: > > At 12:48 PM 4/3/96 -0500, jas wrote: > >Could someone tell about Grand Illusions? Sounds like a great source. Also, > > is there a report from the trade show somewhere? > >To all interested I highly recommend TERROR BY DESIGN if looking for great > >"how to ideas". I'm hoping grand illusions has the same to offer. I need > >lot's of "how to books", and am open to any and all help > > > >jas There is a Grand Illusions magic shop at www.grandillusions.com. I checked it a few months ago and the site was pretty dead, with "under construction" apologies. Just checked it before posting this message and it looks the same. Nathan ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nathan Kahn, VP Sales Theatre Effects V: (301) 791-7646 nathan@theatrefx.com 642 Frederick St. F: (301) 791-7719 http://www.theatrefx.com Hagerstown, MD 21740 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- From owner-halloween-l Mon Apr 8 18:00:28 1996 Date: Mon, 8 Apr 1996 17:49:30 -0700 (PDT) From: Don Bertino To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: Jared {Thanks} Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: On Sun, 7 Apr 1996, Jason R wrote: > > (Someone is playing games with alot of mailing lists on the internet, > > like Netcom, and Best and a few others, they think it's funny to > > forge subscribes and unsubscribes to 2000 - 3000 lists, and having > > us list managers scrable trying to take care of it. It is similar > > to things done in HS where you fill out 100 maganzine subscription cards > > for your class mates.... A royal pain) :( > > Cant you just create a unwatned list. A list that would be read by the > server when someone goes to subscribe. If it finds there name on the > list, it ignors there request, just like a Kill-file idea. Eh, working on it. 90% are non repeating new names. Don't have root access to change the majordomo either... :) Return receipt seems a way to go, but we are getting way off topic. :) don bertino@netcom.com ____/^\_____________________________________ Disney ascii art & / \ || FDC MCP || / \ animations are at <______\ [] [] [] || [] [] [] || [] [] [] /______> http://www.calweb.com \----------------||----------||----------------/=== /~bertino===============\______________||__________||______________/===== From owner-halloween-l Wed Apr 10 13:33:56 1996 Subject: Re: Product Review To: halloween-l@netcom.com Date: Wed, 10 Apr 1996 10:42:46 -0400 (EDT) From: "Nathan Kahn" Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: > > Hey Y'all, > I had mentioned adding tinting colors to the white Stage Coat and said I > would check with the manufacturer on this procedure. This is what they say... > Up to 4 ounces of pigment or tint can be added to one gallon of Stage Coat > without affecting its' flame retardant properties. After that you're on your > own. > Stage coat can also be painted over if a very dark or bright color is > needed. A coat of outdoor latex paint probably wouldn't hurt for additional > weather-proofing. When exposed to flame the top coat of paint will char and > flake off but the Stage Coat will retain the original full fire retardant > properties and protect the base material. > Later, > Denny I don't remember if you mentioned this in your original post, but another feature of Stage Coat when used as a fire retardant sealer on foam is that it will markedly reduce the quantity of toxic gases that might otherwise be emitted by the foam in a fire. Nathan ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nathan Kahn, VP Sales Theatre Effects V: (301) 791-7646 nathan@theatrefx.com 642 Frederick St. F: (301) 791-7719 http://www.theatrefx.com Hagerstown, MD 21740 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- From owner-halloween-l Fri Apr 12 12:18:34 1996 From: Stuart_McIntire_at_AISDC@ccsmtp.uage.com Date: Fri, 12 Apr 96 14:57:43 EST To: ctrimble@umdacc.umd.edu, sao@MIT.EDU Cc: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re[2]: Big Bug... Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: >Good lord, what a transparent urban myth... >I realize you're well-intentioned, but don't you bother checking on >these things before you go upsetting people with them? >> FYI >> FROM A RELIABLE SOURCE >Who is the source? If they're so well-intentioned, why aren't they named? >Why do you believe someone who hides their identity? Oh please. O.K., I'll be happy to tell you what I know. MY source is one of the salespeople that I work with and who I've known for a number of years who I consider know- ledgable, trustworthy and honest. We deal with several Fortune 500 companies in the Washington, DC metropolitan area - one of which was the source of this information. One or more people at this company has seen evidence of this virus first hand. Why isn't the source named? Simply put, this E-Mail started as an interoffice memo to our entire staff. As with virtually any other national corporation, we have suffered our share of viruses. Our salesperson didn't see a need to "identify the source" - it was a heads up to our internal users. Pretty simple and not nearly as nefarious as you suppose. "The source" is not hiding his or her identity...that information just wasn't passed along to me. >>> We work closely with the military and received this message from a >>> very reliable source in DC this morning. >>Which day is "this morning?" For that matter, which YEAR? How long has >>this unfounded bit of gossip been circulating? "This morning" is the day I forwarded the message. What was that, 4/10/96, or possibly 4/11/96? I think I sent the original message on Wednesday or Thursday of the current week. Today is 4/12/96. My watch says it's 2:35pm EST (that's Eastern Standard Time in case you weren't aware). But I didn't check the Atomic Clock for accuracy. And it's just a Timex quartz - nothing fancy... I guess I could have wasted bandwidth by forwarding the header of the message I originally received, but in retrospect, I'm glad I didn't. I don't need you sending E-Mails like this to my associate. >>Please check your sources, and when you discover that there is no >>basis in fact for this, please issue a retraction and apology. I suppose your last statement remains to be proven. I have no idea who you are. Maybe you're the creator of the virus for all I know. I know and trust my associate. I'll take his word over yours any day. Of course, yours is not the first response I've received. I received a message from another person (no - I'm not going to reveal who...he's a friend who was already a- ware of the virus through official channels at his place of work). Are you as willing to issue a retraction and apology to me (and everyone on this list) if you find out there is in fact a truth behind my message? We wouldn't want someone to wipe out their hard drives because you assured us this is an "urban myth" with "no basis in fact." I for one would rather be in- formed than complacent. So, Mr. Oakland...IF that's your real name...I realize you don't know me any better than I know you. I also realize that my words can be twisted and construed in any number of ways. This isn't a subject I care to belabor. I've got better things to do. I'm sure you do too, so from now on, ignore my posts. Neither one of us will lose any sleep over it, I assure you. And for God's sake, lighten up. >>:Andy Oakland >>sao@mit.edu - Stu From owner-halloween-l Mon Apr 15 20:55:30 1996 Subject: News & Gossip To: halloween-l@netcom.com Date: Mon, 15 Apr 1996 15:46:43 -0400 (EDT) From: "Nathan Kahn" Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: By the time this message hits the list, my website will have been substantially improved. (Check out the buttons stolen from Scott's site! Well okay, they're different buttons actually.) The new "News & Gossip" section is really lame. I couldn't think of anything to put there but a link to Denny's page and the Halloween-l archives!!! Oh well . . . Nathan ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nathan Kahn, VP Sales Theatre Effects V: (301) 791-7646 nathan@theatrefx.com 642 Frederick St. F: (301) 791-7719 http://www.theatrefx.com Hagerstown, MD 21740 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- From owner-halloween-l Wed Apr 17 08:14:14 1996 From: "Randi Lee Beers" Date: Tue, 16 Apr 1996 10:51:57 -0400 To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: halloween books Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: >To those who are in the retail biz: >I work for the University Bookstore at UC Davsi. We have been try to bring >in a few of the theatrical and halloween titles. We just recently tried to >order How to Operat a Financially Successful Haunted House by Philip Morris >and Dennis Phillips, ISBN 0-911137-11-4, from Imagine, Inc., the publisher. >However, Imagine apparently has moved and we can't seem to locate them. >We are looking not only for this title, but for publishersd of like >material as sources for a Halloween showcase we are planning in the late >summer. Any help here? Rick, I found the book you are looking for on sale at the "Book Page" http://www.btprod.com/books.html along with other interesting halloween books. Perhaps they know how or where you can get bulk quantities. Another good source for halloween books on the internet is the Nightmare Factory Reference Book Shop at http://www.io.com/%7Enightime/rbooks.html Well goodluck, Randi From owner-halloween-l Wed Apr 17 14:37:10 1996 Date: Wed, 17 Apr 1996 14:25:58 -0700 (PDT) From: Don Bertino To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: ADMIN: I'm on vacation Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: Hi All! I just worked 8 months straight and where are I going? Disneyland!!!!! Why am I telling you? Because to help keep this list running smoothly I have asked Denny to be the assistant/backup list manager, to handle things when I'm away. Any troubles regarding floods or broken vacations can be handled most ablely by Denny while I'm gone. See ya all in a week and thank you Denny for help me and the list out. don bertino@netcom.com ____/^\_____________________________________ Disney ascii art & / \ || FDC MCP || / \ animations are at <______\ [] [] [] || [] [] [] || [] [] [] /______> http://www.calweb.com \----------------||----------||----------------/=== /~bertino===============\______________||__________||______________/===== From owner-halloween-l Mon Apr 22 07:46:13 1996 Subject: Re: ADMIN: I'm on vacation To: halloween-l@netcom.com Date: Wed, 17 Apr 1996 18:39:24 -0400 (EDT) From: "Nathan Kahn" Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: > Why am I telling you? Because to help keep this list running smoothly > I have asked Denny to be the assistant/backup list manager, to handle > things when I'm away. Duh, does this mean that if I send a message to the list slamming Denny, when it is actually posted and remailed he will mysteriously be smelling like roses? More power!!!!! Nathan ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nathan Kahn, VP Sales Theatre Effects V: (301) 791-7646 nathan@theatrefx.com 642 Frederick St. F: (301) 791-7719 http://www.theatrefx.com Hagerstown, MD 21740 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- From owner-halloween-l Mon Apr 22 07:52:01 1996 Subject: Re: News & Gossip To: halloween-l@netcom.com Date: Wed, 17 Apr 1996 18:45:29 -0400 (EDT) From: "Nathan Kahn" Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: > > At 03:46 PM 4/15/96 -0400, Nathan wrote: > > >The new "News & Gossip" section is really lame. I couldn't think of anything > >to put there but a link to Denny's page and the Halloween-l archives!!! > > Lame?... What else is there? :) > Denny > The only other thing there is a sentence apologizing for the fact that there isn't anything else there . . . Nathan ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nathan Kahn, VP Sales Theatre Effects V: (301) 791-7646 nathan@theatrefx.com 642 Frederick St. F: (301) 791-7719 http://www.theatrefx.com Hagerstown, MD 21740 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- From owner-halloween-l Mon Apr 22 07:56:12 1996 From: "Randi Lee Beers" Date: Thu, 18 Apr 1996 08:30:39 -0400 To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: halloween books Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: Randi wrote: >Another good source for halloween books on the >internet is the >Nightmare Factory Reference Book Shop at >http://www.io.com/%7Enightime/rbooks.html DD writes: >WHO? Randi: I really don't know who they are. I just did a search of the WWW and I thought they looked interesting. Their home page is at http://www.io.com/%7Enightime/shop.html I am new to this list and I just wanted to help out. I don't have a halloween business but I sure love halloween. I used to have a halloween party deep in the woods with a haunted trail lit by candle light to get there. I had a huge bom fire, music, free beer and a punch with dry ice in it. The punch looks like a witches brew! I had a lot of fun with that. I even dressed up my pet wolf(50%) in sheeps clothing. By the way, I'm looking for a good quality halloween costume without a mask. And one for my wolf, Shadow, too. If anyone knows a good place to browse let me know. Thanks. ---End of forwarded mail from halloween-l@netcom.com From owner-halloween-l Tue Apr 23 13:06:17 1996 Subject: Re: Non-neon lighted stuff! To: halloween-l@netcom.com Date: Mon, 22 Apr 1996 14:06:00 -0400 (EDT) From: "Nathan Kahn" Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: > > Hey Nathan! > > I have a product that you might be intersted in. {Yes, it isnt as bad as > my spelling is!} > > It is called Calaiforneon. Basicly it is a long strip {8ft,16ft} that > when a 12volt current is applied to it, it glows. Kinda like those new > Limelight nightlights they sell. It is ment primanly to be put on cars as > lighted pinstriping, {Or boats, it is waterproof} > > You can color it with 8 differnt colors, and there are some other > products such as license plates too. > > E-mail me if you want some more info on it. {Or if anyone does} > > Jay > Sounds like electroluminescent stuff. Are these strips flat, maybe 1/8" thick, and about 1" wide? Regardless I'd like to hear more about it. Nathan ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nathan Kahn, VP Sales Theatre Effects V: (301) 791-7646 nathan@theatrefx.com 642 Frederick St. F: (301) 791-7719 http://www.theatrefx.com Hagerstown, MD 21740 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- From owner-halloween-l Thu May 2 07:35:31 1996 From: "Randi Lee Beers" Date: Fri, 26 Apr 1996 08:22:51 -0400 To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: (Fwd) Haunted House Publicity/Flyer Design -Reply Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: --- Forwarded mail from halloween-l@netcom.com Stuart_McIntire_at_AISDC@ccsmtp.uage.com> 04/16/96 02:40pm writes: > I am always on the lookout for quality > fonts to install on my system to put > together the most professional looking > promotional material possible... Lauren Jones writes: >I have Ragged, Sanguinary, Spirits, Goblin >Moon, Ghost Bayou, various fonts with >characters constructed of bones, the old >Bizzarro font where the characters are >formed from the bodies of demons, sprites, >etc., and a variety of others. What system >are you using? The fonts sound great. How can I get a copy of them? Are these fonts shareware? If so do you have them in true type for Windows? Randi ---End of forwarded mail from halloween-l@netcom.com From owner-halloween-l Fri May 10 07:27:51 1996 Date: Thu, 9 May 1996 12:07:12 -0700 From: rleach@porky.West.Sun.COM (Roy Leach) To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Initial ramblings. Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: Well now that I'm completely blind from reading all of the archives, I figured that I'd introduce myself. I'm Roy & I have a halloween adiction. A friend of mine (who actually introduced me to this list) bought a house a few years back & was foolish enough to suggest we "do something" for halloween (big mistake). We have been doing things every year since (and actually have developed quite a few fans). We have done mazes in the garage using black & red plastic table cloths (how can you beat 50 cents each?). We staple the top to the rafters & duct tape the bottom edge to the floor. It's quick, easy, cheap & has worked quite well. The front yard has the obligatory grave yard with styrofoam tombstones (I love the idea of carving them with a carving knife!) The first year, we dug a hole in the grass (Sean wasn't too happy about that for some reason /8) & buried a 5 gallon paint bucket such that the top was just a grass level. Fill it with water & add dry ice & got instant fog. To keep the water hot, we used an electric BBQ briquette lighter (your basic BIG heating element). It worked GREAT but the dry ice is very high maintenance. We've tried building a few fog machines & last year borrowed a real fog machine. The problem that we have is trying to get the fog where we want it doesn't seem to work. I think that we need to just make more fog (more, More, MORE!!!!) I can't wait to try building the fog machine described in the archives. Something else that we did was project a moving image onto a styrofoam wig head. This was accomplished by using a 13" tv with a projection lens (designed for making a cheap giant screen tv) aimed at the head & hidden behind a tomb- stone. To provide the image, we recorded someone talking onto video tape. In the house, we play the video tape & transmit the image to the tv via a $25 video transmitter (the tv picks up the signal on the UHF band). We added a few makeup highlights on the head around the eyes & the effect was incredible. Another effect that worked wonderfully was a fireball (well, that's what it looked like). In one room of the maze, we used alternating white & black sheets. As you walk out of the room, you are heading directly at a white sheet. We didn't tape the bottom down to the floor so it could move. Behind the sheet, we put an air nozzle from an air compressor & an orange flood light. A manual switch would blow air (with the associated loud air blast sound) & turn on the light. The air creates an air pocket on the sheet & the light floods this pocket & the effect was incredible (take my word for it!) We even had a camera that would take still photos & show them on another monitor so we could see the expressions of our victoms. Other things: We've done the piston style pop-up mask with good success. Bats with flashing red LED eyes are easy & last for years. I put a model airplane reciever & servos in a plasic skull so it will open its mouth & move its eyes. I've used color organs to set off camera flash units for lightning. I've been using relays between the color organs & the flash units, but they're extreemly noisy. I want to create a stereo tape of thunder on one track & cues on the other track so that I can hook the color organs up the cue track & have the flash go off BEFORE the thunder sound (I blew up Sean's SoundBlaster trying it last year, but he got a new one so I can try again /8) Well, that's enough for now. One question is where are the current archives? http://www.calweb.com/~bertino/halloween.html only seems to have last June-Aug. Happy Haunting! roy. From owner-halloween-l Mon May 13 09:17:29 1996 Date: Mon, 13 May 1996 09:08:46 -0700 (PDT) From: Don Bertino To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: Initial ramblings. Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: On Fri, 10 May 1996 Stuart_McIntire_at_AISDC@ccsmtp.uage.com wrote: > >Well, that's enough for now. One question is where are the current arch- > >ives? http://www.calweb.com/~bertino/halloween.html only seems to have last > >June-Aug. > > Check again, Roy. It's been a while since I looked, but > I'm *pretty sure* there's more recent material than that > archived. > > Also, Don Bertino must have a yeoman's job when sifting > through the posts to grab the most pertinent and delete > the rest. Hang in there...like all of us, he has a "real > job." (You do, don't you Don? Don? :) He archives > material as quickly as he's able... Z-z-z-z-z-zzzzzzz Huh? What?!?! Oh, hi! :) There are two sets of archives, one is a older type (calweb) and one is update to date (netcom) I am currently trying to setup procmail on calweb so everything will be on Calweb. Keep your fingers crossed. :) BTW, two things, welcome to the list. Good post! Second, to make it easier to read the archives, they are in mailbox format. So if you get a offline reader or something like PC-Pine, you can use it sort and read the posts as you like. Welcome aboard. don bertino@netcom.com ____/^\_____________________________________ Disney ascii art & / \ || FDC MCP || / \ animations are at <______\ [] [] [] || [] [] [] || [] [] [] /______> http://www.calweb.com \----------------||----------||----------------/=== /~bertino===============\______________||__________||______________/===== From owner-halloween-l Fri May 17 15:21:25 1996 Date: Fri, 17 May 1996 14:58:37 -0700 (PDT) From: Don Bertino To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Infinity Mirrors revisited?!?!?!? :) Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: On Thu, 16 May 1996 Stuart_McIntire_at_AISDC@ccsmtp.uage.com wrote: > Dave asks: (Good to hear from you again, Dave!) Indeed! :) > >What exactly is The Well? Sounds like a version of Pepper's Ghost? > >The animated ground breaker is fantastic - a candy-free year, > >for sure! The gust of air from the ground or grave would indeed > >be a nice addition, particularly if properly "scented". > > The Well? ...This was an illusion being marketed > at the trade show in Chicago. Denny and I got the > idea this could be a simple plywood box that is > viewed from above and which has a mirror in the > bottom that you look into *through* a piece of two- > way plexi mounted on the top. You view through > the "see-through" side; the underside is the reflect- > ive surface. That way, what you see when you look > into the box is a mirror reflecting up to another > mirror and back. You get an impression of a very > deep, if not bottomless hole. You need some *dim* > lighting inside the box. The show version indeed > looked like a decrepit well, replete with ivy, > stone sides and even a snake. I extrapolated on > the idea to create a bottomless grave (in Denny's > words). Dear lord, it's the rebirth of the "infinity mirror" from the 70's. Time to dust mine off (I knew if I hung onto it long enough, it would rear it's ugly head off again ;) I made one in 8th grade for a electronics project (more like a woodshop thing but I digress) What you want is a no light coming from the outside, but a bright light (or ring of lights) between the mirrors. The brighter the light, the "deeper" or more reflections you will see. The endless hallway at the Haunted Mansion at DL using this exact idea, but takes it a step father. It has a rod which goes thru the rear mirror and front two-way mirror and attaches to a candlbra that moves. So there is a floating candlbra in front a endless hallway. :) don bertino@netcom.com ____/^\_____________________________________ Disney ascii art & / \ || FDC MCP || / \ animations are at <______\ [] [] [] || [] [] [] || [] [] [] /______> http://www.calweb.com \----------------||----------||----------------/=== /~bertino===============\______________||__________||______________/===== From owner-halloween-l Mon May 20 09:52:57 1996 Date: Mon, 20 May 1996 09:44:29 -0700 (PDT) From: Don Bertino To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: Halloween Fonts Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: On Fri, 17 May 1996, Ray Iaea wrote: Hi Ray! > I'm kinda late on this thread, but I was wondering if the Halloween font > is available as a Postscript Type I or PFB? I`d like to use in with > 3D Studio to create a Halloween Web Page. DXF is also ok. All the halloween fonts (*mac and windows) should be available at the halloween-l web site later today or tomorrow. Thanks Lauren for making them available to everyone! don bertino@netcom.com ____/^\_____________________________________ Disney ascii art & / \ || FDC MCP || / \ animations are at <______\ [] [] [] || [] [] [] || [] [] [] /______> http://www.calweb.com \----------------||----------||----------------/=== /~bertino===============\______________||__________||______________/===== From owner-halloween-l Mon May 20 15:52:16 1996 Date: Mon, 20 May 1996 15:25:50 -0700 (PDT) From: Don Bertino To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: Halloween Fonts Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: On 20 May 1996, William E Rompala wrote: > Hey Don, Hi! > >All the halloween fonts (*mac and windows) should be available at the > >halloween-l web site later today or tomorrow. > > Can I get the URL for the halloween-l web site? Yeap, it's http://www.calweb.com/~bertino And all the fonts are there now, both ttf and Mac. Thanks Lauren! don bertino@netcom.com ____/^\_____________________________________ Disney ascii art & / \ || FDC MCP || / \ animations are at <______\ [] [] [] || [] [] [] || [] [] [] /______> http://www.calweb.com \----------------||----------||----------------/=== /~bertino===============\______________||__________||______________/===== From owner-halloween-l Tue May 21 07:20:21 1996 Date: Mon, 20 May 1996 12:48:57 -0700 From: rleach@porky.West.Sun.COM (Roy Leach) To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: Hello! Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: {A little SNIP off the top} > > >This year is the Ninth Life and Death Ball... felines > >abound. > > > >The decor will probably be some combination of jungle and giant cat > >toys -- a scratching post, rubber mice, etc. > > > >Any thoughts? {SNIP Again} > > Gravestones with the names of famous felines (perhaps with humorous epitaphs): > > Morris > Sylvester > Tom (of Tom & Jerry) > Some of the characters from the musical "Cats" > Mufasa (The Lion King) > Top Cat > T-Bone & Razor (Swat Cats) > The Cheshire Cat Well, this gives me a cool idea! All Electronics sells "electroluminescent" panels (4" x 8") for a buck each. They are orange but when you apply 120volts, they glow. How about a nice Cheshire Cat grin that appears when someone approaches? The problem that I've had in the past using these panels is that they are orange, but when put behind a slightly tinted panel in a dark area, the glow appears but the orange (when it's off) isn't noticable. roy. From owner-halloween-l@netcom.com Tue Jun 11 15:47:25 1996 Date: Mon, 10 Jun 1996 23:01:27 +0500 To: halloween-l@netcom.com From: grizelda@astral.magic.ca (Ron Orr) Subject: Forwarded Inquiry Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: So, anybody here can help this lost soul? >Subject: Furry Protheses? >Sent: 05/29 5:20 AM >Received: 05/29 9:40 AM >From: Dusteen J. Richards, djr@po.cwru.edu >To: cf-east@tigerden.com > >Since you're handling the mail for ConFURence East, I figure you might >have the answer to this question: > >Is there anyone you know of reasonably near to the greater Cleveland area >(or at least accessable via the Internet, snail-mail, smoke signals, etc) >that makes custom furry snouts, fangs, costumes, etc? > >I've been specifically looking for furry snouts for a while now with no >luck. If you have any leads, I'd be very greatful to hear them. > >"DreamSnake" >Dusteen Richards >djr@po.cwru.edu >11016 Magnolia Dr. >Cleveland, OH 44106 Ron who knows nothing about Cleveland From owner-halloween-l@netcom.com Tue Jun 11 16:53:15 1996 From: Stuart_McIntire_at_AISDC@ccsmtp.uage.com Date: Mon, 10 Jun 96 18:35:08 EST To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: Not much time left (grin) Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: >Hello, Am I the only one in this list right now? I can't believe you >people aren't starting early this year! I have so many things to get >ready and so little weekends free. >I was wondering if anyone has any tips for using strobes in a yard? >Anything I can do to enhance the effectiveness? >Doug Hi Doug! I think it's just you and me and the crickets...I sent a post about the possibility of using vacu-forming for tombstones, but other than a question as to what exactly I meant by vacu- forming, there wasn't the first lick of a response... Re: the strobes, you can get them anywhere. It's my under- standing that strobe lights have been known to trigger seizures in epileptics (not that I've ever seen it happen... maybe that's just a nasty rumor). Regardless, I've never used strobes in my yard, but I have in haunted houses. Every- time someone hears about the seizures, though, I'm always strongly encouraged to limit the use (if not eliminate) the strobes. Hell...what's Halloween without the liberal use of strobes? - Stu From owner-halloween-l@netcom.com Tue Jun 11 17:37:13 1996 From: milwiron@btprod.com Date: Mon, 10 Jun 1996 19:51:58 -0500 To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: Not much time left (grin) Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: At 02:12 PM 6/6/96 PST, Doug wrote: > Hello, Am I the only one in this list right now? Hi Doug, Shhhhh... your surrounded by 150 lurkers. You'll find around a dozen very active folks here. >I can't believe you people aren't starting early this year! There are a few of us that never quit. Check out the archives, you'll see the same names over and over, month after month. By the way, welcome to the list. > I was wondering if anyone has any tips for using strobes in a yard? > Anything I can do to enhance the effectiveness? This is something I've played around with for quite a few years. I used a small strobe (25-35 watts?) for a few years hooked up to a sound switch (color organ) that sync'd the flashes to a CD playing thunder. Any lights in the area had to be off for it to be very effective. Last year I used a couple of flood lights instead of the strobe and it didn't look too bad, it certainly gave more light and floods are cheap. This Halloween I'm moving up to a couple of 75 watt strobes with a sync. cord between them, working off the sound switch. I think that'll finally do it for my lightning flashes. Denny B.T. Productions' Terror By Design Haunt Supplies & Scare Wares for the pro From owner-halloween-l@netcom.com Thu Jun 13 00:51:39 1996 From: Stuart_McIntire_at_AISDC@ccsmtp.uage.com Date: Wed, 12 Jun 96 16:22:18 EST To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re[2]: Not much time left (grin) Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: Denny responds to Doug... >Hi Doug, >Shhhhh... your surrounded by 150 lurkers. Don't startle them...they're awfully scary when riled! ;) >You'll find around a dozen very active folks here. All of whom are very knowledgable and give freely of their time, (valuable) experience and camaraderie! >>I can't believe you people aren't starting early this year! >There are a few of us that never quit. Check out the archives, you'll see >the same names over and over, month after month. By the way, welcome to >the list. Yes, welcome. Those archives are worth their weight in gold. Read. Assimilate. Go forth and produce. >> I was wondering if anyone has any tips for using strobes in a yard? >> Anything I can do to enhance the effectiveness? >This is something I've played around with for quite a few years. I used a >small strobe (25-35 watts?) for a few years hooked up to a sound switch >(color organ) that sync'd the flashes to a CD playing thunder. Any lights >in the area had to be off for it to be very effective. >Last year I used a couple of flood lights instead of the strobe and it >didn't look too bad, it certainly gave more light and floods are cheap. >This Halloween I'm moving up to a couple of 75 watt strobes with a sync. >cord between them, working off the sound switch. I think that'll finally do >it for my lightning flashes. Gotta love it. Make sure the paramedics are on hand, Denny... - Evil Doc From owner-halloween-l@netcom.com Thu Jun 13 01:04:37 1996 From: Stuart_McIntire_at_AISDC@ccsmtp.uage.com Date: Wed, 12 Jun 96 16:07:40 EST To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: Forwarded Inquiry Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: Well, there's a company called Cesar. I'm afraid you caught me with my furry snout down...I'm at work and don't have my voluminous library of Halloween manufacturer's and distributor's catalogs at my fingertips. I'll try to remember to get at least a phone number. Cesar had a huge booth at the trade show and produce a fairly thick full-color catalog of (mostly masks) the type of thing the "lost soul" is looking for. I *think* I recall that Cesar is based somewhere in New York... I'm not sure the snouts are furry, but they've got plenty of them! ______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________ Subject: Forwarded Inquiry Author: halloween-l@netcom.com at Internet Date: 6/12/96 3:59 PM So, anybody here can help this lost soul? >Subject: Furry Protheses? >Sent: 05/29 5:20 AM >Received: 05/29 9:40 AM >From: Dusteen J. Richards, djr@po.cwru.edu >To: cf-east@tigerden.com > >Since you're handling the mail for ConFURence East, I figure you might >have the answer to this question: > >Is there anyone you know of reasonably near to the greater Cleveland area >(or at least accessable via the Internet, snail-mail, smoke signals, etc) >that makes custom furry snouts, fangs, costumes, etc? > >I've been specifically looking for furry snouts for a while now with no >luck. If you have any leads, I'd be very greatful to hear them. > >"DreamSnake" >Dusteen Richards >djr@po.cwru.edu >11016 Magnolia Dr. >Cleveland, OH 44106 Ron who knows nothing about Cleveland From owner-halloween-l@netcom.com Thu Jun 13 01:14:48 1996 From: DSparks@mercury.ligand.com Date: Wed, 12 Jun 96 11:40:08 PST To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Other interesting tidbits Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: Thanks for all the greets, it's good to know I am not alone in starting my preparations. When I started getting plans together last month, my wife nearly had a coronary. She believes this is going to be one of those 1000's of dollars projects that will put us in bankruptcy court. I keep telling her that it wont be much, most of the props can be "made" saving us money in exchange for time. My series of outlandish questions is thus: 1) What are the benefits/detriments of using Dry Ice as a fog maker? And can that fog be easily routed from an out of site area to where I want the fog to linger? 2) What is the most economical way to make realistic looking bodies to arrange in the front yard? (types of materials, paints, etc with guesstimated costs) 3) Are blacklight bulbs available for Mailbu lighting systems? (I have some Malibu spots which could work nicely with the right bulb and some glowing paints) 4) Can some be so kind as to explain the X-10 and stamp discussions? I am interested in some of this automation, but I am clueless as to what to look at in the stores. This is the first year I can actually transform the house (or at least the front of it) into my vision of Halloween. I enjoy scaring people, and on the whole, they enjoy being scared. There is a certain magic about that night when we suspend our disbelief and allow our mind to conjure up those things which we secretly fear. I want to capture that feeling in my "display" (for lack of a better word at the moment) and allow people to experience it. The one thing I want to keep away from is a cheesy-looking setup. The better I can make it, the more drawn in the people will be. Any suggestions overall of what to avoid or include would be greatly appreciated. Doug dsparks@ligand.com The maniacal ravings of a lunatic mind!?! From owner-halloween-l@netcom.com Thu Jun 13 03:30:36 1996 Date: Wed, 12 Jun 96 06:31:29 EDT To: halloween-l@netcom.com From: Bill Lewis Subject: Re: So little time! Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: >I'm really hoping we're NOT the only ones in this list!! I'm >anxious to hear what others have done for their Halloween >decorations! You're not the only ones "out there". This is a pretty active list, though you won't be too flooded either. Right now it's in a lull. I think everybody is gettin' busy with summer, I know I don't have much time lately as I am building a 2 car 1.5 story garage (Foundation is in, and I begin framing this weekend!) In the mean time check out the archives, there is quite a history of really great stuff there. Bill now available at home: lewisb@erols.com or work: lewisw@oasys.dt.navy.mil You can't keep a down man good. You can beat a dead horse, but you can't make him drink. Even a blind nut gets a squirrel every once in awhile. If it's fixed, don't break it. Measure once, Cut twice. From owner-halloween-l@netcom.com Thu Jun 13 03:32:39 1996 Date: Tue, 11 Jun 1996 19:21:55 -0700 From: Jane Bamberger To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: So little time! Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: We are all just listening and getting ideas!!! We put spots on Grapevines twisted around to throw weird shadows.. we have real gravestones we dig into our lawn, lanterns hanging from odd things.. and we save our dead christmas trees (alright... we are warped) and plant them in the yard.. Rubber masks hang on poles along our garden.. and arms and legs from store dummies are planted in the gardens. On the side of the house is a funeral, complete with coffin, candlabras, and music. We play Murder with our guests.. and have made it last all night! Inside even the computer gets into the act and has weird graphics and howling... I am interested in the dry ice and flying ghosts for this year... but we usually start the day before!!1 Jane From owner-halloween-l@netcom.com Thu Jun 13 03:38:48 1996 Date: Wed, 12 Jun 96 06:40:58 EDT To: halloween-l@netcom.com From: Bill Lewis Subject: Re: Not much time left (grin) Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: At 07:51 PM 6/10/96 -0500, you wrote: >At 02:12 PM 6/6/96 PST, Doug wrote: > >> Hello, Am I the only one in this list right now? > >Hi Doug, >Shhhhh... your surrounded by 150 lurkers. >You'll find around a dozen very active folks here. Actually there is really only one active person, with lots of different personalities...and email addresses >> I was wondering if anyone has any tips for using strobes in a yard? >> Anything I can do to enhance the effectiveness? > > This is something I've played around with for quite a few years. I used a >small strobe (25-35 watts?) for a few years hooked up to a sound switch >(color organ) that sync'd the flashes to a CD playing thunder. Any lights in >the area had to be off for it to be very effective. > Last year I used a couple of flood lights instead of the strobe and it >didn't look too bad, it certainly gave more light and floods are cheap. > This Halloween I'm moving up to a couple of 75 watt strobes with a sync. >cord between them, working off the sound switch. I think that'll finally do >it for my lightning flashes. Denny, what's the switching capability of the color organs? will they handle the wattage? What about using some of those little halogen portable floods? I still have to get into doing lightning, but that won't happen until the ultimate workshop is complete. Bill now available at home: lewisb@erols.com or work: lewisw@oasys.dt.navy.mil You can't keep a down man good. You can beat a dead horse, but you can't make him drink. Even a blind nut gets a squirrel every once in awhile. If it's fixed, don't break it. Measure once, Cut twice. From owner-halloween-l@netcom.com Thu Jun 13 07:42:56 1996 Date: Thu, 13 Jun 1996 07:00:34 -0700 (PDT) From: Don Bertino To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: Not much time left (grin) Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: On Wed, 12 Jun 1996, Bill Lewis wrote: > At 07:51 PM 6/10/96 -0500, you wrote: > >At 02:12 PM 6/6/96 PST, Doug wrote: > > > > This is something I've played around with for quite a few years. I used a > >small strobe (25-35 watts?) for a few years hooked up to a sound switch > >(color organ) that sync'd the flashes to a CD playing thunder. Any lights in > >the area had to be off for it to be very effective. > > Last year I used a couple of flood lights instead of the strobe and it > >didn't look too bad, it certainly gave more light and floods are cheap. > > This Halloween I'm moving up to a couple of 75 watt strobes with a sync. > >cord between them, working off the sound switch. I think that'll finally do > >it for my lightning flashes. > > Denny, what's the switching capability of the color organs? will they handle > the wattage? What about using some of those little halogen portable floods? > I still have to get into doing lightning, but that won't happen until the > ultimate workshop is complete. Two 75 watt strobes this year? Whatcha trying to do? Burn the kids shadows into the concrete? :) I'm curious as well, what is the signal voltage? Is it 5v, has it been really responsive? don bertino@netcom.com ____/^\_____________________________________ Disney ascii art & / \ || FDC MCP || / \ animations are at <______\ [] [] [] || [] [] [] || [] [] [] /______> http://www.calweb.com \----------------||----------||----------------/=== /~bertino===============\______________||__________||______________/===== From owner-halloween-l@netcom.com Thu Jun 13 08:12:04 1996 Date: Thu, 13 Jun 1996 07:30:46 -0700 (PDT) From: Don Bertino To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: Other interesting tidbits Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: On Wed, 12 Jun 1996 DSparks@mercury.ligand.com wrote: Hi! > Thanks for all the greets, it's good to know I am not alone in > starting my preparations. :) > 1) What are the benefits/detriments of using Dry Ice as a fog maker? > And can that fog be easily routed from an out of site area to where I > want the fog to linger? Dry Ice is great as a fog maker. It is a *heavy* fog, so it will cover the ground. The trick to it is to keeping the water hot enough. A number of people have talked about using crock pots, others hot pads. If the water gets too cold, a layer of ice will build up around the Dry Ice and it will stop producing fog. Putting in large pieces will produce less fog for a longer time. Breaking up Dry Ice into smaller pieces will produce more fog for a less time. :) The only way to make it linger is to have the fog go in an area that is protected against the wind. Look in the archives for differant fog discussions regarding routing. More importantly it's cheap. :) Actual fog machines to rent will cost you around $45-$65 a day to rent plus fog juice ($25 a quart?) To purchase a fog machine, will run around $150-$200 plus fog juice. > 2) What is the most economical way to make realistic looking bodies to > arrange in the front yard? (types of materials, paints, etc with > guesstimated costs) There is an excellent discussion regarding making skeletons with expanding foam in the archives. Check it out! > 3) Are blacklight bulbs available for Mailbu lighting systems? (I > have some Malibu spots which could work nicely with the right bulb and > some glowing paints) Not that I have heard of. Personally, I like orange, red and green colors to add that erie look. You can by Blacklight C-9 xmas light strands (25 bulbs, 25 feet) But there are around $25 per strand, unless you can get them at a discount right after Halloween. But these, as well as the 60w bulbs are *not* true blacklights. They look the right color, but do not have the same effect. > 4) Can some be so kind as to explain the X-10 and stamp discussions? > I am interested in some of this automation, but I am clueless as to > what to look at in the stores. There is a newsgroup called comp.home.automation that talks about the pro's and con's of it all. I went overboard and bought a 32 port digital input/output board for Christmas three years ago, Which I dearly love. The only drawback is the need to have all the extension cords running back to a single location. I have 29 50ft extension cords, and 3 100ft ones. But I always have to borrow the neighbors extension cords to trim my lawn with the weed wacker during Halloween and Christmas..... :) :) :) Hey Denny? You were experimenting with X10 last year, could you step in and let us know how it went? > This is the first year I can actually transform the house (or at least > the front of it) into my vision of Halloween. I enjoy scaring people, > and on the whole, they enjoy being scared. There is a certain magic > about that night when we suspend our disbelief and allow our mind to > conjure up those things which we secretly fear. I want to capture > that feeling in my "display" (for lack of a better word at the moment) > and allow people to experience it. The one thing I want to keep away > from is a cheesy-looking setup. The better I can make it, the more > drawn in the people will be. Wow Doug! You have captured the essences of this list. Good job and welcome aboard!!!! Check out http://www.calweb.com/~bertino regarding past discussions. To everyone else, lets hear from you! don bertino@netcom.com ____/^\_____________________________________ Disney ascii art & / \ || FDC MCP || / \ animations are at <______\ [] [] [] || [] [] [] || [] [] [] /______> http://www.calweb.com \----------------||----------||----------------/=== /~bertino===============\______________||__________||______________/===== From owner-halloween-l@netcom.com Thu Jun 13 19:07:48 1996 Date: Wed, 12 Jun 1996 20:02:50 -0700 (MST) To: halloween-l@netcom.com From: trix@primenet.com (Darlene Horwath) Subject: Re: Not much time left (grin) Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Status: O X-Status: Every- > time someone hears about the seizures, though, I'm always > strongly encouraged to limit the use (if not eliminate) the > strobes. Hell...what's Halloween without the liberal use > of strobes? > > - Stu As a nurse, and a person with eplipsy, I can tell you that there is a type of seizure disorder that is affected by strobe lights or flickering lights. However, it is a very small percentage of epileptics that have this type of disorder...in fact, an EEG, which is a test to determine if a person has abnormal brain waves, includes a segment of very intense strobe lights. If someone already has this type of eplipsy, they would certainly know it. Also, computer screens, police cars, emergency vehicles and road construction equipment can flicker at a rate that can cause seizures in some individuals. Go figure! So, I guess my point is...strobe away...with the proper disclamers of course! Trix a/k/a Dar From owner-halloween-l@netcom.com Thu Jun 13 19:53:57 1996 Date: Thu, 13 Jun 96 06:21:55 EDT To: halloween-l@netcom.com From: Bill Lewis Subject: Re: Other interesting tidbits Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com