From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Tue Nov 19 16:02:38 1996 Date: Tue, 19 Nov 1996 15:54:31 -0800 From: Robert Bradvica To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Halloween Club Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Wow, only in America. Ten minutes from my house, and Halloween products year round. I just got back from the Halloween Club right now, and after spending only(?) 130 bucks I'm ready to go back for seconds. Alert to any SoCal residents thinking of picking up a few things, the woman that I spoke to there said that the 50% off sale would be ending soon. She couldn't give me a date but it was supposed to be over already(Nov 10). Well off to check out my new toys. Year round Halloween store, pinch me. Robert Bradvica rbradvica@lightside.com From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Tue Nov 19 16:25:05 1996 From: Ldwarf@aol.com Date: Tue, 19 Nov 1996 19:18:32 -0500 To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: Electricution Chair Plans (my own) Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com ah, sounds cool .......... when can we see them ? Scott From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Tue Nov 19 16:25:30 1996 From: Ldwarf@aol.com Date: Tue, 19 Nov 1996 19:18:27 -0500 To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: i need some help..Electric Chair advise... Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com In a message dated 96-11-19 07:46:10 EST, you write: While I'm at it, I also have some thoughts on the staging. How about having the actor get fried, pull the hood off of his head, revealing a seemingly dead, but ugly fried face, and have him come to life breaking the restraints, and leaping towards the audience. i love it ... this is what i like to see .. a nice presentation to go along with the gore, scare, shock,,, whatever... it makes a world of difference Scott From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Tue Nov 19 16:25:32 1996 From: Ldwarf@aol.com Date: Tue, 19 Nov 1996 19:18:37 -0500 To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: Guillotine execution in place of chair Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com you could have a live actor on the table, with his head tucked into a hole in the table surface, and a fake head on the other side... Just a Thought Scott From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Tue Nov 19 16:25:38 1996 From: Ldwarf@aol.com Date: Tue, 19 Nov 1996 19:18:33 -0500 To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: the chair!! Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com In a message dated 96-11-19 09:43:31 EST, you write: << Subj: the chair!! Date: 96-11-19 09:43:31 EST From: mmarcrum@ix.netcom.com (Michael Marcrum) Sender: owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Reply-to: halloween-l@netcom.com To: halloween-l@netcom.com Just a note, the criminal is in most cases blindfolded so if you want blood dripping it should come from under the eye mask. ok... can things get any more cool than that... it would look twice as nasty.. and be as simple to rig...love it....... Scott From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Tue Nov 19 16:25:40 1996 From: Ldwarf@aol.com Date: Tue, 19 Nov 1996 19:18:42 -0500 To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: Guillotine execution in place of chair Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com In a message dated 96-11-19 14:08:07 EST, you write: Isn't there a magician's gimick with this in mind. I've seen it in a few magic shows. Anyone have the plans? Or interested in designing them? --Jason <> >> Hey Bruce K. are you still in this group??????/ someone should look back into the pre halloween postings.. i believe an old Boss of mine was selling a guillotine that he used in his act... i think he can be reached at Nostalgia1@aol.com. or something like that... does this ring any bells... ah heck someone must have the old post with his E-Mail address Scott From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Tue Nov 19 17:04:41 1996 From: Ldwarf@aol.com Date: Tue, 19 Nov 1996 19:54:26 -0500 To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: i need some help...LONG RAMBLE Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com In a message dated 96-11-19 11:13:36 EST, you write: The part about the priest, now that would make it offical. Yes I could see it now. The idea of having the lights dim abit, great. The phone could ring afterwards, and the gard could answer it and say "It's too late, we just fryed em" {sort of reminds me of a tales from the crypt episode} Jay >> hey Jay, thanks i kinda thought the priest thing would make it a bit "over the top"........i have never been able to wathc tales from the crypt... i find the voice of the crypt keeper to grate on my nearves... and then my eyes bleed....... GO FIGURE.. Scott From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Tue Nov 19 19:53:09 1996 Date: Tue, 19 Nov 1996 21:45:35 -0600 (CST) To: halloween-l@netcom.com From: DJ Subject: Don, you've been cheated! Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Hello, fellow ghouls, Today I was just catching up on my reading, and noticed an article in the October 20 State Journal-Register from Springfield, Illinois. (Ahem! I've been busy, ya know!) Anyway, the front page has an article called "It's beginning to look a lot like Halloween." I found part of it to be interesting reading: (intro with mention of local yard with tombstones deleted) "And it's not just limited to central Illinois. Part of an Internet web page from Laguna Hills, California, is devoted to photographs of haunted garages and instructions for making elaborate outdoor flying ghosts, artificial fog, Halloween music, tombstones, skeletons, eerie lighting and plaster castings. There are even recipes for grossly unattractive party food: gnarled witches fingers, rat cakes, moldy dinner rolls (just add a few drops of green food coloring) and eyeball-shaped hors d'ouevres." (info about local merchants selling halloween items deleted) Hmmm. Don, does that sound familiar? But where's the credit? Why didn't she mention the URL? It's another example of doing all the work and getting none of the glory. Sorry, Don. Anyway, I just thought you might want to know you made the paper. And if you wanna put this writer's name on one of your tombstones next year, drop me an email and I'll send it to ya. DJ, who expects to be reading the outcome of the presidential election any day now From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Tue Nov 19 19:55:22 1996 Date: Tue, 19 Nov 1996 22:52:16 -0400 From: Jason R To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: How to post, Was,Re: i need some help...LONG RAMBLE Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Okay, some note on posting. Not ment to offend, just to introduce those who are new to this. 1. QOUTE!. Use this symbol > at all times when qouting someone. You only need to put about 1 sentince of there message in, that is enough to refresh someones memory. Here is a exampl Jason R Said, >How do I qoute, can someone help me?. 2. Dont reply on the same topic, more than 2 times with things like. "Okay, I like this idea", then in the next message say "Hey, I think it would work better if he shook abit" Then send another message "Boy yes, I saw this video where he did shook and blood came out. All of this could be posted into on message with a heading that reads something like "Electic Chair Ideas" 3. Use the Subject line, it is YOUR freand. Many of us have filters, that look at the subject line for us, and then pass the mail along to us or not. You should use words like, "Fog, Effects, Smoke" if that is what your talking about in the message, or words like "Plans, for elecitc chair" if that is what it is about. Remeber your trying to sum up your message in 6 to 15 words. 4. Always spell right, people hate it when you dont spell tings the way you shold. Use the correct pucnuation too, If there is soemting people hate more than anythign is a person who cant type or spel write!. :) 5. DONT USE ALL CAPS TO TYPE! 6. Dont ask things like "I am Elite, Give me WARZ Doods!" or you will be promplty mail-bombed and kicked off the list. 7. Same goes for posting sex stories 8. Ditto for posting stuff like "I am a hacker, I can change your E-mail at will, I am a phone phrek, I love blue boxs. I can bust into any computer in the world and steal data, and make free phone calls." If you do this, I will personaly hunt you down and find you and REALLY hack into your stuff and make your live a liveing hell!. Again, not ment to make anyone mad, or anything here. Just though we should review the basics. Jay -- Jason R Member FDC {Beach Club lighting tech} VRC Homepage, Use it to find out ALL your Disney info needs. --Http://www.vivanet.com/~thelazer -- "I told'em the truth, and they fell for it"-Harry Anderson. From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Tue Nov 19 20:14:54 1996 Date: Tue, 19 Nov 1996 22:08:47 -0600 (CST) To: halloween-l@netcom.com From: DJ Subject: easy, gross recipe Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Hi, fellow ghouls, I just got my new sorority cookbook today ("Let's Party", by Beta Sigma Phi) and ran across the following from Rene Stanley: * * * * * COTTON SWABS WITH EAR WAX Ingredients: 1 pound white chocolate chips yellow food coloring Directions: Arrange 6 lollopop sticks on each of 2 waxed-paper-lined baking sheets. Heat 2 inches of water in the bottom of a double boiler; do not boil. cook the chocolate chips over the simmering water over low heat until melted, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat. Spoon the chocolate onto the waxed paper, partially covering the ends of each stick. Freeze for 15 minutes or until hard. Brush the food coloring on the tips to resemble ear wax. Yield: 12 swabs. * * * * * And you thought we just had tea and crumpets at those sorority brunches... DJ, who's relieved to know some of her sorority sisters may be just as, um, "unconventional" as she is From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Tue Nov 19 21:22:52 1996 Date: Wed, 20 Nov 1996 00:17:19 -0500 (EST) To: halloween-l@netcom.com From: David Janoskie Subject: Re: Couple of questions from a new guy on the list Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com At 12:44 AM 11/18/96 -0800, you wrote: [snip..] >My questions: How did you get the Karo out of the foam? You didn't end up with a red >tub? [snip..] > >karen p >cproctor@flash.net > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------- Reply: The tub had been filled with 2 gallons of Karo syrup and then I filled the rest with water. This thinned the syrup considerably, yet still left a red color for the effect. I also threw some of the syrup on the tiles on the wall surounding the tub for dripping. Yes, it DID leave a red tub after I pulled the plug, but 10 minutes with Clorox gel and water cleaned everything to its original pristine state. (Think I could get an endorsement from Clorox? I can see it now, " Yes! you too, can get rid of the blood from your tub after you finish carving your victims! Just use this!") The body parts were latex on the outside and painted with red. There were some holes in the latex made so that way air can get inside to fill the foam and that's where the water came in and drained out of. I guess maybe just leaving everything outside for a couple of days will take care of the water inside the parts. Dave Janoskie djan@erols.com From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Wed Nov 20 03:20:17 1996 Date: Wed, 20 Nov 96 06:14:32 EST To: halloween-l@netcom.com From: Bill Lewis Subject: Re: Electricution Chair Plans (my own) Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com At 07:18 PM 11/19/96 -0500, you wrote: >ah, sounds cool .......... when can we see them ? > >Scott To all list memebers. I have a workable design now, but the actual plans have not been drawn up yet. So far I have designed a 3D wireframe model, and have exported (*.jpg) that to create a, more or less, artists concept picture of how it may look. I can make this immediately availible. Plans an/or construction guidelines and drawings will be made available later, as I have time. side note to: BoBandrews from: the" Halloween Guy", The fruitcake has landed, repeat, the fruitcake Has landed, over. end message... Bill Lewis NSWC Carderock Division Code 6060 (301) 227-2742 lewisw@oasys.dt.navy.mil lewisb@erols.com From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Wed Nov 20 03:32:00 1996 Date: Wed, 20 Nov 96 06:26:44 EST To: halloween-l@netcom.com From: Bill Lewis Subject: Re: Couple of questions from a new guy on the list, BANTER Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com At 12:17 AM 11/20/96 -0500, you wrote: >red tub after I pulled the plug, but 10 minutes with Clorox gel and water >cleaned everything to its original pristine state. (Think I could get an >endorsement from Clorox? I can see it now, " Yes! you too, can get rid of >the blood from your tub after you finish carving your victims! Just use this!") I just read an article in the Washington Post (11/14/96, Metro Section) about a couple who have a company that specializes in cleaning up after crime and accident scenes. The guy has developed his own enzyme based cleaning solution to get blood (and whatever) stains out of anything. He's thinking of marketing it. Bill Lewis NSWC Carderock Division Code 6060 (301) 227-2742 lewisw@oasys.dt.navy.mil lewisb@erols.com From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Wed Nov 20 05:59:35 1996 From: milwiron@btprod.com Date: Wed, 20 Nov 1996 07:46:28 -0600 To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Banter Re: Unhappiness re Numerous Messages! Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com At 12:41 PM 11/19/96 -0500, Jeannie wrote in part: >I also don't understand how you can filter posts based solely on the >*subject* line. More often than not, the subject line is useless! Hi Jeannie, Filters can be set up to "look" for key words or phrases in the "from", "sender", date, subject, body, etc. of a message. Nothing is lost when a message is filtered, even though some of my filters send certain posts to the trash, all final deletions are done manually. The filters actually prioritize incoming mail. I run two small companies that both receive business related e-mails daily. Filters allow me to take care of customers and business before dealing with which turnoff to take to a Wal-Mart 2,000 miles away. I lose fewer important messages if everything isn't tossed into one big pile. If some non-business posts are misplaced, most likely I'll find them later. While I wouldn't suggest a filter capable program to folks only on the Net as hobbyists, filters do come in handy when trying to conduct business. Denny B.T. Productions' Terror By Design Haunt Supplies & Scare Wares From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Wed Nov 20 07:52:01 1996 Date: Wed, 20 Nov 1996 10:44:17 -0500 (EST) From: Jennifer Etowski To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: A Good Source of Chemistry Info Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Too bad you did not grab the plastic displays they had at k mart and toys orus.They looked like stacks of skulls. On Mon, 11 Nov 1996, Carl Stowell wrote: > Mike Marcrum wrote: > > > > Carl, > > Great idea on the skulls popping out. I think hubby is planning on > > doing something with a waterfall made of skulls and things with a pool > > underneath. Then he wants to make sort of a two way mirror in the pool > > with a TV monitor under it. So we will see what happens. I like the idea > > of the skulls popping out in the Creature from the black lagoon area... > > kathy > > the new kid on the crypt > > mmarcrum@ix.netcom.com > > You can also use 50 gallon drums to recycle water. I used one on my blood-gushing body and it worked perfect. A drum is a little harder to > conceal but has a lot less splash-out and spill-over than a kiddie pool. It also requires a lot less water for acceptable use. > > -- > ________________________________________________________________________ > Carl F. Stowell /\ "Develop for it? I'll piss on it!" > Network Administrator || -W. Gates stand on Microsoft's software > Robinson, Farmer, Cox Assoc.|| development strategy for Next computers. > mailto:cstowell@cstone.net \/ http://www.cstone.net/~cstowell > ->My rantings do not reflect my company's, however they are similar<- > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Wed Nov 20 08:05:41 1996 Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 17:42:53 -0800 From: Michael Marcrum To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: Couple of questions from a new guy on the list, BANTER Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Bill, I saw them on TV the other night. They are thinking about opening offices in other major cities with high crime rates. They said that they are so very busy that they had to hire new help. When asked if it was a tough job, they said that you get used to it after awhile. Nice gory subject... Kathy the new kid on the crypt mmarcrum@ix.netcom.com From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Wed Nov 20 09:40:35 1996 From: "Jim Baggett" To: Subject: One scare several chills (I hope) Date: Wed, 20 Nov 1996 12:26:12 -0500 Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com My husband mentioned before Halloween about using the motor and arm of Doug's Crank Ghost to make a ball float. We didn't have time to work on the idea really before Halloween but have been giving it some thought since. Here is what we are thinking. Like I said using Doug's motor and arm attached to a childs ball. One that will glow in blacklight. As the arm turns the ball would appear to bounce by itself. While the ball is bouncing we will play a tape of one of our young daughters asking for the person to play with her. In the whiney voice kids use. Then turn off the light and have her say. "I know lets play hide and go seek. You're it." At the same time someone would tap them. As the person continues though the haunt, which in our case is in the woods, we can have branches move and children giggleing, and taunting the person to find them. We think that they will be kept wondering when someone was going to tap them again. Which should keep them tense enough to make the other scares thoughout the haunt that much more intense. Anyway that is the main idea. I don't know if I explained it well enough. I'm sure there are those among you who can come up with ideas to help enhance this. So what do you think? Charmaine From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Wed Nov 20 12:45:44 1996 Date: Wed, 20 Nov 1996 15:24:45 -0800 From: Aneurysm To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: One scare several chills (I hope) Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Jim Baggett wrote: > > My husband mentioned before Halloween about using the motor and arm of > Doug's Crank Ghost to make a ball float. We didn't have time to work on > the idea really before Halloween but have been giving it some thought > since. Here is what we are thinking. Like I said using Doug's motor and > arm attached to a childs ball. One that will glow in blacklight. As the > arm turns the ball would appear to bounce by itself. While the ball is > bouncing we will play a tape of one of our young daughters asking for the > person to play with her. In the whiney voice kids use. Then turn off the > light and have her say. "I know lets play hide and go seek. You're it." > At the same time someone would tap them. As the person continues though > the haunt, which in our case is in the woods, we can have branches move > and children giggleing, and taunting the person to find them. We think > that they will be kept wondering when someone was going to tap them again. > Which should keep them tense enough to make the other scares thoughout the > haunt that much more intense. > > Anyway that is the main idea. I don't know if I explained it well enough. > I'm sure there are those among you who can come up with ideas to help > enhance this. So what do you think? > > CharmaineI think thats a really a neat idea I wonder i you would be able to tape your daughter on one of those old fashion cameras( you now those cheesy projector ones where the picture is real grainy and theres no sound) you could then flash pictures of her running through the woods so she'd look like a ghost . HAVE A NICE DAY!!!! AneUrYm From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Wed Nov 20 14:01:35 1996 To: halloween-l From: William E Rompala Date: 20 Nov 96 14:52:16 Subject: Re: Halloween Club Stores Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com > they are there year-round and they don't do mail order (sorry Scott). AAAAHHH!! Figures. The stores here in the Philly (PA) area closed up shop and left really quick this year. No long term clearance sales etc. -W -=- William Rompala Rompala Consulting http://www.netaxs.com/~romwil romwil@netaxs.com rompala_william@jpmorgan.com From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Wed Nov 20 15:23:14 1996 Date: Wed, 20 Nov 1996 17:49:39 From: JBKadel@gnn.com (Jim Kadel) To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: Banter: A lot of messages Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Please forgive if I repeat what I sent earlier today...I personally never rec'd it from Halloween-L: It seems from the comments (see below) that the term "Digest" was not understood. A "Digest" is a formal Listserver term. There is a "Digest command" (on many Lists) like the "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" command. It has nothing to do with "pay" or "free" Lists - I don't even know what a 'pay' List is. Digests are NOT manually produced, the Listserver's computer/s does all the work, automatically. Digest-ing is a way to reduce the number of individual pieces of Email from a list. i.e. if you request it, you would only rec'v ONE large message (Digest) each day, but it would contain ALL of that day's messages (an uncut collection of 24 hours activity on the List). You could then apply any mail filtering that you wished to the Digest, just as some are doing now. Ref.: recent statements *************************************** Don B. says, in part: ====================== >Regarding digest's, if anyone would like to volunnter to sort >thru each days posts, cut it down to size and post it everyday, >email me. I'll setup/maintain a seperate mailing list, you'll >have to do all the work. (posting) Later Don says in another message: ================================== >I'm still looking for a volunteer to handle the digest. Harry had said, directed at me: =============================== >ell Jim, the answer would be very simple. Would YOU want to go >through the list and compile a daily report to mail out each >day on a volunteer basis? If this was a pay list, I could see >it,....snip From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Wed Nov 20 21:35:07 1996 From: DWFWW@jazz.ucc.uno.edu Date: Wed, 20 Nov 1996 23:28:04 -0600 (CST) Subject: Re: One scare several chills (I hope) To: halloween-l@netcom.com Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Charmaine, You wrote: >I'm sure there are those among you who can come up with ideas to help >enhance this. So what do you think? Go right to the source, and ask the horse. ;-) One thing you might do is use a faster Dayton gearmotor for this, since the prop ball is light and won't require a lot of torque. Options include: Model 2Z810 60 RPM (one bounce per sec.) Model 2Z811 120 RPM (two bounces per second) Model 2Z812 200 RPM (even faster ;-) ) If you use the 2Z806, the ball will appear to move in slow motion. Perhaps this is what you want. This is an interesting idea. I'd like to know how your audience reacts to it, if you do get around to implementing it! -Doug *********************************************************************** * Safety, Courtesy, Show and Efficiency: * Doug Ferguson * * The Keys To The Kingdom * dwfww@jazz.ucc.uno.edu * *********************************************************************** From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Wed Nov 20 21:38:56 1996 From: DWFWW@jazz.ucc.uno.edu Date: Wed, 20 Nov 1996 23:31:47 -0600 (CST) Subject: How-to, Part 3 To: halloween-l@netcom.com Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com A brief reminder: This series of articles is not aimed at the experienced haunt designer/builder, but at the individual who is just starting out, who wishes to learn what is involved in the process of imagineering, and would like to acquire some basic techniques which will help in bringing that process to life. Once again, feedback, both negative and positive, is welcome. This document completes the discussion of the steps involved in the overall process of imagineering, as described in part 1. ---------------- Halloween: Just Imagine! - Part 3 - The Steps of Imagineering (2 - 7) - Get a mental picture of how this might be presented in the space you have to work with. Make sketches or models of your ideas, and decide on a visual style to unify them. Make decisions in advance regarding possible safety issues relating to your attraction space. After we have settled upon a story and script, we are left in consideration of _setting_. For those who are involved in enhancing the Trick-or-Treat environment of their neighborhood, the setting is usually an ordinary dwelling. For those involved in charitable organizations, it probably consists of whatever facility or property might be acquired in the form of a temporary donation. For the professional, it could be just about anything, from an empty tract of land offered for purchase, to an existing haunted attraction that drew attention as a 'fixer-upper'. Starting Small Let's examine possibilities suggested by a beginner's typical first venue - the common home. In most cases, there is nothing even remotely frightening about the average suburban house. There's almost always a front yard, usually a driveway, and often a garage of some sort, elements that make up the stage upon which the haunt must be built. To convert this ordinary setting into a movie stage would be prohibitive to all but the most dedicated (and wealthy) fanatic. We'll assume that we aren't in possession of the huge flats required to convert the facade of our home to Baron Von Frankenstein's castle, or even Norman Bates' humble abode. What happens when we take away the possibility of reliance on these expensive props, but keep the demand for drama? We are left with a simple stage, creative use of lighting, and a few simple props. In order to consider what the best use of our limited resources might be, we also need to think about how the haunted yard might be viewed. There are basically three possibilities, and usually, they all apply in some fashion to every home haunt. Your scene may be: - Seen for a few seconds (or longer) by passers-by in automobiles - Seen for a minute or more by onlookers from the sidewalk - Seen from within for several minutes by Trick-or-Treaters or Guests If you decorate for Halloween, you _will_ be visited. If you expect that most of your 'traffic' will be drive-by, your approach to decor should be aimed in that direction. Concentrate on one central piece in the display, and stage it such that it is framed by the rest of the attraction. Size, position, and lighting are the key to this. - Decide upon the actual props and actors you will include to carry out the theme of your attraction, and decide what role each will play in the finished production. - With a combination of props, actors and setting decided upon, consider the role of lighting and sound, and movement. Begin development of any technical systems you will need to make these work for you. Picture the following, expanded from an example in the previous section: A passing car slows, attracted by a patch of Jack O'Lanterns. In the center of this is a darkened figure, seated upon a horse. As the car approaches, the equestrian figure is suddenly bathed in light, and is seen to be a headless horseman, holding his Jack O'Lantern head. He exclaims, 'Happy Halloween!' as his eyes flash.* If you expect a lot of walk-up traffic, you may wish to reward this more intimate audience with another special effect.** You could have a recording of a short verse, story or sound effect that plays, and a second lighting or mechanical effect might be presented. On Halloween night, the third audience scenario is almost inevitable, if your neighborhood still accepts (or trusts) the custom. In addition to the other triggered effects, you might wish to be in costume, or backstage triggering more devices. The list of possibilities would be endless, and a brief look at the Halloween-L archives will reveal many examples. On to Bigger Things We will not deal directly here with large-scale venues. However, please take the following advice to heart: If you find yourself bitten by the bug, and would like to become involved in a full-scale haunted attraction, there are many of these which actively look for volunteers. As with many other 'apprenticed' professions, the best way to become a haunt-pro is to 'pay dues' as a volunteer in a charity haunt. You will quickly learn what works and what doesn't, what sorts of problems typically occur (both in terms of facility and personnel politics,) and what is required by the local building, fire, and safety inspectors. It is not the intent of this series of articles to explain the workings of haunt management, as there are a few decent books on that subject already available. Remember, though, that no book can substitute for hands-on experience. Trying to put on a haunted attraction based solely upon what has been gleaned from text is an exercise in exasperation, if not in futility. Using a modest home setting, cut your teeth on basic imagineering. Make some things work, and revel in them. Then, when you show up as a volunteer and demonstrate what you can do, you may find yourself suddenly singled out for a position in the hierarchy. Your author discovered this technique for himself, and ended up writing these articles on the process after years of experience. - Carry out tests of your systems, and make sure they are capable of safely and reliably doing what you want them to before you assemble the final versions to go into your setting. This is the time for the inevitable revisions, and perhaps even a few compromises. The above step is pretty well self-explanatory. More information about how to make adjustments when a design fails will come in future articles. It should be stressed that the best way to become familiar with the quirks of mechanical and electrical systems is to be involved with them as often as possible. If you are not comfortable with mechanisms, but find yourself fascinated nonetheless, reading books in the 'How Things Work' genre is a good start. One of the best exercises a beginning imagineer can undertake is the disassembling old mechanical toys and malfunctioning appliances. This will help you learn not to be afraid to dig into things. Observe how mechanical linkages work, how geared motors are employed, and how they interface with the user. What you want to achieve, ultimately, is an intuitive vocabulary of conceptual mechanisms that come quickly to mind when you wish to create a device that achieves a certain movement or effect. This is one of the most important assets any Halloween imagineer can possess. Ergo, tinker and be ye nosy! - Build the attraction, and execute a dry-run or 'dress rehearsal', and correct any problems that develop. As obvious as this step may seem, it is the one that is ignored most often, along with the previous step (debugging.) The author has seen a frightening number of attractions try to open on their first scheduled night, only to shut down for repairs after only a handful of guests were admitted. This is not only embarrassing, but also unprofessional. - Open the attraction to the public. This is positively the most intimidating part of the process, but it can also be the most rewarding. A toast of some sort would be most appropriate at this point, as well as at the closing of the attraction for the season. Spare no expense on the beverage - it was your hard work that helped to make the whole thing possible! ------ In the next article, we begin the baptism of fire: Learning to use the humble soldering iron. --------------------------- Footnotes: * A scene such as this is relatively easy to accomplish, and you will be able to understand how to make it work economically by the end of this series of articles. The figure of the horseman can be as simple as a plywood cutout, and the device that triggers the lighting and sound can be built from parts to be found at the local discount store and Radio Shack. Remember, however, that this series is not intended as a 'pattern book'. What we are out to do is to teach you to think like an imagineer, and to personalize your displays. ** A second, dedicated infrared movement detector would be positioned to sense pedestrians only, and trigger the dedicated effect. *********************************************************************** * Safety, Courtesy, Show and Efficiency: * Doug Ferguson * * The Keys To The Kingdom * dwfww@jazz.ucc.uno.edu * *********************************************************************** From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Wed Nov 20 22:17:02 1996 From: Maryanne Torgerson To: "'halloween-l'" Subject: FW: Anyone attending Rustycon or Norwescon? Date: Wed, 20 Nov 1996 22:11:17 -0800 Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com ---------- From: Brian D. Oberquell[SMTP:bdosfx@wimsey.com] Sent: Friday, November 15, 1996 12:37 PM To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Anyone attending Rustycon or Norwescon? I was wondering if any of the northwestern list members (or anyone else, for that matter) was planning on attending Rustycon in January or Norwescon in march -- perhaps we could arrange some sort of get-together, since everyone else seems to be doing it...? Brian I used to attend Norwescon regularly. Don't like the new location at Sea-Tac, since the traffic's bad and the parking scarce. But, it would be worth all that if there were going to be fellow halloween-l members there! Maryanne From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Wed Nov 20 23:00:02 1996 To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: One scare several chills (I hope) From: mail2pj@juno.com (Phyllis J Persun) Date: Thu, 21 Nov 1996 00:19:24 EST Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Charmaine Baggett wrote: <> > since. Here is what we are thinking. Like I said using Doug's motor and > arm attached to a childs ball. One that will glow in blacklight. As the > arm turns the ball would appear to bounce by itself. While the ball is > bouncing we will play a tape of one of our young daughters asking for the > person to play with her. In the whiney voice kids use. Then turn off the > light and have her say. "I know lets play hide and go seek. You're it." <> This sounds like a cool idea! Are you planning to base your entire haunt around the hide-and-go-seek theme, or are you going to have other kinds of scares, too? Some kids' toys could be 'spooked-up' (broken,w/cobwebs, etc.) and set along the edge of the woods to add to the effect. You could also have a little girl (real or not) "appear", or jump into the path, and announce "You found me!" at/towards the end. From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Thu Nov 21 05:43:51 1996 From: milwiron@btprod.com Date: Thu, 21 Nov 1996 07:28:27 -0600 To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: Banter: A lot of messages Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com At 05:49 PM 11/20/96, you wrote: >ONE large message (Digest) each day, but it would contain ALL of >that day's messages (an uncut collection of 24 hours activity on >the List). You could then apply any mail filtering that you >wished to the Digest, just as some are doing now. > I would be interested in hearing more about your mail program that can dissect a single,large e-mail message into appropriate pieces and then filter the parts as you mention. What is the name and maker of the program? Where is it available? Sounds like a great tool to have. Denny From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Thu Nov 21 06:49:02 1996 From: JimK60@aol.com Date: Thu, 21 Nov 1996 09:33:15 -0500 To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: Banter: A lot of messages Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com In a message dated 96-11-21 08:38:47 EST, you write: >I would be interested in hearing more about your mail program that can >dissect a single,large e-mail message into appropriate pieces and then >filter the parts as you mention. What is the name and maker of the program? >Where is it available? Sounds like a great tool to have. >Denny In response to what I wrote, earlier as part of my explaination of "Digest": >>You could then apply any mail filtering that you >>wished to the Digest, just as some are doing now. As yet I use no "special mail filter program". However, I just took one month (see below) of another List's daily Digests and "filtered it" with my word processor for all the messages on a given subject. I just let the "find function" do its thing - worked great to cull all the needed info. This other List not only provides a daily Digest but also automatically stores a concatenation of them (until they become 1-month Digests) at an archiving location. That way, you can check on all the messages sent this month (or any month), starting with yesterday. You often hear list members wanting to know what went on while they were "away" or if their own Internet service fails. Thus "Digest-ing" might help that problem. I don't mean to belabor the Digest point or throw any stones at Halloween-L. I think we all learn from experience, and this is just mine on another List. Also think that my Digest point was misunderstood as being more work for Don Bertino. Jim Kadel (JBKadel@gnn.com) From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Thu Nov 21 06:54:32 1996 From: "Jim Baggett" To: Subject: Hansel and Gretel Date: Thu, 21 Nov 1996 09:46:38 -0500 Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com First thanks for the input on the hide and seek scare. I love the ideas. I don't think I'm capable of doing the projected ghost. We'll see. Here is another of the ideas for next year. We thought we could build a gingerbread house front, probably out of cardboard. In front of this we will have a cauldron, a cage with one of our daughters in it and a witch dummy in a chair. As the victims approach Colleen in the cage, she will beg them to be quiet and not wake the witch. And to please get her out of there. The witch is going to eat her as soon as she is fattened up. Hopefully they will at least get closer to the cage. At this point, using Carls leaping Loafer mechanics, the witch will stand up. We can have body parts in the cauldron. And since we don't want Colleen out there by herself, we were thinking about hanging someone in the tree there who would be made to look like they are missing the leg the witch has in her lap. Of course we could do this without the body parts if we wanted to do gore free. As I'm sure you all know some of the fairey tales are actually quite scarey when you think about them Oh I was just thinking there is a big hole out there. Maybe we can build a bridge over it and put a troll under it to chase people. Well this is as far as I've thought. Anyone have any other ideas. I'm sure you do. Charmaine From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Thu Nov 21 07:39:09 1996 From: allconen@btigate.com Date: Thu, 21 Nov 1996 08:33:57 -0800 To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: FW: Anyone attending Rustycon or Norwescon? Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com I know there's a couple folks from Seattle out there; we're from Nebraska, but I'm planning a trip out to Seattle to see family. I think I must have missed something though. Please explain what Rustycon and Norwescon are. Thanks. Debbie Faber allconen@btigate.com From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Thu Nov 21 07:43:07 1996 Date: Thu, 21 Nov 1996 10:39:43 -0400 From: Jason R To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Snow! effects Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Well, this should have gone on the Christmiss list, but I lost the address, so if someone has it, PLEASE send it to me. Anyways, got a chance to play with a Ameracn DJ Snow Storm last night. It is pretty cool. Turn it on, and out comes the snow. Looking at it, it doesnt seem hard to build. Bascily a pump that takes your fliud and whips it up to foam. The foam is then pumped into a tube that has a cover on it, sort of like pantyhose. This cover allows some of the foam to come thur at a time, {Theyby breaking it up into small peaces} finally a fan just blows the stuff of the pantyhose stuff and into the air. Well, it a bit nosy, but it does look good. The output is nice, nothing like what Davied Copperfeild has on his show. But still pretty cool. Jay From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Thu Nov 21 08:53:49 1996 Date: Thu, 21 Nov 1996 08:37:33 -0800 (PST) From: Don Bertino To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: TALK: Digests Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com On Thu, 21 Nov 1996 JimK60@aol.com wrote: Hi Jim, > You often hear list members wanting to know what went on while they were > "away" or if their own Internet service fails. Thus "Digest-ing" might help > that problem. > > I don't mean to belabor the Digest point or throw any stones at Halloween-L. > I think we all learn from experience, and this is just mine on another List. > Also think that my Digest point was misunderstood as being more work for > Don Bertino. I understand this. So once again, Netcom does not have that option available with their Majordomo's. I have investagated other services, and ask other opinions, and have decided that Netcom's fast delivery (less than 1/2 hour now in most cases) is better than 2-3 day deliveries and freq. down times and digests. As well as making me switch providers or paying for it extra. So the only way right now for digest's is if someone does it outside the majordomo, either by hand or by script. don bertino@netcom.com ____/^\_____________________________________ Disney ascii art & / \ || FDC MCP || / \ animations are at <______\ [] [] [] || [] [] [] || [] [] [] /______> http://www.calweb.com \----------------||----------||----------------/=== /~bertino===============\______________||__________||______________/===== From owner-xmas-l@majordomo.netcom.com Thu Nov 21 09:04:22 1996 Date: Thu, 21 Nov 1996 09:00:46 -0800 (PST) From: Don Bertino To: halloween-l@netcom.com, xmas-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: Snow! effects Reply-To: xmas-l@netcom.com On Thu, 21 Nov 1996, Jason R wrote: Hi Jay, > Well, this should have gone on the Christmiss list, but I lost the > address, so if someone has it, PLEASE send it to me. It's xmas-l@netcom.com > Anyways, got a chance to play with a Ameracn DJ Snow Storm last night. > It is pretty cool. Turn it on, and out comes the snow. Looking at it, > it doesnt seem hard to build. Bascily a pump that takes your fliud and > whips it up to foam. The foam is then pumped into a tube that has a > cover on it, sort of like pantyhose. This cover allows some of the > foam to come thur at a time, {Theyby breaking it up into small peaces} > finally a fan just blows the stuff of the pantyhose stuff and into the > air. I was up at the Silver Legecy in Reno last week. They were working on a new show for the Mining Machine. (For everyone who has been there, imagine a casino with a huge dome over it. Within the dome is a huge silver ore/boiler/cleaner/stamping machine. Faked of course, but pretty impressive) The new show was a christmas show, with evles and Santa. Where the evles turn the stamping machine into the worlds largest cookie machine, but of course, it gets hit with lighting. (Impressive) Anyway, at the end they have 5 or 6 of these machines way, way up there. The whole dome is fill with *snow*, but it all disappears by the time it nears the ground. Great effect. bertino@netcom.com ____/^\_____________________________________ Disney ascii art & / \ || FDC MCP || / \ animations are at <______\ [] [] [] || [] [] [] || [] [] [] /______> http://www.calweb.com \----------------||----------||----------------/=== /~bertino===============\______________||__________||______________/===== From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Thu Nov 21 09:10:39 1996 Date: Thu, 21 Nov 1996 09:00:46 -0800 (PST) From: Don Bertino To: halloween-l@netcom.com, xmas-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: Snow! effects Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com On Thu, 21 Nov 1996, Jason R wrote: Hi Jay, > Well, this should have gone on the Christmiss list, but I lost the > address, so if someone has it, PLEASE send it to me. It's xmas-l@netcom.com > Anyways, got a chance to play with a Ameracn DJ Snow Storm last night. > It is pretty cool. Turn it on, and out comes the snow. Looking at it, > it doesnt seem hard to build. Bascily a pump that takes your fliud and > whips it up to foam. The foam is then pumped into a tube that has a > cover on it, sort of like pantyhose. This cover allows some of the > foam to come thur at a time, {Theyby breaking it up into small peaces} > finally a fan just blows the stuff of the pantyhose stuff and into the > air. I was up at the Silver Legecy in Reno last week. They were working on a new show for the Mining Machine. (For everyone who has been there, imagine a casino with a huge dome over it. Within the dome is a huge silver ore/boiler/cleaner/stamping machine. Faked of course, but pretty impressive) The new show was a christmas show, with evles and Santa. Where the evles turn the stamping machine into the worlds largest cookie machine, but of course, it gets hit with lighting. (Impressive) Anyway, at the end they have 5 or 6 of these machines way, way up there. The whole dome is fill with *snow*, but it all disappears by the time it nears the ground. Great effect. bertino@netcom.com ____/^\_____________________________________ Disney ascii art & / \ || FDC MCP || / \ animations are at <______\ [] [] [] || [] [] [] || [] [] [] /______> http://www.calweb.com \----------------||----------||----------------/=== /~bertino===============\______________||__________||______________/===== From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Thu Nov 21 10:05:03 1996 From: Scott Axworthy Subject: Re: Banter: A lot of messages To: halloween-l@netcom.com Date: Thu, 21 Nov 1996 09:50:09 -0800 (PST) Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Jim and all: JimK60@aol.com writes: > > You often hear list members wanting to know what went on while they were > "away" or if their own Internet service fails. Thus "Digest-ing" might help > that problem. > > I don't mean to belabor the Digest point or throw any stones at Halloween-L. > I think we all learn from experience, and this is just mine on another List. > Also think that my Digest point was misunderstood as being more work for > Don Bertino. > Time to provide a little more insight into the "digest" and "archiving" capabilities. The software that runs our list is a package called majordomo. There are several mainstream mailing list packages and majordomo is one of the best. I have personally installed and configured majordomo and am painfully aware of its capabilities. Majordomo does have the capability to create digest versions of the list. Within the configuration you specify how large you want the digest to be before it is sent out. So if traffic is light you may only get the digest once in a while. When traffic is heavy it will be more often. The digest version will always be roughly the same size. Majordomo can also do archiving. Archiving takes all messages and groups them into a file (like the digest) and saves then on the server. You can then send majordomo commands to list everything in the archive and/or get things from the archives. Note that neither digesting or archiving do any kind of intelligent processing. They both just save the messages in larger files. This does not address the archiving by topic or condensing topic threads. Majordomo does not have these capabilities. Digesting and archiving can both be useful capabilities. Administration of majordomo is somewhat of a pain. The job of the list owner (Don in our case) is also a pain. Administration, the setting up and configuration of majordomo is done by netcom. List maintenance and some configuration is done by the list owner (Don). Don, being our list owner, cannot do the administrative tasks of majordomo such as adding digesting or archiving. These tasks must be done by netcom and .....here comes the biggy... Netcom does not offer this as part of our service. They are only implementing the main majordomo features. So, while it might be nice to have these features, it is not an option at this time. And, hats off to Don (and our backup Denny) on the wonderful job they have they have done. It is a lot of work sometimes to keep the lists working as smoothly as they do. -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@majordomo.netcom.com Thu Nov 21 16:07:46 1996 From: cheese@adstone.com Date: Thu, 21 Nov 1996 18:56:52 -0500 Subject: Fountain Freaks To: halloween-l@netcom.com Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Well looks like a pump it has to be, pressure washers will not work, My freaks are now orbiting the earth! Carl Chetta From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Thu Nov 21 16:19:13 1996 Date: Thu, 21 Nov 1996 17:02:58 -0700 From: Lauren Jones To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: Candyman Poster -Reply -Reply Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Got them at an SF convention awhile back. If you don't hear from me by Thanksgiving, remind me to check... From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Thu Nov 21 16:25:11 1996 Date: Thu, 21 Nov 1996 17:14:26 -0700 From: Lauren Jones To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: How To Operate...book Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Someone was comparing editions. I had a hallucination and thought mine was bright green. In reality, it's black with a photo of a Victorian mansion with a bright green border. (c) 1985, 1987 Morris Costumes Company, ISBN 0-911-13711-4. 129 pp. From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Thu Nov 21 16:36:39 1996 Date: Thu, 21 Nov 1996 19:30:01 -0400 From: Jason R To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: Snow! effects Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Don Bertino wrote: > The new show was a christmas show, with evles and Santa. Where the evles > turn the stamping machine into the worlds largest cookie machine, but > of course, it gets hit with lighting. (Impressive) Anyway, at the end > they have 5 or 6 of these machines way, way up there. The whole dome is > fill with *snow*, but it all disappears by the time it nears the ground. > > Great effect. Lucky. I cant wait to get to Las Vagas, to see all the lights, and shows and stuff! Hope you won big!. Jay Jason R Member FDC {Beach Club lighting tech} VRC Homepage, Use it to find out ALL your Disney info needs. --Http://www.vivanet.com/~thelazer -- "I told'em the truth, and they fell for it"-Harry Anderson. From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Thu Nov 21 18:47:20 1996 From: Ldwarf@aol.com Date: Thu, 21 Nov 1996 21:40:09 -0500 To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: motion sensor question Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Hi all.. Ive got a question for some of the more technically gifted members out there. I am looking to find a way to use a motion sensor to trigger an effect... i have seen sensors (designed to trigger a yard light , when someone crosses its path) at the local home depot, for 10 or so bucks....(its like a second home to me)...and it would be easy enough to connect the output that would go to the light , to my effect, but so far all of the instructions say that the light can be adjusted to stay on for something like 5 to 10 min. after it is triggered, and that is way too long for what i have in mind... is there a way to " easily " disable this feature, so the effect will only be triggered while the motion is in effect, and no longer.... it would be great to have the effect happen, spook the kids, and then turn off as they pass ...can this be done ???? or have the sensor simply trigger (once ) and use that pulse of juice to in turn trigger a relay(with a built in timer ) so the effect would last for a pre determined length of time ( something in the range of 5 to 10 seconds) and stay off untill the sensor is triggered again ?? OR should i just spend the buck, buy one , and tear it appart and see what makes it tick....OR...should i give up the idea of screwing with a motion sensor designed to light the yard , and look into something different?? any help would be great..Thanks Scott From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Thu Nov 21 19:25:05 1996 From: cloudy@wolfenet.com Date: Thu, 21 Nov 1996 19:19:52 -0800 (PST) To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: FW: Anyone attending Rustycon or Norwescon? Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com >I live in Seattle. Sorry, but what is Rustycon or Norwescon? Clue me in. Colleen and Jeff > >---------- >From: Brian D. Oberquell[SMTP:bdosfx@wimsey.com] >Sent: Friday, November 15, 1996 12:37 PM >To: halloween-l@netcom.com >Subject: Anyone attending Rustycon or Norwescon? > >I was wondering if any of the northwestern list members (or anyone else, >for that matter) was planning on attending Rustycon in January or Norwescon >in march -- perhaps we could arrange some sort of get-together, since >everyone else seems to be doing it...? > >Brian > >I used to attend Norwescon regularly. Don't like the new location at Sea-Tac, since the traffic's bad and the parking scarce. But, it would be worth all that if there were going to be fellow halloween-l members there! > >Maryanne > From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Thu Nov 21 20:48:41 1996 From: Maryanne Torgerson To: "'halloween-l'" Subject: FW: FW: Anyone attending Rustycon or Norwescon? Date: Thu, 21 Nov 1996 20:40:59 -0800 Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com ---------- From: cloudy@wolfenet.com[SMTP:cloudy@wolfenet.com] Sent: Thursday, November 21, 1996 11:20 AM To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: FW: Anyone attending Rustycon or Norwescon? >I live in Seattle. Sorry, but what is Rustycon or Norwescon? Clue me in. Colleen and Jeff > They are science fiction/fantasy conventions. Norwescon is the larger of the two, as it's the Northwest regional convention. Rustycon is more local to Seattle/Everett. Maryanne From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Thu Nov 21 20:54:52 1996 From: DWFWW@jazz.ucc.uno.edu Date: Thu, 21 Nov 1996 22:45:06 -0600 (CST) Subject: Re: motion sensor question To: halloween-l@netcom.com Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com >the light can be adjusted to stay on for something like 5 to 10 min. after >it is triggered, and that is way too long for what i have in mind... Scott, The Wal-Mart $10 special I bought had a third mode which is used for testing. It fires and stays on for about 10-15 seconds, then resets. I opened the case and located the relay - a black box which switches AC to the intended spotlights through traces on the circuit board to which it is mounted. I carefully cut the AC feeder trace, and rewired the switch side of the relay to the trigger inputs of a 555 timer circuit, and the timer runs my effect for any time I set. Take a look at the instruction sheet and see if your unit doesn't also have a 'test' mode. -Doug *********************************************************************** * Safety, Courtesy, Show and Efficiency: * Doug Ferguson * * The Keys To The Kingdom * dwfww@jazz.ucc.uno.edu * *********************************************************************** From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Thu Nov 21 22:08:39 1996 Date: Thu, 21 Nov 1996 21:52:29 -0800 (PST) From: Dave Bell To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: motion sensor question Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com On Thu, 21 Nov 1996, Scott (Ldwarf@aol.com) wrote: > I am looking to find a way to use a motion sensor to trigger an effect... i > have seen sensors (designed to trigger a yard light , when someone crosses > to the light , to my effect, but so far all of the instructions say that > the light can be adjusted to stay on for something like 5 to 10 min. after > it is triggered, and that is way too long for what i have in mind... is there > a way to " easily " disable this feature, so the effect will only be > triggered while the motion is in effect, and no longer.... it would be great > to have the effect happen, spook the kids, and then turn off as they pass > ...can this be done ???? Possibly. There is usually quite a range of adjustment on the timer. > or have the sensor simply trigger (once ) and use > that pulse of juice to in turn trigger a relay(with a built in timer ) so > the effect would last for a pre determined length of time ( something in the > range of 5 to 10 seconds) and stay off untill the sensor is triggered again > ?? That would work well. You'll have to either use an AC-operated relay driven by the output from the lamp controller (letting the contacts trigger the effect and it's timer), or a small DC power adapter which would get it's input from the controller. > OR should i just spend the buck, buy one , and tear it appart and see > what makes it tick... A very good idea, actually. You'll always learn more that way! You'll very likely find that you can change the pot that sets the timer, or eliminate it entirely, and get a very short ON time. > OR...should i give up the idea of screwing with a > motion sensor designed to light the yard, NEVER! It's basically a sound idea. You are starting with a well- designed, sensitive, weatherproof piece of hardware. Adapting it to do what YOU want is a lot of what engineering is all about. > and look into something different?? There are alternatives: This year, I picked up one of those hideous plastic witch masks that screech "Hello, little kiddies!" in the store. They are pretty sensitive, detecting light fluctuations as the victi\\\\\guests walk by. She had flashing LED eyes, so I wired an input to my control computer across one of the eyes. I didn't want the voice, so I pulled a wire off the speaker. Hmm, then it didn't work! Went to Radio Shack, and put a 22 ohm resistor across the pair of wires that went to the speaker. Perfect; no sound, LEDs were even brighter, and I had a real solid input to the computer. Cost all of $9. If I had been ready for the after-Halloween sales, I would have picked up a couple more for next year. Dave From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Thu Nov 21 22:13:02 1996 Date: Fri, 22 Nov 1996 00:58:57 From: JBKadel@gnn.com (Jim Kadel) To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: motion sensor question Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com >should i give up the idea of screwing with a >motion sensor designed to light the yard , and look into >something different?? Scott, Hard to tell (the answer to the above) unless the purpose is a bit more defined. One thing though if you do as Doug has suggested, you might want to narrow the broad view of the sensor via black tape across its lens. For my purposes I rely mostly on mat switches to trigger effects. I am about stock up on some Tapeswitch mat runners. These are 5 lb activated and are placed under rug or mat. They are not cheap at $63 for a five foot length of 30 inch width. However cutting them into one foot or less lengths makes 6 or more very RELIABLE event triggers. Also I have been warned by TAPESWITCH Corp. that their prices will increase (by as much as 10%) after the first of the year. For catalog: 516-694-6312 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Jim Kadel (JBKadel@gnn.com) If it moves and it shouldn't - use duct tape If it doesn't move and it should - reanimate xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Thu Nov 21 22:55:57 1996 From: DWFWW@jazz.ucc.uno.edu Date: Fri, 22 Nov 1996 00:46:09 -0600 (CST) Subject: Re: motion sensor question To: halloween-l@netcom.com Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Jim, Regarding Tapeswitch products, I saw them in use on a dark ride. Apparently the park found them more reliable and cost-effective than either I.R. motion detectors or microswitch-based levers. The main reason that I still use I.R. motion detectors for my Pepper's Ghost window illusion is that the local kids would certainly peel up or destroy anything I put on the tarmac. This year, I narrowed the range of the detector and added a sign that said, in effect, 'wave your hand magically in front of the window for a show!' This kept down the number of accidental triggers by uninterested parties, and added an element of show to the 'attraction': audience participation. To Scott, I would add that the basic benefit provided by I.R. motion detectors is that they work in the pitch dark. If your spectator is in shadow, a photoresistor (CdS) detector simply won't 'see' him/her. Of course, you have absolute control over your setup (or should!) and can make the decisions for yourself. All three systems (I.R./CdS photoresistor/Pressure Sensor) have definite merit. Deciding when/where to use each is a judgement call. Oh, and back to the Tapeswitch dark ride for a humorous anecdote: The Tapeswitch products were being held in position by duct-tape. ;-) Budget imagineering RULES, ghouls! Heh heh heh... -Doug *********************************************************************** * Safety, Courtesy, Show and Efficiency: * Doug Ferguson * * The Keys To The Kingdom * dwfww@jazz.ucc.uno.edu * *********************************************************************** From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Thu Nov 21 23:04:23 1996 Date: Wed, 20 Nov 1996 08:39:03 -0800 From: Michael Marcrum To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: motion sensor question Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Scott, we used one with a strobe light for our two way mirror this year. My husband was having the same problem and then he noticed it had a test mode!! It worked great only stays on for about 30 secs. Runs a strobe light just great and reacted well in a low light situation!! Kathy the new kid on the crypt mmarcrum@ix.netcom.com From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Fri Nov 22 01:01:30 1996 From: JeanniSkip@aol.com Date: Fri, 22 Nov 1996 03:52:06 -0500 To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: Hansel and Gretel Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Charmaine wrote: << As I'm sure you all know some of the fairey tales are actually quite scarey when you think about them >> For a school project, I recently helped my 8 yr old son decorate *Hansel & Gretel's* Gingerbread house to illustrate the story. Since he didn't remember the story, we got out his book and read it together. The most horrific part of the story is NOT the witch fattening them up for dinner (you would expect this behavior from a witch), but their father agreeing with his new wife's demands and taking his kids out in the forest to deliberately lose them! Then, when they found their way home the first time...he did it again!!! Somehow, I remembered this story very differently....here I thought they got lost coming home from a family outing. I missed the moral of this story altogether.... Another example illustrating your point - the ever-popular lullabye, Rock-A-Bye Baby! Rock-a-bye baby on the treetop When the wind blows, the cradle will rock, When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall And down will come baby, cradle and all! And this is meant to be comforting??? A Halloween spookster must have written those lyrics! You know the type - grownups who derive immense pleasure out of scaring the p**p out of innocent little children >:) and regarding your haunt idea: To get them closer to the cage, leave a set of keys just out of her reach, and have your daughter pleading for someone to give them to her. When the unsuspecting person reaches for them, it triggers a sensor causing the Leaping loafer mechanism into action! Just another thought!! Jeanni From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Fri Nov 22 01:01:46 1996 From: JeanniSkip@aol.com Date: Fri, 22 Nov 1996 03:51:52 -0500 To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: Snow! effects Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Don wrote: << The new show was a christmas show, with evles and Santa. Where the evles turn the stamping machine into the worlds largest cookie machine, but of course, it gets hit with lighting. (Impressive) >> The elf or the machine??? (Only a Halloween junkie would appreciate a lightning struck elf!) ;) (just kidding!!) Don, we were there in August and watched it for a LONG time with my 8 yr old son. (it was impressive then, too) But as I recall, *the show* only went into full action once every hour or so...is this new Christmas version running all the time??? Glad to know...may try to get up there this ski season. Jeanni From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Fri Nov 22 01:02:38 1996 From: JeanniSkip@aol.com Date: Fri, 22 Nov 1996 03:52:05 -0500 To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: Banter Re: Unhappiness re Numerous Messages! Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Denny wrote: << Filters can be set up to "look" for key words or phrases in the "from", "sender", date, subject, body, etc. of a message. Nothing is lost when a message is filtered >> Hi, Denny! Thanks for the info!!! That explains a lot (in fact, you answered many questions in one post). So these filter programs scan the entire text of each and every post and sort them by topic as well? Wow! Are they expensive? easy to use? Sounds like something I would love to have! Is Eudora-whoever (?) the most common?? Now, on the subject of *Me, too* posts and *Thank you's*. Forgive me - but as this post is not Halloween specific and mostly a thank you, I wrestled with whether to send it directly to you or to the list. This is kind of a grey area to me. To send or not to send, that is the question. While my *thanks* only could go directly to you...I opted to post this via the list in case any other listmembers would also be interested in a reply to my filter questions (even tho its not Halloween related). Any opinions??? Jeanni (trying to cooperate) From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Fri Nov 22 04:19:55 1996 Date: Fri, 22 Nov 1996 07:24:14 -0500 To: halloween-l@netcom.com From: "John P. Jeffries" Subject: Re: Fountain Freaks Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com At 06:56 PM 11/21/96 -0500, you wrote: >Well looks like a pump it has to be, pressure washers will not work, My >freaks are now orbiting the earth! > Carl Chetta > > So THAT'S what I saw in the telescope! I thoutht we were being invaded by "The heads from outer-space" (Humm, good B movie material there...) John From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Fri Nov 22 04:28:21 1996 From: milwiron@btprod.com Date: Fri, 22 Nov 1996 06:12:46 -0600 To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re:Banter Mail programs was- Unhappiness Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com At 03:52 AM 11/22/96 -0500, you wrote: >Denny wrote: > ><< Filters can be set up to "look" for key words or phrases in the "from", > "sender", date, subject, body, etc. of a message. Nothing is lost when a > message is filtered >> > >Hi, Denny! > >Thanks for the info!!! That explains a lot (in fact, you answered many >questions in one post). So these filter programs scan the entire text of >each and every post and sort them by topic as well? Hi Jeanni, My 2.2, 32 bit version (they're up to 3.0) of Eudora Pro has a filter system that has 5 drop down boxes that contain 30 individual choices of what, where and how to look for a key word or phrase. Then there two input boxes for user designated keywords. So it will look anywhere in a post for the words you tell it too and then gives you choice of the actions you want to take. >Wow! Are they >expensive? I think I paid around $40.00 for Eudora Pro.? >easy to use? Much easier than I've made it sound! It takes some playing around with it to get the results you want and minimize mistakes but as long as you're not doing a full delete on a post, mistakes are not fatal. >Sounds like something I would love to have! Is >Eudora-whoever (?) the most common?? I tried other mail programs and settled in on Eudora, it was the easiest for "ME" to feel comfortable with. I'm not sure what is available today but most mail programs are available as trial sized freeware versions with reduced features so you can get an idea what you're in for before you buy. There is a freeware Eudora Lite that you can down load, it doesn't have filters or spell check last I checked but has most of Eudora's other features. You'll find the maker's home page at . Maybe others have recommendations on similar mail programs they're happy with. >Now, on the subject of *Me, too* posts and *Thank you's*. Forgive me - but >as this post is not Halloween specific and mostly a thank you, I wrestled >with whether to send it directly to you or to the list. This is kind of a >grey area to me. To send or not to send, that is the question. The subject of mail programs was in reply to complaints on the list, so I don't think we're wrong posting to the list at this point. Don has asked that posts like this be listed under "banter", which we've done. I've also changed the subject header to better reflect where we're going with this. Denny B.T. Productions' Terror By Design Haunt Supplies & Scare Wares From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Fri Nov 22 06:31:12 1996 Date: Fri, 22 Nov 1996 08:23:38 -0800 From: The Proctors To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: Fairy Tales Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com > Charmaine wrote: > > << As I'm sure you all know some of the fairey tales are actually quite > scarey when you think about them >> If you decide to expand on the fairy tale idea, you could also use some version of Red Riding Hood. A wolf chasing her thru the woods. Or maybe a spilled basket of goodies & a red cape laying on the ground somewhere, no live actor problem there! karen p cproctor@flash.net From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Fri Nov 22 06:41:30 1996 Date: Fri, 22 Nov 1996 09:35:26 -0500 (EST) From: Nancy Miller To: Halloween Listserv Subject: SciFi/Fan Conventions Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Hey, if there are any Midwesterners who attend those in my neck of woods - let me know. I'm always looking for conventioneers. But you must know how to do the Time Warp. Nancy On Thu, 21 Nov 1996, Maryanne Torgerson wrote: > > ---------- > From: cloudy@wolfenet.com[SMTP:cloudy@wolfenet.com] > Sent: Thursday, November 21, 1996 11:20 AM > To: halloween-l@netcom.com > Subject: Re: FW: Anyone attending Rustycon or Norwescon? > > >I live in Seattle. Sorry, but what is Rustycon or Norwescon? Clue me in. > Colleen and Jeff > > > > They are science fiction/fantasy conventions. Norwescon is the larger of the two, as it's the Northwest regional convention. Rustycon is more local to Seattle/Everett. > > Maryanne > ****************************************** namiller@umich.edu/NPPC/Phoenix Rising, Inc. From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Fri Nov 22 06:51:29 1996 Date: Fri, 22 Nov 1996 09:50:56 -0500 (EST) To: halloween-l@netcom.com From: jdunfee@shadow.net (Joe Dunfee) Subject: Three motor flying effect revisited Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Well, the list is finally starting to die down a little. (I have never seen such an active list) So perhaps it is time to bring back up my idea and see how much further it can be developed. For those of you who didn't see my origional post - here is a portion... I have always had in the back of my head the idea of using three individually controled motors with each of their ropes attached to the object to fly ( I will assume this object is a Ghost from now on). Here is a side view. _______ _______ _______ |motor#2| |motor#1| |motor#3| -------\ ------- /------- \ | / \ | / \ | / \ | / \ | / \ | / \ | / \ | / \|/ /^\ [object] [to fly] With this arrangement, if all three motors tightened their lines equally, then the object would fly up centered between the motors... etc The object could be made to fly anywhere within a 3-dimensional area bounded by the triangle formed by the three motors. I expect that the motors would need to be stepper motors, or perhaps DC motors that have their positions monitored by a optical encoder. ------------------------------ On my origional post, I envisioned a very simple joystick attached to multiple switches that would allow an operator a way to control the motors. Actually, computer control has always been in my mind, but thought that a KISS approach might be good. (ie. Keep It Simple Stupid). Here was another good controler idea that gives the operator a very user-friendly interface. >From: Dave Bell >I also homed in on stepper motors for easy control, and possible >computerization. But maybe it doesn't need an exotic motor >control system. If we use 2-phase stepper motors,... >An optical encoder like the two in a mechanical mouse puts out a quadrature signal, just like that. Take >the output from one encoder (2 detectors), drive a pair of >full-bridge motor drivers, and feed the stepper directly. > >Take apart one-and-a-half mice, to get three encoder wheels. Mount >them at the top of a 1/12 scale model of the flying space, ... The operator then >"flys" the center weight around the model space, and the full-sized >ghost follows. Actually, I recall seeing a similar device on an old TV program talking about the future of CAD, where the computer was able to simulate a 3-D enviroment. They called their controler a "puppet" controler because it looked a marionette. It would work beautifully for our application. The only weakness I can see would be that it might be easy to try to over drive the steppers by moving the controler too fast. In that case, the controler and the actual flying object would get out of synk. The operator could learn how fast they can move to prevent that, but surely there would need to be a means of getting the whole set-up in synk, perhaps by a button that would make all the motors let their ropes out untill they hit a limit switch. Another feature we haven't disussed yet concerns directional control of the the flying object. If it was a ghost, it obviously must face the people it is intending to scare. Perhaps that might be accomplished by a simple wind-vane approach. The ghost then must always have a few feet of approach directly towards the audience, which is probably desirable anyway. The other approach to directional control would probably involve servomotors (like that used in Radio Control Cars) This might also be used to give additional animation to the ghost, but this would be making an already involved project more involved than necessary. I think another important aspect to this is that Sound should seem to be comming from the flying ghost. Perhaps a simple radio reciever in the ghost. But to avoid the weight of batteries, I would want to power it by actually putting power on the wires supporting it. (assuming we use actual wire, and not something like nylon cord) But to me, the actual control of the motors is the easy and cheap part. I understand electronics, but the down-to-earth part of sizing and finding the motors is an unknown for me. I imagine it will require a gear motor, but it would be cheaper to just use a fairly narrow diameter wench if possible. I got a simple book on physics and was able to figure out the forces involved for a 2 wire system, but I have 3 wires! So I don't know how to figure out the force needed. Perhaps there is an engineer out there with the knowledge to help. I looked in some surplus catalogs I get (Alltronics and American Science & Surplus) But they never describe the torque of their motors, so I don't know if steppers with the power we need are available or the prices we are talking about. Here are some of the approximate specs I have come up with... - I picture the weight of the flying object to be around 10 pounds. (actually it would weigh more as it is starting and stopping because of momentum) I estimate that I would need at least 15 lbs of force from each motor. - It should be able to travel at a speed of 12' per second. - I am going to assume for the moment that I am using this motor to directly drive a wench with a 2" diameter shaft to coil the wire on. This would require a motor with approx. 1400 RPM at 15lb inches of force. Comments? Sources for motors? Joe Dunfee Miami, Florida USA From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Fri Nov 22 07:35:48 1996 Date: Fri, 22 Nov 1996 07:27:06 -0800 (PST) From: Don Bertino To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Banter Reno Snow! effects Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com On Fri, 22 Nov 1996 JeanniSkip@aol.com wrote: Hi! > << The new show was a christmas show, with evles and Santa. Where the evles > turn the stamping machine into the worlds largest cookie machine, but > of course, it gets hit with lighting. (Impressive) >> > > The elf or the machine??? (Only a Halloween junkie would appreciate a > lightning struck elf!) ;) (just kidding!!) Heh heh heh... > Don, we were there in August and watched it for a LONG time with my 8 yr old > son. (it was impressive then, too) But as I recall, *the show* only went > into full action once every hour or so...is this new Christmas version > running all the time??? I was there Nov. 6-8, and they where still programing and testing it. They had black curtains up with a bunch of people and computers behind doing whatever... I don't think the Christmas show will be ready til Thanksgiving but they didn't have any info. They had the spiel and the lights were the characters are going to be, nothing is up yet. The nights I check it out it was running about every 10 minutes, but I'm sure that's because of them working on it. > Glad to know...may try to get up there this ski season. Yeah, it's nice to drive a hour and a half to the snow, get cold and wet, and comeback to your house where it's 68 outside.... ;D That's until we slide in the sea, no? ;D (Sorry, I couldn't help it) don bertino@netcom.com ____/^\_____________________________________ Disney ascii art & / \ || FDC MCP || / \ animations are at <______\ [] [] [] || [] [] [] || [] [] [] /______> http://www.calweb.com \----------------||----------||----------------/=== /~bertino===============\______________||__________||______________/===== From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Fri Nov 22 07:58:14 1996 Date: Fri, 22 Nov 1996 09:51:57 -0600 From: David Kiihne To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Three motor flying effect revisited -Reply Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com >>> Joe Dunfee 11/22/96 08:50am >>> > ...I am using this motor to directly drive a wench... Hey, now! There's ladies present here!! OH, wait! Drive a WINCH. ...never mind. ;) Actually, I've been toying with a similar idea as a way to add a little "convincer" to the Vampire mirror illusion. But I wasn't planning to use motors at all. Instead the object's movements would be controlled manually by a "backstage" helper. I would have 2 triangle-shaped movement zones; one that the viewer can see and one behind the screams ...er, scenes. Here's what I'm picturing: Set A is the area the viewer sees with the object (Object A) to be controlled. Set B is the backstage area with the operator and the second, control object (Object B). Object A has 3 wires (strings, threads, whatever) attached to it and coming off in 3 separate directions. (Ideally, 120 degrees apart) The wires travel from the top of Object A to their respective pulleys (non-motorized) over the top of the walls in Set A. The wires turn on the pulleys and head straight down behind the walls. More pulleys (preferably only as many as absolutely necessary) guide the wires to corresponding positions at the BOTTOMS of the walls of Set B. The wires then travel directly to Object B. With all that in place (and working perfectly the first time, of course :)), whenever the operator lifts and carries around Object B within the confines of Set B, Object A "floats" in an identical pattern around Set A. My intended application for the Vampire Illusion (or my Sussicran Frame enhancement), is to have Set B be the primary set that the audience sees with the vampire and the mirror and the object to be moved (say, a goblet). Set A is then the duplicate room on the other side of the empty mirror frame. The vampire can then pick up the goblet and the viewers can see the "reflection" of the goblet floating accordingly in the vampire-less mirror. So is that about as clear as a ninth-graders complexion or what? :) This was the most practical solution I could come up with given the fact I'm about as mechanically-oriented as a blueberry muffin. Questions? Comments? Uncontrolled laughter at my pathetic attempt to appear knowledgeable about something? ;) Dave - daveki@nebfef.com From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Fri Nov 22 08:16:36 1996 Date: Fri, 22 Nov 1996 11:23:07 -0500 To: halloween-l@netcom.com From: "John P. Jeffries" Subject: Re: Banter---SciFi/Fan Conventions Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com At 09:35 AM 11/22/96 -0500, you wrote: > >Hey, if there are any Midwesterners who attend those in my neck of woods >- let me know. I'm always looking for conventioneers. But you must know >how to do the Time Warp. >Nancy If anyone in the Baltimore area, scope out SHORE LEAVE. I went there last year and it was a trip! (There were real battles going on in the hotel!) I watched as a couple of Klingons took a Romulan hostage back to the post (Klingons' room). That stuff goes on all night! It was a blast! And if you don't speak their language, better not speak at all to them! No, really, they are friendly (out of charicter) and will talk your ear off about stuff. There are all kinds of neat things at these places too. (Rings, posters, pictures, lights etc.) Several booths had Halloween related items too. They said that many Sci-Cons have them (Halloween stuff) because of the intrest. So, if there is one near you, it's a good place to drop in and look about! Being from Bloomington, not many around here.(Indiana) John. From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Fri Nov 22 10:02:53 1996 Date: Fri, 22 Nov 1996 09:44:54 -0800 (PST) From: Dave Bell To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: Three motor flying effect revisited Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Way to go, Joe! Lots of good ideas and meat to chew on... On Fri, 22 Nov 1996, Joe Dunfee wrote, about the 3-motor flying ghost: > Actually, I recall seeing a similar device on an old TV program talking > about the future of CAD, where the computer was able to simulate a 3-D > enviroment. They called their controler a "puppet" controler because it > looked a marionette. It would work beautifully for our application. Parallel evolution in action! > The only weakness I can see would be that it might be easy to try to over > drive the steppers by moving the controler too fast. In that case, the > controler and the actual flying object would get out of synk. The operator > could learn how fast they can move to prevent that, but surely there would > need to be a means of getting the whole set-up in synk, perhaps by a button > that would make all the motors let their ropes out untill they hit a limit > switch. I thought about that, too. I figured that the reset could be as simple as: 1) "park" the ghost at some convenient location - could be anywhere in the fly-space. 2) temporarily kill (or better, "freeze") the control signals to the step motor drivers. 3) move the "puppet" to the same relative position as the ghost. 4) re-enable the controller. All would take about a second... > Another feature we haven't disussed yet concerns directional control of > the the flying object. If it was a ghost, it obviously must face the people > it is intending to scare. Absolutely! > Perhaps that might be accomplished by a simple > wind-vane approach. The ghost then must always have a few feet of approach > directly towards the audience, which is probably desirable anyway. Maybe a little hard to control, but a nice, smooth look to it! > The other approach to directional control would probably involve > servomotors (like that used in Radio Control Cars). This is what I had in mind. Put a very low-drag pot on the puppet, and the operator's fingers on a knob on the shaft. Twirl the knob, and the ghost spins to follow. Could definately be done with a modified RC servo motor. > I think another important aspect to this is that Sound should seem to be > comming from the flying ghost. Again, a BINGO! > Perhaps a simple radio reciever in the ghost. > But to avoid the weight of batteries, I would want to power it by actually > putting power on the wires supporting it. (assuming we use actual wire, and > not something like nylon cord) Yes. We want the absolute minimum weight in the ghost itself. I'll see how heavy Litz wire can be obtained. This was always great for that soft, "braided" feel in multi-strand wire. > was able to figure out the forces involved > for a 2 wire system, but I have 3 wires! So I don't know how to figure out > the force needed. Perhaps there is an engineer out there with the knowledge > to help. My rough estimates here led me to the following conclusions: 1) we can't expect to get the ghost anywhere near level with the plane of the motors, unless it's directly underneath just one of them. 2) in some cases, the geometry approaches the 2-wire form, anyway. Treat this as the worst-case solution, with 3-wire support putting slightly less load on each winch. 3) it will have to be tried, to be completely sure of the rates and loads we can handle. It could also be done in miniature, with a light weight ghost, and 3 small, cheap, surplus motors as a feasibility study. > I looked in some surplus catalogs I get (Alltronics and American Science & > Surplus) But they never describe the torque of their motors, so I don't know > if steppers with the power we need are available or the prices we are > talking about. They vary widely in stepping and holding torque, as well as price. NOT always directly related. A commonly available, small motor, with say, 12 Volt, 1 Amp coils might be good for about 40-80 oz-in of torque. Not a lot, but maybe useable. Price, I would shoot for no more than $20 each. Less, if possible! > Here are some of the approximate specs I have come up with... > > - I picture the weight of the flying object to be around 10 pounds. > (actually it would weigh more as it is starting and stopping because of > momentum) I estimate that I would need at least 15 lbs of force from each motor. > > - It should be able to travel at a speed of 12' per second. I'm afraid these might be out of reach for relatively inexpensive motors and drivers. 15 lbf on a 2" drum is 240 oz-in torque. You're probably running into $40 motors (or more), and more expensive drive electronics and power supply. Go for a near-zero weight ghost, with a tiny top platform carrying the servo motor, and a papier-mache' hollow ghost head below. Use a 2" PC speaker, and no batteries onboard. With a very gauzy "shroud", you should be able to get well under 1 pound... > - I am going to assume for the moment that I am using this motor to directly > drive a wench with a 2" diameter shaft to coil the wire on. This would > require a motor with approx. 1400 RPM at 15lb inches of force. With 200 steps/rev, that's 4666 steps per second. Probably too fast to keep up with, plus very fast for any mouse. OK, go for coarser motors, say 72 steps/rev. More torque with those usually, too. Still pretty fast, at 12 fps, but I like that "swoop" speed! Maybe a little larger drum.. > Comments? Sources for motors? I'll check some of my surplus catalogs! Dave From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Fri Nov 22 10:07:47 1996 Date: Fri, 22 Nov 1996 12:56:49 -0500 From: Rob Freeman To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: Candyman Poster Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com > I'm looking for a poster which promo'd the original Candyman movie. You can view the poster on the net at: http://www.cat.pdx.edu/~caseyh/horror/poster/ You can by it at one of two places on the net: http://www.nostalgia.com Postage and packing extra. Minimum charge $4.50 Prices are in US funds. Size information is available here All items subject to prior sale. MA residents add 5% sales tax. All major credit cards accepted. Orders may be placed by phone to 617-236-8754 or 1-800-479-8754 Shop hours are 10 AM-7 PM daily and 11AM - 7 PM Sunday. Movie Poster Shop http://exeter.cia.com/~mps/1996.htm Prices, unless marked otherwise, are: US$12.00 - Rolled; US$9 - Folded. Please add $5 for postage. You may, if you wish add $1.50 for insurance against loss. Cardboard backing - $2. Many come rolled if they are current movies 1991-1996. Fax orders welcome!! If you would like to fax your order, you can do so at 403 250 7588 You can also order by phone at 403 250-7588. -- Happy Haunting Rob Freeman - freemanr@oeonline.com From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Fri Nov 22 10:15:43 1996 From: JeanniSkip@aol.com Date: Fri, 22 Nov 1996 13:02:31 -0500 To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Halloween/Xmas Candle/light strings Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com I just bought a bunch of Xmas lights at Target for $2.22 per box - of 100 of the mini light strings. At Halloween, I bought the mini purple ones, only didn't have enough (we have a Looooonnnnnng driveway) and went back for more, only they were completely sold out. Well, imagine my good fortune....there were stacks of the purple ones there in amongst all the Xmas colors too. The original price was $2.99 for 100, but this sale ends tomorrow night. I also saw a set of mini-candle (2-3") type lights on a string for $14.99. They are white with clear bulb (didn't check to see if they flicker like candles or not, tho) and are in clusters of 3 candles on a little brass plate(and some holly) , making 9 sets of them per string. Someone was inquiring about where to get these earlier, they would make great Halloween chandeliers painted black! Also bought a set of lights intended for use in the Victorian xmas villages to light up the buildings. It is a strand with five C7 size white lights for $5.99, but you could insert the C7 flicker bulbs instead and design your own haunted chandelier. From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Fri Nov 22 10:29:47 1996 From: R4M2J1@aol.com Date: Fri, 22 Nov 1996 13:16:19 -0500 To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Vampire mirror Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Dave you wouldn't happen to be a twin or know any twins. I think it would freak people out if there were two people on opposite sides of the mirror mimicking each other. The spectator would be wondering why they could see the other persons reflection but not there own. If there are no twins available maybe two people in identical make up? Just a thought, Dale r4m2j1@aol.com From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Fri Nov 22 11:11:29 1996 From: sao@mit.edu To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: Halloween/Xmas Candle/light strings Date: Fri, 22 Nov 1996 13:56:24 EST Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com JeanniSkip@aol.com, Fri, 22 Nov 1996 13:02:31 -0500: [...snip...] >I also saw a set of mini-candle (2-3") type lights on a string for $14.99. > They are white with clear bulb (didn't check to see if they flicker like >candles or not, tho) and are in clusters of 3 candles on a little brass >plate(and some holly) , making 9 sets of them per string. [...snip...] If these were made by Kodak, they're cousins of some I saw earlier this month. Yes, the neon bulbs flicker like candles, and they would make a very nice candalabra with the addition of some gray spraypaint, cobwebs, and dirt. (Brass plates? Holly? Pffefh, who needs _that_? :^) :Andy Oakland sao@mit.edu From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Fri Nov 22 11:21:25 1996 Date: Fri, 22 Nov 1996 12:09:12 -0700 From: Lauren Jones To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: SciFi/Fan Conventions -Reply Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com It's just a jump to the left... From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Fri Nov 22 11:21:32 1996 Date: Fri, 22 Nov 1996 12:11:54 -0700 From: Lauren Jones To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Fairy Tales Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Most of the fairy tales we're familiar with in the U.S. are Disney-fied versions of French retellings of German (Grimm) stories. If you check the old Grimm versions, they are, indeed, *grim(. From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Fri Nov 22 12:24:23 1996 Date: Fri, 22 Nov 1996 14:13:21 -0600 From: David Kiihne To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Vampire mirror -Reply Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com >>> 11/22/96 12:16pm >>> >Dave you wouldn't happen to be a twin or know any twins. I'm not a twin, but I can play one if you stare cross-eyed at me. (Sorry) >I think it would freak people out if there were two people on opposite sides >of the mirror mimicking each other. The spectator would be wondering why >they could see the other persons reflection but not there own. > If there are no twins available maybe two people in identical make up? Actually, if you can control the angles enough (involving a lot more geometry than I'm up to right now) you can use the partial mirror from the Sussicran frame to achieve the same effect without twins. Essentially, it is the opposite use of the original intention - audience sees themselves and watches the vampire's reflection disappear. In this case, they can be told that they are being cursed with vampirism and then watch their own reflections disappear. Just another possibility. I do like the twins idea as an option though. I'd just be worried about all the minute details that can damage the illusion like lighting differences, mis-combed hair, or even incidental folds in the fabric of the outfits. The human eye tends to be a little too discerning to let things like that slip by. If I'm trying to distort my audience's perception of reality, I prefer (ideally) to have it as perfect as possible so there's no chance of a visual cue to give away the method. That's the intention at least; pulling it off for real is another matter. :) Dave - daveki@nebfef.com From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Fri Nov 22 12:37:15 1996 Date: Fri, 22 Nov 1996 15:40:45 -0500 To: halloween-l@netcom.com From: "John P. Jeffries" Subject: Re: SciFi/Fan Conventions -Reply Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com At 12:09 PM 11/22/96 -0700, you wrote: >It's just a jump to the left... > And then a step to the right.......:) John Sorry, couldn't help myself. From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Fri Nov 22 13:56:08 1996 Date: Fri, 22 Nov 1996 14:27:22 -0700 From: Lauren Jones To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: SciFi/Fan Conventions -Reply -Reply Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com >>It's just a jump to the left... >And then a step to the right.......:) Put your hands on your hips... Couldn't help myself either. From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Fri Nov 22 14:24:52 1996 Date: Wed, 20 Nov 1996 23:58:43 -0800 From: Michael Marcrum To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Special Effects Chit Chat Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Don and Gang, when we were in Vegas a couple of years ago we had the honor of watching them program the dragon in the moat outside the Excalibur!! It was great, the guys let us stand there and he showed us how they made this move and that move!! It was around 1am so we were the only idiots out!! He even asked our opion on the colors they were using on the dragon. We were thrilled when we went back last year and they had used the colors that we had liked!! I would love to own the control board that they were using that night, it was about 5x6 and had more levers and swithces than I have ever seen. Just a memory... Kathy the new kid on the crypt mmarcrum@ix.netcom.com From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Fri Nov 22 14:55:55 1996 Date: Fri, 22 Nov 1996 17:51:30 -0500 (EST) To: halloween-l@netcom.com From: jdunfee@shadow.net (Joe Dunfee) Subject: Re: Three motor flying effect revisited -Reply Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com >Actually, I've been toying with a similar idea as a way to add a little >"convincer" to the Vampire mirror illusion. But I wasn't planning to use motors >at all. Instead the object's movements would be controlled manually by a >"backstage" helper. >whenever the operator lifts and carries around Object B within the confines of Set >B, Object A "floats" in an identical pattern around Set A. This seems quite plausable, but you might also consider not using a back stage operator and let the vampire himself control it by picking up a goblet with the control wires on it. This way it would move exactly as he moves it. The one question in my mind is if the arrangement can be "tight" enough that there is no looseness to the movement. The string used (perhaps black braded fishing line?) should have no stretch to it. Also, It should be attached to the goblet just above its center of gravity so a movement to one side doesn't cause it to act like a pendulum. Another thought, unrelated to the three wire control concerns the aspect of having audience members see themselves in the mirror as well as the vampire's empty spot. While you might be able to acoomplish it, it might be better to not try both at the same time. But you could have a real mirror in the frame as the audience walks by, so they see it is a real mirror and it is apparently above suspicion. Then remove the real mirror while the audience's vision is distracted by something else. But after that they look back at the vampire, who stands back by the mirror, perhaps relatively close so that you can see him and the mirror in the same view. Your illusion should be so perfect that you can allow them a good, well-lit view of the scene. Joe Dunfee Miami, Florida USA From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Fri Nov 22 16:27:57 1996 From: Ldwarf@aol.com Date: Fri, 22 Nov 1996 19:21:08 -0500 To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: motion sensor question Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Hey Doug, Dave, Jim, and Kathy, thanks for the imput... i checked and i found a test switch...so it looks like im all set.... i think i will "tear one apart " and see what makes it tick... i just cant resist. i hope to find that i can adjust a pot setting ( looks like a small dial with a slot in it, if i remember ) and have it send power for just a second, so i could hook it up to several relays, with attached timers... each relay controling a different portion of an effect... motion on one, a tape player on another, and smoke on yet another... if i remember i saw several pages of relays with timers in the granger cat. some that would go on then of and on again so long as they were activated. and others that could "wait" for a set time then go on for a set time and then need to be reactivated....i remember being impressed with all that they could do... but i had no use for one at the time... guess i need to get out the cat. and look at the charts again. another question... what if it is in the test mode and it is activated, it goes off, and sends power to the effect for a few seconds, but people are still in the area.. will the effect go off for a while and reset, or will it stay on because it is still detecting motion ?? Scott From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Fri Nov 22 17:19:27 1996 Date: Thu, 21 Nov 1996 02:55:59 -0800 From: Michael Marcrum To: halloween-l@netcom.com Subject: Re: motion sensor question Reply-To: halloween-l@netcom.com Scott, When we used it this Halloween it would turn on as soon as someone passed the beam. It would flash for about one minute and then turn off, if someone went past it once it was off it would start up again. Hubby says that next year he is going to use blinders to crop the field of the sensor. That way you have a tighter beam and more control. Kathy the new kid on the crypt mmarcrum@ix.netcom.com From owner-halloween-l@majordomo.netcom.com Fri Nov 22 19:23:55 1996 Date: Fri, 22 Nov 1996 22:15:02 -0500 (EST)