I've had another project dropped into my lap, and I think everyone is going to like it. In the school district I grew up in, and have graduated from, resides the old middle school. It has two gyms, four floors, and an auditorium. The building has been otherwise abandoned, since two new schools were built to replace it, as well as our arts center was built.
The school district received offers on the property, but they were too low to accept, so for the time being an entire school and property is going unused. (the building is in such condition/age that nobody is concerned with the shape of it anymore provided it is still standing) That is, until OPEF moved in. They're a foundation that raises money to provide grants for local educational facilities. OPEF is turning the school into a haunted house, with authority of the school district to do whatever they want with the first floor, gymnasiums, and auditorium. This includes painting walls, floors, adding walls, rewiring the PA system, and pretty much anything else that passes final inspection with the fire marshal.
I have been given the task of doing something special to the auditorium and stage. It's a 600-seat room, and the stage isn't anything great, but the curtains are still up, however last year I ripped the dimming system out for use elsewhere in the district.
It's a very mechanically-oriented group of people I'm working with, so they have lots of pneumatic tricks. For example, there's a ghoul already installed over the audience, off the ledge of the balcony, that has pneumatic operations for flapping its wings.
Luckily, there's access to all houselighting from above the ceiling, and there are four access panels in the middle of the house from which items could be suspended from.
The most developed concept we have for the room right now is similar to what they did in "The Game," with Michael Douglas, where there were black lights and UV graffiti everywhere. What I'm thinking about doing is the cheap way out, by replacing at least half of the incandescent houselights (presently 91w PAR medium-base lamps) with the novelty UV light bulbs.
Then we'd go crazy on the walls. I'm thinking about Wildfire Invisible Clear Glaze top coats, that are invisible until the black lights turn on. So what would happen is, the group of "victims" enter the auditorium with some regular lighting on, and then after a few steps, it cuts to total black (except for exit-lighting), and then the black lights come on. This reveals graffiti all over the walls and floors, as well as make-up on the zombies in the room, some mannikins, other actual actors. Then as the group moves through the space, the actors mob up on them.
Eventually, the group makes it on stage, where the main curtain is closed, and when they go through the curtain, they are in an area lit blood red, with "live" deadly entertainment, such as zombies masquerading as a band. From above the stage area, we may throw things near groups walking through. Nothing harmful, but maybe small fake spiders, bats, handfuls of mylar confetti, etc. We've considered hanging a couple corpses from the winched line sets and having them on quick-release setups so that at the pull a rope, one, or both of them may fall 12' to the stage floor.
Before anyone comments on it, safety is the primary concern. No corpses would fall anywhere near people. There are entire areas of the stage and house that are completely cordoned off and restricted that can be used for those kinds of shenanigans. For example, the ghoul above the audience, if it fell, would not fall on anybody working or participating in the haunted house. However, it is a haunted house, and there will be moments when rooms will be pitch black, and that is a function of the event that has already been discussed with the fire marshal. Should there be any issues when the setup is done, he will have to sign off on it anyways before the house can be opened. There will be people working the event that will have two-way radios, and we are hiring deputies who will be armed for the event, and be spaced throughout the building to keep everyone and everything secure. Also, the building still has an active fire alarm and security system, and remains equipped with fire extinguishers, though we may bring some down from unused rooms of the higher floors of the building to better accommodate the areas we'll have people moving around in. We're being proactive on contacting the fire and police departments for their consultants as well.
Here are some photos of the space.
They aren't the best photos, so I'll try to get some better ones on Monday when we meet with the electrician.
I'm hoping if we replace half of the houselights with black lights, that'll really help the room, but novelty light bulbs are certainly not the best option. We do have a number of T12 UV tubes though, so we can provide at least some lighting from both above and below the faces of each wall of the room.
I've got a meeting on Wednesday with a sales rep for a production company out of Chicago, who just happens to have an office nearby. I'm going to walk him through the building and see what he might be able to add to really spice the 65,000 sq. ft. of haunting. However, the nights it'll be open are Oct. 9-31, on Fridays and Saturday evenings, so we need an almost month-long rental on any equipment. Because of that, we're looking more at purchasing equipment and materials. Also, they're dedicated to making this an annual event, even if the building is sold in the future, in which case they would do it elsewhere. So even large purchases are completely acceptable, especially because a lot of the special effects equipment could be used by the school district in the arts center in the "off-season."
As for the budget, it's discretionary. We have an excellent marketing team that has sold some of the best products in the country. A best-case scenario is that we are able to move 10,000 victims through the building at $12 a head. That's obviously very optimistic, but we can support that many if the crowds come. With that in mind, I've been given a budget that depends on how much I want to spend on materials, versus how cool it's going to be. Due to the nature of event, if it's not cool enough, people won't want to come back next year and may even tell their friends specifically to not come this year. So I'm figuring as much as $2000 for the auditorium, lobby, and stage areas for effects, provided they produce awesome results. The head-cheese for the business end of this project also is very good at marketing the non-profit side, and has gotten us over 80 gallons of free paints, and boatloads of other materials for free by smooth-talking companies.
Even better, every administrator and staff member in the district has been informed to help out in any way they can. So if we need artists, we'll get them. If we need lighting or sound equipment, it'll be there. If hands are needed to move things around or perform as actors, or put make-up on, we will have that support.
Later this week I'll see how far the cheap UV lighting will get me, but by the end of the week if that doesn't work we'll be arranging rentals/purchases for Wildfire fixtures.
Time is of the essence though, so I would like any/all ideas for how to turn an auditorium into a literal, living nightmare. I'll have photos of the rooms for everyone to look at on Monday.
The school district received offers on the property, but they were too low to accept, so for the time being an entire school and property is going unused. (the building is in such condition/age that nobody is concerned with the shape of it anymore provided it is still standing) That is, until OPEF moved in. They're a foundation that raises money to provide grants for local educational facilities. OPEF is turning the school into a haunted house, with authority of the school district to do whatever they want with the first floor, gymnasiums, and auditorium. This includes painting walls, floors, adding walls, rewiring the PA system, and pretty much anything else that passes final inspection with the fire marshal.
I have been given the task of doing something special to the auditorium and stage. It's a 600-seat room, and the stage isn't anything great, but the curtains are still up, however last year I ripped the dimming system out for use elsewhere in the district.
It's a very mechanically-oriented group of people I'm working with, so they have lots of pneumatic tricks. For example, there's a ghoul already installed over the audience, off the ledge of the balcony, that has pneumatic operations for flapping its wings.
Luckily, there's access to all houselighting from above the ceiling, and there are four access panels in the middle of the house from which items could be suspended from.
The most developed concept we have for the room right now is similar to what they did in "The Game," with Michael Douglas, where there were black lights and UV graffiti everywhere. What I'm thinking about doing is the cheap way out, by replacing at least half of the incandescent houselights (presently 91w PAR medium-base lamps) with the novelty UV light bulbs.
Then we'd go crazy on the walls. I'm thinking about Wildfire Invisible Clear Glaze top coats, that are invisible until the black lights turn on. So what would happen is, the group of "victims" enter the auditorium with some regular lighting on, and then after a few steps, it cuts to total black (except for exit-lighting), and then the black lights come on. This reveals graffiti all over the walls and floors, as well as make-up on the zombies in the room, some mannikins, other actual actors. Then as the group moves through the space, the actors mob up on them.
Eventually, the group makes it on stage, where the main curtain is closed, and when they go through the curtain, they are in an area lit blood red, with "live" deadly entertainment, such as zombies masquerading as a band. From above the stage area, we may throw things near groups walking through. Nothing harmful, but maybe small fake spiders, bats, handfuls of mylar confetti, etc. We've considered hanging a couple corpses from the winched line sets and having them on quick-release setups so that at the pull a rope, one, or both of them may fall 12' to the stage floor.
Before anyone comments on it, safety is the primary concern. No corpses would fall anywhere near people. There are entire areas of the stage and house that are completely cordoned off and restricted that can be used for those kinds of shenanigans. For example, the ghoul above the audience, if it fell, would not fall on anybody working or participating in the haunted house. However, it is a haunted house, and there will be moments when rooms will be pitch black, and that is a function of the event that has already been discussed with the fire marshal. Should there be any issues when the setup is done, he will have to sign off on it anyways before the house can be opened. There will be people working the event that will have two-way radios, and we are hiring deputies who will be armed for the event, and be spaced throughout the building to keep everyone and everything secure. Also, the building still has an active fire alarm and security system, and remains equipped with fire extinguishers, though we may bring some down from unused rooms of the higher floors of the building to better accommodate the areas we'll have people moving around in. We're being proactive on contacting the fire and police departments for their consultants as well.
Here are some photos of the space.
They aren't the best photos, so I'll try to get some better ones on Monday when we meet with the electrician.
I'm hoping if we replace half of the houselights with black lights, that'll really help the room, but novelty light bulbs are certainly not the best option. We do have a number of T12 UV tubes though, so we can provide at least some lighting from both above and below the faces of each wall of the room.
I've got a meeting on Wednesday with a sales rep for a production company out of Chicago, who just happens to have an office nearby. I'm going to walk him through the building and see what he might be able to add to really spice the 65,000 sq. ft. of haunting. However, the nights it'll be open are Oct. 9-31, on Fridays and Saturday evenings, so we need an almost month-long rental on any equipment. Because of that, we're looking more at purchasing equipment and materials. Also, they're dedicated to making this an annual event, even if the building is sold in the future, in which case they would do it elsewhere. So even large purchases are completely acceptable, especially because a lot of the special effects equipment could be used by the school district in the arts center in the "off-season."
As for the budget, it's discretionary. We have an excellent marketing team that has sold some of the best products in the country. A best-case scenario is that we are able to move 10,000 victims through the building at $12 a head. That's obviously very optimistic, but we can support that many if the crowds come. With that in mind, I've been given a budget that depends on how much I want to spend on materials, versus how cool it's going to be. Due to the nature of event, if it's not cool enough, people won't want to come back next year and may even tell their friends specifically to not come this year. So I'm figuring as much as $2000 for the auditorium, lobby, and stage areas for effects, provided they produce awesome results. The head-cheese for the business end of this project also is very good at marketing the non-profit side, and has gotten us over 80 gallons of free paints, and boatloads of other materials for free by smooth-talking companies.
Even better, every administrator and staff member in the district has been informed to help out in any way they can. So if we need artists, we'll get them. If we need lighting or sound equipment, it'll be there. If hands are needed to move things around or perform as actors, or put make-up on, we will have that support.
Later this week I'll see how far the cheap UV lighting will get me, but by the end of the week if that doesn't work we'll be arranging rentals/purchases for Wildfire fixtures.
Time is of the essence though, so I would like any/all ideas for how to turn an auditorium into a literal, living nightmare. I'll have photos of the rooms for everyone to look at on Monday.
