You have to remember that punters are pretty much universally disinterested in the technology behind animatronics, and they just about never work inside a walk through haunt because you find it hard to afford the bottleneck that they cause.
That's not to say that there are not those who are fascinated by the technology, but frankly when it comes down the the scare per $$ equation animatronics are at the low end of the scale
Animatronics do have their place though, they do work well in a tableux setting like yours Mark, and they also work well as an entrance/queue line piece where you can set the back story and lay down the rules etc, queue lines are both a necessary evil and an opportunity in a walk through as they allow you to do the time consuming stuff that just don't work in a walk through, and as a bonus you have something of a captive audience.
Again... incredible show!!! I had no idea you had another two skulls you were planning on integrating! How did you end up sync'ing the video for the Grim Grinning Ghosts to the rest of the show? I know you had the Medusa sending the signal for the hands/arms, did you end up using any of the other channels?
Yeah, we had some issues with our show being too long, as well. The seance routine at the Heritage Haunt was at the very beginning of the haunt, right before the start of the maze. So, people are already kinda chompin at the bit. The original idea was going to be wayyyyyyy too long, but I suggested it be pared down. The first weekend it was 2:20 long. Even that turned out to be too long for people, so we cut again, to 1:45. That turned out to be tolerable. I've got video, but haven't edited/uploaded it yet.
Again... absolutely incredible, especially for a first attempt!
- Hook
No need to go and do that Brad, it’s all a learning curve and trust me, I invested a lot of time in that. Not to mention I had some great help from some great people here on the forum. Hook, I did use your board to sync the grim grinning ghosts and Madame Leota projections. Basically what I did was hack the play buttons on two DVD players that I connected to the Medusa relay ports. The video was edited against the show audio so all I had to do was sync the DVD delay from the menu screen to when it actually played in VSA.
Holy Crap Mark! That is the most awesome thing I have ever seen on this site!!
...soooo.. not to give you more work to do, but.... how about adding pipes to the top of the organ with steam/smoke shooting out when the skeleton plays "ala" the Munsters' living room organ? Although, I don't know if it's wise to mess with perfection.
I can only hope that someday my haunt is as cool as yours. Incredible job! Congrats!
I didn't find it boring at all, but I love animatronic shows. Most folks, not appreciating or knowing what goes into them may find it too long and get bored easily. I think a winning combo would be to indeed insert the show in between scares...that way it is paced better.
yup, I agree, I didnt find it boring either but I could see how little kids might want to get on with it. I loved it tho!
bravo, bravo... great preformance. The actors deserve a raise!.. (the poor organist... cant afford a tux)!
((Just wanted to keep an eye on this incase anything else developes)).
This is... absolutly...INCREDIBLE!! I love the Haunted Mansion and I think you did it so much justice here. What great ideas to fit everything in!!
And boring I think not! Please do not get rid of this for next year! it's perfect!!
Can't add more to what's been said. Undoubtedly the best display I've ever seen. With regards to the time factor/length of the show, yeah it probably seemed a bit long for some. We had a 30 second voice over that ran on a loop so groups of patrons would be involved in a scene and even then you could sense some just wanted to keep moving and not listen to it. Others thought it was great. Kind of a balancing act between giving them what they want and giving them what you want them to have and what you created. Simply a fantastic display. I applaud your time and effort!
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