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>
INTRODUCTION
a
fascination with imagination |
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THEME PARK MAGIC
inspirational rides and attractions |
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A PHANTOM PLOT UNFOLDS
a 2003 test from Disneyland ideas |
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THE HAUNTING BEGINS
five
years of Halloween, 2004-2008 |
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BACK FROM THE GRAVE
2010-2011 with new technology |
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A 2013 RESURRECTION
a mix of new and age-old effects |
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DAWN OF THE UNDEAD
2014
show, part one |
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THE ZOMBIES EMERGE
2014 show, part two |
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A CHANGING CONCEPT
2015 show, part one |
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BUILDING PNEUMATIC FIGURES
2015 show, part two |
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ROLL UP, ROLL UP!
2015
show, part three |
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INTO THE TUNNEL...
2016
show, part one |
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MAKING MONSTERS MOVE
2016
show, part two |
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TO HELL AND BACK
2016 show, part three |
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SHARPENING THE
SENSES
2017 show, part one |
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A MAGNETIC ATTRACTION
2017 show, part two |
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>
THE BIG EXECUTION
2017 show, part three |
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Making magic for Halloween... |
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Ever since I began
visiting theme parks with my family when I was a little boy, I
have been fascinated by dark rides and walkthrough attractions.
They are magical places that, for a few minutes at least, can
take people away from their everyday lives and immerse them in a
totally different, fantasy environment. |
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How do they do this?
- A fusion of creativity and imagination, of characters and
storytelling, and of technology and innovation. Attractions
built with these elements in mind engage and excite thousands of
people every day. It was seeing these in action that first
started me off on my own Halloween projects…
Through school I
came to love design technology and electronics, and here I also
first got involved with theatre and stage lighting. In 2003 I
had the idea to meld all these things together, and a year later
the Halloween Experience began.
Over the years it has
been immense fun to go through the process of designing a display that will unfold on cue to the groups of people who
come to visit it. They are the trigger that starts the show.
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Despite being made
on microscopic fractions of a theme park budget (!), I have
tried to give the displays a similar core purpose as the rides
and attractions that inspired them. Trick or Treat is something
most often done by children and their parents, and I hope
that my displays are things that can entertain the whole family,
and allow them to have an exciting experience together.
The displays have been a way of indulging in a big passion of
mine for creating my own versions of the things that I’ve seen
when visiting parks; the things that have amazed me, and trying
to recreate that amazement for others.
One of the best
feelings is when I'm watching the effects and figures that I
have designed and built actually entertaining the people who
visit - often people whom I have never met, and yet who I see
reacting in all the right places, and getting a lot of fun out
of the experience! This is when I know that I've done a good
job!
Another thing I love is when I see an effect or moving
figure that started out as a scribbly drawing in a sketchbook,
actually working for real in front of me! This is what spurs me
on to create them. When I see something that I think I can
build, I don’t let go of the idea until I’ve done it! Often the
more mad and impractical it first appears, the more compelled I
become to finding a way of building it! I feel like it's
hard-wired into me; these projects are something that I really
enjoy doing! |
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Of course, real theme park attractions are
conceived and constructed by enormous teams of people; set
designers, prop builders, robotics engineers, artists,
architects… the minds behind the acclaimed Disney parks and
attractions are known as 'Imagineers'; individuals who are
arguably the finest in the world at combining technology with
imagination. One thing I have loved about making displays of my
own is that they have given me the opportunity to learn
something about many of these design elements, and try them out
myself!
This has involved
learning about using pneumatics and motors to make figures move,
and building electronic systems to control them; designing and
constructing set pieces and props; incorporating motion sensors
to trigger effects; and using paints, colour, lighting and
sounds to create the right atmosphere. |
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Curiously, this
isn't actually built at my own house! Over the years, the
Halloween Experience hasn't been possible without two very
special people; my Nan and my uncle Richard. They live not too
far away from me, close to the village schools. Their front
garden has become the perfect spot for the Halloween shows, as
lots of families live in the surrounding roads, and a huge
number like to
dress up and go out for trick or treat on Halloween night. |
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When these two kindly let
me take over their front garden for one evening in 2004, they
probably didn't expect that twelve years later I'd be building
an enormous tunnel in the same space! (...and to be fair, nor
did I!)
Richard is a great uncle who has allowed me to build all
these wacky projects that have seemingly got bigger and bigger,
and let me stay as long as I like to finish them! He is a great
help when I'm coming up with the ideas, and he always makes the
whole thing such a good laugh! |
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My Nan, who let me
start all of this back in 2004, saw every display I did until
she sadly passed away in early 2017. She was a wonderful
person. She loved fun, mischief, laughter and making other
people smile. I remember when I used to show her my ideas and
drawings for what I had planned, and she would tell me to make
sure that everything was as loud and dramatic as possible!
She used to love seeing all the ever-more ridiculous figures, masks and props, as well as watching everyone coming to the door
and reacting to the shocks and surprises. I'm so pleased she was
able to see the 2016 tunnel, as that really was a dream for me
to build. We all miss her terribly. She was of course one of the
original Halloween team! It was sad not to have her with us at
the 2017 show, but I hope she was looking down on all the mayhem and smiling! |
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In 2004, the
Halloween Experience was a small display of cardboard props with
basic lighting. Over the years I have been able to develop this
into a fairly technically-advanced show, featuring pneumatic and
motorised figures and props with infra-red motion-triggering; DMX lighting
with synchronised sound; video projections,
black-lighting and
special effects machines!
It's complete silliness when you think
that this is all done in my uncle's front garden, but that’s
partly why I love it – why not transform that space into
a different world for one night each year, and bring some theme
park-style fun to trick-or-treaters in the process!
In this special section, we will take a look at how the
display has evolved, right up to its most recent outings as an
enclosed walkthrough! Over the years, the Halloween
Experience has been a creepy carnival, a realm of zombies, a
hellish tunnel and everything in between! It has been visited by
steadily increasing numbers each year - around 300 people came
to see it in 2016, and over 400 visited in 2017!
This section contains over 150 images, diagrams and drawings
from the past fourteen years. I really hope
you enjoy reading it, and perhaps you may even be inspired to
create some magic for Halloween yourself! |
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