2011 Creative Track

A Hong Kong Halloween: The Challenges of Creativity vs Capacity
Todd Hougland of Ocean Park
Creative Session 1 – Friday – 9:00 am – 10:00 am

Having celebrated the 10^th anniversary of its Halloween Bash in 2010, Ocean Park Hong Kong has developed the largest Halloween theme park event in Asia, with over 1,000 additional staff, 444 performers, 8 custom-designed haunted attractions and 13 shows to entertain nearly 250,000 guests each Halloween season. Todd, Executive Director of Park Operations and Entertainment, will share how the Bash has grown from a small “experiment” into a success that mixes the best of western Halloween lore with the most frightening of Chinese superstitions and Asian spirits. This session will focus on how the Ocean Park team has set a standard to entertain such high numbers of attendees, while introducing industry-leading concepts such as a “coffin ride to the other side,” group séances, multi-path designs and individual multimedia experiences unique to this event.

Actor Training: Making the best out of what you have
(even if you don’t have much)
Drew Badger of Rabid Badger Haunt Consulting
www.rabidbadger.biz
Creative Session 2 – Friday – 10:15 am – 11:15 am

As the season draws near, many haunt owners simply don’t have the time to recruit and train actors like they’d hope to. This seminar will help owners and managers make the best use of their available resources and time in order to motivate actors towards scarier, more effective performances. But this seminar is not just for management…actors will get a lot out of it, too! Topics covered include “appropriate” character development, acting techniques, safety and the dark side of haunting.

Trash to Terrifying
Darlene Bobich of Loki’s Workshop Haunt Emporium
www.lokis-workshop.com
Creative Session 3 – Friday – 11:30 am – 12:30 pm

Focused on the Home Haunter, this seminar will help explain how to take everyday thrift store finds and chain store offerings and turn them into terrifying props for your haunt. Examples of Darlene’s work will be displayed, and her informative, picture-filled PowerPoint about how to find cheap (or free) items and what to do with them will be presented. Let’s not forget the networking and brainstorming section of this unique seminar! Every attendee will receive a take-home item to get them started.

“Darlene’s seminar was informative and fun! I was comfortable asking
all of my questions and got great ideas for my Home Haunt” – Robin
Whitaker Davis (Atlanta, GA)

Panel Discussion: Extreme Haunting
Industry Experts
Creative Session 4 – Friday – 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm

How extreme is too extreme? What does pushing the envelope do for your haunt, and for the haunted attraction community? Come and take part in a session where you can ask the experts your “extreme haunting” questions. Several industry experts will be on hand to offer their insight and advice. Be prepared for engaging and exciting discussion. Moderation for the panel will be provided by Dick Terhune.

Sadistic Scenes
Jennifer and Rusty of Rot N Rust Productions
www.rottenrusty.com
Creative Session 5 – Saturday – 9:00 am – 10:00 am

Rusty and Jennifer will detail the processes behind a mini scene – from creation to completion – that could be used in any haunted attraction, with a focus on the many different painting techniques that can be found in scenic design.  They will be working with many materials, including: wood, foam, plastic and an assortment of paints. This discussion will be followed up with a demonstration of basic lighting to illustrate the visual effects possible in a finished scene.

Kentucky Cryptids: The Search for Kentucky’s Hidden “Monsters”
Ron Coffey of Gateway Paranormal Society
www.gatewayghosts.com
Creative Session 6 – Saturday – 10:15 am – 11:15 am

Ron will be relaying information he has gathered from personal expeditions, as well as eyewitness interviews and various sources. This talk will cover Bigfoot, real “werewolves”, Lake Monsters, mysterious reptiles and various winged cryptids. Do they really exist? Find out in this session.

Monsters, Creatures and Makeup: The Creative Process
Michael Burnett
Creative Session 7 – Saturday – 11:30 am – 12:30 pm

This fast moving, information-filled digital seminar will focus on developing the look for characters in a haunted attraction. Michael will discuss in detail his personal methods for finding inspiration and creating designs, accompanied by examples from past projects. He will discuss the various factors to be considered when designing your character, including event lighting, proximity to guests, comfort of the performer, etc. Attendees will also gain insight into various techniques that can be used for character design. These include traditional drawings, sculpted maquettes and digital techniques, including Photoshop and ZBrush.

The Devil’s in The Details
Chris DeTroy of Loki’s Workshop Haunt Emporium
www.lokis-workshop.com
Creative Session 8 – Saturday – 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm

This session is oriented around creating detailed “focal points,” as well as haunt rooms based on individual scares and distractions. The art of layering room surfaces with props and soft goods (fabrics) will be explored. Attendees will learn how to use soft goods, props, black plastic chains and other common haunt materials to enhance walls, transition hallways and doorways. Chris will also discuss and show samples of detailed ceiling treatments and options for rooms and hallways with specialty lighting. Attendees will be shown how to transform modern furniture into haunt-worthy masterpieces. Fond of flora? Detailing and sculpting with vines, mosses and florals will also be covered. (How to have fun with cobwebs, too!) Learn how to fill your haunt’s rooms without emptying your wallet. A detailed overview of materials and resources will be provided for those interested.

Thinking Outside of the Box (Store): Taking the Ordinary to Extraordinary
Bill Ramsay & Erin Phillips
Creative Session 9 – Sunday – 9:00 am – 10:00 am

This seminar, designed for the Home Haunter, will help you take your yard up a notch. Most people rely on store-bought props and decorations to make their yard stand out. This class will provide information about how to make realistic looking, one of a kind props and decorations at home. Resources and non-box store suppliers will be shared. Internet networking sites dedicated to Halloween enthusiasts and home haunters will also be featured. Two members of the popular networking site, The Halloween Forum, will help attendees find inspiration and tools to transform a yard from a simple decorative display to a Home Haunt that will be the talk of the neighborhood. Bill and Erin will share impressive examples from their personal home haunts, including several one of a kind props such as a life-size Predator and a Dead Mermaid. This seminar proves that your props don’t need to come from a box to wow your audience. Attendees will be invited throughout to ask questions about where to go or what to do to make their haunts successful. Bring pictures of personal yard displays and haunts; there will be an opportunity to share pictures towards the end of the discussion.

Improv-ing with Haunt Actors
Michele Arroyo of SpFxWmn Productions
www.spfxwmnproductions.com
Creative Session 10 – Sunday – 10:15 am – 11:15 am

In this session, Michele will talk about the advantages of using improvisation with haunt actors. She will go through several examples of improv exercises, and talk about how to tailor exercises to your haunt’s needs.

Advanced Audio and Sound Design and Audio for Haunts
Virgil Franklin of Haunt Audio
www.hauntaudio.com
Creative Session 11 – Sunday – 11:30 am – 12:30 pm

Noted haunt composer, sound designer and college professor Virgil Franklin takes the mystery out of haunt sound design. Using advanced editing software to develop and manipulate audio, Virgil will help you create the right mood for your haunt, tenderizing victims into tasty, easily-digested morsels. You may not think you’re a composer BUT with the right software and the right tools, you might just send Virgil straight to the poor house.

Attendees are encouraged to bring laptop computers, headphones and have a copy of Sony Acid Music Studio 8 loaded to get even more out of this session. A free demo is available at www.sonycreativesoftware.com/musicstudio, or purchase it for a paltry $64.95. Note: this is not required, just a recommendation.

Topics covered include: audio interfaces and sound distribution systems, audio editing/mixing/mastering, sound design and sound sourcing, inexpensive sources for music and how to create fear with sound.

Creative Session 12 – Sunday – 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Special Lecture currently in development!