2011 Monday Workshops

Session 1 – Monday, May 2nd, 9:00 am – 3:30 pm

Evil Twin FX Hands-On Sock Mask Making Workshop
By Brian & Nick Wolfe of Evil Twin FX
Class Fee $300.00 per attendee (Class is limited to 10 students)

Join Brian and Nick Wolfe of Evil Twin FX for this full day hands-on make and take workshop. Cameras and notepads are a must, as students will be instructed on how to create a custom one-off, one of a kind form-fitting character mask. This hands-on workshop covers all aspects of building, painting and detailing a “sock mask,” using everyday materials and foam latex appliances. By the end of the day, attendees will have completed their own mask that they can take home with them.

This workshop includes full comprehensive instruction and individual one-on-one time with Nick and/or Brian Wolfe as they assist attendees in achieving the desired look. Each student will be supplied with materials and instruction to complete their own mask on a provided life cast, which they can take home to make more masks in the future. As a bonus, attendees will be instructed on how to use the life cast as a base for sculpting new appliances to be used in future projects.

Space is very limited, so sign up today. Lunch is not included in the pricing of the class.

Session 2 – Monday, May 2nd, 9:00 am – 3:30 pm

The Davis Graveyard: Building a Cemetery
By Jeff & Chris Davis and the Davis Graveyard crew
Class Fee $150.00 per attendee (Class is limited to 25 students)

For over 10 years, The Davis Graveyard has been haunting Portland, Oregon with one of the nation’s largest and most detailed cemetery-themed yard haunts. The display has won several awards, and has been featured in magazines and FEARnet’s “Route 666: America’s Scariest Home Haunts.” The Davis Graveyard coordinates the Haunters Video Awards and DVD set, now in its 12th year, a compilation of home haunter videos from all over the world that are judged and given awards. The Davis Graveyard has presented seminars and teaches local workshops, sharing their prop building techniques in Portland, Oregon. Recently, The Davis Graveyard was tapped to help with ABC’s “Extreme Home Makeover” of Nightmare Factory in Salem, Oregon, where they created hundreds of cinderblock walls and aged brick hallways and rooms, all out of foam.

Owners Jeff and Chris Davis, along with their talented crew, have honed valuable techniques to build the perfect graveyard. Some of the elements that they consider in creating a graveyard include: foam texturing, highly crafted structures and props, realistic statuary, European-style tombstones, subtle and effective lighting, high-tech ghost effects and extensive attention to detail.

In this workshop, Jeff and Chris will jumpstart or enhance an existing cemetery with a collection of foam-based props, which include tombstones, a weathered wood coffin, several monuments and an elaborate tomb; the basic essentials to get you on your way to that “picture perfect” cemetery.

This 8 hour session starts at 9am (with a break for lunch), and includes instruction and all materials. At the end of the session, a randomly chosen attendee will go home with the entire collection.

Session 3 – Monday, May 2nd, 9:00 am – 3:30 pm

Getting Started in the Haunted House Business
By Leonard Pickel of D.O.A Design and Consulting
Class Fee $160.00 per attendee (Class is limited to 25 students)

Halloween has become a phenomenon, and every year more people are opening “darkly themed” Haunted Attractions across the country. Even in the present economical downturn, some haunted events are breaking attendance records, while other attractions fail. In this invaluable daylong session, attendees will explore the reasons why some attractions prosper and others fail.

Learn the ins and outs of making your first Haunted Attraction successful with industry veteran, Leonard Pickel. This seminar is chock-full of do’s, don’ts, tips and tricks on getting your attraction open, keeping it open and maximizing the moneymaking potential of a for-profit or charity Halloween Event.

This session is a comprehensive overview of the various concerns relating to a “first time” October seasonal production, but even a well-established Halloween event will learn from Leonard’s 30 plus years of professional Haunt design and consulting experience. A Haunted Attraction is a business and, like any other business, what you don’t know about this specialized field can kill you!

As he lays out a plan for your success, Leonard will reveal his vision for the elements of a successful event, and how to maximize your profits while minimizing costs and effort.
Topics include: location requirements, safety and code compliance, attraction style and design, the multi-element approach, timed ticketing, advertising, operations and answers to the most frequently asked questions, “How big should the attraction be, How much should I charge, and How much will it cost?”

Session 4 – Monday, May 2nd, 9:00 am – 3:30 pm

SpFxWmn Productions Character Development Workshop
By Michele Arroyo of SpFxWmn Productions Inc.
Class Fee $150.00 per attendee (Class is limited to 15 students)

As many of you know, believable actors make the difference in getting the scare. Perhaps the reverse is more prevalent; when actors break character or aren’t believable, people do not get scared, and they don’t have the fun they came for. One of the things that helps an actor stay in character is an understanding of their characters and how they think.

This course will help attendees to develop detailed characters to use in haunts. Michele will lead the group through a lot of hands-on work, so each student will need to come with a character idea in mind. This course will lead you through the process of bringing the character to life and making him, her or it believable.

This course will NOT go over bulk character development. It is meant to help create characters with depth. To do this, each student will focus on one character for all exercises. Throughout the day, each student will have the opportunity to get one-on-one help with their characters, as well as feedback from their peers. The class will also do some exercises to help get into character and stay in it. This 8 hour course will start at 9 am, and lunch will be brought in.

Michele L. Arroyo of SpFxWmn Productions has been working with actors in the haunt industry for 10 years. Prior to getting into the haunt industry, Michele spent 10 years doing theater and film, including receiving a degree in film. Having written and produced her own films, she is very used to the character development process. Over her years in the haunt industry, she has adapted what she learned from film and theater to help her actors truly become their characters.

Session 5 – Monday, May 2nd, 9:00 am – 3:30 pm

Basic Production Makeup for Haunted Attractions and New Makeup Artists
By Izzie Jones of The Devil’s Attic
Class Fee $95.00 per attendee (Class is limited to 20 students)

This course is designed with the beginner in mind. It is an all-encompassing course meant to teach you everything you need to know to start making your own monsters. Some intermediate prosthetic and airbrush work will be included but, overall, the focus is on getting acquainted with types of makeup, understanding styles and applications of basic monster and victim makeup and organizing actors in order to have numerous makeup applications done very quickly. Izzie will share many tips and tricks of the trade to help get haunt actors “show ready” in no time. This class is a must for haunted attractions that are looking to add makeup to their event, for attendees that are looking to learn the fundamentals of production makeup for their haunt and even for the actor that wants to learn how to do his own makeup.

In this hands-on course you will learn:
Basic “victim” makeup (scars, burns, bruises and cuts)
Basic “monster” make-up (vampire, werewolf, skull and zombie)
Basic airbrush function and technique
Beginning prosthetics (how to make, apply, blend and color your own)
How to quickly turn out a variety of characters under the serious time constraints of a Halloween production

Upon completion, attendees will have their very own starter makeup kit, a handmade prosthetic and a sample makeup production timeline.