Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

The Ballad of a First Time Haunt...

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • #46
    Originally posted by BrotherMysterio View Post
    Not surprising if it turns out that the FM is a haunt virgin. He doesn't want to get dinged for anything on his watch that he doesn't quite understand. That tends to make things difficult when he has to explain to his higher-ups why the whole affair went to hell in a hand-basket on his watch, and he doesn't have any solid, reasonable answers. Pickle is going thru a similar thing.
    Yeah, he is. In fact, he had to call a another fire station to find out where to find the specific information for Haunts.


    Honestly, that may not be a bad idea. If you were just idly considering this haunt as just a fun thing and thought about throwing it together at the last minute, I wouldn't comment on it one way or the other. But you and your team are serious about doing this, and I know you'd seriously invest time and energy making it happen for next year, and doing it right.

    Besides, you guys could find another location, only to have the same thing happen. And if you spend the next two months with these same kinds of shenanigans, with no haunt or promotion to show for it, then your higher-ups will start to question the soundness of this idea, and more particularly, your thinking.

    Right now, you haven't spent any significant money on this, you've handled yourself with great aplomb and diplomacy, and shown you can be a real leader. I'm sure your bosses are liking that. They would probably like it even more if you came up with a solution that still makes a promotion happen and side steps all of this pointless and expensive silliness, and here is such a solution.

    In a word: do a Halloween Masquerade Ball. Have a simple walk-thru (your haunt in it's infancy) as an adjunct to the ball, off in a corner of the venue, so you get to test design ideas and whatnot in a rather forgiving environment (tipsy socialites tend to have fun anywhere doing anything), but at the same time you are making use of the opportunity, and testing the soundless of your promotional idea. A pro-haunter I know used to do stuff like this all the time at Country Clubs and whatnot, and believe me, you save yourself a lot of hassle that way.

    Just something to think about for this year, and it sets you up beautifully for next year.

    C.

    Thanks! And I appreciate everyone's help and support over the last couple of week. This is a great community, and I plan on sticking around, getting ideas for next year and offering suggestions when I can.

    Unless something miraculous happens, (my contact at the mall said she would look into the problem and "get back to me") this is indeed the end of the haunt for the year. I let the bosses know what was going on and I suggested holding off until next year. They agreed with my position, so we'll be focusing on making that happen. I like the idea of a masquerade, but I don't know if we'd find an available venue in time. I'll bring it up with the bosses at the staff meeting tomorrow.

    I really lucked out though, because we were waiting on getting the contract for the space, none of the salespeople made any sales on it yet, so we're not letting down any sponsors or charities by cancelling the haunt. I do feel bad for my "Hauntelligencia", as they had come up with some excellent ideas, and were really excited about getting to work. Hopefully I can keep them as enthused until next year.


    TC



    TC

    Comment


    • #47
      Originally posted by Frightener View Post
      That sux TC.

      Keep your head up. I had to wait a year... sorta. I know it stinks. But think, it could be a blessing in disguise.

      Here's a thought, ask exactly "WHO" can fix the wires? Does it have to be someone they tell you, or can you hire someone yourself to get it done. I mean, if they're just loose wires or wires that need moving, any electrician can usually take care of it properly. Since it's a haunt, I'd ask "What if it's ugly?" Like, well, i'm not an electrician, but I guess I'm just saying, observe all possibilities before you give up. Make sure you can't just hire someone yourself to get rid of the hazard, and who knows, maybe work out a deal with the electrician to advertise his business for a better deal and see if he can wait till season for some of his pay.


      I'm very VERY tired, I'm just talking out my wazooo right now, I guess I'm just trying to say, look at everything and keep your head up.


      Good luck.

      Dewayne
      Thanks, I'm feeling it's better off this way. It was very ambitious for me to get a haunt completed in the amount of time I had. I'll get on the sales people's backs to find me a location sooner for next year, so if this sort of thing happens again, we can find out about it sooner. It also allows me to focus more time on the project my mother-in-law wants me to work on for my father-in-law, which she wants done by the end of September.

      We could use any electrician we liked, the big sticking point is that basically, even if we did it as an ad trade with a local electrician, we're doing the mall a favor by fixing this problem for their next tennents. A favor for a mall that's unwilling to give the radio station any more than a year's contract for our sales office, even though we're willing to sign up for a much longer period. That's what's sticking in the craw of my superiors, and I don't blame them in the least.


      TC

      Comment


      • #48
        Longer response forthcoming, but so far you've made a very wise decision. You just saved yourself a lot of hassle and aggravation (not to mention possibly your job).

        Hold a pizza party for your Hauntelligencia (I like that word!) as a way of thanks, possibly continue brainstorming, and capturing there ideas so you can use them for next year.

        Also, important, fight the temptation to jump on any opportunities that look like "something miraculous happening". Fight that temptation hard. Just think how great the mall location looked at the time, and how reasonable the second location looked after that. Once you secure a location, you are only a quarter of the way there, and the FM can still close you down on opening night for any BS reason. If you want something miraculous to happen, it already did! You got away clean from a messy situation and are now in a better place, especially for next year.

        More in a bit.

        C.

        Comment


        • #49
          first time...

          Hey TC,

          Just wanted to say...I feel your pain! I was shot down by the zoning board two seasons ago after I was told by "insiders" it was a "done deal". That was after I poured nearly $18,000. into architects, engineers, attorneys, etc. Than our other deal fell apart at another location because the local volunteer fire dept. haunt "higher ups" had people on the zoning board which rallied the troops to shoot us down because of total bullshit reasons (they absolutely just didn't want the competition, even though I reached out to them to ask them to work together & I'd DONATE $1. from every ticket!) & of course this was AFTER a large investment of time & money. So guess what... we put them on notice of possible litigation against them and shut THEIR ass down. Now that was two years shot! Now to this season...we finally find a great place....but postponed by planning dept. 3 times until we finally we our approval on June 21st! Since than its been off to the races but like you I have come up against one thing after another! Now remember this isn't my first rodeo...been a general contractor for more than 22 yrs. but i have NEVER seen fear like I saw in the eyes of this building dept. when I rolled out my prints! If I could only get scares like that in the haunt! lol I've wanted to pull the plug a few times now in frustration but I have a great team with great organization and things are just rolling now (although we've been building/prepping for over a year in my shop) We are going to attempt to get this up & running this year (even if we open late) because of the huge investment already spent, the advertising already paid for & a team that is practically working around the clock! But I've let them know if its not ready "ITS NOT OPENING! I guess than I'll sit back, chill for a year, grow my own real cobwebs & wait for next year! lol But for now we are full throttle...we have a 30,000' sq. ft fit out in front of us and it starts NOW!

          PS: TC , hang in there...I know its frustrating...but start planning NOW for next year! In the end I think you'll see ALL things happen for a reason!

          PSS: I am going to attempt to post pics & maybe vids of the build but I am on a time crunch & theres not going to be a lot of time to dilly dally! Gonna do what I can though!
          P.
          Jim Pashley
          The FEAR FACTORY
          www.thefearfactorynj.com
          855-NJ HAUNT
          sigpic
          "WE MANUFACTURE NIGHTMARES"

          Comment


          • #50
            pickle, I'd love to see some pics / video! I'll keep an eye out for it.


            Dewayne

            Comment


            • #51
              frightener...

              You got that! I have a big problem of slowing down & taking pics when I'm on a roll...but I am gonna do my best. Hopefully starting next week!


              P.
              Jim Pashley
              The FEAR FACTORY
              www.thefearfactorynj.com
              855-NJ HAUNT
              sigpic
              "WE MANUFACTURE NIGHTMARES"

              Comment


              • #52
                Originally posted by pickle View Post
                You got that! I have a big problem of slowing down & taking pics when I'm on a roll...but I am gonna do my best. Hopefully starting next week!


                P.
                "We'll be watching your build with great interest." </palpatine>


                So I get an email back from my contact at the mall today, "Hey we've got two other spaces you could use that 'APPEAR' to be in better shape, could you use one of those?" This was followed up quickly by one of the Mall's corporate guys (who was CCed in on the email to me) to our Sales Dept Manager basically stating you must choose one of those two places to do your Haunt or come up with another event per the license agreement (which, if he meant the contract for the haunt space, we STILL hadn't received).

                Fortunately, the Sales Manager and my bosses have my back (in fact, the SM is as cheesed off as I am...yes, I did say "cheesed off", that's what we get in WI instead of "pissed off") and we're going to throw together a trick or treat event, probably toss out some easy plywood house standees and place them through out the mall for the kiddies to visit and get treats from, instead of going through with the haunt at this point.

                I can see why stores are leaving that mall in droves.



                TC

                Comment


                • #53
                  Man, that sounds FUN! To do a ToTing thing like that. You could build little rooms, haunt the rooms, drape over the entrance and exits, deco' the crap out of it and give candy out in the rooms!
                  You could do miniature sewer rooms with pvc piping all rusted out with green lights and a zombie giving candy for example... that'd be soooo awesome :P ... far from a haunt but hey.

                  Dewayne

                  Comment


                  • #54
                    Just a side note, I usually start working on the next season's haunt no later than February to ensure things are completed and run smoothely. So maybe something to consider for next season.

                    Ryan

                    Comment


                    • #55
                      Originally posted by turkeycreaux View Post
                      We're going to throw together a trick or treat event, probably toss out some easy plywood house standees and place them through out the mall for the kiddies to visit and get treats from, instead of going through with the haunt at this point.
                      Originally posted by Frightener View Post
                      Man, that sounds FUN! To do a ToTing thing like that. You could build little rooms, haunt the rooms, drape over the entrance and exits, deco' the crap out of it and give candy out in the rooms!

                      You could do miniature sewer rooms with pvc piping all rusted out with green lights and a zombie giving candy for example... that'd be soooo awesome :P ... far from a haunt but hey.
                      That was pretty much the idea I had. Use whatever space they eventually throw your way to do some sort of Halloweeny promotion, with a Masquerade Ball or Zombie Stomp being good choices. If the FM has a problem with kids trick-or-treating in a mall space, he can take it up with mall management.

                      Let this event be the foundation of another promotion next year, with a possible Zombie Walk somewhere mid-season (August or September, perhaps) as way of promoting the Halloween event, and then gradually the haunt can grow out of that. You could also do a Zombie Walk if another zombie move comes out in the Summer, like another 28 Days Later type thing.

                      Also, either this year or next year (preferably next), do a 20' x 40' mini-haunt for the kids (or perhaps 10' x 20' - you get the idea). Allen has two excellent floor-plans on his Haunt Design DVD in the square vs. triangular section, which should give you an idea. Fill it with all sorts of cutesy, kiddie haunt stuff, with everything being battery-operated, and self-contained (like using these for lighting). You don't even need any actors or anything; just spooky settings like a home haunt.

                      That will give you plenty of real world experience with building wall panels, setting up scenes, decorating, and so on. You get to stretch your haunt designing muscles a bit, you get real world experience doing this stuff, you get to test some basic ideas out, your higher-ups get to see what you had in mind (in infant, beta-test form), the kids and parents love it, you keep your Hauntelligencia haunt-happy, you set a precedent and track record for success, and everything serves as a template for successive years.

                      Just something to consider.

                      Originally posted by turkeycreaux View Post
                      I can see why stores are leaving that mall in droves.
                      Indeed. An all too common occurrence these days.

                      C.

                      Comment

                      Working...
                      X