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  • "Moving" Floor Tiles and Hallways...

    I was curious about attempting to make a hallway, or partial hallway consisting of floor tiles that seem to move when stepped on... I'm not talking the see-saw motion like some fun houses have at carnivals... I mean the kind that slide sideways when foot pressure is placed on them. We were trying to come up with possible options for construction... A box consisting of ball bearings supporting a board on top slightly smaller than the box, a similar effect but using castors, etc... Any ideas that you guys may have, or hints, tips, or even methods you have used yourself, and feel like sharing, would definitely be helpful!

    My boyfriend and I just finished our first season working at a haunt, and having basically taken over and built most of our booth, and apparently having done well enough to be given our own booth for next year, we're looking for ideas that are different from the other areas of our haunt. We are still complete newbs when it comes to how to build, although we have been trying to think ahead when it comes to safety, durability, and actual function.

    Thanks in advance for any help!

    Jen

  • #2
    Some things "Multiply"

    Short people versus tall ones... moving something under someone's feet can have a profoundly different effect on unsteady, clumbsy people versus those who are not that way.
    Short people's butts hit the ground quicker, maybe not harming them as much. Move a section of underfoot floor just 3 inches sideways and a tall person might fall down hard and quick. Coordination is never a "given" factor with any body type or age of the person.
    If someone is standing still and the floor moves slightly, maybe nothing happens. If the floor happens to move under the foot that is almost touching the ground as they step or walk a serious fall could maybe happen?
    Lay a roller skate at a 90 degree angle to your foor, then step on it. Now imagine doing that and you don't realize the skate is there waiting for you.
    Other moving things in a haunted house only have move just ever so slightly and the customer's reaction will be ten times extreme as compared to that same person at home, relaxed. OF course the dark and strangeness surrounding also adds to this factor.
    Design and build anticipating the stupidest, unluckiest person coming through as a customer... then hope and pray they don't.
    Keep the staggering, screaming drunks OUT and your life will be much less complicated.
    hauntedravensgrin.com

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    • #3
      Fright props carries these if you have the money to spend on them.

      http://www.frightprops.com/fear-floor-tiles.html
      Richard Alvarado
      Moxley Manor Haunted House

      www.moxleymanor.com
      www.nightscarebeforechristmas.com
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      • #4
        Originally posted by Jim Warfield View Post
        Short people versus tall ones... moving something under someone's feet can have a profoundly different effect on unsteady, clumbsy people versus those who are not that way.
        Short people's butts hit the ground quicker, maybe not harming them as much. Move a section of underfoot floor just 3 inches sideways and a tall person might fall down hard and quick. Coordination is never a "given" factor with any body type or age of the person.
        If someone is standing still and the floor moves slightly, maybe nothing happens. If the floor happens to move under the foot that is almost touching the ground as they step or walk a serious fall could maybe happen?
        Lay a roller skate at a 90 degree angle to your foor, then step on it. Now imagine doing that and you don't realize the skate is there waiting for you.
        Other moving things in a haunted house only have move just ever so slightly and the customer's reaction will be ten times extreme as compared to that same person at home, relaxed. OF course the dark and strangeness surrounding also adds to this factor.
        Design and build anticipating the stupidest, unluckiest person coming through as a customer... then hope and pray they don't.
        Keep the staggering, screaming drunks OUT and your life will be much less complicated.
        Being 6'1" (tall family), and semi clumsy myself at times, I understand the possible problems something like this could cause. A couple years ago the big thing around this area at haunted houses seemed to be this little false bit of ground, where a spring metal mattress was partially hidden for people to step on, when coming out of a doorway or wherever.... Having a bad knee, and suddenly stepping down further than expected HURTS... I definitely understand where you are coming from.

        This is an idea, one of many we are working through to find ideas that will work best for us next year... We're pretty new at this, and do not yet know what does or does not work in the haunt world. I want our area to be as safe as possible, but I'm exploring different ideas.. I do still want to understand how these tiles work though... Whether we'd ever use them, I don't know. But understanding them may give us other ideas to use... Maybe using them on the walls, or coming up with an alternative...

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        • #5
          I like the idea of moving floors myself just not 100% sure about using them. I kind of like effects where it's seems things are moving but aren't. Like vortex tunnels and some light projection can make a floor look unsteady in the dark as people are looking at only the light. The light moves , to them the floor moves. Maybe just adding something that makes a nice vibration would be more than enough coupled with such a light.

          I also like the idea of having floors angled while the rest of the room isn't. makes them feel really off balance.

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          • #6
            we built a hallway with ramps on both sides we then put a piece of plywood down on top of tire tubes it was amazing scare the plywood inside had rubber down the pinch point of the design we intergrated air horns but it was only 2ft wide 8 ft long restriction in some states dont allow this type of tight spaces

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            • #7
              I do like the idea of movement under their feet. Not enough to cause anyone to fall (even though no matter what it will happen), but I love the idea of the effect it could add...

              Being the first year we've done a haunt, it was amazingly entertaining to witness the SIMPLEST things that people were afraid of... How that change of mindset just from being in a haunted house caused confusion and fear of just about everything..

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              • #8
                Originally posted by Jennifer Kem View Post
                I do like the idea of movement under their feet. Not enough to cause anyone to fall (even though no matter what it will happen), but I love the idea of the effect it could add...

                Being the first year we've done a haunt, it was amazingly entertaining to witness the SIMPLEST things that people were afraid of... How that change of mindset just from being in a haunted house caused confusion and fear of just about everything..
                An easy funhouse effect that provides stable footing yet allows for that sudden, uncertain movement, is to have a hanging floor, which essentially is a suspended bridge effect, where there is a 4' x 8' section, or 4' x 12' section, of floor that is suspended from framework doubling as handrails, where the whole section can move and shift a few inches in any direction. The patrons have handrails to hold onto, and both feet are firmly planted on the same patch of floor, yet they are still experiencing the extreme wobble and shiftiness of being on that floor.

                I've been on one before. Believe me, if you don't know what's coming, it's very scary indeed, and it's free to build, being that you are just using the basic materials you'd be using to build that part of the haunt anyway, apart from some chain and cheap hardware to go with it. Iow, it figures into the base cost of the house, with no $600 sections of tile to buy and so on.

                Another option is the classic wobble floor, but the above hanging floor will get you closer to what you said you wanted.

                C.

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                • #9
                  Or you could also do this . . .



                  C.

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                  • #10
                    Hmm..both are really cool ideas. And easier than some of the stuff we've done in the past. One year we did a moving floor with a mattress under it. Just added a sheet of braced plywood over it and had the corners hidden under a lip of wood ringed in vinyl. Worked pretty good for one person at a time.

                    You could probably add a transducer and get the vibrating floor as well.

                    The bridge..does it work as well if more than one person is on it at a time ? I seem recall it won't move as much. Would a two or more small bridges work better than a big bridge ?

                    Since we're on Funhouse gags, I love the blast of air from the floor one..really gets a lot of people..especially that one person that is so scared they keep looking down.. lol

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Blade-of-the-moon View Post
                      Hmm..both are really cool ideas. And easier than some of the stuff we've done in the past. One year we did a moving floor with a mattress under it. Just added a sheet of braced plywood over it and had the corners hidden under a lip of wood ringed in vinyl. Worked pretty good for one person at a time.
                      Good option.

                      Originally posted by Blade-of-the-moon View Post
                      The bridge..does it work as well if more than one person is on it at a time ? I seem recall it won't move as much. Would a two or more small bridges work better than a big bridge?
                      As with all things, YMMV. If it works better with a 12' section, do a 12' section. If 8', do 8'. What you mainly want is a stable footing. If you had a 4' section, that could be the middle of a pace for someone, where they step onto it with one foot, and off of it with the other, where they only have the one foot making contact, which would create that potential for slipping and falling. It doesn't have to move too much. Just a few inches in any given direction is more than enough.

                      Originally posted by Blade-of-the-moon View Post
                      Since we're on Funhouse gags, I love the blast of air from the floor one..really gets a lot of people..especially that one person that is so scared they keep looking down.. lol
                      It would be great to have a thread or even a subforum dedicated to funhouse effects. Again, usually cheap or free, since the cost is absorbed by the base cost of building the haunt in the first place.

                      C.

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                      • #12
                        I do like the idea of the suspended floor, although we do have a bridge on the trail that has a similar effect... Maybe we can somehow incorporate it and keep it different enough that it wouldn't just be a repeat...

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                        • #13
                          If hidden well enough Jennifer they'd have no idea it was even close to the same thing. Patrons experience effects but rarely in my experience do they notice when it's the same..unless it's visual.

                          Might give the suspended bridge, vibrating floor a go next year. It really only needs to be a foot above the ground or so if that much to move and shift. Add some shingles or something to it for better traction to reduce slipping.

                          What about using transducers to make the floor vibrate ?

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Jennifer Kem View Post
                            I do like the idea of the suspended floor, although we do have a bridge on the trail that has a similar effect... Maybe we can somehow incorporate it and keep it different enough that it wouldn't just be a repeat...
                            Originally posted by Blade-of-the-moon View Post
                            If hidden well enough Jennifer they'd have no idea it was even close to the same thing. Patrons experience effects but rarely in my experience do they notice when it's the same..unless it's visual.

                            Might give the suspended bridge, vibrating floor a go next year. It really only needs to be a foot above the ground or so if that much to move and shift. Add some shingles or something to it for better traction to reduce slipping.

                            What about using transducers to make the floor vibrate ?
                            Or do a rope bridge with planking in the middle, so there is a wide enough path for ADA and building code compliance, but that would still feel claustrophobic and unstable. Also, no scaring on the bridge. That can create issues and it's just not needed.

                            C.

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                            • #15
                              Could attempt to build a "frame" much like a wall frame, but have the edges set higher. Then fille the frame holes, or dead space with golf balls, then place a sheet of plywood cut to fit within the frame, I included a mockup made in Paint.. Nothing special, ill see if I can upload something better, hopefully you get the idea.

                              The Black would represent the raised edges of the frame, (put a sheet of plywood on bottom side as well), the red would represent some 2x'4s cut to length, and maybe use 2x2 pieces as the cross bars within the frame to seperate spaces of golf balls. It'd give the same effect, and would cost about... $25 at most, maybe less i you already had some plywood to use on it.Could then try somehow attaching handrails or building handrails maybe that somehow run off the wall or some better way to fit regulations. Anyway, I made one of these myself and it works great, Ive used it in home haunts, but as I will be moving to the Commercial Haunt level for the 2013 season. If you have any questions about this just ask!

                              movingfloor.png
                              Last edited by Adam Calhoun; 11-17-2012, 01:56 AM.
                              http://limbohaunt.com
                              Twitter: @LimboHaunt

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