Best prop response I got this year

[scottylmt]

Raven I love it. How it the effect achieved tho? A slanted mirror underneath? Noob question lol

Thanks

[captpete]

If I were you, I'd put it inside towards the middle or end of your inside portion, that way most of the tracked debris would have already fallen off. I used some carpeting on the floor leading up to it which also helped with the dust.

The problem with the grate is that you will still have the debris and dust fall through the grate anyways and be seen just as much as if they were standing on the plexy, but more importantly they will just be standing on the grate, and loose the "leap of faith moment" and adrenaline rush when they step off into open space. We originally had a monster stationed in the corner right behind them to just keep people going. This ended up turning to be a location that all the monsters fought over because it was such an easy scare. EVERYONE was so distracted that they had no idea someone was 12 inches from their face. So they got it whether they were afraid of heights and refusing to walk or just trying to figure out what the hell was going on and whether or not it was real. It was the best distraction effect by far.

Good info. I agree the bridge would be a bit un scary. I was thinking of the high cost of 3/4" plexi with that design in mind, but if it takes away from the effect I would not opt for that.

Thanks, Pete

[captpete]

Raven I love it. How it the effect achieved tho? A slanted mirror underneath? Noob question lol

Thanks

It is the classic " infinity mirror illusion" AKA bottomless pit. A box with a mirror on the bottom, and a two way mirror on the top.
When the light in the box is brighter than the outside light, the items in the box reflect between the two mirrors giving a infinity effect.
I did one as an escape hatch:

[Jim Warfield]

Relatively thin plexiglass, so I bought a lot of it, stacked it up, fastened it together. The side span is as small as I could make it and still have people fit through it, everyone has fit so far, we have a walk-around passage if needed.
The straight ahead distance is maybe close to 8 feet with steel supports ever so often, these are what the moving shutters attach to. All the shutters move in unison as the control lever is moved as if they are being dumped to an area below. That space is only about 3 feet down but the red light alternating with the green light makes it hard to tell how deep it is. I was originally going to have a body, living or not under there but it probably works better without one.
They enter this passageway and are inside a real brick tunnel with a curved ceiling, the bricks curve sideways making a 90 degree entrance, then flair out at the other end for the exit. All the bricks are actually really old bricks from the 1850's and this fact is not hidden nor lost on most people and this part of it did take most of the three years I was building it. (I could not work on it full-time being open every night of the year.)
It all needs some "Tweaking" ... yet.

[Jim Warfield]

The best response I got this year was probably from a small piece of everyday junk that thousands of us throw away everyday that I got people to flinch, scream, jump, even run across the room to get away from me once I began talking about what it was.
The real truth showing how good this routine was , was when ten people are all watching the others react, then they also,inturn scream or jump too! And all the lights are "on" , big and bright the whole time too!
Everyone left that room laughing at one another, mostly.
The fact of what I told them is true, then my own acting (or was it "Salesmanship") took it from there.
Most of my acting proceeds at a normal, everyday pace, which helps "sell" it better, in my opinion. Maybe because they then can't really tell if I am acting or not or just a crazed-looney SOB!? (Which is a good "card" to be holding sometimes because it sure ain't The Old Maid!

[ravensmoon]

Good info. I agree the bridge would be a bit un scary. I was thinking of the high cost of 3/4" plexi with that design in mind, but if it takes away from the effect I would not opt for that.

Thanks, Pete

The plexi is expensive, but ay least its fireproof LOL

[zombietoxin]

Awesome distraction scare for sure.

FYI- there are two common types of plastic sheeting-

Acrylic- commonly known as plexiglass- is approximately 10X stronger than glass, but is relatively brittle and drilling holes in 1/4" or less thick sheets will likely result in cracking the sheet. Cutting to size is also a cracking issue on thinner sheets and It scratches easier. It's the cheaper of the two.

Polycarbonate- commonly known as Lexan- is approximately 250X stronger than glass and WILL NOT CRACK when drilling and I cut mine with jigsaws, sawzalls, table saws and even tin snips without concern about cracks or breaking. It also is a little more resistant to scratching and buffs a little easier. It's more expensive.

Unfortunately I've never seen polycarbonate sheets at any DIY stores- just acrylic.

I've never done a walk-over with either of these plastics so I can't say which is actually better for the purpose, but I can say that I avoid acrylic when polycarbonate is available.

[Moxley Manor]

Very cool! Awesome job!

It is the classic " infinity mirror illusion" AKA bottomless pit. A box with a mirror on the bottom, and a two way mirror on the top.
When the light in the box is brighter than the outside light, the items in the box reflect between the two mirrors giving a infinity effect.
I did one as an escape hatch:

[ravensmoon]

Awesome distraction scare for sure.

FYI- there are two common types of plastic sheeting-

Acrylic- commonly known as plexiglass- is approximately 10X stronger than glass, but is relatively brittle and drilling holes in 1/4" or less thick sheets will likely result in cracking the sheet. Cutting to size is also a cracking issue on thinner sheets and It scratches easier. It's the cheaper of the two.

Polycarbonate- commonly known as Lexan- is approximately 250X stronger than glass and WILL NOT CRACK when drilling and I cut mine with jigsaws, sawzalls, table saws and even tin snips without concern about cracks or breaking. It also is a little more resistant to scratching and buffs a little easier. It's more expensive.

Unfortunately I've never seen polycarbonate sheets at any DIY stores- just acrylic.

I've never done a walk-over with either of these plastics so I can't say which is actually better for the purpose, but I can say that I avoid acrylic when polycarbonate is available.

Yes Poly is WAY stronger, doesn't crack, and mills much easier, but it actually scratches WAY more than the Acrylic and it also bows a lot when laid flat (which is one of the reasons it is so strong)... Unfortunately when I did this effect a few years ago I went with the polycarbonate for strength and it scratched very easily. this year I researched to find something that wouldn't scratch or bow (basically went to a large plastic manufacture in the area where I bought the stuff and told them what I was doing) and the scratch resistant Poly was 3x the price of normal poly. So I just got a 3/4" acrylic which was about 1/3 the price of normal poly, and was plenty strong enough for what I was doing. It held up much better and the scratches were pretty much unnoticeable.

[Jim Warfield]

Cutting all sorts of plexiglass using a very thin circular wheel, .045", made for cutting steel , in my 4 1/2 inch electric grinder.
The blade is made by DeWalt and sells for maybe $2.20 each and one blade will cut a lot of plexi. (Or steel)
When I drill plexiglass I hold the drill back, allowing only a very slight pressure toward the plexiglas.
Make sure and drill the hole larger than the bolt you are going to put through it and use a large washer to distribute the pull, and don't go crazy over-tightening it. Use more holes and bolts than you need too to spread out the destructive cracking forces more evenly across the plexiglass. Maybe seek out some washers that come with a rubber washer attached to them.
That .045 DeWalt wheel changes my whole outlook when it comes to working steel, a Very Good Product.