body mounted cameras like MTV Fear

[bhays]

As we were thinking of queue line entertainment for next season we had a couple of ideas come up in our little brainstorming session at the cast party. One of them was fitting certain guests with night vision cameras that look back at their faces (they did this in the MTV series Fear a few years ago)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MTV's_Fear

The video feed from this would either be displayed on tv's in the lobby or taped and played back on the tv's.... I think if it could be live that would be awesome as the folks in line would see the person fitted with the camera go in and be able to watch their reactions through the house...

Anyone have any ideas for hardware that could make this possible without breaking the bank...I was thinking of some sort of WiFi cameras and a wireless access point...dunno

The other idea is to have cameras located in certain rooms inside the haunt. We are going to go out before we open and have several cast members in plain clothes go through as though they are customers...we will actually kill/beat/abduct these folks. Then we would like to cut these pre-recorded scenes in with the live footage of the rooms while open (maybe use some static to disguise the switch from live video to pre-recorded.. The technical details would have to be worked out, but I think it could really freak some people out in line to see a group actually killed on the monitor..then come to that same room when they go through..

[Jim Warfield]

"Lives by the sword, dies by the sword."
Some customer will flip out, get their sword out of the engine block where it was doing dip-stick duties and slice some actors up in the attempt to defend those victims.
What with all the emotionally disturbed and drug-manipulated personalitys roaming around out there , push some people and they might break!
"Life imitates "Art", and Art happens to be a registered nutball!
yikes!
Of course those anal cameras ..........

[Tattoo]

Brett,

I do believe any camera will work for what you want to do (as long as it is a good quality camera with a night vision option) You can probably find the harness which holds the camera on-line or send Scott Broad from Haunted Media DVD Magazine an e-mail, he has done extensive filming at Terror on the Fox the past two seasons for a feature issue that we are very proud to be part of.

If you follow this link you can view a trailer using that method of filming, VERY COOL perspective of the customers reactions!

http://hauntindustrynetwork.ning.com...405:Video:1383


P.S. Still waiting on the mirror maze plans from my partner (computer issues) I will get them to you soon.

Happy Holidays,

Tattoo

[Nightgore]

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...a_Support.html


Little pricey, but all camera stabilization products are! You can probably find instructions on how to build on yourself somewhere! -Tyler

[TheCareTaker]

good idea put would the falks inline realy know if it was live or previously taped

[Monster-Tronics]

I like the live body-cam idea! You would have to pick the right person which is very easy to do if you have any wait line monsters working the line. You could put on a bit of a show selecting the person and mounting the camera on them in front of everybody etc…

You might try X-10 wireless camera’s, I have not used them in several years but they use to work pretty good and are cheap. Not sure how directional the antennas are, that could be a problem if you have to aim them. I’ve seen movies of people using them on rockets and the movies looked good so I’m guessing you would not need stabilization.

Also any video camera can be night vision by adding an IR LED. For a face shot you would only need one LED which would light up the persons face plenty and cost less then a buck or two. If you need any help with the IR LED illuminator feel free to give me a shout, I’ve made a bunch of them in the past.

Here’s the X-10 site:
www.x10.com/homepage.htm

[Monster-Tronics]

Just thought of something… You’ll will get the best stabilization by mounting the cam rig on a helmet vs a body rig. Your head does not bounce around as much as your body does. I use to do video recording of snowmobiling and the helmet cams worked great even bouncing thru the trails at 90 MPH.

[bhays]

Just thought of something… You’ll will get the best stabilization by mounting the cam rig on a helmet vs a body rig. Your head does not bounce around as much as your body does. I use to do video recording of snowmobiling and the helmet cams worked great even bouncing thru the trails at 90 MPH.

Yeah, I was thinking of some sort of helmet cam setup. Sort of a modification of the carrot out in front of the mule ;

If you are thinking of a product, let me be Beta Tester number one

[Monster-Tronics]

I was not thinking of it becoming a product but if you want I could put one together for you. It will be mostly off the shelf products. I have all the parts except for the wireless camera. These are the types of projects I like to cobble together. I have a couple more ideas too!

[bhays]

I was not thinking of it becoming a product but if you want I could put one together for you. It will be mostly off the shelf products. I have all the parts except for the wireless camera. These are the types of projects I like to cobble together. I have a couple more ideas too!

It sounds interesting. It would need to be durable, we have several places in our haunt where the guests have to duck down, etc. and wouldn't want it to get smacked on a beam, etc.

I was actually thinking of something fiberglas that would enclose the whole thing. Sort of like those aerodynamic bicycling helmets, but the extended part would be on the front rather than the rear and enclose the camera and IR illuminator.

I do think it's definitely a cool idea. The X10 wireless cameras are an interesting option, just have to see how well the signal travels in the building and how decent the night vision is.