I rarely go on these forums but I just wanted to vent some frustrations regarding my experiences in the Haunt business..
I work in Pittsburgh, so add up the rest as I won't name names...
Ok So I'm a special effects artist and designer for an amusement park out here. I'm now in my fourth season. This year was my first year designing an entire Haunt and it's been an extremely fun experience..
That being said, I'm a professional who absolutely LOVES what he does. I have a trade, a skill, a job. This is what I make my living doing.
Earlier in the year I got a phone call from the owner of a local well known haunt asking me if I'd be interested in helping his crew out with some designs/props etc for their upcoming season, and asked me to email some of my prices.. I then responded with an extremely enthusiastic YES!! This was my favorite Haunt in the whole Pittsburgh area, hell yeah I'd help out.
After sending the email I waited, and waited... and waited some more to hear back. Finally I made the call cause I was honestly really excited about being able to help them out.
During our phone conversation I was basically told 2 things, the first; "I can't afford you, why would I spend that much for a prop when I can go to Unit 70 and get one for cheaper" and secondly; "if you're working for them (Amusement Park) and you were working for me, you'd kind of have your hand in the cookie jar and would be able to reveal our secrets"....
First off, when I'm making a "one-of-a-kind" prop, it's a lot different than buying something from a company who has half the work already done (meaning the sculptures and the molds already made). Almost 80% of the cost comes from the initial sculptures. Then there's costuming, painting etc.
So then I tried to bargain, I basically told him I wanted to help out so much that I'd work for practically nothing. I mean, I REALLY wanted to help out, just because I genuinely did, NOT because I wanted to reveal his secrets. Then I was given the old "I'll call you"... and NEVER heard back, go figure.
I pretty much realized that this guy just wants to find talented people who haven't quite made it into the business yet, and just vacuum work out of them for nothing. It's great they get "exposure", but I now know it's not just that, it's who you know and how you are as a person that gets you work as a professional. I get where he's coming from on a business level, but even after the offer to work for free for him, I still was turned down.
As a person who loves what he does and really loves haunting, I've kinda lost some respect for these smaller Haunts... Top 5 haunted house or not, that's some pretty uncool shit. I'm the artist, not the business man, but I do know my boundaries. I've gotta pay bills and make a living just as much as the owner of a small business does...
I just can't believe some of the things I've witnessed in this industry, it's really
sad..
I think I just want the guy to say, "hey, it's nothing personal", but I guess that'll never happen....
Oh well, that's not exactly gonna stop me from loving this business, as "dog-eat-dog" as it is.
I work in Pittsburgh, so add up the rest as I won't name names...
Ok So I'm a special effects artist and designer for an amusement park out here. I'm now in my fourth season. This year was my first year designing an entire Haunt and it's been an extremely fun experience..
That being said, I'm a professional who absolutely LOVES what he does. I have a trade, a skill, a job. This is what I make my living doing.
Earlier in the year I got a phone call from the owner of a local well known haunt asking me if I'd be interested in helping his crew out with some designs/props etc for their upcoming season, and asked me to email some of my prices.. I then responded with an extremely enthusiastic YES!! This was my favorite Haunt in the whole Pittsburgh area, hell yeah I'd help out.
After sending the email I waited, and waited... and waited some more to hear back. Finally I made the call cause I was honestly really excited about being able to help them out.
During our phone conversation I was basically told 2 things, the first; "I can't afford you, why would I spend that much for a prop when I can go to Unit 70 and get one for cheaper" and secondly; "if you're working for them (Amusement Park) and you were working for me, you'd kind of have your hand in the cookie jar and would be able to reveal our secrets"....
First off, when I'm making a "one-of-a-kind" prop, it's a lot different than buying something from a company who has half the work already done (meaning the sculptures and the molds already made). Almost 80% of the cost comes from the initial sculptures. Then there's costuming, painting etc.
So then I tried to bargain, I basically told him I wanted to help out so much that I'd work for practically nothing. I mean, I REALLY wanted to help out, just because I genuinely did, NOT because I wanted to reveal his secrets. Then I was given the old "I'll call you"... and NEVER heard back, go figure.
I pretty much realized that this guy just wants to find talented people who haven't quite made it into the business yet, and just vacuum work out of them for nothing. It's great they get "exposure", but I now know it's not just that, it's who you know and how you are as a person that gets you work as a professional. I get where he's coming from on a business level, but even after the offer to work for free for him, I still was turned down.
As a person who loves what he does and really loves haunting, I've kinda lost some respect for these smaller Haunts... Top 5 haunted house or not, that's some pretty uncool shit. I'm the artist, not the business man, but I do know my boundaries. I've gotta pay bills and make a living just as much as the owner of a small business does...
I just can't believe some of the things I've witnessed in this industry, it's really
sad..
I think I just want the guy to say, "hey, it's nothing personal", but I guess that'll never happen....
Oh well, that's not exactly gonna stop me from loving this business, as "dog-eat-dog" as it is.
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