Tell Your Friends

Just a post to remind readers they can  follow this blog on Facebook through the network blogs app on this blog.

People can become a fan of my haunted house project, Fenwright Manor on Facebook,  I used to have a MySpace page but I deleted it.
You can also become a fan of Fenwright Manor's cartoon mascot, Mr. Ghost on Facebook.

Be sure to tell your friends

Things to do

The following list of projects are projects that I would like to complete and post pictures, a couple of them might be tutorials

• Giant spider web (maybe spider victim)
• Cinderblock plinth *
• Blinking ghost bride heart circut*
• Six Dave Lowe style candles (being painted)
• Pine Casket (plans are being drafted)

*possible tutorial

First off I would like to thank the new followers that joined this blog.

First off I would like to thank the new followers that joined this blog.  Secondly, I appreciate your patience between posts.  The reason there have been long stretches between posts is I am secretive while building and painting props.  It's not easy for me to share the creative process, and it makes me feel like I am giving everything away.   I hope readers and followers don't feel alienated during the breaks.

Grave Jumper Progress 2 (green skull)

The skull that is to be attached is a plastic skull painted flourescent green.  The teeth are painted with glow-in- the-dark paint.



I glued in two yellow rubber balls with caulking.  I had to use a saw to cut open the back and I could barely fit my hand inside.

I then put a threaded nipple from a lamp kit inside, then added two washers for extra weight.  On the top I added ringed finnial so I could use something to hold onto while adjusting the tightness of the nut on the bottom.  On the bottom I put another washer and then a nut.  I'm going to have to get a thread reducer and a coupling nut for the cylinder rod when I get a new cylinder.                                                                     

Grave Jumper Progress

I first encountered (what is known on the internet as) a "Grave Jumper" while riding The Haunted Mansion at Disneyland in 1995.  What is a grave jumper?  It's basically a head or skull mounted on an air cylinder.  When air goes into the cylinder, the rod inside the cylinder is forced upwards very quickly.  Done right, it is a startling effect.
Some Grave Jumpers are very elaborate, but I'm making this one simple.  I think my only mistake so far is using an air pump as a cylinder.  It only went slow, and was leaking air.  This time I will get a proper cylinder, one that's made for exactly this application. 



This project was planned as early as 2004, and was started in August of 2010 when I finally got an air compressor.   Preliminary planning started in July of 2010 with the construction of a frame made from a 21 inch(53 1/2cm)  "2x"4 attached to a "12 x "12 (30cm x 30cm) plywood base with two screws.

                                                                    (Painted Black)

                                                          (With air pump attached)

A short time after the frame was built, I recieved a 3 way Solenoid valve from Frightprops.com in September of 2010.

     

The solenoid is a 1/4"port 3 way STC brand solenoid.

This model is 110 volt AC and can handle up to 115 PSI

A Work of Sound Design. (Scrooge and Marley)

This is an exercise in sound design. Some sounds can be used to create scenes in sound. Sound effect records do this if the record has a theme. (Example: 1964's Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House). That record was effective in telling stories using sounds that were layered. A five channel mixer can be used to achieve this. Or a computer program such as Wavepad can also be used. These kind of programs can be easy to use. In 2002, I decided to recreate the conversation between Ebenezer Scrooge and Jacob Marley using one microphone, a cup, a chain, and a metal toolbox full of wrenches. I am a fan of the 1951 version of "A Christmas Carol" and try to impersonate Alastair Sim, but it seems to be very tongue in cheek. Last year I used a program to add a reverb to Jacob Marley's parts. Now the following is not to be taken seriously, but as a guide to the wonderful world of sound design.









(Note: I had tried several times to upload the audio to a mp3 flash player site. I had decided to make a movie, then upload it directly here. ) (( This book was published by Castle Books, sound editing was done on wavepad))