What I learned about Haunt Videos

I just finished watching disk 5 and the final disk of the the Home Haunter's DVD's  for 2011. They were great! I certainly don't envy those judges. I'd have to go back and watch these a second and third time to even narrow it down to a small list!

So I learned a few things to keep in the back of my mind should I ever decide to submit a video. Please don't take this as negative criticism for anyone! Those people that put themselves out there and take the time and energy to submit a video are tops in my book. These are just observations of an amateur that I will want to think about should I decide to take that leap in the future.

#1.  If you only have 3 minutes worth of haunt, best not to stretch it out to 10 minutes worth of video. I'm thinking perfect the footage of the 3 minutes worth. Actually some of the best ones I saw were relatively short.

#2.  What a difference the soundtrack makes! If the video is so long you have to change songs though I think I would loop the main song or shorten the video. Then again, looping it too many times gets monotonous. Might need to refer to observation #1.

#3.  Just because you have a cool effect on your video editing software might not mean you should use it. Some things just don't go together.

#4.  "Haunted house" videos- the low light footage of the horror on guest's  faces- Priceless!

#5.  Likewise, I liked the idea of a few guest commentaries at the end... the young lady comment, "I pee'd my pants... twice" hilarious!

#6.  Repetitive motion on props  really looks..." repetitive". This observation gave me a lot to think about as far as continuous moving props, how many, and how close together they are located.


#7.  Daytime video of props designed for dark...mostly not so good. I imagine the quality of camera and access to tripod for moving footage at night is essential though. Maybe it's because I'm used to horror in the dark it looks out of place in the daytime.


That's about it! These of course are just opinions and I'm sure there are others that would say just the opposite. I would like to hear from anyone else that could add or subtract from these pearls of useless wisdom to maybe help us out when our time comes to take the leap into The Haunter Videos, especially from people that submitted a video. Once again, "Thank You" to all the people that contributed this year! If you haven't purchased these DVD's you really should consider it. It's a true compilation of imagination and inspiration.

Just Ranting

Maybe it's just me but there always seems to be a direct correlation between how simple I think a project will be and the number of walls I run into trying to complete it. The simpler I think it will be in my mind the more complex it actually turns out to be. If I have instructions to follow most times projects flow smoothly, but if this is a ground up design and construction... Murphy's  Law seems to apply at every stage. The "Fun Scale" starts to decrease with each painful step until it just gets to the point where its an all out war to complete and  ZERO fun.

I was hoping to have a wood project completed in several weeks and it now stretches into its third month! With each step of design and assembly comes a new problem. There always seems to be another tool I don't have or another assembly procedure problem! Admittedly it feels good when I can solve a problem but couldn't each project be limited to say one or two problems? Does the whole project need to be the equivalent of a root canal?!

Okay, now I feel better....sort of. :)

World Record Pumpkin Carving

When I was younger the traditional toothy grinned pumpkin developed into a new art form with the application of stencils by Pumpkin Masters. Now, every time I see Ray Villafane's work I can't help but think pumpkin carving has again been taken to a whole new level of artistry. While I still appreciate the traditional Jack-O-Lantern, I enjoyed the hell out of watching this guy work last year in several Food Network Challenges.
He now holds the world record for carving the largest pumpkin at 1,818.5 lbs and stated 2012 will be even greater. 
Check out his site at Villafane Studios or on Facebook, and if you haven't seen his work, prepare to be amazed!

Home Haunter's Video

Pre-ordered the 2011 Home Haunter's Video. Never seen one but I've heard people say other year's have been pretty good. Saw a couple names on the list of haunters I recognize! Good luck on the awards everyone!