Colour

Being a rather old fossil, I remember when there was no TV. I listened to radio. Well, actually I am not that old; TV was around, but barely. Local stations were coming on the air, the magic box was in the papers, but I had radio. Grand serials, my favorite were "The Shadow". I would listen to the brown box and visualize the events. This was fast paced stuff, the dialogue riveting and sounds (called sound effects today) all descriptive. I could see the events painted out before me; I could see them in colour.

'Tis a shame that that is not the case in most haunts of today. Some of you folks are in serious need of a radio. And maybe a seeing eye dog (yes I know they see in black and white) to guide you around your haunt. Ever sit in your haunt, in the dark, closing your eyes and taking in the sounds during operation? I have, then I am stranger than most. Do it, this season, on a busy night, park your butt for an hour or two and listen, listen to the colour. Yes, sound is colour. You paint with it as well as with the colour of light. Your customers provide some of the finest colour, but only if you provide colours for them to see and hear.

Hundreds of man-hours are spent on building a haunt. How many did you spend on colouring it? No, not paint and I do not care how great your airbrush artist is. Because all of his work is for naught should you fail to properly present it to the customer. The sound of dripping or rushing water brings to mind which colour? An ice cavern, we are chilled to the bone; the blinding whiteness penetrates our bones, what sound comes to mind? A fireplace crackles, the cat lies before it, a table set with milk and cookies, a book opened face down, all covered with dust and the propped up legs belong to a corpse; what comes to mind? What do we want to see, hear, what message do you wish to convey?

"Hey guys I need a sound effect here, oh and get me a red gel!" RED! what colour red, shade, intensity, aimed where? Why? To what end? Sound effect, of what? From where? And, oh, by the way how loud? A little planning, please.

STOP. Lets not get too carried away. All of the above is a lost cause, unless you can execute it every night you are open, for every customer that enters. Each scene must play out the same over and over and… Automation you say. HA, I don't think so. Unless of course your customers are patrons in a Dark Ride and not a walk through. (see article "More Than Hot Air) A true haunt is a theatrical experience. A customer walks through a continuos play, some interaction may or may not take place, actors may modify their presentation to meet the customers needs. Actors do not need to be hamstrung by automation. Instead it should enhance. Lighting/sound effects should be triggered by the actors in the scene or by a technician working the scene. These effects should enhance the presentation and be flexible enough to take in to account the many variations of customer reactions.

Shades of coloured light amplify sound effects. Each must be properly placed in relationship to the customer path with in the scene. Decisions as to what or who is to be coloured must be made. The placement of the speaker is not any more or less important than the placement and colour of the light source. The two work together in presenting the actors and scene to the customer. Low frequency sounds need more power and amplitude to carry as well as high frequency sounds, which need less. Colour has variations of intensity called saturation. The deeper the colour the more light amplitude needed to present the colour. Focusing of the lighting instrument changes the suggested intensity of the colour. Sharp defined edges (focused spot) versus soft bleeding to nothingness edges (flood) shape the scene and suggest an intensity level.

A sound effect that cannot be seen is lost and worthless. If the creature suddenly lurches for me, is properly illuminated and sounds as if from another world, then and only then will the customer be looking for another pair of Depends.

Next Week, The Customer

Mad Hatter

Copyright 1999, All Rights Reserved

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