HHNiP

Oh, and incredible shots, Nick and Chemo! Keep 'em coming!

Director, check the first image of my post on page 16. You'll see TJ's powerpoint slide that featured Fate. EDIT: Ah, hell. Here it is:

King Panther, I think your statement that "the idea is not to appeal to lesser fans, it's to make those lesser fans bigger fans," is a wonderful thought (and I'm sure it's the final goal of the A&D team). I know that 2005's extra consideration to the fans (the ARG, specifically) is what really caught my attention and made me the fan I currently am. However, I think 2005 is also a good example of a few of my points about Fear. Yes, there were a LOT of extra storylines running through the 2005 event, but most of them were lost on the average consumer. I attended the event that year, and even I was unaware of just how intricate and inter-connected the various houses-and-scarezone stories were. Just as you said, 2005 featured "an almost tacked on" Icon in The Storyteller. If I remember correctly, there were a lot of negative opinions on her at the time, just as there currently are for Fear. Their purposes were identical, though: represent the event in bold, easy-to-understand terms that appeal to the mass market. If memory serves (and for any of you reading this, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong), The Storyteller was created by the marketing side, completely independent of the A&D team. The event needs to appeal to as many people as possible, thus cool-looking Icons who are a little more "shallow" in their characterization will typically win out over creepy (not terrifying) looking but interesting-in-the-long-run characters.

Oh, I completely agree that Fear was under-utilized, both in the marketing of the event, as well in-park. Your thoughts on the billboards featuring "Fear's mouth" are apt, but they're probably also a result of some of the fallout from the Bloody Mary billboards. Universal may be hesitant to feature graphically-frightening characters so front and center on a billboard, or other advertising. I think the actual marketing of the event should have featured the character far more prominently, and probably would have been considered more succesful had they done so. Then again, hindsight is 20-20. Now Sindy's appeal, on the other hand, is limited at first glance (again, in my opinion). Yes, children can be creepy in the right context, but it's that context that makes them creepy. If you were to see a standard photo of Cindy, you might think, "That kid looks really intense, which is kinda creepy." You probably won't jump straight to, "Wow, that kid looks really intense, so she probably has telekinetic powers and could light me on fire with her mind if she so chose." If you've ever seen the classic Twilight Zone episode, "It's A Good Life," or seen the 1980's Twilight Zone: The Movie, you've seen similar stories: innocuous-looking children (innocuous, in Sindy's case, as there are no outwardly identifying features that would indicate her powers) who are eventually revealed to hold incredible (and potentially malevolent) power. Those stories work because of the juxtaposition of the "innocent child" with "evil and powerful." And again, I say that those stories DO work, but they work because the revelation as to the true nature of the character usually comes later in the story. Hence, my analogy of Sindy to the "slow-burn" movie.

I disagree with the opinions on the other night's alternate pitch. While I thought the "Halloween Tree" idea was interesting, I think the decision to go with Fear was the correct choice of the two. I enjoyed the Sindy pitch video. I enjoyed the extensive Sindy backstory and I thought the way they tied her origins in with the other Icons was clever and unique. I enjoyed the imagery of a giant, flaming tree as a centerpiece of the event. I appreciated how they would have finally given Sindy her own year to headline, as opposed to the hidden nods that we've had thus far. All of those things appealed to me and my "hardcore HHN fandom." However, myself, and any of you who also consider yourselves to be "hardcore HHN fans," are not the target demographic of the event. As much as we hate to admit it, the event is aimed at the casual consumer: people who come to the event with a group of friends, see a handful of houses, enjoy a number of alcoholic beverages, then leave. The ideal Guest doesn't know backstory of any of the Icons, nor does it matter to them. They don't have much (if any) knowledge of previous events, and are drawn more by the spectacle of the event (and the spectre of lots and lots of booze) than by anything else. Unless there's pre-existing knowledge of the Icon (i.e. Freddy, Jason, Leatherface and, at this point, Jack), the choice of character that appears on a billboard is irrelevant. With that in mind, which pitch do you think appeals more to the average HHN-goer? In my opinion (and that's all this is), the more accessible-to-Joe-Public choice is obviously Fear: he's visually appealing, his backstory can be summed up concisely, and he allows more liberal usage of the previous Icons. You can learn all you need to know about Fear by listening to one of the HHN ads, or by simply seeing his image. Fear is the HHN equivalent to a horror movie trailer: there's instant appeal, it creates anticipation for the event, but these things are sacrificed at the expense of layers of development and complexity. Sindy's story, on the other hand, may feature more complex themes, but they require much more of a time investment on the part of the consumer. You have to learn about Sindy before she's at her most frightening. Sindy's story is a "slow-burn" thriller film: it may be scarier in the end, but you have to make it to the end to get that payoff. When you start thinking about what could have been, remember this: the creators of HHN are fans, too. They love these characters just as much as any of us, but they're still subject to the business decisions of a corporation. When good ideas go unused, they're never thrown away. If it weren't for those HHN creators, we never would have seen the Sindy pitch video, the incredible concept artwork of years past, or had the opportunity to attend the Secrets of the Past lecture series. They want to share these stories with us, be it through a full-scale event or other channels. Enjoy that relationship with the creative team. Enjoy the things that they are able to actually pull off, and enjoy the ideas that didn't make it or haven't-yet-been. After all, just because it sounds good in a pitch doesn't mean it would have worked in real life.

I think that was my Skoolhouse picture in 2008. Anyway, thanks for the answer. And thanks for running the contest again this year! You do a great job with this stuff, Suike!

"Photos can be from any aspect of the event as long as it showcases the atmosphere of the event and does not contain posing actors or guests." Dumb question, but does this mean that it can't contain ANY actors or guests, or that they just can't be "posing" for the photo?

Some favorites from today's upload set: A sneak peak at an Icon that never was: Fate! The original actor who played Jack was at the Icon talk the other night. I believe his name was James Keaton.

I just uploaded a big batch from the past two nights. There'll be another batch uploaded tomorrow. In the meantime, here are some favs:

Here are some of my photos from last night (Sunday, the 24th). A big thanks to the lovely ladies of The Coven for letting me spend so much time in their SZ. Also, thanks to both casts of the 20 Years SZ for being so accomodating. After being inspired by the wonderful flash-free pictures of FL Universal Jax, I attempted to take many of these without employing my flash. Some of them turned out, others not so much. As always, the entire set can be found HERE. Enjoy! I hadn't noticed this before last night, but I thought it was a nice touch: (Notice the bloody "ZOMB" written over 'MARDI')

A smattering of shots from last night: And lastly, here's good ole' FL_Universal_Jax posing for a picture:

Great shots, guys! Keep 'em coming! Wes, you always impress! See you guys at Secrets of the Past on Thursday!

I wasn't there for the first week's presentation, but the past two seem to have lasted somewhere between an hour to an hour and a half, followed by a short Q&A session. The 8pm session tends to run a little longer, as they get more concise and efficient at the 10pm talk.

The talks are at 8 and 10pm. It doesn't seem like the VIP Lounge opens up much earlier than that (I think it opens at 7:30, but I could be wrong). If you're looking for a seat (and possibly a front-row seat), I would recommend getting there when the Lounge opens, just to be safe. From what I've seen from the last two weeks, the 8pm talk is usually full, whereas there's plenty of room during the 10pm session.

Congrats, giant! Now you're famous for ever and ever! I haven't gotten to take your picture yet, but I'll try to spend a little more time at Saws N' Steam to see if I can snap a pic of you and your cast mates. I'm in the midst of a big new photo update. I'm going to post more thumbnails here than I usually do, as I think there are a lot of neat photos in this batch. As usual, check the Flickr page for the whole kit n' caboodle. Otherwise, I hope you enjoy them!

A few pictures from last night's Secrets of the Past lecture (the entire set can be found HERE):

Took a bunch of pictures last night, including quite a few at the Secrets of the Past lecture. I'll post those over in the VIP thread, but here are some from the first batch:

Wow! Absolutely incredible shots, guys! Chemowasabi, for not having the lens you "wanted" to use, you still took fantastic pics! Can't wait to see what you'll do when you have your ideal equipment. I love that gallery interface, too. What is that, if you don't mind me asking? Wes, your shots are spectacular, as always! Your Esqueleto Muerte shots are inspiring me to turn my flash off!

Just uploaded a few more shots from the VIP Lounge, for those of you who are interested. Some of my favorites: And lastly, here's Mr. Ray Keim, builder of the Universal Palace Theater model.

Spent quite a bit of time in the Lounge last so look for more photos over the next couple of days.

I took a bunch of photos last night. I'll probably end up uploading them over the next couple of days to the HHNXX Collection. For any of you who are unaware, we've started an HHNXX Flickr Group. Feel free to join and share your photos there, as well! Here are some favs:

Hey Director, I just sent you a message on Flickr, as HNN said you couldn't receive any more PM's. Check your Flickrmail, or delete some message out of your Inbox here and let me know so I can re-send it.

Just uploaded a bunch of pictures fthe VIP Lounge and last night's Legendary Truth lecture. They can be found HERE. You can see more thumbnails over in the HHN VIP Lounge Thread. I'll put these under a spoiler tag, just in case you're heading to the VIP Lounge and want to be surprised.