The Director of Horror Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 It is possible to "break" a person's psyche though, I believe, and I think Universal has already shown us how. Find the commercial for 2004's HHN ("What's Your Breaking Point." Imagine a house that has a short hallway, followed by a room. You exit that room, go down a short hallway and find yourself in the same room. The scares are in the same place. Short hallway. Same room, different scares. Hall. Same room. Different Scares. Hall. Same room, backwards. Different Scares. Hall. Same room. Same scares from first two rooms. Hall. Upside down room. Structuring a house this way kills any feeling of progression, and the later rooms can have different effects (completely dark, steady strobe shows glimpses of a murder). It forces familiarity and uncertainty because the guest starts to have an expectation, and the trick is challenging those expectations. It would be extremely risky (and probably quite difficult). Making it the longest house of the event (12-13 "scenes" rather than 10) causes even more unease because it causes a feeling like you cannot escape. It could, easily, be the most effective "Mess with Drunks House" without needing elaborate strobes or effects, but rather just clever design. Call it, "Deja-Vu" and watch the confusion. I'm really interested in that idea. Like you said, very risky, but it could be one of the best (and most unique houses) Universal has ever done. I wonder if A&D ever just merely thought of that to feature during 2004. It would've made a small connection between the promo stuff (commercial) and a house. Therefore giving 2004 a very brief "constant and carried out" theme. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LV-426 Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 Oh.... That's good. Really good. I wonder why they didn't use any sort of 'ceiling' last year. It was a bit off-putting, I agree, to look up and see the rafters of the soundstage. It doesn't take much, even some ratty cheesecloth is better than nothing! Mae I kept asking and talking about the roof in houses subject last year, I said that even if they used plastic sheets, even a plastic bag as a roof would be better than nothing someone said it was a fire hazard, I agree, the houses really need roofs, even if is ratty cheesecloth (lol) I agree, anything on top would be great, and it would work better at scaring you, I HATE seeing the roof of the building, but, like someone told me, fire hazard or something... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armyofrobots Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 but, like someone told me, fire hazard or something... the roof, the roof, the roof is on fire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cody Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 I actually like the buttons as long as you don't start advertising them or putting giant "PRESS ME GUESTS!" signs over them. The thing that made the Psychoscarepy button so great was that the only ways you found out was learning from fans, watching someone do it, or going on the behind the scenes tours. It made it a neat surprise to show newbies when bringing them for the first time and could even help a guest scare someone in line behind or in front of them (like triggering a scare about 1 or 2 people ahead/behind). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacy Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 I've never really bought the ceiling thing as a fire-hazard: Cheesecloth and plastic burns faster than wood. It probably just comes down to money. The houses have to be built as if they were permanent structures per permitting requirements. That would mean that any ceiling wouldn't just have to exist, but be to code. That alone could add a million dollars to the price of a house. Additionally, a ceiling really gets in the way of ambient effects such as light and sound. A single light wash fixture can cover multiple rooms when their is no ceiling (you see this more in "building" houses, like Psychoscarepy and Wyandot), and that requires fewer lights. To the get same coverage, closer (required if there is a ceiling), you would actually require two lights in each room (to get the full spread), plus all the specials that are required normally (pin-lights, strobes, etc). One wash-light for three rooms > six lights for the same three rooms. This isn't even taking into account the heat that conventional fixtures put out. Put those in an enclosed area with a ceiling and it can make the all the houses swelter. Yes, LEDs don't put out as much heat, they are (roughly) three times more expensive than a conventional light. It takes time and money to replace the thousands of lights Universal uses during the event to the new era of lighting (see what I did there?). Audio is a similar issue because it would require each room to have speakers, where currently they get away with letting noise bleed into each room for more coverage. That's why the audio levels are so inconsistent as you go through a house. Really, it boils down to money and lighting/audio. I'm sure management feels, "If A&D and the scareactors do their jobs, nobody is looking up at the lack of a ceiling," and they have a certain point. And I can assure you the lighting department will cut a fool if they are required to essentially triple their workload all because we "have" to have a ceiling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fallow Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 While Legacy raises some great operational points, the thing I don't like is that ceilings been done effectively in the past, and they've stopped doing it now. That says to me that they're willing to cut down the overall experience while raising prices - a very Team Disney Orlando way of doing things. Then again, we've already seen the event decrease in size since 2007, so I guess I shouldn't be all that surprised... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mae Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 I kept asking and talking about the roof in houses subject last year, I said that even if they used plastic sheets, even a plastic bag as a roof would be better than nothing someone said it was a fire hazard, I agree, the houses really need roofs, even if is ratty cheesecloth (lol) I agree, anything on top would be great, and it would work better at scaring you, I HATE seeing the roof of the building, but, like someone told me, fire hazard or something... I swear I remember 'ceilings' in other soundstage houses; NOES:DW (I even have a photo of the ratty cheesecloth from this one!), Creatures!, Psyschoscarepy:HFTH...what changed? It doesn't have to be much and there are tons of products out there that are fire resistant, if not fire retardant. I can't see how it would become a fire hazard with so many options these days. Mae Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mae Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 I actually like the buttons as long as you don't start advertising them or putting giant "PRESS ME GUESTS!" signs over them. The thing that made the Psychoscarepy button so great was that the only ways you found out was learning from fans, watching someone do it, or going on the behind the scenes tours. It made it a neat surprise to show newbies when bringing them for the first time and could even help a guest scare someone in line behind or in front of them (like triggering a scare about 1 or 2 people ahead/behind). I like the sneaky aspect of the buttons, too. In fact, why can't they have some in line, with video of the scares as they happen playing for our amusement while we wait. THAT would be some great line entertainment! Mae Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Jimmy Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 I like the sneaky aspect of the buttons, too. In fact, why can't they have some in line, with video of the scares as they happen playing for our amusement while we wait. THAT would be some great line entertainment! Mae But wouldn't those be SPOILERS for the scares? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mae Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 But wouldn't those be SPOILERS for the scares? Go on, ruin all our fun. If it was done in a non-descript area, and all we could see were the people's reactions, it might work. Ever see the America Haunts that went to The Beast in St Louis? They had a great scare involving a video screen, an animatronic, and a sensor. I could see something like that working... Mae Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Jimmy Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 (edited) Go on, ruin all our fun. If it was done in a non-descript area, and all we could see were the people's reactions, it might work. Ever see the America Haunts that went to The Beast in St Louis? They had a great scare involving a video screen, an animatronic, and a sensor. I could see something like that working... Mae What would be absolutely diabolical would be videos that seemed to show scares inside, but actually were taped to give the guests the false expectation of scares inside. Then when they got to the room where they expected a certain scare from a certain direction - a completely different, totally unexpected scare would freak them out! Or the videos could show guests walking through a "safe" area before a scare happened and inside the scare would happen in this area instead! That would be just evil. Edited April 26, 2011 by Dr. Jimmy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victim08 Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 I think we won't be seeing anything from last year...yet. I think they want to start the 'new era of darkness" with never before been seen stuff. Maybe in a year or two we might see some of the houses/scarezones from XX return.? Ohh, and I ask you guys this...when do you guys think we will be getting some solid evidence, rumors, leaks etc??? Do we have anything yet?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacy Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 I think we won't be seeing anything from last year...yet. I think they want to start the 'new era of darkness" with never before been seen stuff. Maybe in a year or two we might see some of the houses/scarezones from XX return.? Ohh, and I ask you guys this...when do you guys think we will be getting some solid evidence, rumors, leaks etc??? Do we have anything yet?? Late May, June timeframe is when we will start getting verifiable rumors. July is when we will start getting hard evidence of stuff (thanks to auditions). Just remember to listen for shaved heads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDW Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 (edited) Oh I totally forgot about the queue video question at the forum. Someone asked why they queue videos are not as prevalent as before and Mike's response was cost. (the short of it anyway) So they pick and choose which ones to do. Another thing mentioned was that alot of people think HOS and HHN go head to head and they stated that its not the case. In fact they share "secrets" and want each other to do well as it helps them both if the other suceeds. Edited April 26, 2011 by JWFearman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Creeper06 Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 Oh I totally forgot about the queue video question at the forum. Someone asked why they queue videos are not as prevalent as before and Mike's response was cost. (the short of it anyway) So they pick and choose which ones to do. Another thing mentioned was that alot of people think HOS and HHN go head to head and they stated that its not the case. In fact they share "secrets" and want each other to do well as it helps them both if the other suceeds. I definitely miss the queue videos but I understand they only have so much $$$ to spread around the event and this is one element that has to take the hit (I think we all would rather the money go into the houses anyway). But I loved what they did last year by having a house-specific video where appropriate (Zombiegeddon) but then just had a basic HHN-themed video for the rest. It was still a great mood-setter for those other houses and also a nice trip down memory lane for us old folks who've been going forever Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwoolboy Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 I'm hoping to see HAVOC and CATACOMBS return in some form this year, but I wouldn't be too disappointed if they failed to show up (after all this year is supposed to be a NEW era of darkness). On another note: when I go to HHN this year I'll officially be 21, I can't wait to finally try one of those rad looking Jello shots. I'm not gonna get drunk, but I'll definently get my buzz on while I'm there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhi Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 I like the sneaky aspect of the buttons, too. In fact, why can't they have some in line, with video of the scares as they happen playing for our amusement while we wait. THAT would be some great line entertainment! Mae I could actually see this being a lot of fun, it reminds me of mummy, where you can activate the jet of air a couple rooms over by touching the scarab under the video screen, when it turns blue. as long as they were to space out when you could press the button, and keep the video in a room that's hard to tell apart from the others, I could see it being amusing and getting quite a few scares! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mae Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 I'm hoping to see HAVOC and CATACOMBS return in some form this year, but I wouldn't be too disappointed if they failed to show up (after all this year is supposed to be a NEW era of darkness). On another note: when I go to HHN this year I'll officially be 21, I can't wait to finally try one of those rad looking Jello shots. I'm not gonna get drunk, but I'll definently get my buzz on while I'm there. Alas, you will be disappointed by the jello shooters. They are horribly weak for what you pay. Mae Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeoriaBJJ Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 Ok I think having the orginal Uni Monsters would be awesome! I know Im in the minority here... but I LOVE the oldies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 Ok I think having the orginal Uni Monsters would be awesome! I know Im in the minority here... but I LOVE the oldies! Me and you both. I just don't see anything that has already been at the event in the past returning, as we are in fact starting a new decade of HHN this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Creeper06 Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 Ok I think having the orginal Uni Monsters would be awesome! I know Im in the minority here... but I LOVE the oldies! I'm with you too buddy! I love the classic Universal monsters and feel like they should have some sort of presence. Not the whole event mind you (though some year, it would be great to see "The Universal Monsters are taking back what is theirs!!!!') but just as Drac, Frank, and Wolfman were reimagined 2 years ago, I'd love to see Phantom or Creature houses at some point. I know some people think that the classic monsters "aren't scary anymore" but I think they proved that wrong in HHN19 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LV-426 Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 I'm with you too buddy! I love the classic Universal monsters and feel like they should have some sort of presence. Not the whole event mind you (though some year, it would be great to see "The Universal Monsters are taking back what is theirs!!!!') but just as Drac, Frank, and Wolfman were reimagined 2 years ago, I'd love to see Phantom or Creature houses at some point. I know some people think that the classic monsters "aren't scary anymore" but I think they proved that wrong in HHN19 the movies might not be scary, at all, yeah, but, as a house goes, with actors, and sets and everything, I don't see why not, I mean, Look at PS, or zombiegeddon, they didn't have the most elaborate costumes or anything, they still manage to scare people, they manage to be good, people think of the old movies but, I could totally see the original monsters being scary again, and yeah, HHN19 had really badass houses, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombieman Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 What would be absolutely diabolical would be videos that seemed to show scares inside, but actually were taped to give the guests the false expectation of scares inside. Then when they got to the room where they expected a certain scare from a certain direction - a completely different, totally unexpected scare would freak them out! Or the videos could show guests walking through a "safe" area before a scare happened and inside the scare would happen in this area instead! That would be just evil. HHN Hollywood did that in their Saw house. They showed what appeared to be a conga line of guests, and had one of Pigs jump out and drag one away. I remember seeing the "scare cam" that orlando had in the LT house last year, and thought it was so strange that of all the scares, they chose that location - about the least scary part of the whole house. It was a bit anti-climactic to see group after group notice glowing bedsheets and basically mouth "meh". now, if they had placed the camera in the room with the "chair"... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombieman Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Someone asked why they queue videos are not as prevalent as before and Mike's response was cost. (the short of it anyway) So they pick and choose which ones to do. Man, I'd love to see them repeat Deadtropolis just so we'd get to see that queue video again. For that matter: Ghost Town and Hellgate Prison. 2004 was the year of the queue video. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Timeout Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 To elaborate more on the New Era of Darkness, as I have hinted in the past if HAVOC returns im 90% sure it won't be a house, the dogs want out, so I see them on the streets, CATACOMBS I'm not too sure about, I see it more as a house sequel. Yes bringing either of those back would be going against starting fresh but at the same time it wouldn't last year was the start of the new era of darkness meaning bringing one of these two back technically is still apart of the "New Era". If you want evidence of something I was informed of about 2 to 3 months ago, look up "Building Projections" on youtube. And expect to see something along those lines at XXI. This goes back to a hint I left in the past... "You will see what isn't there.." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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