25 Days to Go..!

Afternoon,
The fact that there are only 25 days to go before our first live evening became very apparent today. With the clearing up from our weekend gigs and all hire equipment returned, today has been a planning day for some of the final scene layouts and the opportunity to put schedules together for the build at Tulleys Farm. A huge amount of work has already occurred, with marquees in place and containers into the corn field, it is now the job of the Twisted Technicians to make them come alive.
Twisted Maze is well underway and some fairly substantial changes have already happened to the Cellar, but a few more are also planned. This will be the fifth season for the Cellar, so it is due a small facelift and i am sure the changes will be appreciated.
The Hayride is also having a few new tricks put in this year, so watch out for those, i will not reveal the plans just yet. Hell-Ements is also having a small revamp and a new sound track is going to be put together in the coming weeks. So that leaves us with the Creepy Cottage staying as an old favourite with proposals for some new lighting and the Field of Screams....or newly named for 2013 as Woodshock. A twist on the field being the aftermath of a festival, there are some firm favourites being adapted and some new concepts for the field, this is going to be a lot of fun to build.
We are also having a new element this year, live entertainment in the form of a stage area, this will be a first for the site and a huge amount of planning has gone into make this work for this year, logistics, bands, location and access as well as all of the technical requirements.

So i will Leave you with the short trailer for this years event, and post the updates as they happen.

                        

The weather is turning, Autumn is coming and so is Halloween.

Ian

2013 The second Quarter

June already !!!

This year is just flying by, it seems I have very little chance to sit and catchup on even the simplest of tasks. So what have FunFear been up to? Product testing, designing all sorts of crazy stuff, building amazing attractions..??

Well actually spring cleaning, not the most "Rock n Roll" or technical of terms but yet one of life's necessary evils. I have actually seen the colour of my desk for the first time in months and that is actually the truth! It has been long overdue. A complete restructure has been carried out and some major changes to our equipment storage and workshops. With new products coming in it has been a perfect time to actually throw out some of the crap that we just seem to hoard! Although it is believed that if something is broken we can still salvage parts from it and is often the case, we don't seem to discard the bits we don't need! Well that has been sorted and a very brutal approach and for now a system appears to be in place. With new flight cases, storage system and more racking I think we have it cracked.

So what else is new? The new website is in its final stages and being tested, there are a few nice touches and some additional information on there. Blog links to current stories will also be accessible direct from within the site. With a downloads page being added and a much more streamlined approach we are happy with the progress to date. We have also added a few tweaks to the current site and and testing the downloads page on there right now, so please feel free to have a look at the media pack that we have added as a PDF brochure. www.funfear.co.uk

Projects, well there are a few in the mix right now, our annual projects obviously taking up the usual time at this point in the year. Ensuring both staff and equipment are on site at the right time can be a logistical nightmare at times, but always interesting.

A complete re-design of one of the attractions for Tulleys Shocktober Fest and a revamp for several others is filling many hours currently. Sourcing props and designing both new lighting and sound systems as well as coming up with something new is always a great challenge. The new designs for Tulleys are already turning into lots of fun, I think it is a great concept and really looking forward to seeing this one come to fruition. Below is one of the teaser pictures for the new attraction.

Several other very interesting builds have come our way but at the moment I am afraid two of those attractions are under tight wraps and awaiting official launches and press release. So news will be released at the same time via this blog and Facebook pages.
However work is continuing to produce an amazing lighting system for a very unusual product called wovin wall. Although it is already possible to light this product, we have been approached to create a spectacular display and have risen to this and pictures will follow of that installation upon completion.



 

Scarecam 2012

Good evening,
Just a quick entry to inform you about this years scarecam. An updated version has been installed by our resident AV expert and is concentrated on the "Twisted Maize" here at Tulleys Shocktober Fest.

It is live every evening that the event is running and we have full screen option with four cameras.

To view this little bit of "fright entertainment" try www.scarecam.co.uk
 

What a Week..!!!

Good Evening,
well it has been a very interesting week so far, with Tulleys Farm Shoctober Fest having its preview night and the attempt at the zombie world record on the 6th of October, and Twinlakes Xtreme Fright nights preview on the 13th of October we have been very busy.

So preview night at Tulleys. An excellent night, to be fair we have probably never been so prepared and in good shape as we were on this occasion. The Twisted Technicians had worked in probably the worst conditions we have seen for five years to deliver another first class event.

With the new attractions requiring complete design rethinks in both electrical distribution and lighting not to mention the sound design..!! a plan was hatched and even with the adverse weather conditions providing interesting building conditions, a show was slowly coming together.

New sound designs and upgraded playback systems were installed in the hayride, a completely new sound edit for the trail of terror, which did take some time but after a few teething problems.....we were ready.

As with every year we welcome views and reviews, one of the first written this year is by Scaretours feel free to read here.....Scaretour Review

In between times another crowd were descending upon us........zombies....lots of them, the attempt at the zombie world record.

A great addition to a preview night, a little confusing at times though, having to distinguish between the guests in the park and the creatures that live in the park..in the dark corners of the cellar..!!

So was the record broken.......sadly no not on this occasion however i do believe that next year there is a chance, below is just one of the many press stories that covered the event.



So back on the road, i am getting very familiar with the journey up the A1 to Melton Mowbray.
with still many aspects of Twinlakes Xtreme Fright Nights to complete there was no day of rest for us.
Two of the Twisted Technicians had been up ahead of us for a few days and were installing sound systems and speakers into the new Punishment attraction and the Pie Factory.

Progress has been excellent and we are in very good shape throughout the attractions, the next two days are all about finishing touches and special little treats for the unsuspecting visitors to the 13 nights of fear at Twinlakes Xtreme Fright Nights.

Check out the preview video for them below.




More news to follow after Saturday.

October 1st...5 days to go...!!!

Good evening,
October is upon us and all the Twisted Technicians are slaving away to finish the installation at Tulleys Shocktober Fest. With only five full days left before we go live and the Zombie world record attempt occurring on the same night we still have a lot to do before completion.

As I have mentioned previously, our regular visitors will have something new to experience, with some serious modifications to several of the attractions. I can assure you that there will be something for everyone.

Twisted.....major changes, new theme, new clowns, new sound tracks and some new surprises...good luck...!!

The Trail of Terror.....brand new for this year, a dark psychological journey.....!!!

The Hayride....trust me this is going to be a vast difference from any other year with different twists and turns alongside some of the old favorites.

The Cellar....what more needs to be said. Be prepared for one of the most intense scare attractions currently operating in the UK.

Hellements.....following the first year success of this maze (Screamie winner best new attraction 2011) Hellements is back and ready to lead you through hell and back.

The Creepy Cottage.....even this is going to provide some new surprises..!!

On a passing note for now, have a look at the new video from the Experimentals....2012

Quick Update

Morning, just a quick update before we head out on the road again.

Yesterday was a very interesting afternoon, a site visit at Wellington Park, the idea to create two new attractions that can run for both the daytime visitors and some crossover into the evening. The plan for them is to go live on the 27th October so watch this space for updates on that.

Tulleys Shocktober Fest is being reconstructed with some very new twists this year, and the Funfear crew are well into the build for this, with new ideas, lighting and a few Twisted Technician surprises to come. The regular visitors of the park will be very surprised with the changes, which will offer a very different feel over previous years.

Changes to the Hayride, two brand new mazes, Twisted and Trail of Terror, a few little tweaks in other places too. I will say no more at the moment, except there is a lot to do before the first live night on 6th October..!!

The 2012 official trailer.



Xtreme fright nights, Twinlakes Park. There is so much to say about this one. we have installed, built, modified to suit this project, still lots to do before opening night on the 13th October. So many great ideas, it was almost a shame to have to cap the limit of the attractions we could of built here. But work has been going on for a while now and lots of progress has been made. With existing spaces being converted, reconstructed, and modified as well as some new space to create the attraction Q lines, the attractions and tech rooms.

With Chaos and Dungeon pretty much completed, we have started work on the Pie factory...!
Power is in throughout the attraction, both low voltage radials and mains, an emergency shutdown system installed and the whole attraction completely wired for sound.
Lighting and theming is the plan for this week as is installation of a sound system into Punishment and if we get time this week a small peppers ghost trick using Hallowindow.

Have a look at their website,

www.xtremefrightnights.com

Cellar Visitors

Good Morning, just a short post on the events of yesterday. Our visitors arrived in West Sussex to be greeted by both sunshine and Stuart Beare.

Coffee and refreshments coupled with a very relaxed opportunity for questions and quizzing was to be followed by a guided tour of the haunts that we have at Tulleys Farm and an explanation of the infrastructure and layout.

Imagination is clearly required at this time of the year, as there is very little that is intact and running. Firstly the hayride, with the sun beating down it was a pleasant walk around the route, we explained the designs and bared our souls to some of the tricks that are used throughout this attraction at Halloween. The field of Screams was going to take a lot more imagination though, with the whole field still in its earthen colour it is hard to picture the terror that will ensue in a few months time. the concept was explained and the containers that house some of the permanent fixtures stood rank and file visible to inspect.
Curtains again impossible to recreate at this time of year, but is a concept simple enough in design and location.

The Cellar was waiting though, with a call from our resident makeup artist and creature tamer, it was ready to go. Lights, sound and the gaggle of cellar creatures, we led our guests to a fully functioning attraction. With safety explained and everyone having removed sunglasses and other items that could get lost they set off....

It is a very strange experience, standing listening to the screams from within whilst enjoying the sunshine, this is not a normal thing, it is usually dark, occasionally raining and there is very seldom the luxury of just standing still whilst we are live in October.

The actors were excellent, they were ensuring there was no escape, luckily our acting crew for yesterday were all familiar with the space and used it to the best of their ability and gave a great insight to the intensity that is "The Cellar"

A lights on tour was given and some explanation in to the safety features and procedures that we employ in this attraction, being able to evacuate, quickly and efficiently in any circumstance is of paramount importance.

So what was left, well creepy cottage, not at its best, but Hell-Ements was something that is easy to explain, demonstrate and create some of the experience even at this time of year, clearly it is not the full show, but by introducing the hoods that became so famous last season, a little bit of the show can be recreated.

The reception was excellent and a real pleasure to have the opportunity to showcase with a no pressure atmosphere, a great day. Well done once again to our resident cellar creatures, James Lawson, Sam Jarrett, Harry Bright, Samuel Chamberlain, Anthony James Foruria and makeup artist Alex Vlcek