London Town...Where Culture and Candy Collide.

Good afternoon to everyone. I thought i would take the chance to give a little rundown on the last week or so. With Easter creating the opportunity to get stuck into a couple of very nice projects the feeling of the season starting was definitely upon us. Two small stage productions and the new show down at Tulleys Farm was certainly a nice way to start the spring time. With equipment being dusted off and tested, some repairs that have been put off were finally completed. Delivered, installed and operated and all with out to many dramas.

So with everything running and my wife's birthday treat looming i was having a day off....!! A rare thing but to be honest thoroughly enjoyable. I had arranged transport and tickets to Phantom of the Opera for her.

A day away from chaos....hardly, but to be fair London was not too busy and we enjoyed some culture in the National Gallery, an excellent meal followed by some craziness in M&M's world...!!

Apparently the largest candy store in the world..!! and then on to the theatre for the evening performance.

It has been some five years since i was in Her Majesty's Theatre, and it was a pleasure to be back. With a cast that i had not seen before there is always the fear of comparison, this however was not to be the case. Although this classic has stood the test of time for so many reasons it was an absolute pleasure to watch the audience being drawn in to the story and being amazed by the use of both modern and some of the oldest theatrical tricks. An excellent performance to be fair, i would recommend this timeless show even with some of the competition that is currently in the west end, it provides a superb evenings entertainment, it is captivating, clever, humorous at times but i think most of all performed with such love and passion for the art.

The rest of the week still had a lot in store for FunFear and was going to prove to be a lot more chaotic than i had first thought.

Ian

Screamies 2011 Results

Good afternoon, the long awaited results of the screamie awards are in. To be fair a pleasure to see them. As I mentioned in the previous entry, the introduction of additional catogories has opened up the opportunity for some excellent new venues and attractions to compete in such a rapidly growing industry that involves both the home haunting passion and corporate expenditure.

FunFear is very much involved with the business at The Tulleys Farm Shocktober fest and help to create the effects and illusion that realise the ingenuity of people like Stuart Beare, the combination of engineers from so many backgrounds create the magic that is Shocktober Fest.

The Screamies reinforce the recognition for the hours, planning, pain and effort that are required to create that magic....! That goes for all involved in this ever growing industry.

The new format of the Screamies have shown that these efforts can be recognised at all levels. Attractions like The Fear Horror House in Copthorne who clearly are working with much lesser budgets than many of the major players can be awarded for their passion and amazing belief in what they are creating.

This is progressive and appreciated by all of the crew at FunFear.

What will the future hold for 2012.....only time will tell..!!

The results list can be seen at the screamie awards page here www.screamieawards.co.uk

The Screamies 2011

The wait is nearly over for the nominees of the screamie awards for 2011. With less than 24 hours to go this industry will come to recognise the hard work and effort that has gone into producing first class award winning attractions. However, with new catogories introduced this year, it has been a pleasure to see smaller attractions being recognised for the ingenuity, innovative ideas as well as flair and phenomenal passion.

So although the wait is nearly over, we at FunFear wish all nominees the very best of luck.

Ian and all the twisted technicians at FunFear.

Facebook Timeline

Time for a cover photo for facebook page...!!

The new compulsory timeline comes into force on the 30th March.

Zuckerberg explained the thinking behind Timeline by saying: “Millions of people curate stories of their lives on Facebook every day and have no way to share them once they fall off your profile page...we have been working on ‘timeline’ all year…it’s the story of your life and completely new way to express yourself."

So the million dollar question is.......who likes the new timeline style..??

Have questions about timeline.? take 5 minutes and check the Hyperarts Blog

Halloween Health Risks

British summer time has arrived...!! Halloween approaching and ideas are flying around thick and fast. Our ideas are carefully thought out and safety taken into consideration for both the build process and the final maze or attraction.

However not quite in the same manner as the following link, take a quick look at this article on what fox news have found to be some surprising health risks at halloween time...!!




http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/10/28/5-surprising-halloween-health-hazards/

Legendary Haunt Tour Pictures

As previously mentioned, i had some pictures from The Legendary Haunt Tour, i have posted some on facebook, feel free to browse here Legendary Haunt Tour Pictures

Ian

The Travellers Rest.

Firstly apologies for delays in updates. After returning from Germany, another road trip was on the cards, this time however it was to Scotland. So incorporating some business and pleasure i was off once again. Excellent time, people were welcoming and the food and accommodations superb. I will certainly be returning. I will put a few links at the bottom of this post to a couple of hotels.

But now i am back for a while, with projects looming in the distance and shows in St Louis and Pittsburgh beckoning i have taken a time out to bring the blog up to date.


So an eventful time was had in Frankfurt at the Christmasworld show. A variety of collections were on display to see at the exhibition hall Messe Frankfurt. A vast complex housing Christmasworld, Paperworld and Creativeworld 2012, playing host to 87,000 visitors this year from 155 countries. Christmasworld was our destination and i have to say it was vast. With every aspect of Christmas covered from wrapping to gift ideas, the trade stalls were heaving with both modern and classic decorations of all kinds. Everything from baubles and stars to classic table decorations. Fireworks and lighting as well as every possible shape and size of artificial Christmas tree.
We were in search of the latest LED technologies and it didnt take very long before we found some very innovative new products. LED curtains, extendable string lighting of all designs, fibre optics to name just a few. It is amazing to see the way in which LED lighting is being used from everyday items such as artificial candles to fully integrated controllable DMX systems featuring video and lighting effects.
It was also clear this show was an excellent outlet for many other seasonal decorations, covering Easter and Halloween not quite on the same scale as Christmas but noticeable never the less.
A great few days and many miles covered, we discovered, talked and investigated the products we require. Time very well spent, an education and experience that i thoroughly enjoyed. More pictures can be found on Funfear facebook page here

Ian

Links

Nordic Hotel Offenbach.

Best Western Edinburgh Capital,

Balmacara Mains Guest House. Check their facebook page here

Nevis Bank Inn.