October 31 is coming – it is now closer to us on the calendar than it is farther away. And that means we have moved into the official start of Prepping for Next Halloween Season.
As we start thinking about our displays for the upcoming year, we thought we’d begin by highlighting something sent to us by Rob Votaw of Oak Grove, Missouri. He’s put together a bright and detailed display that’s almost completely enclosed in his garage, making it really easy to tuck away at the end of the night.
As you can see in the video, Rob is back-projecting Bone Chillers and Jack-O-Lantern Jamboree Digital Decorations (among others) – meaning the projector is behind his projection material. That keeps the projector safe and dry in the garage, and creates a crisp centerpiece of a display, especially when it is accompanied with blackout material. And that’s not all Rob packs in the garage, hidden behind the 6-by-8-foot screen. He’s also got an audio mixer, DVD player, speakers and amps, and fog machine hidden back there.
Rob is a 30-year veteran of the audio and video production industry, so he has a lot of stuff around – uprights, crossbars, blackout velour drape, focusable lights and colored gels, and so on – to create a small “room” in front of his screen. Once in place, Rob can then build around it as much additional detail as time, and inspiration, permits. And then, when he’s ready to “wow” the neighborhood, he just opens his garage door.
“Setting this display in the garage allows me to set up and close for the evening quickly,” Rob tells us. “This also gives me the flexibility to work on it when I can, leading up to Halloween.”
Something like this might come in handy for the many people who typically build a haunted house in their garage. Given that it is unclear if social distancing rules will be in effect this October, people might not want to build a Halloween display that packs a lot of people in tight, enclosed spaces.
Although Rob certainly was not thinking of this last year (who was?!), his Halloween display is a perfect answer for those seeking to put the haunted house on hold, yet still create something in the garage that is vivid, detailed and sure to draw the trick-’r’-treaters. (At a safe distance, of course!)
Obviously, a setup like this allows you to get as detailed as you like – simply add props, actors, lights, additional digital decorations, you-name-it. You can imagine some decorators filling up the space with as much detail as possible; here, Rob keeps it pretty simple.
And when he’s done for the night, all he’s got to do is shut the garage and step back inside his house! Great stuff, Rob!
Are you starting to plan for Halloween? We ALL should be! As you plan, make sure to send us photos and videos of previous decoration displays, or maybe something on which you are currently working! We all want to be inspired! Upload your photos and videos using this easy AtmosFX Submission Form.
