We were blown away by Sabour Amirazodi’s display he sent us last year – so much so, we featured his “Haunted Sanctuary” last July as AtmosFAN of the Week. Anytime you see a spectacular display, it always makes us wonder: What’d they do the following year?
We went back to see what Sabour did this year at his Yorba Linda, Calif., home. And we are happy to report that Sabour’s 2021 Halloween display did not disappoint. (And that’s an understatement.)
When we highlighted Sabour’s Haunted Sanctuary last July, we were particularly enamored with his projection mapping display, in particular his ability to combine both AtmosFX Digital Decorations and other images that he captured off of the internet, notably some concepts and themes from Tim Burton’s 1988 horror-comedy Beetlejuice.
This year, Sabour took his projection mapping to the next level – and then some. (Don’t know what projection mapping is? We have a short article here.) He added five more scenes this year totalling more than 20 minutes of content. This year’s display features more mash-ups from other movies and a ton of AtmosFX Digital Decorations. And, amazingly, his projection-mapping display creates multiple “pumpkin mode” effects, making it appear that a couple dozen gourds are singing in unison together throughout his yard. Stunning.
But what makes the display extra-special is that it isn’t just a projection-mapping display. Sabour has four projectors going, all of which are synced and triggered at the same time. (“That took time to figure out,” he says.) One of those projectors creates a top-notch Hollusion effect just to the left of the front door.
But perhaps our favorite is a DIY 12-foot 3DFX Form that Sabour created from a giant skeleton he purchased at Home Depot. He took the ‘Ode to Halloween’ song from Boo Crew Digital Decoration Collection and made the giant skeleton turn into a ghost that sings with the rest of the characters throughout his presentation. “Such a fun addition,” he says.
We’d also be remiss in not commenting on Sabour’s great work with the Ghostbusters theme, which is a part of the Jack-O’-Lantern Jamboree 3 Digital Decoration Collection. In addition to the singing pumpkins and ghosts from Boo Crew and Phantasms digital decoration collections, Sabour created some extra effects. “I hand animated and modeled the Stay-Puft, and also created the Gozer scene with the two terror dogs as well as the Ecto-1 pulling out of the garage,” he says. “That was super fun to make!”
Amazingly, Sabour says this is just his third year of projection mapping his house – a project he says he started in earnest around mid-August this year, on and off “mostly during the weekends and every night while my wife and I were watching Netflix shows after the kids went to bed,” he says. “An embarrassing amount of hours!”
Clearly, it is worth the effort. And the neighbors agree! Sabour says he’d sometimes have from 60-80 people gathering around his home to watch the entire display. “The joy I saw on the kids’ faces and the moments I saw even the adults dancing," he tells us, “those moments are priceless!”
Aside from the two selected scenes highlighted above, you can also see the other scenes Sabour has created on his YouTube playlist here. You can even watch the entire 20-minute complete show if you like. Great work, Sabour! We love the effort – and we can’t wait to see what you come up with next Halloween!
Have you sent us your Halloween digital decoration display? It may be 11 months away, but we still want to see your photos and videos! Send them to us using this simple online submission form and you might be the next AtmosFAN of the week – and win a complete digital decoration collection!
