http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-1aui-wluE
I love halloween. I love everything about halloween.
Here is one of my floats from the halloween parade in my hometown. The theme was "haunted cemetery" The center tree is monster mud and burlap over a chicken wire and 2 x 4 structure. The mural on the back wall is hand painted by me. The fence is totally custom as well as the pillars.
This is the second float I built for the same parade. The theme is "Sleepy Hollow". Again, the back mural is free hand by me and I hand picked the rough timber for the fence and hand tied it with twine. I built the covered bridge specifically for this wagon and personally attached over 300 wooden shingles to really add to the old timey feel to the float.
This entire float as well as the haunted cemetery was completely fabricated by me in 2 weeks with one assistant. There is absolutely NO point in doing something unless you go all the way.
The Sleepy Hollow float was awarded first place as well as the "People's Choice" award. This was my 3rd parade that I have participated in and the third staight first place and people's choice in a row.
One of the unique challenges to designing a halloween parade float is the 360 degrees concept. People are going to see it from all sides. Plus, another challenge is people on one side see things differently from the people on the other side. These 2 factors need to be addressed. Is the theme clear? Are you utilizing the best example of your source? I mean to say, if your theme is a movie for example, are you using an easily identifiable scene or part of the movie? For my Sleepy Hollow float, the first impression people have is the head-less horseman. The second is usually the covered bridge. 2 weeks would not be enough time to construct a head-less horseman the way I would need it to be, so I went ahead and built the bridge.
As the float moves towards the onlookers, they need to know quickly what it is they are looking at. Once they identify the theme, they can enjoy all the props and detail.
I look at it like telling a story from front to back. In 2005, I built a float that was a haunted carnival. The front of the wagon was the ticket booth of the carnival The booth was a miniature haunted house with delapidated shudders and faux paint job. After the booth on the wagon, I put a fortune teller. The fortune teller was actually an ornate box about 18" square and 2' tall. The box was mounted on a turned pillar. Inside the box was a mini F.C.G. animated with a disco ball motor. I hand made a doll for the marionette. It was about the size of a Barbie. The idea was one of those old-time coin operated machines with the gypsy torso, you know? I dressed up the box with ornate gold scoll work and accented with red pinstripe.
Across from the fortune teller was the haunted popcorn machine. This was a simple cart with a plexi-glass box on top about 18" square and 2' tall. Inside the box I put white packing peanuts and mounted a hair dryer blowing up into the box. The air kept the peanuts tumbling and the effect was really neat. I taped the cool setting on the dryer so it was not hot hair, just to be safe.
At the back of the wagon was a 10' diameter ferris wheel. The wheel was hand turned by a costumed rider and it was themed out to be a giant buzz saw blade. My idea was that you would enter the carnival and experience all the key elements of carnivals and fairs. Food, games of chance, rides, ect. That was the "story" of the haunted carnival. Across the top of the ticket booth I made a cemetery style sign that said HAUNTED CARNIVAL. Thats the title so to speak and the bulk follows. Ths Sleepy Hollow float had an old fashioned sign that said Sleepy Hollow pop. 107. The lettering was old english script. The haunted cemetry had a sign that was mounted from the 2 pillars.
I do have pics of the carnival float that I will post once I get them on my laptop.
Here is the fortune teller. Please excuse the mess, the second floor to my shop has become a catch all recently.
Here is the little pumpkinman I made. His head is actually a mini basket ball about the size of a ping pong ball. I "borrowed" it from my son.
Here is a pic of the mini F.C.G. mech. Like I said, the motor is for a disco ball and the arm is about 4" long.
I will be posting pics of the popcorn machine as soon as possible. I also have a really cool prop of an Angel of Death that I made about 5 years ago out of monster mud. And here it is...
Its been kicked around quite a bit in the last 5 years. It normally sits on top of a wooden base that was faux painted like granite.
[/url]
[/url]