Category: The Harvest

Kyle…

Kyle’s costume has been the source of much consternation on my part.

The original plan was to have him in something of a home made ‘stalkabout’ styled costume. A moving Chimera, more or less. We had a frame all built, custom back pack, and were ready to start the puppeteering.

However, some things change, and I’m going to once again need his help with the standard operation of the yard. He can’t do that when he’s tied into a giant monstrosity.

He was, understandably, disappointed. It was shaping up to be a hell of a costume.

With Alec wanting to do Harry Potter, and Talia flipping between a “Rodeo Princess” and Sleeping Beauty, however, I do have some time to come up with something special instead of the plan B mask from last year. He’s just gotta trust me…

Now, this is NOT the standard means of accomplishing this by any stretch, but it is a cheap one.

From 2011 buildup

That’s just some ‘rigid wrap’. Fairly simple and quick.

From 2011 buildup

A gigantic mess later…

From 2011 buildup
From 2011 buildup

With the weather being lousy for the next few days, and the contest project on hold as a result, we can begin work on the nicest mask Kyle’s ever worn…

Gotta convince my wife to cast my head now.

More Chimera fun

I’ve been meaning to utilize these things for a while…the Chimera fits nicely.

From 2011 buildup

Slow going with attaching them, however, need to let the stuff dry completely before I can get the rest.

From 2011 buildup

We did get her all wired perdy, however.

From 2011 buildup

I especially like it, as we don’t use greens for the Harvest. All reds, oranges, warm colors. This will make it stand out even more.

Sick day.

I was hoping to be able to post some progress this weekend, but being laid up in bed for the weekend sure halted that thought in a hurry.

So, what to do while miserable?

Work on the music.

Music is such a key part of any haunt. In fact, one of the things I was most proud of our haunt in the past was the soundtrack. This just begged a particular brand of music

From Halloween 07

And, we collected music from around the world, from famous Taiko groups like Kodo

and Portland Taiko (I find their CD’s to be of superior sound quality…)

To African Djembe music from anonymous sources, and even my younger brother…

And even some Native American, Aztec, and Mayan music as well.

However, The Harvest needs a different flavor all together.

From The Harvest

Something more classic, and subtle.

Now a lot of haunters will tell you “just grab a midnight syndicate CD and call it good”. It’s hard to argue against Midnight Syndicate…

However, the feel is entirely too gothic in nature. A track here or there might have the right feel I’m looking for, but searching for them is difficult. The same holds true for the equally popular Nox Arcana.

Both groups are superb at capturing the feeling of what each CD is designed for. The problem is, neither had gone for a “harvest” feeling.

Last year, we played a few selections from Robert Short. And, while I was happy with those, I need variety. Listening to a few tracks over and over for hours gets annoying.

This weekend I discovered Northaunt. I think we’re circling in on a soundscape for The Harvest, but I’m not entirely convinced we’re 100% THERE just yet…

The Harvest wrap-up.

Ah, everything torn down, and time to reflect…

Our preview party was marvelous. And a big thanks to everyone who came out.

The wide variety of styles and faces created by the completely random nature of the carve is something that simply couldn’t be re-created by a handful of people alone.

From 2010 Buildup

For the first time, it actually created that feeling that this is another realm. Moreso than the old field of skulls could manage, in my opinion.

From The Harvest

The creepers garnered the most comments on the evening. And a special thanks goes out to the inspiration for them.

From The Harvest
From The Harvest

Fred was the second most popular. With many thinking he was completely new, not having noticed him on his pole before…. and everyone marveling how neither he nor the rope were burning.

From The Harvest

Unfortunately, Kyle’s cross, he’s demonstrating here to his friend, was a casualty to the rain Saturday evening for Trick or Treat. As was the fog adding to the atmosphere.

From The Harvest

This left Kyle to wander, and he decided he’ld rather guard the candy.

From The Harvest

This left me to wander around, keep everything running, and break up large groups when needed. (yes, we’re well aware of the plan to crowd the candy bowl with a large group to grab handfuls instead of one…)

From The Harvest

So, other than rain lowering numbers and breaking a few things, it was a very fun Halloween.
For more pics, you can view them here.

We’ll be getting some other pics up soon. For now, it’s time for a rest.

Preview party

A few photos from the preview party.

A host of neighborhood kids descended on the house, carved up some pumpkins and went out putting them where they wanted. Then, they were lit with random colors…

A few problems with my camera herein, most notably a couple autofocus errors, and an apparent dislike of the color red on my camera’s part, and I didn’t preview to know to compensate manually. We’ll get better ones later.