Allen Hopps is the director of Dark Hour, a huge haunt attraction in Plano, Texas.
I wanted to take a tour and chat with Allen about what it takes to keep people scared and the business of running a haunt all year round.
When people think about creating makeup effects, masks and prosthetics, its usually associated with film and TV shows. In the US, Halloween is pretty big and gets bigger every year.
I went for a tour of the huge show floor and got to see behind the scenes where all the in-house stuff gets made – from sets, costumes, masks, prosthetics and props. The level of thought and detail that goes into setting up a new show (there are several original new shows a year) is incredible. The team work year-round updating and thinking up new ways to keep the screams coming.
There are a few absolute wisdom bombs in this podcast episode which many makers would do well to listen to.
- If you’ve ever been guilty of having great ideas which seem to expand ever bigger, only to burst and fade away then this episode of the podcast is for you!
- If you’ve been trapped in a cycle of indecision, dithering and not wanting to grasp the nettle of your creative masterpieces then this episode is for you.
- If you think that movies are the ultimate end-game for creating creatures and masks and that if you can’t make that coveted position then what’s the point…? Then this episode is for you!
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- Check out http://darkhourhauntedhouse.com/ to see what’s on offer and I highly recommend Allen’s YouTube channel, StiltbeastStudios.
- On Insta, check him on @allen_hopps.
- Dark Hour are on YouTube too: https://www.youtube.com/user/DarkHourPlano
