Harry Potter display

[theedwin]

Hi Guys,

I have to pick your brains here, I hope you have some ideas that you would be willing to share.

The bosses liked my Easter display so much (and my other displays as well) that they want me to make a display for an upcoming movie, but instead of being at the theatre, they want me to make one for a meeting coming up. (Is this my first commissioned work???)

Anyway, they want me to create a display for the meeting of the General Managers of the theatres in our company. The idea is "to show them how a real promotion is done". (no pressure there!) I get to pick the idea, so I am going with Harry Potter so that I can re-use it at the theatre after the meeting.

Here is what I have to work with as far as the space is concerned.

http://i443.photobucket.com/albums/qq158/theedwin/stuff/meetingdoors.jpg

I want to appear "magical" so animations would be good. Some ideas I have are:

A smoking cauldron using water and one of those misters.
magic moving books that I already have
Floating candles using my FCR (flying crank reindeer) mechanism
The ever popular PVC candles
Make a spell book (there is a neat tut on HF)
A Harry Potter poster
potion bottles

Most of this stuff I already have or can make easily, the only problem is, it has to be done by Tuesday night. YAY! I get to go through my Halloween stuff!!!

It all has to be free standing, so I don't know yet what to do with the background. (Can't use any tape or anything on the walls) Any ideas? ( I do have a scene setter of "castle wall" I can use.)

Thanks everyone!

[putrid]

I'd then go with a school like setting.
A simple stone or stucco wall in the color of hogwarts. The place as a feel to it.
griffendorf banner?
Framed artwork?
( a touch of humor you could write in black marking off to one side on the wall,
Malfoid was here.)

Not to many cauldrons in the movies but putting one in as a back ground prop to the main focal point would add to the display. say on the floor with some non descript books.

Go with a school theme with the floating candles above. A witches hat and an old looking broom. (spray paint the broom with a latex sealer. Then paint it a light brown. Apply a dart wood gel stain over this with a rag to give it streaks and texture.

If you can't find a desk make one. A cheep end table and some ply wood for a bigger top and longer legs. Do the same technique with the gel stain above but use a different color. If you use a dark oak for the broom use a mahogany on the desk.

The most important thing would be to make or get something that folks would immediately identify with harry potter. Round glasses front and center on the desk. Even if you have to bend and epoxy together your own. And a wand. A chocolate frog. Anything that strongly identifies with the movies. Everything else can be scattered on the desk or on the floor. Just not centered.

Us a floor cloth ( painters tarp get a cheap one without any coating ) painted as plank flooring <<<don't over do the detail. because this display will be viewed as a room.

For the back ground use 4x8 sheets of styrofoam. Two will do. Try to incorporate the seam between the two as part of the design so you don't have to worry about how it looks.

If you could find a large feather and use your FCG system to make it float and move about.

I'd stay away from using a poster. It's like putting a sign up next to your dancing flowers that reads "this is a flower". Folks have to get it without being told what 'it' is.

Whatever you decide to do I can't wait to see pics of. This is TOTALLY COOL DUDE!

[theedwin]

Putrid,

If I could do half of what you said, I would be the happiest person on the planet!

Well, I am going to go for the happiest person on the planet by doing half of what you said, but with my twist on it!

Thanks so much Putrid for your help! I figured you the best one for ideas!

Edwin

[Sickie Ickie]

Can't go wrong with Putrid's ideas! Excellant!

The chocolate frog is easy enough to take a plastic one and spray it brown.

A note on the desk written to Hermione during class that asks for help tutoring Ron and me with alchemy.

a Griffindor robe draped over the post of his school chair.

and the rest P got before me. :D

[Just Whisper]

wow, it all sounds great. And pretty simple actually.

[theedwin]

Hi Guys, and thanks for the great ideas.

I need to do some more brain picking here... if you don't mind....

I have this animated thing that I took out of a dancing snowman.

http://i443.photobucket.com/albums/qq158/theedwin/stuff/Picture203.jpg

It sways back and forth and goes up and down a little bit as it sways. It came with a "press here" button, but I would like to put a sensor on it so that it will "dance" when someone walks by it. I have one of those photo electric cell sensors,

http://i443.photobucket.com/albums/qq158/theedwin/stuff/Picture204.jpg

When I hooked it up, it would not trip the mechanism to dance.... I hooked it up both ways to the 2 wires (this wire to this wire, then this wire to that wire) but I can't get it to work. Any ideas on how I can get it to work by using the sensor?

This is going inside a witch hat that you can kind of see in the first picture. If the sensor won't work, is there a way I can get it to just run continuously? It works if I put the 2 wires together (completing the circuit) but if I leave the 2 wires hooked together, it won't work at all.

Any ideas Oh Great Ones????

[EnlightenedGrinch]

Hmmm.. could the sensor be bad? I think it could be checked with an ohm-meter. I would think it should work if there's enough light.
You say it works if you put the two wires together, but won't work if you leave them---are you saying it works for a while then shuts off?
Is there a way you could use a switch mat instead where someone would step on it to trigger the prop? If you don't have one it might be possible to make one. Maybe even using the old "press here" button in a mat.

On a side note--you could stick a tea light in the top of that thing and have a dancing candle, too! LOL

[Sickie Ickie]

not bad for the candle in beauty and the beast.

I'm thinking the motion sensor either doesn't work, or you need more current for it than this prop provides. Your best bet (and cheapest) would be just to have this prop run continuously.

Please note, this will only work on ALL MOVEMENTS if the motor controls everything at the SAME time, AND you don't need the sound.

Open the plastic case, and find the motor wires. Cut these next to the board. Cut all other wires and toss the circuit board. You can even salvage the speaker right now if you'd like. Now either hook up the battery compartment wires to your motor, or use a wallwart to hook into your motor using the proper voltage or less. That's all there is to it.

My spider how-to has a couple pics in it as an example. http://www.santasprojects.com/Corpse_County/spider/spider%20how-to.htm

[Sickie Ickie]

This won't do ya any good for this week, but here's a site for PIR sensors: http://www.efx-tek.com/topics/pir.html

[theedwin]

Thanks Sickie,

It was the sensor, so I switched it with another one and got it working. Thanks again for the advice, I thought I was doing something wrong... Just got done with the display. It's not my best work, but it was still fun.

http://i443.photobucket.com/albums/qq158/theedwin/stuff/Picture212.jpg

http://i443.photobucket.com/albums/qq158/theedwin/stuff/Picture214.jpg

http://i443.photobucket.com/albums/qq158/theedwin/stuff/Picture213.jpg

It is all set up for my boss to do the final touches in the morning. I was munching on the jelly beans the whole time I was setting it up. Now I get to go back tomorrow night and take it all down!

[Mummy deer-est]

This is awesome, Edwin! You put it together so quickly -- if your boss doesn't give you a pat on the back, take this reply as your official "GREAT JOB!"

(I <3 harry potter, btw...so I love all of the references.)

[EnlightenedGrinch]

That display looks super!! I love the owl--he's cool!

[theedwin]

THanks everyone, it wasn't quite what they were looking for, but if you notice they had me set it up in a different place as well..... I guess I learned to ask more questions as to WHAT they want rather than they want "something".

[putrid]

Totally cool display. Wasn't what they were looking for? What do they want, the world in 4 days??? Took God 6. LOL Any kid ( or grown 46 year old man who'd seen all the movies LOL) would have to trouble at all knowing what that display was about. Set that display up as is in the middle of the lobby. Wait 15 minuets and count how many people ask when the next HP movie is showing and when can they buy tickets. Great work dude! I'd be proud of it.

So what did they want? Did they say?

[theedwin]

I guess they wanted some sort of an arch or something....... They said they liked it so....

I made sure to save everything (packrat) and I have more so when I put up a HP display for the movie, it will be much bigger. The employees have lots of ideas (but always very little follow through) so we shall see. I get alot of "we could do this, and we could do that" but I think they think MY name is "We". LOL

[Just Whisper]

I guess they wanted some sort of an arch or something....... They said they liked it so....

I made sure to save everything (packrat) and I have more so when I put up a HP display for the movie, it will be much bigger. The employees have lots of ideas (but always very little follow through) so we shall see. I get alot of "we could do this, and we could do that" but I think they think MY name is "We". LOL

LMAO. your name is WE. Great job on the display. If they didn't think it was terrific they are lame.

[Sickie Ickie]

L-A-M-E!!! You are tops, Edwin! Keep it up!

[Just Whisper]

Edwin, I know you were talking about your Harry Potter display in one of the other posts, but can't remember which one. Too tired to look now. Anyway, one of the guys on HF made this haunted bookshelf that made me think of you immediately. Wondered if it would work with your HP display? Looked pretty simple for you to make.
http://www.firediving.com/projects/haunted_bookshelves.htm

[theedwin]

Thanks JW,

I don't have a metal fabrication plant, I may just have to use reindeer motors and popsicle sticks. LOL I was thinking about the book thing. I have one that Target had a couple of years ago, but it isn't very good. Maybe if I have time I can come up with something.

[Just Whisper]

I am not sure what you mean about the metal fab plant. This guy used a reindeer motor, a metal rod, rubber bands and flat aluminum stock. It's all cuttable with a hack saw.

[theedwin]

JW, it looked really professional, and well..... out of "the" budget at the moment. Unless I want to pay for it myself, which I don't. LOL

I got alot done on the HP display, but I will post that on the "Styrofoam score" thread since that is where I have been updating all of this.

Thanks again for the idea JW, and thanks for thinking of me! :D Sometimes I need a push, and you gave it to me!