Boo!

Well, tomorrow is Halloween so it’s only fitting that today I post the creepiest, most disturbing video to ever win a video contest.  I must warn you that once you see this video, you can never un-see it!  So prepare yourselves for the horror that is the grand prize winner of Home Run Inn Pizza’s Halloween Video Challenge!

Grand Prize Winner.  Prize: $2,500 and a Halloween Party Pack:
 

 
Yo, that is some seriously freaky s#$%! If you think I’m being sarcastic, I’m not. There is just something about that video that makes my skin crawl. I’m sure the person who made that video didn’t intend for it to be so disturbing but that’s how it turned out. That flat, emotionless, robotic narration coupled with that simple and repetitive animation is just kind of haunting. And those monsters are just creepy as hell. What is up with the brown Frankenstein!? And does Dracula have such a big, fat head?? And why the hell are all those monsters walking in place like that!?

As you can probably guess, Home Runn Inn picked the winners of this contest through a public vote. And when a company holds a public vote, that is the kind of winner you get. In fact, who wins is basically irrelevant. The whole contest is just an excuse to get people to “like” the sponsor’s page on facebook. Some day I hope a company has the nerve to skip the part where people have to create an entry and just run a straight-up voting contest. If your name gets the most votes, you win!

I actually entered the Home Run Inn contest this year and no joke, I am glad this video won. I was just hoping to land in the Top 15 so I could win a year’s supply of free pizza and a special Flip camera. (I did!) So I got what I wanted and as a bonus, HRI Pizza wound up with a winning video that is totally insane. As weird as it is, you do have to respect the amount of work that went in to that entry. It might not be super slick but it’s better than any kind of animation that I could do. Of course, I think it’s possible that all those monsters were stock characters. And they were probably already programed to “walk” and that’s why they walk in every shot, even when they’re not moving forward.

This contest got a whopping 68 entries and if you’d like to see them all, head here. Happy Halloween Everybody!

So realistic!

Unfortunately, the days of the “post-halloween” sale are pretty much gone.  In fact, I’ve noticed that some big stores start pulling their Halloween stuff off the shelves BEFORE October 31st!  The reason is that the Christmas season now officially begins on November 1st.  So the masks and costumes need to disappear fast to make room for all the fake trees.

That sucks for several reasons but the good news is that a lot of stores now start reducing the prices on their Halloween merchandise before Halloween. I almost never use effects make-up in my video contest entries so I haven’t stocked up on cheap Halloween make up in many years.  But recently I was in JoAnn Fabrics buying some hot glue sticks or something when I saw a small plastic box with different sized slots in it.

Click the image to order one of these things

It was called an “Art Bin” but for some reason, when I saw it I immediately thought “this would be perfect for storing tubes of Halloween make up!”  It turns out that for the last 15 years or so, I had been subconsciously waiting for a solution to a problem I had when I was a kid.  You see, I always stored my Halloween makeup in a ziplock bag.  And I can still vividly remember how gross that bag got.  I’d open a thing of white makeup, use it and then toss it back in the bag.  So in no time the inside of the bag would be covered in cheap, greasy makeup.

So even though I have almost zero use for effects makeup, I had to buy that box and fill it with $1.00 tubes of fake blood, green and blue makeup and black nail polish.  When it comes to stuff like this, it’s better to have it and not need it rather than need it and not have it.  And actually, there are a lot of things you can do with the kind of cheap Halloween makeup you can buy at target or walmart.  For example, you could do what a lot of filmmakers have done and shoot your own Twilight or Zombie-themed contest entry!  And a little purple and brown makeup can make a pretty realistic bruise or black eye.  Oh you know what else is good to have on hand? A can of white hair spray.  It’s great for giving scientist or politician characters a little extra pizazz.  However you probably want to avoid featuring realistic blood, gore or injuries in MOST of your video contest entries.  I say “most” of your entries because every so often, I’ll see a video contest that kind of has a hardcore edge to it.  So if a contest is kind of edgy, you could push the envelope a bit and include a little violence just for the shock value.

If you actually try and put together a low-budget, effects makeup kit of your own, there are a few other items you should include.  If you see spirit gum and spirit gum remover in the Halloween isle, grab some.  That stuff can come in really handy.  And while your at it you might as well buy a few fake mustaches.  Why?  Because fake mustaches are freaking funny, that’s why.  To finish off your kit you’ll want to add some Q-tips, makeup sponges, and wet naps.  And or of course, you can’t forget the toothpicks!  Toothpicks are how the pros scratch themselves so that their makeup won’t smear.  But I bet you already knew that.

If you’re like me, once your $7 makeup kit is complete, you’ll look at it, feel proud for about five seconds and then you’ll shove the box into the back of your closet.  I doubt I’ll actually use any of the stuff in my kit but next summer if I find myself inspired to shoot a video contest entry about a mime or a vampire or a sports fan with a painted face, I’ll be good to go.