Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by David McCall on January 15, 2012 at 3:57pm

We had to make the witch melt for "The Wizard of Oz". The tricky part is getting the actors out safely. I bolted a 4' ladder to the under side of a platform that was built to the exact height for the ladder. The actor stepped back-wards into the hole and a stagehand below the platform grabs the ankles of the actor to safely guide her feet onto each the step of the ladder as she comes down into the hole. Be sure to use substantial hinges and multiple hefty latches to keep it secure when closed. The top of the ladder goes pretty flush to the front edge of the trap and the hinges go at the back edge of the trap. Be sure to leave room for the door to swing. If you are allowed to use smoke, it is nice to let a little out as the witch melts.

The costume needs to be designed such that it comes off as she backs into the hole leaving the dress and hat on the platform.

You might consider filling a trash bag with smoke and letting it out as the witch melts to keep the volume of smoke small enough to not trip the smoke alarm if that is an issue.

There are hydraulic lifts at harbor freight that might do what you need. They pump up kind of bumpy, but they might go down smoothly enough. the travel might not be long enough to meet your needs. They are not designed to move people so there might be safety issues to consider.

David

Permalink Reply by Adam Lindsay on January 15, 2012 at 6:22pm

Genie makes a pneumatic piston, that is about 4ft tall, that works really well. It extends to 12 or 16ft I think, works on less than 120psi. It is a great solution for this but it will only last you a year, maybe 18 months before it starts to leak and lower on its own. But it should be fine for your run. Call or visit your local Genie dealer and they can help you. Or I have a lift I have built, I can send you the plans for it just give me an email address to send it to, it involves welding and lost of 1/8" or 1/4" aircraft cable.

Also, as a side note, you might want to stretch two pieces of spandex/lycra across the hole, over lap them about 2inches in the middle and when she is gone there won't be a hole in the floor where she disappeared and you can bring the lift back up without people seeing it.

Permalink Reply by David Kilpatrick on January 16, 2012 at 6:08am

I too thought that walking down the stairs was unacceptable until we did it for The Wizard of Oz. With just a little acting, some fog and a reaction from the winkies, the stairs was the safest, cheapest and fastest solution to the challenge.

Permalink Reply by Greg Bierly on January 16, 2012 at 10:40am

I borrowed a hydraulic lift table from a local college that they had bought from harbor freight tools. We built it into the platform. In the raised position we had a pinned safety so it could not accidentally lower until removing it just prior to the melting effect.

Permalink Reply by Lonnie Royal on February 15, 2012 at 10:21am

Thank you for all the suggestions. Our run was successful and the melt worked pretty well, despite the fog machine not working as well as I had hoped. We ended up going with the her stepping down into the trap with the help of a crew member underneath and a couple of winkies. Her skirt detached and helped hide her descent into the trap.