# Transformation illusion



## JustJimAZ (Aug 19, 2010)

In the second millennium, when I was a child, I read of a "magic" trick to make someone appear old instantly. Now,in the third millennium, my son stumbled upon the same trick while reading his own magic books. I thought it had some hauntworthy potential.

The concept is straightforward. Have two lamps - one blue and one red. Draw "age lines" on the actor's face in blue. They disappear under blue light but turn black in red light. Reverse all the colors and it still holds true.

Well, I could not find a blue light that was pure enough to make the blue disappear, so I went with red makeup. I also decided to do a rough skull design, since that's more familiar to me.

Pictures and video here:

http://azhaunters.ning.com/forum/topics/instant-change-effect


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## Acid PopTart (Oct 29, 2007)

That is a brilliant idea and I want to say I remember something like this some years ago. Thank you so much for making this post, I think I will try to incorporate this into my haunt as well. Your test photos and videos worked well, again thank you!


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Your son is adorable and a total hoot, too

Nice effect!


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## JustJimAZ (Aug 19, 2010)

Acid PopTart said:


> That is a brilliant idea and I want to say I remember something like this some years ago. Thank you so much for making this post, I think I will try to incorporate this into my haunt as well. Your test photos and videos worked well, again thank you!


Glad to be of service. I would love to see how you end up using this.



RoxyBlue said:


> Your son is adorable and a total hoot, too
> 
> Nice effect!


Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it! I missed recording him singing "blinded by the light" when I turned the red light on in his face. It will be great when he is ready to give up trick or treating in favor of haunting. Might be a while though.


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## Allen H (Feb 13, 2010)

I have a few monks in my graveyard that have stiff hoods, Led lights in th rim of the hood shine on their faces. They can hit a button and change the light color and change their face, its a big hit with guests. 
Ive always wanted to add UV LEDs into the hoods so their eyes could glow too, I just never have time. Its a geat effect and the price is right!


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## JustJimAZ (Aug 19, 2010)

Allen H said:


> I have a few monks in my graveyard that have stiff hoods, Led lights in the rim of the hood shine on their faces. They can hit a button and change the light color and change their face, its a big hit with guests.
> Ive always wanted to add UV LEDs into the hoods so their eyes could glow too, I just never have time. Its a great effect and the price is right!


Yeah - that's a great application Allen! Maybe post a video?

I was thinking of using UV reactive makeup or paint too. It's completely invisible in any light but UV. I do not have any samples yet though, so no experimentation there.


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## JustJimAZ (Aug 19, 2010)

I just listened to HauntCast 34 today and Revenant mentioned this effect as part of his Theater of the Mind segment.


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## Peyjenk (Oct 26, 2010)

Brilliant! Thanks for sharing!


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## waldiddy (Aug 4, 2008)

I tried doing this last year. Here's the biggest problem I ran into: finding a light that faded from all red to all blue. You'll probably want a gradual change in the light color in order for the effect to work. The best thing I could find was a Christmas tree light with a color wheel. But, the wheel was prone to popping off, so we definitely had technical issues. 

check out Bob Burns' webpage, where he has some pics of this at work for his Jekyll/Hyde themed Halloween display.


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## Mr_Chicken (Nov 26, 2008)

Always been a fan of that effect. If you can rig up a fader on your lights, I think it would really enhance the effect.


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## halstaff (Nov 18, 2009)

I'm doing this with my bedroom scene. Under the candlelight you can just see 2 people sitting in bed. When the effect is triggered, the black lights come on revealing the ghouls. 
Unfortunately, the video doesn't capture the full effect but in reality, the candlelight provides enough illumination to see the figures before the black lights come on.


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## JustJimAZ (Aug 19, 2010)

waldiddy said:


> check out Bob Burns' webpage, where he has some pics of this at work for his Jekyll/Hyde themed Halloween display.


What is Bob Burns' webpage?

Halstaff - Cool use of the effect!


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

JustJimAZ said:


> What is Bob Burns' webpage?


This should be it:

http://bobburns.mycottage.com/


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## Wildcat (Nov 3, 2007)

Very cool effect.


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## JustJimAZ (Aug 19, 2010)

I love illusions! I wish there were more people sharing how to incorporate magic into the haunt scene.


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## BadMonkey (Sep 7, 2011)

Believe it or not, I first read about this illusion when I was in grade school. I bought a book, through Scholastic, called Movie Monsters: Monster Make-Up and Monster Shows to Put on. It was written by Alan Ormsby in 1975. That book is what started my love of horror movies and special effects. I actually still have my original copy - even started a Fan Page on Facebook!


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## JustJimAZ (Aug 19, 2010)

BadMonkey said:


> Believe it or not, I first read about this illusion when I was in grade school. I bought a book, through Scholastic, called Movie Monsters: Monster Make-Up and Monster Shows to Put on. It was written by Alan Ormsby in 1975. That book is what started my love of horror movies and special effects. I actually still have my original copy - even started a Fan Page on Facebook!


I looked up Alan Ormsby's book, and that is definitely one I owned in 1980. So, maybe that's it! Like most of my possessions, it was lost or destroyed by 1990. I'm ordering it from Amazon right now. Thanks!

Oh - post a link to that Facebook page?


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## BadMonkey (Sep 7, 2011)

JustJimAZ said:


> I looked up Alan Ormsby's book, and that is definitely one I owned in 1980. So, maybe that's it! Like most of my possessions, it was lost or destroyed by 1990. I'm ordering it from Amazon right now. Thanks!
> 
> Oh - post a link to that Facebook page?


Here's the link to the VERY new fan page on Facebook!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Alan-Ormsby-Fan-Page/162382700537779


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## ScreamingScarecrow (Oct 1, 2008)

Awesome Haunting Idea! you could apply this to anything including Halloween props!


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## JustJimAZ (Aug 19, 2010)

ScreamingScarecrow said:


> Awesome Haunting Idea! you could apply this to anything including Halloween props!


You certainly could. If you look at some earlier posts, you will see others have used them in a variety of scenes. You could even write threatening messages that appear and disappear.

I also realized that by using a combination of red, blue (or green) and UV lights, combines with red and UV reactive paints, you could get really crazy!


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## VexFX (Sep 27, 2011)

This effect works great with writing on walls. Have a room with white walls lit with green light. Write disturbing messages on the in green paint. When the room is lit with red light, the writing will suddenly appear.


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## JustJimAZ (Aug 19, 2010)

VexFX said:


> This effect works great with writing on walls. Have a room with white walls lit with green light. Write disturbing messages on the in green paint. When the room is lit with red light, the writing will suddenly appear.


I was thinking that you could combine this with UV reactive writing too.
A simple example would be:
Green:Hello
UV: Lunch!
So the lights go green, red, then add UV. OK, hello lunch is not so scary, but you get the idea.
What about just changing messages, or adding/subtracting words in other ways? 
Red writing, green light: Do not be alarmed
Green writing, red light: Be very, very frightened, Arthur Dent!
Then in UV, maybe a picture of a tombstone?

Dunno. Seem like plenty of applications here.


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## VexFX (Sep 27, 2011)

Adding another layer (UV) to the effect would be great. I also like the idea of having a message that changes meaning when the effect happens.


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

If it's a static scene or prop, you could use a single light source with a color wheel using the desired colors. While cellophane may not be clear enough, you might look at your local camera supply stores for Cokin filters, they are high end glass filters made to go in front of camera lenses.

You can go with the UV/Blacklight version too. The trick is to have the blacklight on all the time but have a standard, incandescent bulbed light that is stronger/brighter on a fader, as you fade the standard light out, the blacklight makeup or paint comes to life/shows.


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## austenandrews (Aug 22, 2010)

Maybe you could have three-frame animation by quickly flipping between colors/UV.

Would be jarring to onlookers for the light to change so fast, though. Maybe as a strobelight sort of effect.


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## JustJimAZ (Aug 19, 2010)

I aim to inspire...


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