# Talking thru Boris... from 970 miles away



## marcus132 (Oct 18, 2007)

Hey gang, here's a really simple hack for Talking Boris that was a huge hit at this year's MacAbree Manor Masquerade Ball.

The theme of the party is that MacAbree Manor burned down during a Halloween party in 1939, and every year the souls lost in the fire return to manifest their doomed party. I wanted Boris to be one of these phantom guests, back from the grave to chat up the living guests.

Simple enough, right? That's what he's built for. You set him up, hide around the corner, and talk into his "microbone." The trouble is, it's no fun to spend a whole party hiding around the corner providing the voice of Boris. It is fun, however, for _someone who is too far away to come to the party_ to provide the voice of Boris.

With that in mind, I just extended his microphone cable... by 970 miles.

First I hacked his microbone into a 1/8" phono plug, using Wolfstone's instructions.

Next I took Boris off of that lame base he comes with and put him on a pillow instead (his cable runs through a hole in its center).

Nesting him down in the pillow helped hide his square behind, and also the bank of switches running down his right temple. As an added bonus, when he's sitting on something soft, the motion of his jaw makes him sway slightly, giving him a more animated presence.










Then I plugged him into the headphone jack of a laptop hidden under the table. I set up a webcam and hid it in the blinds behind Boris. You can clearly see it in this flash photo, but in the candlelight of the party it completely vanished into the dark window.

Boris also misdirects attention away from the camera. People are conditioned to look at the person they're talking to, even if it's a disembodied skull.










During the party I put a half-eaten donut and a beer cup with his name on it in front of him.










Once this was all set up, I just initiated a video chat with a remote accomplice. We used Stickam.com, but you can use Yahoo! Messenger, MSN, Skype, or whatever you like. Now the remote controller (in Vancouver, WA) could see and hear the party (in Los Angeles, CA) and interact with the guests.

The effect was spellbinding. Some of the guests had theories as to how Boris worked, but none of them had it completely figured out. Most of them thought that he was just some kind of motion-activated Halloween novelty until he started saying specific things about their costumes. Many minds were blown, and it was great fun. :jol:


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## dave the dead (Jan 31, 2007)

oh WOW! that's an awesome idea. I'll bet it was a blast to watch , and even more fun to participate.


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## Ghoul Friday (Oct 6, 2007)

THAT is a lot of fun..and I know a few people who live too far to fly in for my parties that would LOVE to be the voice of the skull. Hee hee hee hee.


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## GothicCandle (Mar 26, 2007)

THAT IS SOOOOO COOL!!!!!!! really fun idea.


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## hauntedyard (Oct 9, 2005)

awesome idea.
Plus it gave me an idea to invite my family and friends in other states to see my yard too
Thanks


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## NickG (Sep 12, 2006)

that's a great idea - Halloween interaction via web cam via Boris. I would have never thought of it.


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## Sickie Ickie (Jun 20, 2006)

Don't know how I missed this thread, but it sure is creative!


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## Verno77 (Apr 6, 2008)

Very cool. I might want to use something similar. Thanks!


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## mymania (Jun 12, 2007)

I might have to try that this year! Very cool!


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## Bloodhound (Oct 16, 2007)

Marcus132-- Thanks for posting this and the links for the hack. Good Stuff


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## Bethene (Jan 19, 2008)

What fun that must of been, watching people try to figure it out!! Very unique take on Boris, , awesome idea!


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## eanderso13 (Apr 10, 2008)

Marcus....You're a freakin' genius! I love it!


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## Moon Dog (Oct 3, 2006)

Excellent out of the box thinking... I like it!


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## perdidoman (Dec 2, 2007)

*That's too cool*


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