Tricks and Treats of Halloween Videomaking

When the smell of burnt leaves hangs in gentle wafts in the snap of a Jack Frost day, thoughts of Halloween and the witching time come creeping on black kitten paws.

Videomaking and All Hallows' Eve are a natural combination, because most of the celebrants are already in costume with makeup. So let's explore some of the devilishly clever ways to create high-impact video records on this night of a thousand faces.

Tape the Torment

Children are natural actors and reactors. To document Halloween with style, the videomaker can set up a haunted reception area-a gauntlet of tricks for trick-or-treaters.

By capturing their spontaneous reactions to the setups, the videomaker will be assured of a better comedy than could have been scripted and acted.

Decorate an entry hall, foyer, or front room in preparation for those little beggars of the night. A tasteful blend of old shredded bedsheets, blowing fans, and colored lights make the trick-or-treater's entrance a thrilling one.

If you want to make a real production, place a battery-powered light source inside white sheets suspended from pulleys on heavy-test black fishing line. Attach other lines puppet-style at points on the sheet so that, when moved, you have ghostly arms rising and falling. You may even want to add a cardboard graveyard with individually lit tombstones.

Dry ice in a tub-or better still, an unused fish tank filled with water-creates a harmless illusion of nasty-looking acid or "witches' brew." A container of cold spaghetti makes an excellent "can of worms" for the brave ones and small cotton balls make great "spider eggs."

Canned evil laughter, special-effects recordings, or other real-time ambiances all contribute to the illusion. An inexpensive strobe light shooting through an ordinary 2-by 4-foot sheet of red plastic, combined with a thin sheet of tin, makes the picture-perfect thunder and lightning flash f…