Building the Bunker

I get asked a lot of time how we design and build the scare attraction experiences from scratch so, he is a whirlwind tour of what you need to do.  From conception to birth, Bunker 13 took around 10 months to complete.  After Hybrid X had finished last year I knew then it would be called Bunker 13 but that was it, I had no idea how the story would go or what would actually happen inside the show.

For me, the first step IS the name, once that's sorted, everything else seems to fall into place.  I wont go into any detail here about all the creative side of tings, you just use your imagination and design the attraction of your dreams.  Things you need to consider though are concept/plot, story, theme, scripting, design elements such as website, promo video, soundscapes for each location, lighting, costumes, makeup, creature concepts, attraction layout, duration, pre-show video, capacity and all of this needs sorting before you buy 1 plank of wood of plaster board!!

So, building, not my role in the company, I leave all that to Gav but I do get involved (I have to, Gav has a tendency to alter things if I am not on site!!) so this is a simple breakdown of how we build the shows.

First step, the layout

I design the layout of the attraction and hand it over to Gav who takes what I have done and builds an accurate, structural blueprint in Auto CAD.  This tool is so valuable as it gives us a 3D rendering of the attraction before the first nail goes in and also a flat schematic of the layout with every measurement on.  This is useful for a number of reasons, not only for the quantity surveyor but also when the build is taking place, what you don't want is to spend upwards of £15000 and realise the attraction wont fit in the area your working in!!!  Once the layout is complete, the wood is ordered and the time comes to build the beast and then the fun really beings (not!)

Once the construction starts the first step is to get the base frame down and secured to the foundations of the building.  At Magna, this is relatively simple as the Face of Steel has a solid concrete base to work off.  The frame lengths are cut to size and screwed into the concrete base ensuring a VERY solid structure which wont fall over on opening day.  Once all the frame is in place you can also, literally, walk your attraction

This photo was taken from a walkway above the attraction so you can get a real feel for the size of it.  The huge pile of timber in the centre is actually 3.5 metres long so you can get a nice perception of scale.  The area containing the wood will eventually become the duelling laser maze!  Once all the frame is in place its time to start attaching the legs.  What we are doing here is no different from internal stud walling you find in any house.

The legs will form the walls which the plaster board will be attached to so we use a system of spacing every 60cm to ensure each plaster board covers 3 legs allowing us to be able to attach the sections together securely.  Once the legs are on the same setup we used for the base frame is repeated but this time on top to form a roof line.  This is also the time the structure will need bracing to ensure it is strong, rigid and, most importantly, wont fall over and crush your guests!  Plaster boarding is the next step (or any other material you wish to use like chipboard, MDF etc) and then the roof is placed and screwed in giving you (hopefully) a totally sealed attraction.

The video above shows the structure about 50% complete, tilt your head to the left to see it better, it was filmed on an Iphone!

So, once the building is done the fun begins (well, apart from all the painting you need to do).  This is where you get to install all the show controls, lights, sounds, effects etc and, when this task is done you get to fill the place with props.  Get this right and your almost ready for show time, bring the actors in, get them into the right places and allow them to rehearse for as much time as is possible.  Get groups of staff, workers, anyone you can find to go through the show so they can practice on real people then when opening day comes you will be ready to give the paying public the fright of their lives.

Hope you found this helpful but if you need any help, advice or have any questions that need a more in depth answer just drop me an email anytime - gary@gng-entertainment.co.uk