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We got a lot of negative feedback at the time – not because it was bad, but because people were going in with the wrong expectations. After the Halloween period ended, we then went back to the drawing board to try and find a clearer message. We changed the title to Saw: Escape Experience as a starting point. The other comments were about the length of the show, explaining how it felt too short. It was advertised as just over an hour, which it was, but we realised that perception of time is different for different people. I took myself away and spent a week trying to analyse why people felt the show was shorter than it really was. I knew I couldn’t add rooms, as we’d already maximised the space. I then realised that, when someone is coming to do an experience, their main focus is on the interactive element, so their brain associates the start of the experience as being from the moment they are first interacted with. With Saw, we had 15 minutes of build-up until that point, setting the narrative. So, we dealt with this by making people thrown into an escape situation immediately. Once this change had been made, our ratings shot back to five stars and it solved everything. Do you have any words of advice for readers who might hope to follow in your footsteps? Only do it if you’re truly passionate about it. The work becomes your entire life and has very anti-social hours. There are really stressful moments, but it’s unique too. There’s nothing else like the reward of opening a show. When you see that first audience taking part in an experience you’ve had a hand in creating, it’s an adrenaline rush and payoff like no other. In terms of getting your foot in the door, research and understand the work of professionals who you admire – then reach out! I’m a big fan of meeting face to face. Knock on office doors, ask for shadowing opportunities and internships. Be bold!
When you see that
target audiences. Ultimately, this affects the ticket sales. Have you faced any challenges along the way? There was something with Saw: Escape Experience around three years ago now – which was a project I really enjoyed working on. We knew that the core of this had to involve escape rooms because, ultimately, that’s the theme of the films – the experience of having to escape Jigsaw’s traps. But what happened was, because we launched on Halloween and it was a brand-new show, we had a lot of people (fans as well as others) coming in and expecting it to be a horror maze with actors jumping at you.
first audience taking part in an experience you’ve had a hand in, it’s a payoff like no other
(Above and below) Filming for the Saw: Escape Experience set and trailer. (Below left) Carvalho posing with Billy, the iconic Saw puppet
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