I'm having a pie fight at GKENE this coming weekend. It will be taking place in a guest hotel room. I want to make sure the room is immaculately clean afterwards. I know vaguely that I'll need 'tarp' and 'plastic cloth' and 'tape,' but I've never set one of these up on my own before. Would someone be able to make recommendations on what quantities of supplies I should bring? What we did last year was sort of tilt the bed up to be a barrier, designate one half of the room as the messy area and the other as the 'clean' area. We told people not to smash pies in that direction. Any advice on what supplies and quantities I should purchase?
Advice much appreciated. Hope to see people there!
I'd suggest getting a 20 x 30 plastic tarp -- that should be enough to cover the floor and the walls up to approximately eye height. Add a second one if you're worried. If you're taping the tarp to the walls, use a strong tape that doesn't leave a residue (or be prepared to scrub tape goo off the walls when you're done).
If a little whipped cream or pie topping gets past the tarp, you should be fine as long as you wipe it up quickly -- unless crust or chocolate gets mashed into carpet or other fabric, it's not a big deal. Maybe keep a bottle of Oxi-clean or a similar solvent spray with you just to be safe.
The biggest unintended pie fight messes usually don't happen during the pie fight -- they happen when the participants are trying to make their way to the shower afterwards. This is where you'll really want to plan well. Have your participants get most of the mess off of themselves while they're still standing on the tarp. Then, make sure you cover the route to the shower with cardboard, heavy plastic, or something similar. It should be as wide as possible because goo will be dripping off of every bit of your participants, not just their feet. Also, remember that people may lose their balance and brace themselves on the walls and corners, so cover what you can.
If the hotel bathroom has a light-colored fabric shower curtain, consider replacing it with a plastic one before you start. You will almost certainly get some mess on it if you don't.
As far as trash disposal... once you're done with the pie fight, if you're careful you can just roll the tarp's outer edges inward, balling all the excess mess up inside it. It probably won't fit in a standard black trash bag, but if you purchase a roll of drum liners you'll be set. One drum liner should hold a balled-up tarp full of mess without any problem. I hope that helps.
@itsagaz That is some concise info. I do a lot of messy sessions, and you are pretty dead on. I gotta say, I was wondering if I was going to get charged the other day after my shoot with Sydney Screams... Totally fucked up the drapes. The oil from whipped cream can prove nasty....
If not covered in frosting, are you really living?
Just be careful if you're using tape on the walls as it tends to pull the paint off with it when it's removed. Masking tape works better than duct tape but it's not as strong.
Jamie said: Just be careful if you're using tape on the walls as it tends to pull the paint off with it when it's removed. Masking tape works better than duct tape but it's not as strong.
Depending on the age and condition of the hotel room, you might actually want to consider using tacks to hold the tarp to the wall -- then fill any holes with toothpaste when you're done. And take care that you don't just rip the tarp down.
Alternately, if your tarp has metal eyelets around the edges, you could try using those 3M reusable stick-on hooks. I've never tried this because it just seemed a bit excessive, but it might help. Or just use those eyelet holes plus short lengths of card or velcro tape to secure the tarp to anything handy.
Love you, too
