5 Questions that we will ask.

When a customer calls The WOW Factory there are a lot of abstractions that we may need to work through before we can actually decide upon a definitive product with a definitive price. For instance, if someone calls us and asks for a price on a stage building they might as well be asking how much it costs to by a car. The answer can only be found when they in turn answer a few more questions such as ""Do you want a 1975 pinto that has no engine or do you want a brand new Lexus with all the extras?". A stage prop building could range anywhere from $5,000 to $100,000 depending what you want. "How much would it cost?" is an abstract question that can only be given a definitive answer when more information is given. Here are five questions that The WOW Factory asks that help us work through these abstractions. Hopefully they will help you in your venture to build your own stage set or themed environment.

1. 1. Do you have a specific theme in mind?

Themes are very important; they bring you into focus and stir creativity. Of course it wouldn't make sense to go into a project without one. I couldn't imagine walking into a doorway that had an old wood logo with vines hanging off it and jungle animals all around only to walk into a children’s ministry center that had a 3D rocket ship prop attached to one wall a cityscape mural on the other and a clubhouse on the stage. Creative??? Maybe…but probably not a good idea! My suggestion is to come up with a basic theme and let your creativity grow out from there.

1. 2. Do you have any specific ideas that you definitely want?

Working in the theming industry I hear a lot of statements like “Something like this would be cool!” or “I was thinking of doing something like…” Now I love to throw ideas around as much as anyone but eventually we are going to need to come up with a solid goal. Write down one list of all the ideas that you know for sure you want and another list of all the ideas that would be cool but are not definite or still need work. Eventually you will want the list of definite to be complete and the other list to be eliminated.

1. 3. What Style do you want to theme your project.

First you can break it in to two categories which are realistic or not realistic. If you want it to be cartoony then ask yourself what type of cartoony. Do you want it to look like a comic book, a classic Disney cartoon or do you want SpongeBob? What style do you want?

1. 4. What is the area that you are theming?

When we are looking into a job one of the first thing that I do is break the area down into sections. For instance, “Section 1” might be the hallway, “Section 2” could be the lobby and “Section 3” the children’s ministry center. After that I will take very detailed measurements of each section and make an itemized list of everything that we are going to create for that area.

1. 5. Do you have a budget?

Whether you are hiring a theming company or not please understand that you need a budget. Supplies are expensive and before you start throwing around too many ideas you are going to want to have a good idea of what you are going to be able to afford. Of course by answering these questions you will not necessarily have a completely definitive goal in front of you but at least you will have a starting point.