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brian blessed photo chaos


jheritag
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While I enjoyed the con very much, I found the photo session a real disappointment. Cramming everyone (including wheelchairs, pushchairs, etc.) into a narrow corridor to wait was incredibly hot and very uncomfortable - god knows what would happened if the fire alarm had gone off. There was one member of staff trying valiantly to organise an awful lot of people.

Then we were rushed past Brian, barely pausing to say hello. He was obviously embarrassed at the pace and repeatedly apologised to the queue. I shook hands with Brian, the photographer said '1,2,3....next' and that was it. The quality of the photo was good, but it did not even come in a bag.

 

2 Suggestions:

Sell a number of tickets appropriate to the time available- fans pay to have a good experience meeting the star, rather than feel pressured to rush.

If you are going to sell that many tickets - you have got to organise people so that they can queue in a safe and comfortable way.

 

Rant over!

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I wasn't there but I do agree, attendees should enjoy their time with the guests rather than being rushed, as after all we are paying for the experience. If you can't get through all the attendees without rushing, I agree there should only be a certain amount of tickets, at a first come first serve basis.

 

As for the queue in the corridor, I guess it depends on venue size, although surely they wouldn't queue that many people all at once, again probably too many too fit into the day.

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2 Suggestions:

Sell a number of tickets appropriate to the time available- fans pay to have a good experience meeting the star, rather than feel pressured to rush.

 

 

I am really sorry to hear you didn't have a good time. In general photo sessions are not the place for anything more than quick interaction. Shake hands, how are you?, picture is taken and that's it. If you were hoping to ask a question or something like that the autograph line would be the better place to do that.

 

The part of your post that I quoted above is one of the reasons why the photo schedule is posted only so close to the event. The amount of tickets sold until the store closes is definitely taken into account. Unfortunately sometimes there is a last minute rush on the day which causes an unexpected ticket increase.

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This is the only thing that dampened an excellent day. At one stage there were three different queues in a long thin corridor for Brian, with a very small gap in the middle. People who had queued for 10 minutes got in before some people who had been there half an hour. It would have been easier if someone had called ticket numbers. In the end it become very claustrophobic.

 

In fairness, by the time Anthony Heads shoot was on, numbers were being called.

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After having several photo shoots in the past I was disappointed with the organisation of the queues (THREE separate queues for Brian Blessed!!!). In fairness though it was the first show in this particular venue, and all in all it was a good experience. Maybe next time a one-way queueing system would prove more fruitful. With one door for entry and another for the exit?? Or at least use the ticket number system as was FINALLY used by the Anthony Head shoot!! :no:

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I was at that photo shoot, but I was fourth in the queue. To be honest, I found it no different to any other I have experience, except for the fact Brian was chatting away to everyone between each shot. He had me in hysterics!

 

Ah I mustn't have been far behind you, think I was about 16th/17th. He was so hilarious at the start of the shoot!

 

Also I think the whole Brian shoot wasn't helped by the fact he was 15 minutes late (don't know if people at or near the back were aware of that).

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You were very lucky to miss what was going on in the corridor then. I just wish I had got there earlier as well.

 

I saw what was going on, as I walked from the very back to the front of the queue as we had an extra help pass as my son cannot queue! It was manic and hot, so totally understand the moaning on that part! And then getting after the photo, you could barely move!

 

To be honest, for a first show, I think the chaos was to be expected! So the fact they did figure it out in the end, will hopefully mean for those tomorrow, they will use it for them!

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While I wasn't there so won't comment on the queues etc, I will back up what QS said - the photo shoots aren't the place for an experience or conversation etc. I can understand this might be disappointing for new attendees who haven't been before, and may have a different expectation. There's simply not enough time unfortunately.

 

Hopefully most people are happy with what they come away with :)

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The queues were a bit manic, I was at the back of the queue, I think where the problem was in the middle of the queue... The queue snaked around the corridor and into the talk area, where a member of staff was snaking us again. The queue never moved for over 30 mins. I think someone said Brian was late getting to the shoot, as he did pass me during that wait? I think the problem started in the middle of the queue there was no staff to keep an eye on the queue then the talk shows kicked out and there seemed to be a mass of people in one area then people queue jumping. Brian was great wanting to inter act with each person having their photo done. But when you have hundreds standing outside waiting and over running. You have to just shake hands say hello and smile... Brian apologised to me for not chatting, But I'm cool with that as I know how these things work. I'm getting good at this..... Also what a great idea having a lady with a drinks trolley selling water etc in the corridor bet she made a big profit. :dance:

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Unfortunately, I couldn't make this weekend but calling by ticket number is surely the fairest way and the way to control queues? I never understand why sometimes this happens and at other times it doesn't. It would be a simple policy surely? It's about the only thing that tends not well organised at these events as everything else is brilliant.

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The queues were a bit manic, I was at the back of the queue, I think where the problem was in the middle of the queue... The queue snaked around the corridor and into the talk area, where a member of staff was snaking us again. The queue never moved for over 30 mins. I think someone said Brian was late getting to the shoot, as he did pass me during that wait? I think the problem started in the middle of the queue there was no staff to keep an eye on the queue then the talk shows kicked out and there seemed to be a mass of people in one area then people queue jumping. Brian was great wanting to inter act with each person having their photo done. But when you have hundreds standing outside waiting and over running. You have to just shake hands say hello and smile... Brian apologised to me for not chatting, But I'm cool with that as I know how these things work. I'm getting good at this..... Also what a great idea having a lady with a drinks trolley selling water etc in the corridor bet she made a big profit. :dance:

 

If he wants to talk to people then that is his choice, that is what people want. No one is gonna turn to him and say oh don't worry Brian, don't bother talking to me just think about all those people behind me lol. Not a chance. People are paying for those photos, if the guest wants to chat you better believe they're gonna chat. I do agree that it is not the place for asking questions and quizzing them but that is why you need to make the most of your time meeting guests at the table.

 

Never ever ever feel as though you are being rushed or under pressure. Don't ever feel bad or guilty about the person standing behind you having to wait beacuse they are in the que for the same reason you are. You're not there to help other people and believe me, no one else cares for you. You need to get as much out of your time with the guests as possible at their table. If you do that then you wont feel bad about any photo shoot experience,

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The queues were a bit manic, I was at the back of the queue, I think where the problem was in the middle of the queue... The queue snaked around the corridor and into the talk area, where a member of staff was snaking us again. The queue never moved for over 30 mins. I think someone said Brian was late getting to the shoot, as he did pass me during that wait? I think the problem started in the middle of the queue there was no staff to keep an eye on the queue then the talk shows kicked out and there seemed to be a mass of people in one area then people queue jumping. Brian was great wanting to inter act with each person having their photo done. But when you have hundreds standing outside waiting and over running. You have to just shake hands say hello and smile... Brian apologised to me for not chatting, But I'm cool with that as I know how these things work. I'm getting good at this..... Also what a great idea having a lady with a drinks trolley selling water etc in the corridor bet she made a big profit. :dance:

 

If he wants to talk to people then that is his choice, that is what people want. No one is gonna turn to him and say oh don't worry Brian, don't bother talking to me just think about all those people behind me lol. Not a chance. People are paying for those photos, if the guest wants to chat you better believe they're gonna chat. I do agree that it is not the place for asking questions and quizzing them but that is why you need to make the most of your time meeting guests at the table.

 

Never ever ever feel as though you are being rushed or under pressure. Don't ever feel bad or guilty about the person standing behind you having to wait beacuse they are in the que for the same reason you are. You're not there to help other people and believe me, no one else cares for you. You need to get as much out of your time with the guests as possible at their table. If you do that then you wont feel bad about any photo shoot experience,

 

I must be an odd one out as I am conscious that the person behind wants to get their photo or autograph so I try and keep any chatting brief (obviously without being rude to the guest). I had a nice chat with Alice Krige on Saturday morning as nobody was behind me in the autograph queue. As soon as somebody else was there waiting behind me, I made sure I wrapped it up and moved on.

 

- G

Edited by SirGeeksalot
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The queues were a bit manic, I was at the back of the queue, I think where the problem was in the middle of the queue... The queue snaked around the corridor and into the talk area, where a member of staff was snaking us again. The queue never moved for over 30 mins. I think someone said Brian was late getting to the shoot, as he did pass me during that wait? I think the problem started in the middle of the queue there was no staff to keep an eye on the queue then the talk shows kicked out and there seemed to be a mass of people in one area then people queue jumping. Brian was great wanting to inter act with each person having their photo done. But when you have hundreds standing outside waiting and over running. You have to just shake hands say hello and smile... Brian apologised to me for not chatting, But I'm cool with that as I know how these things work. I'm getting good at this..... Also what a great idea having a lady with a drinks trolley selling water etc in the corridor bet she made a big profit. :dance:

 

If he wants to talk to people then that is his choice, that is what people want. No one is gonna turn to him and say oh don't worry Brian, don't bother talking to me just think about all those people behind me lol. Not a chance. People are paying for those photos, if the guest wants to chat you better believe they're gonna chat. I do agree that it is not the place for asking questions and quizzing them but that is why you need to make the most of your time meeting guests at the table.

 

Never ever ever feel as though you are being rushed or under pressure. Don't ever feel bad or guilty about the person standing behind you having to wait beacuse they are in the que for the same reason you are. You're not there to help other people and believe me, no one else cares for you. You need to get as much out of your time with the guests as possible at their table. If you do that then you wont feel bad about any photo shoot experience,

 

I must be an odd one out as I am conscious that the person behind wants to get their photo or autograph so I try and keep any chatting brief (obviously without being rude to the guest). I had a nice chat with Alice Krige on Saturday morning as nobody was behind me in the autograph queue. As soon as somebody else was there waiting behind me, I made sure I wrapped it up and moved on.

 

- G

 

No, you are the only one! I am just the same. If there is queue behind me, I will chat but I will know to be quick. If there is not many people behind, which I was lucky on Saturday not to have with at least 4 guests I met, then I won't rush!

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From the side of being guilty of having a pushchair with me I found all but one of the staff lovely, the delightful young woman tried to hurry us out of the corridor great apart from trying to deal with three kids, end result the pushchair broke not a happy bunny trying to get a tired little one home without the pushchair.not blaming anyone just frustrated she could have waited a few minutes.

Anthony heads photoshoot was a nightmare though the staff were amazing but I felt sorry for him the speed they were pushing people through I'm surprised he didn't melt down. Still he was lovely in the brief second we got to say hi.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm not sure about the queues in the corridor, that sounds a bit odd, but essentially the op's experience of photo shoots is pretty much the norm, so I guess that is really just about clarifying expectations so new people understand they will only have a couple of seconds with the guest.

 

Whilst it would of course be great to chat with Brain, to be honest he would only get through about 10 photos, because he "LOVES" to talk and I think at the end of the day if you asked most people they would rather get their photo with Brain, rather than miss out because he would only get through a small number of photo ops if a small limited amount were sold.

Edited by GoldenGreen
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The queues were a bit manic, I was at the back of the queue, I think where the problem was in the middle of the queue... The queue snaked around the corridor and into the talk area, where a member of staff was snaking us again. The queue never moved for over 30 mins. I think someone said Brian was late getting to the shoot, as he did pass me during that wait? I think the problem started in the middle of the queue there was no staff to keep an eye on the queue then the talk shows kicked out and there seemed to be a mass of people in one area then people queue jumping. Brian was great wanting to inter act with each person having their photo done. But when you have hundreds standing outside waiting and over running. You have to just shake hands say hello and smile... Brian apologised to me for not chatting, But I'm cool with that as I know how these things work. I'm getting good at this..... Also what a great idea having a lady with a drinks trolley selling water etc in the corridor bet she made a big profit. :dance:

 

If he wants to talk to people then that is his choice, that is what people want. No one is gonna turn to him and say oh don't worry Brian, don't bother talking to me just think about all those people behind me lol. Not a chance. People are paying for those photos, if the guest wants to chat you better believe they're gonna chat. I do agree that it is not the place for asking questions and quizzing them but that is why you need to make the most of your time meeting guests at the table.

 

Never ever ever feel as though you are being rushed or under pressure. Don't ever feel bad or guilty about the person standing behind you having to wait beacuse they are in the que for the same reason you are. You're not there to help other people and believe me, no one else cares for you. You need to get as much out of your time with the guests as possible at their table. If you do that then you wont feel bad about any photo shoot experience,

 

I must be an odd one out as I am conscious that the person behind wants to get their photo or autograph so I try and keep any chatting brief (obviously without being rude to the guest). I had a nice chat with Alice Krige on Saturday morning as nobody was behind me in the autograph queue. As soon as somebody else was there waiting behind me, I made sure I wrapped it up and moved on.

 

- G

 

I'm with you, I'm always very conscious of the other people in the queue, and would only look to have a long chat with a guest who had no queue. Personally, I do find it incredibly frustrating when people spend far too much time talking to a guest and the rest of us in the queue are stood there like lemons. I think if you come to an event like this, you have to understand everyone wants a chance to meet the guest and also is likely to be meeting other guests, so doesn't want to be hanging around whilst you tell them your life story. Get your autograph, if you are having a photo get your camera ready (not spend ages fishing it out from the bottom of your bag) and if you are going to ask a question make it a quick one.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • Showmasters Admin

there was some issues at Cardiff as it was our first time at this venue and things became an issue on the day when we started to use the venue and its uniqueness became apparent like we fined in most venues the first time.

 

we will fix this for next time as normal Showmasters have a Plan :-)

 

we learn from things as we move forward so we will have this fixed for March ok :-)

 

all in all everyone got there photo shoots and on time.

 

they are not a meet and greet they are just what we sell that as a pro photo opportunity as if they were a meet and greet and photo op then we would only be able to let around 20% of you have the chance to have these photo ops as most guest only have around 1 hour to 2 hours in shoots as they do take a tole on you if you are in them any longer , just something to think about.

 

anyway it will be fix for cardiff in 2014 like all our other shoots in our other shows

 

jason

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