64 replies to this topic

[Lizzy]

MikeDonovan, on Jul 21 2008, 06:19 PM, said:

I spotted you Lizzy - maybe I should have said hello, but I thought it might look a bit odd, since you don't know me from Adam

But I know you from MikeDovovan hehe I rememer forums names quite well, and you're an old timer like me So I'd have been pleased to meet you :) Maybe C14!!

Edited by Lizzy, 21 July 2008 - 05:37 PM.

[reddragon]

Positives:-

Guests and crew were all excellent
Talks were excellent
Photoshoots were brilliant
Plenty of stalls
Good selection of photos for most guests
Q's to meet guests were run well

Negatives:-

Being sent to 4 different q's to buy a Patrick Stewart talk ticket
Someone cracking that whip in the middle of some of the talks
Microphone being used by people asking questions not working very well
Early Bird pre payed q not getting in first
No seating


Still had a brilliant day though and can't wait until next year. Here's to MK

Edited by reddragon, 21 July 2008 - 05:52 PM.

[Lizzy]

reddragon, on Jul 21 2008, 06:51 PM, said:

Someone cracking that whip in the middle of some of the talks

That was Tom Savini hehe

[TommyT]

Was there no seating (apart from at the venue cafes) or just not enough?
Given this post after last year's show http://showmasterson.......t&p=1110537
from which I excerpt: "3 - No chill space for the public to hang out.
There were several spaces planned where fans could just chill, similar to what we do at Empire Days and what we did At Collectormania Glasgow where we opened up some seating. However this plan had to be abandoned on Friday when we redesigned the hall to accomodate the new Heroes guests
...
We want you to have a good time at the events we run and know that this type of space is important to the people attending. We do intend to have them at future events and are sorry we had to take them away for this show."
I would have thought that there would be some seating provided, assuming that a "chill space for the public to hang out" would involve the chance to take the weight off one's feet. Perhaps there was a problem getting EC to provide some?

[Lizzy]

There was a bit in the middle with a TV and about 20 chairs... all empty mostly lol. So I guess this was it and people just ignored it! I preferred to sit in a corner on the floor (have my packed lunch lol), but I could easily have sat there... and there were odd chairs scattered around more than last year (non existent)

[tony jedi]

Well i for one enjoyed the show as a whole the Sat was better than the Sunday though as i waited for about 4 hrs or so for just one more auto (and my last one for the weekend) but it was spacious and the unexpected arrival of Ian Whyte was a bonus. The dealers area was well organised and i managed to find a few items for some friends of mine back home. As i am a collector of mechandise and autographs it was a very good show and i would like to take this chance to say many thanks to Showmasters for a very good event BUT as i said before as i collect autographs i did find it frustrating that SOME guests i wanted were held up by EITHER a photoshoot or a talk. However i did perservere and managed to get the last few i needed on Sunday with half an hr to spare due to the train i had to catch home. All in all though a most enjoyable show over a nice weekend and here is to the next one next July. I do attend a lot of the MK shows as well which is nice, again i go purely for the autographs and the dealers area so i apologise in advance if i upset anybody who goes to the shows for MORE than just the autos. And it was in a better venue to last year. Once again thank you Showmasters and all the best for the future.

[MikeDonovan]

Lizzy, on Jul 21 2008, 06:36 PM, said:

MikeDonovan, on Jul 21 2008, 06:19 PM, said:

I spotted you Lizzy - maybe I should have said hello, but I thought it might look a bit odd, since you don't know me from Adam

But I know you from MikeDovovan hehe I rememer forums names quite well, and you're an old timer like me So I'd have been pleased to meet you :) Maybe C14!!

OK cool - you've got a deal :)

Edited by MikeDonovan, 22 July 2008 - 08:49 AM.

[Manbeast]

Lizzy, on Jul 22 2008, 01:33 AM, said:

There was a bit in the middle with a TV and about 20 chairs... all empty mostly lol. So I guess this was it and people just ignored it! I preferred to sit in a corner on the floor (have my packed lunch lol), but I could easily have sat there... and there were odd chairs scattered around more than last year (non existent)

That was the Universal showcase. They wanted you to fill in some surveys to sit there.

[jos]

Back in Germany.. and I have to say I only had positive experiences!  

I loved the guests!
The talks were great!
The atmosphere was so positive, everbody I met smiled and seemed to have a good time!

A HUGE and BIG THANK YOU to the crew! You guys are amazing, always there, always friendly and everything seemed to be so organized! You can be really proud of yourself!

Btw. TooTall - I loved your "We own your souls" shirt    

[nicky]

Manbeast, on Jul 22 2008, 10:13 AM, said:

That was the Universal showcase. They wanted you to fill in some surveys to sit there.

Really? I just sat there for ages resting on Sunday...maybe it was cos I was facing the TV and it looked like I was watching the trailers when in fact I had already done a survey they day before.

[Lizzy]

MikeDonovan, on Jul 22 2008, 09:49 AM, said:

Lizzy, on Jul 21 2008, 06:36 PM, said:

MikeDonovan, on Jul 21 2008, 06:19 PM, said:

I spotted you Lizzy - maybe I should have said hello, but I thought it might look a bit odd, since you don't know me from Adam

But I know you from MikeDovovan hehe I rememer forums names quite well, and you're an old timer like me So I'd have been pleased to meet you :) Maybe C14!!

OK cool - you've got a deal :)

[jediwarrior]

For the food subject, after I got my photo with Jason Mewes done, me and my friend went round to the pub round the corner. It was lovely not many people in it, so we had a couple of pints some food, watch the golf for about an hour and then return to the show.

Nice to give the legs a rest before the afternoon session.

[Too Tall]

jos, on Jul 22 2008, 02:25 PM, said:

Btw. TooTall - I loved your "We own your souls" shirt    

Thanks  

[theentsrgoingtowar]

It was the best convention i have ever been too. I loved every second of it, everyone was aesome, the guests were amazing, the crew - as always were amazing, I loved it!!! Even Patrick Stewart was amazing this time!!!

Bring on the next one!!

Tom
( I just wished I had crewed this one)!!!

[Rhys135]

Great show! Photoshoots were very well done and the prints were much better than I expected,  the queue's for the guests were well organised, talks were enjoyable and all the crewmembers were nice and helpful.

[Metal Gear]

Can I just say to Nicky, it was a pleasant surprise to find out you were the guy asking questions at the Patrick Stewart and Indy talks.  Nice to put a name to a face as I had known your name from on here, but also wondered who the guy was asking those questions as you seemed very laid back, audible, and with good, sensible questions.  I don't often ask questions myself, and worry that the guests will be embarrased by either bad questions or a lack of questions, so it was nice to hear you on the mic.

[reddragon]

tony jedi, on Jul 22 2008, 02:42 AM, said:

As i am a collector of mechandise and autographs it was a very good show and i would like to take this chance to say many thanks to Showmasters for a very good event BUT as i said before as i collect autographs i did find it frustrating that SOME guests i wanted were held up by EITHER a photoshoot or a talk. However i did perservere and managed to get the last few i needed on Sunday with half an hr to spare due to the train i had to catch home.

Well I thought it was very very good as well but you have to remember some people are not just here for the autographs they go for the whole experience which includes photoshoots, chat and talk. I had all three with Pete Postlethwaite which made the day more memorable.

[sparks]

I was in charrge of the tech and the talk area.

The seat numbers were a new thing that were only for the two paid for talks. Due to a communications blip I was only told about this on Saturday Morning and came up with an on the spot solution. In retrospect I think we need to rethink how that was done, and make it a bit clearer to everybody.

Sound quality is a perennial problem. we are in a big concrete and metal box with a high roof. We have slowly been inproving our sound kit but it can only do so much. As soon as we let people into the other areas of the show the noise spills over and we get bounce off the back wall from the PA itself. We have to judge the set up with an empty area and then try and fix it during talks to account for the effect of the people in the area during talks.

As for the use of the mics, that's down to individuals, some talk into the mic and can be heard normally, some shout into it and threaten to blow the PA and others just wave it around at random.....that includes the guests!

In an ideal world we could sort this out but it would take time to ste up each talk with a sound check etc etc.

In the meantime we try aour best and try and improve show by show.

And yes I wanted to shoot the bloody cyberman and insert a whip where the sun doesn't shine....

[Floorplay]

I'm happy when I can get posed photos along with professional ones (this time with Georgia).

As for the lack of seating, I went to every free talk on Saturday (except the Indy one) just so I could rest my feet. There does seem to be a lack of entertainment in between talks, photoshoots, signings, etc.

[Metal Gear]

sparks, on Jul 23 2008, 04:44 PM, said:

I was in charrge of the tech and the talk area.

The seat numbers were a new thing that were only for the two paid for talks. Due to a communications blip I was only told about this on Saturday Morning and came up with an on the spot solution. In retrospect I think we need to rethink how that was done, and make it a bit clearer to everybody.

Sound quality is a perennial problem. we are in a big concrete and metal box with a high roof. We have slowly been inproving our sound kit but it can only do so much. As soon as we let people into the other areas of the show the noise spills over and we get bounce off the back wall from the PA itself. We have to judge the set up with an empty area and then try and fix it during talks to account for the effect of the people in the area during talks.

As for the use of the mics, that's down to individuals, some talk into the mic and can be heard normally, some shout into it and threaten to blow the PA and others just wave it around at random.....that includes the guests!

In an ideal world we could sort this out but it would take time to ste up each talk with a sound check etc etc.

In the meantime we try aour best and try and improve show by show.

And yes I wanted to shoot the bloody cyberman and insert a whip where the sun doesn't shine....

The numbered seating, although a surprise at first, was a really good idea.  I expected it for the Patrick Stewart talk, but I really believe having all the talks arranged like that was very sensible.  It means they are no different to the virtual tickets and you have to collect them as soon as possible if you are a big fan.  The altenative all these years has been queues starting an hour before the actual talk begins, meaning you have to sacrifice large chunks of your day if you want to get an OK seat.  This way (as with the virual tickets) you can go away and do things and turn up 5 mins before the talk starts.  It also removes the old problem of people saving places in the queue for their friends.  The down-side of it was the people going in, finding their seat, then removing the post-it note so they could sit down!!  WTF??  Also, the numbers on the back of the seats falling off slightly as the day went on.  I'm sure if they were securely stuck on, and the website made people aware the talk area would be arranged like that, it would be a great idea.

PS, yeah, that Cyberman moment was unbelievable.  Still, I suppose it was an honest mistake.