emmangel Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 Over the weekend I like all of you attended the Eclipse event. Overall I had a good time and though the guests were great but there were a few minor things that I hope can be looked at for next time. This was of course Showmasters first event so there were bound to be a few issues, and hopefully they can see about perhaps fixing some of them. Feel free to add any suggestions of your own! General Tickets – Though I still think having ticket numbers by ticket is a better idea, I didn’t really have any problems with having ticket numbers by group. However since there is no record of your number on the ticket it made me worry that I had the correct ticket, as I’m sure it did to many others. It’s not a knock on the people who organised the packs, because I found them to be well handled with all my extras present and correct, but some people like a little reassurance when something isn’t obvious, especially regular con attendees. Solution - I’d suggest next time perhaps having a chart on the wall indicating that Ando=1-25, Charlie=25-50 etc to assure people that they have the right ticket. A white board or poster with this information on behind registration would quickly relive any concerns people may have. Luggage Drop-Off – I think this one hit everyone unaware, but the hotel does not have the capacity to hold many people’s suitcases. Not everyone drives or leaves on Monday morning, which means that there has to be someplace where attendees can store their luggage on the Sunday. We ended up having to take ours into the main hall for the Sunday morning, which wasn’t ideal at all (I saw others doing the same thing too). Eventually after speaking to the hotel again, they finally allowed us to store it in our old room (now ready for the next guest). The whole thing was a huge pain and shouldn’t be necessary. Solution – given that other Massive conventions are to be held in this hotel, I’d suggest trying to work something out with them regarding extra storage, or even handling looking after the extra luggage yourselves via a ticketing system if no arrangement can be made. Perhaps the Ibis across the road can accommodate the extra suitcases? Photoshoots Bag Checking – Though I know that all bags/coats etc are to be checked before a photo shoot, there were no signs indicating where to do this. At all other conventions and signing events the baggage drop-off is either in the photo shoot room or just before it. I along with many others had been in the queue for a good twenty minutes before someone came round with a sign saying that no bags were allowed in. Even after being show this sign I still had to actually ask were I should leave them, rather than being informed. Solution – Signs. It’s as simple as that. Placing some by the big photoshoot time/ticket list and around the general convention area would be a huge help, and very easy to do. If not, having the stewards working in the area regularly checking and keeping an eye on people in the queue and informing them. Photoshoot Lighting – I’m not sure why all the lights in the photoshoot room were kept off, but all my photos suffered for it. There was visible noise on my photos (taking both days) and looked to have been adjusted afterwards because the photos looked to have been brightened and the blue levels fiddled with. Rather easy to tell when my black jacket turned grey and my top changed colour! I’d suggest this gets looked at for next time, since though I liked my photos well enough, they would have looked so much better if the room had been better lit. Guest Talks Moderator – Though I can see the usage of a moderator with a set of questions ready if things get quiet, I felt that having one throughout the whole talk left things flat. One of the great parts of the talks is the guest/audience interaction and I felt this was affected as a result. Things just didn’t have the same energy as they normally do. Like I said, I overall enjoyed myself, even though I had to miss the last guest talk due to the British transport system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babbler Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 (edited) I agree with the ticket numbering thing. It was a bit confusing and you didnt know what order you would be called in to start with so everyone was squished near the doors. As for photoshoot - I couldnt afford any. However, when the group one was annonced I went an queued for a ticket with my girlfriend. Was then told for both of us to have 1 photo was going to cost £80! We couldnt pay for just 1! I thought you were paying for a "session" - hence we both take up 1 "session" between us we should only pay for 1? So we left dissappointed... Do showmasters read this? If so how about setting up a FREE survey at www.surveymonkey.com - its easy to do (I do so quite a bit for some things I organise) and would really be of help to you. More people here would be willing to post comments there annonnomously then here where they will potentially get "lynched"... Edited March 17, 2008 by Babbler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psychosis Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 As for photoshoot - I couldnt afford any. However, when the group one was annonced I went an queued for a ticket with my girlfriend. Was then told for both of us to have 1 photo was going to cost £80! We couldnt pay for just 1! I thought you were paying for a "session" - hence we both take up 1 "session" between us we should only pay for 1? So we left dissappointed... As has always been the case, you pay for the opportunity to be in a photo with the guests. It's always been per person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catmoo Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 I agree with the ticket numbering thing. It was a bit confusing and you didnt know what order you would be called in to start with so everyone was squished near the doors. As for photoshoot - I couldnt afford any. However, when the group one was annonced I went an queued for a ticket with my girlfriend. Was then told for both of us to have 1 photo was going to cost £80! We couldnt pay for just 1! I thought you were paying for a "session" - hence we both take up 1 "session" between us we should only pay for 1? So we left dissappointed... Do showmasters read this? If so how about setting up a FREE survey at www.surveymonkey.com - its easy to do (I do so quite a bit for some things I organise) and would really be of help to you. More people here would be willing to post comments there annonnomously then here where they will potentially get "lynched"... That's how showmasters always are with photos, you pay per person in the photo cos your paying per photo. So myself and my sister when we get photoshoot tickets at other showmasters events we pay double what it normally is so we can both be in the photo :), I do agree it makes it a bit expensive, but we're used to it now. And I would just like to say about something emmangel said about the bag drop off point, there were a couple of signs, but only really visable I suppose if you walked down by where uniquities were, me and my sis walked around a little before doing anything and found it quite easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haunted Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 Firstly... kudos for making this the most organised and enjoyable convention I have ever been at. It was great and I'll be sure to be back for Eclipse 2! Now onto what emmangel said... I don't think sorting people in groups was a huge problem. It didn't matter which ticket number you were anyway, because they had made a system, especially for the autos where they went through the ticket holders starting from different letters, so no matter if you would have had the 10th ticket or the 300th, you would have started with one of the guests and been the last with another. I think it was a very creative system that brought more fun into the event than simple numbers. I do have to agree with the luggage drop off, it was a little messy, because we would have had no idea what to do, if the lovely ladies at the hotel wouldn't have had us keep the room to keep our luggage in there. Lugging two big cases and three bags around to photoshoots and talks wouldn't have been possible and we wouldn't just have them stand around somewhere. I do like your idea about the ticket system! Not sure how well that work with the room they have, but I think it definitely needs to be thought of for Eclipse 2. The bag checking was a little confusing at first, but towards midday they put signs up at the room and were also informing people, so it got a bit less confused, I think they realised that they had forgotten about that, but yeah, a bigger sign for newbies that weren't aware of handing the bags in would be great. Oh and just to mention this, but for some reason, the photos taken at this con were my absolute favourites from any I have! Just being random. About the moderator at the guest talks, there needs to be one. While yes, the interaction between the guests is awesome and a lot more fun (they had some at the group guest talk that was great) if there isn't one, uncomfortable silences could be what we get. The moderator is there to guide the talk and give the guests a little bit of guidance through the talks. I think it might be a bit awkward without him as the mediator between attendees and guests, especially for guests that are a bit shy at first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babbler Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 I agree with the ticket numbering thing. It was a bit confusing and you didnt know what order you would be called in to start with so everyone was squished near the doors. As for photoshoot - I couldnt afford any. However, when the group one was annonced I went an queued for a ticket with my girlfriend. Was then told for both of us to have 1 photo was going to cost £80! We couldnt pay for just 1! I thought you were paying for a "session" - hence we both take up 1 "session" between us we should only pay for 1? So we left dissappointed... Do showmasters read this? If so how about setting up a FREE survey at www.surveymonkey.com - its easy to do (I do so quite a bit for some things I organise) and would really be of help to you. More people here would be willing to post comments there annonnomously then here where they will potentially get "lynched"... That's how showmasters always are with photos, you pay per person in the photo cos your paying per photo. So myself and my sister when we get photoshoot tickets at other showmasters events we pay double what it normally is so we can both be in the photo :), I do agree it makes it a bit expensive, but we're used to it now. And I would just like to say about something emmangel said about the bag drop off point, there were a couple of signs, but only really visable I suppose if you walked down by where uniquities were, me and my sis walked around a little before doing anything and found it quite easily. I know - so they should really change the wording to "per person" or "per photo" - not "per session". If you have a pro photo shoot you do not pay double because there are 2 of you. You pay for the session. It doesnt cost them double to take a photo if there are 2 of you. Just my penny's worth. I know opinion differs but thought it was a bit expensive as we only wanted 1 photo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmangel Posted March 17, 2008 Author Share Posted March 17, 2008 (edited) I have no opinion of the price of photos, since I only ever get single shots, but I will say that I felt the price of the group shot was good value. Other events charge a fair bit more than that, so £40 seems a very good price. Edited March 17, 2008 by emmangel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catmoo Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 I have no opinion of the price of photos, since I only ever get single shots, but I will say that I felt the price of the group shot was very good value. Other events charge a fair bit more than that, so £40 seems a very good price. I totally agree with that, as it was like just over £6 a guest, which is very cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzy Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 I agree about the bag stuff at photoshoots... I was soo embarassed, I asked what to do for my Sendhil one, and they just said chuck it. So i literally did, and possibly harmed my camera, ipod, phone, autographs, etc when doing so... and i'm a naff shot, so Sendhil laughed :S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmangel Posted March 17, 2008 Author Share Posted March 17, 2008 (edited) I don't think sorting people in groups was a huge problem. It didn't matter which ticket number you were anyway It wasn't the autos that I was worried about, more regarding the seating. I booked early to get a good seat, and would have liked to be sure I had the correct ticket before being called in. Oh and just to mention this, but for some reason, the photos taken at this con were my absolute favourites from any I have! Just being random. I must admit I wasn't too sure about the backgrounds at first, but was rather pleased with them when I saw how they looked in the end. About the moderator at the guest talks, there needs to be one. While yes, the interaction between the guests is awesome and a lot more fun (they had some at the group guest talk that was great) if there isn't one, uncomfortable silences could be what we get. I still disagree there. I've only ever been to one other convention with one all the others have not and work fine. Having mikes set up stops the time taken to run around trying to find people and keeps things running smoothly. I think having a mix of the two could work, so that you wouldn't have any dry patches, but still let things flow a bit better. Edited March 17, 2008 by emmangel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nkb Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 Moderator – Though I can see the usage of a moderator with a set of questions ready if things get quiet, I felt that having one throughout the whole talk left things flat. One of the great parts of the talks is the guest/audience interaction and I felt this was affected as a result. Things just didn’t have the same energy as they normally do. I completely disagree with this and actually think having an MC for the event was one of the reasons why the Q&A was one of the best I've seen at recent events. People who wanted to could ask their own questions but lots of people (myself included) didn't want to get up in front of everyone and speak on the microphone. Also, doing it this way stopped duplicated questions, and I'm sure made the guests feel more comfortable as (well as keeping me happy!) because it meant there weren't any of those hideous 'if you could lick chocolate sauce off the the naked body of anyone in the world who would it be?' or 'What kind of cheese are you?' or any of the other stuff that has me gnashing my teeth. I think the MC had a good balance between picking fun questions and serious ones and kept things moving really well. Re: tickets I was really dubious about the Charlie's Angels type group names but it worked ok in the end. My bugbear with the ticket was (a) it didn't have your name on it - seriously, give me a sharpie and I'll write my own name on it so if it's lost someone can get it back to me, ( it wasn't laminated (so after about two minutes was squished) and © didn't have a pin or something more useful than that chafing bit of green string. Hardly classy. Although to be fair, with the attention to detail elsewhere I think it's likely it was just something overlooked which won't be again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psychosis Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 Re: tickets I was really dubious about the Charlie's Angels type group names but it worked ok in the end. My bugbear with the ticket was (a) it didn't have your name on it - seriously, give me a sharpie and I'll write my own name on it so if it's lost someone can get it back to me, ( it wasn't laminated (so after about two minutes was squished) and © didn't have a pin or something more useful than that chafing bit of green string. Hardly classy. Although to be fair, with the attention to detail elsewhere I think it's likely it was just something overlooked which won't be again. What on earth did you do to it? It was a sturdy card that held up perfectly for me, far better than any laminated card I've ever had, where the edges always end up peeling. I was really pleased by how well it held up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haunted Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 I don't think sorting people in groups was a huge problem. It didn't matter which ticket number you were anyway It wasn't the autos that I was worried about, more regarding the seating. I booked early to get a good seat, and would have liked to be sure I had the correct ticket before being called in. Ooooh, I don't know how that was handled... we were gold pass holders, so I'm not sure how they let the first 100 in for their priority seating. But as far as I could see from the hall filling up, it seemed to be done fairly? Yeah, I wasn't paying that much attention after fending for life and death over good seats. OH! And what I wanted to mention also is that I thought the Q/A box where people could submit questions into was a GREAT idea. That way people that didn't want to ask their own questions could write them down and have them asked and everything was a lot more ordered. Great idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmangel Posted March 17, 2008 Author Share Posted March 17, 2008 Ooooh, I don't know how that was handled... we were gold pass holders, so I'm not sure how they let the first 100 in for their priority seating. But as far as I could see from the hall filling up, it seemed to be done fairly? Yep. After the gold tickets they called people in by group name, which had about 25 people in each. That I didn't have a problem with, as each group was assigned based on ticket number. However with no numbers on the tickets, there was no way to make sure the ticket you were given was correct (I'm not doubting the staff, but some of us like to make sure everything is correct because mistakes can happen). I was in the 30's, so was in the second batch of tickets. This was fine, but a list detailing the groups/ticket numbers posted somewhere near reg would have helped anyone who just wanted to double check things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators DavidB Posted March 17, 2008 Moderators Share Posted March 17, 2008 I just pinned this so people can use it as a general feedback topic, rather than having loads pop up all over the place Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_mk Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 I agree with a lot of what has been said. This was a fantastic event from my point of view and I am seriously scraping the barrel to suggest anything to improve the next event. I agree that a laminated pass would be good and that string is not ideal (given as everything else was so superbly presented!) I thought the MC did a great job. At no point did I cringe at a question, nor swear under my breath while someone went off on a huge monologue. I think the MC job is difficult, because some questions lead to obvious follow-up questions, which an attendee may not get the opportunity to follow-up, however, the MC Guy (sorry, can't remember his name) did pick up on these type of questions a few times. I think the group naming thing was ok, but added to the confusion on the Saturday morning. Numbers may have made it a little simpler. I guess my only gripe would be that a few of the talks (especially David's on Sunday) had to be cut short because of over-running... personally, I feel the talk is more important that the timing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snot182 Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 My only real gripe and this was probably more down to my own convention inexperience, (this was my first proper one, ive only done signing events until now), was i was under the impression that the signings would be a bit more relaxed and you would get a chance to say hello to the guest, ask a question maybe, that kind of thing. It wasnt the case sadly as it was all rushed through very quickly to the point i was only just stood next to each guest as they signed my dvd. i wasnt expecting to stand and chat for 10mins with each guest but thought i could at least have a chance to say hi or shake their hand that is all though really, overall i was very happy with the weekend and all the guests were great Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psychosis Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 I did have the opportunity to talk to all of the guests, though it was a little rushed with Cristine at the very end. Not to sound patronising (sorry if I did!) but did you try to talk to them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babbler Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 I did have the opportunity to talk to all of the guests, though it was a little rushed with Cristine at the very end. Not to sound patronising (sorry if I did!) but did you try to talk to them? I did - managed to with all but David - it was a bit rushed for him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snot182 Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 I did have the opportunity to talk to all of the guests, though it was a little rushed with Cristine at the very end. Not to sound patronising (sorry if I did!) but did you try to talk to them? to a degree, i mean i wasnt looking for a big ol' conversation but just a thanks is all really but i found i got moved through really quickly. i had to pass on a message to David, from my friend, the usual dodgy fan girl message.... but i found myself rushing through it before i got moved along, probably sounded like a complete bottom in the process. it was a terrible thing, certainly not enough to put me off going to another just different to what i expected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmangel Posted March 17, 2008 Author Share Posted March 17, 2008 Oh, thought of another thing. It was mentioned once at the beginning of Sundaym but perhaps mention at the start of every block of talks that there is no videoing and mobiles should be turned off. For some people it'll stop them, for others they'll have no excuse for why there were doing it if caught. I saw a ton of people with phones on, as as much as I like the X-Files, I didn't really feel like hearing the theme tune during the talks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wyn Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 Had a fantastic weekend and my only real niggles were with the hotel itself our room was really bad but they should have refurbised by eclipse 2 and that the chef in the resterant was really rude to us so we didn't use it apart from for brekkie Sat morning was a little crazy but after it settled down i thought it all went really well i got all my autos and photoshoots i wanted sat and then had a group photo that i loved sunday Talks were great the only thing i don't like is the seating but i can't afford gold or silver and i guess i just have to deal with the fact i won't get good seats for the talks the screen did really help this also loved the videos shown in the middle between guests Dealers room was a little small but i got the 10X8's i wanted signed as i hated the free ones shiny and glossy is the way to go and there wasn't much else that caught my eye but that saved me money The party's were amazing just such a shame when the guests did appear sat eve they were mobbed for photos they won't be coming to parties again guess it was a little naive of me to think people could jsut talk to them Loved all of the guests and they all really seemed like they were having a great time All in all a fantastic con had a great time and i'm all booked for eclipse 2 Oh and please release and DVD it'll keep me entertained for hours esp the talks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_mk Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 Oh, thought of another thing. It was mentioned once at the beginning of Sundaym but perhaps mention at the start of every block of talks that there is no videoing and mobiles should be turned off. For some people it'll stop them, for others they'll have no excuse for why there were doing it if caught. I saw a ton of people with phones on, as as much as I like the X-Files, I didn't really feel like hearing the theme tune during the talks! I didn't think the mobiles were really a problem? I had mine on (though I set it to silent). I guess part of the problem is so many people use them as cameras now? (For the record, I think the X Files phone actually belonged to a member of crew, so the call could have been important) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keiralouise Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 The party's were amazing just such a shame when the guests did appear sat eve they were mobbed for photos they won't be coming to parties again guess it was a little naive of me to think people could jsut talk to them I only chatted to the guests at the parties We were walking past Santiago and he looked at us said hello and we just had a chat, same sort of thing with Noah. We didn't ask for pictures a) because it was written in the guidelines not to because we thought it would be rude and c) because we bought photo sessions with everyone but Jessyln And I second the dvd!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_mk Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 The party's were amazing just such a shame when the guests did appear sat eve they were mobbed for photos they won't be coming to parties again guess it was a little naive of me to think people could jsut talk to them I only chatted to the guests at the parties We were walking past Santiago and he looked at us said hello and we just had a chat, same sort of thing with Noah. We didn't ask for pictures a) because it was written in the guidelines not to because we thought it would be rude and c) because we bought photo sessions with everyone but Jessyln And I second the dvd!! *Applauds* My guess is that you now have a great, personnal memory from the event, as a result of having a great attitude and decent manners Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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