what works and what did not work

[chris_mk]

i got moved by the stadium staff a few times when i sat down on fri/sat , when i asked where i was suposed to sit they said that there were seats at at tables all around the venue ( the places that were being used to sign im asuming) ..... so maybe brefing the stadium staff could be done.. im not able to walk for a great amount of time so i needed to sit down.

 

Stadium staff, as opposed to Showmasters Crew?

 

 

also in a venue that size it would have been helpfull to have a white board at either side of the venue as you used to at the shoping center so we know what the vts are up to and maybe using the tannoy for calls for photoshoots? the hanging about at the photo area was sometimes needed to know where things were up to.

 

I agree with that, its a stadium they must have their own tannoy system you can ask to borrow. When I saw Nathan's queue on Sunday when they were shutting it the only announcement was someone walking a few feet up and down outside and yelling and being a noisy place the announcement was generally not heard.

 

That's a good point. I know Showmasters got some music played, to add to the atmosphere (in as much as the theme to casualty can add to anything! ) so having announcements might well be achievable.

[showmasters]

Thank you Jason for a very quick summary of the worked well/what did not about the event. Admittedly you seem to do a lot of these post events now but they are welcome none the less.

 

Thought you had a good variety guests although no doubt you were disappointed that you could not fulfil anywhere close to the “up to 7 A list guests†you intended. Could I suggest that making such claims only opens yourself up for comments such as these.

 

Thought the venue was an inspired choice and clearly worth a try. The narrowness of the concourse meant that crowding was a problem so that was a shame but lessons learnt. The dealers room was not crowded due to the attendee numbers but access issues (2 doors) compared to the multi entry and grid pattern layout of the shopping centre. Move more of the dealers out of the room. Be interesting to see how next year works and if it will still be free entrance.

 

Did I read in another post you said that Friday was 30% busier than previous years and that generally numbers are up? How do you arrive at that? It was certainly quieter than other events (SM and non SM).

 

As for the issue of security I would confirm that I saw baldy bonce on one of his guest marches through the concourse and thought he was somewhat over zealous in his role. I put if down to the cold - he should have worn a hat.

 

It was a shame to leave the centre as that made Collectormania unique. This was probably as good as it could have been for a new venue and I think you plenty of positives to work with as long as the faults are addressed as well.

 

points

 

1 “up to 7 A list guests†can i point out the bit "up to" i think this covers this point ?

 

2 as to your point of the narrowness of the concourse they were twice as wide as the center MK and worked

much better than it would have been at the center

 

3 "30% busier and How do you arrive at that?" sales of autos,photo ops dealers feed back how bussey it was around the concourse and how many people left though the doors each hour and the amount of people ariving on buses all the time

 

4 security they see things that we do not there job is to predict issues before they occur and thats what they do 500 times a day each day , i have nothing to say about there work exsept they are the best , thats not me saying this its just the truth , the end

 

5 Collectormania is still very unique being in a football stadium and as to improving the next events we do this every time we run a show this event is no different

 

thanks for your input

 

jason

[chris_mk]

1 “up to 7 A list guests†can i point out the bit "up to" i think this covers this point ?

I'm sorry but these counter-arguments are getting weaker and more outlandish all the time. Why not announce "up to 100 A-List guests at Collectormania 16!!1!!ONE!!"? Then you can hide behind semantics all over again when only three turn up.

 

In what way is that outlandish? If you aim for maybe 5-10 and you're working on those people, then assuming a figure of 7 seems reasonable. Plus, this all becomes subjective, at this event, those that I personally would consider to be A List would be:

 

Leonard Nimoy

Nathan Fillion

Ben Browder

Philip Glenister

Rachel Lutrell

Avery Brooks

Any number of the Sports guests (Sir Geoff Hurst, Sir Henry Cooper, Martin Peters and Gordon Banks all spring to mind)

[clloby]

1 “up to 7 A list guests†can i point out the bit "up to" i think this covers this point ?

I'm sorry but these counter-arguments are getting weaker and more outlandish all the time. Why not announce "up to 100 A-List guests at Collectormania 16!!1!!ONE!!"? Then you can hide behind semantics all over again when only three turn up.

 

In what way is that outlandish? If you aim for maybe 5-10 and you're working on those people, then assuming a figure of 7 seems reasonable. Plus, this all becomes subjective, at this event, those that I personally would consider to be A List would be:

 

Leonard Nimoy

Nathan Fillion

Ben Browder

Philip Glenister

Rachel Lutrell

Avery Brooks

Any number of the Sports guests (Sir Geoff Hurst, Sir Henry Cooper, Martin Peters and Gordon Banks all spring to mind)

 

I have to agree that the A List issue is all rather subjective. One person's idea of an A-Lister is another's B or even C Lister.

 

Personally I think A Lister is someone whose name you could mention, in the majority of countries around the world without needing to go into any explanation of who that person is, or what they have appeared in. To that end Leonard Nimoy is the only individual who fits into my own definition.

[Noddy]

1 “up to 7 A list guests†can i point out the bit "up to" i think this covers this point ?

I'm sorry but these counter-arguments are getting weaker and more outlandish all the time. Why not announce "up to 100 A-List guests at Collectormania 16!!1!!ONE!!"? Then you can hide behind semantics all over again when only three turn up.

 

In what way is that outlandish? If you aim for maybe 5-10 and you're working on those people, then assuming a figure of 7 seems reasonable. Plus, this all becomes subjective, at this event, those that I personally would consider to be A List would be:

 

Leonard Nimoy

Nathan Fillion

Ben Browder

Philip Glenister

Rachel Lutrell

Avery Brooks

Any number of the Sports guests (Sir Geoff Hurst, Sir Henry Cooper, Martin Peters and Gordon Banks all spring to mind)

 

It is very subjective as I would say only L.Nimoy from your list would be on mine and thats at a stretch.

 

That notwithstanding Clearly SM should not have made such a bold statement in the first place but when they did clarification.

[Jeni]

2 as to your point of the narrowness of the concourse they were twice as wide as the center MK and worked

much better than it would have been at the center

I agree. Plus: BIG CIRCLE. No need for maps for the directionally disabled.

 

And shame the other thread got deleted, as I think my complaints were justified. :/ Can I re-iterate, because I think it's something that needs to be discussed in SM Towers.

 

No posed photos thing. We're in a recession, not everyone can afford £20 per photo (even the non-recession, I still think it's extortionate), and nor should they pay that much for a photo printed off from Boots. Plus, the queues felt like so much of a factory line at times, and I honestly haven't had that since James Masters.

 

Also, if you're on your own, it's a biiiiiiit creepy taking photos of the guest while they're signing. So you're left with the option of giving your camera to the people behind you and asking them to take photos.

 

It just made you guys look so money grabbing. Sure, my principles got in the way of not having a photo shoot. But I stand by that.

 

The guy doing the photoshoot organising. He was too rude, to put it bluntly. I get that he was angry/stressed about, what he saw, as people not listening to him. But when you're in a busy area, waving your arms around shouting at people (without a sincere please or thank you), doesn't help.

 

I suggest those moveable barriers you find at banks. Could have set them up quickly for the photoshoot queues, and then taken them down when the photo shoots were done with.

 

Dealer room: verrry hot. Too many people, and I thought the aisles between stalls would be wider than the Centre. They weren't so much. It was still a struggle. So when you move into your proper new venue, I really recommend setting them up wider than they were there, if you can.

 

Stalls: the same ol', same ol'. I saw one new stall there, and I haven't been to events for a while. Is it possible to encourage some diversity? The problem is, a lot of the stuff like books, CDs, DVDs, etc. I find blah, because you can get all that stuff cheaper online.

 

I don't know if you can enourage new and exciting stalls, but I really recommend it, if you can.

 

(That, I spit on your mum(?) stalll was kinda in that vein so props to them, but the t-shirts consisted of old internet memes in, well, I wouldn't have chosen the fonts and styles).

 

 

Personally I think A Lister is someone whose name you could mention, in the majority of countries around the world without needing to go into any explanation of who that person is, or what they have appeared in. To that end Leonard Nimoy is the only individual who fits into my own definition.

Hah, yeah, pretty much. BUT, they are A-listers to us. For those in the SF/fantasy/cult world, everyone would know these names, and those are the people SM are geared towards.

[Chris Quartly]

Regarding the stalls I did notice a lack of places selling DVDs, in previous events we've found some pretty hard to find stuff for reasonable prices (and a lot of other stuff at very unreasonable prices!) but there weren't any stalls set more than a handful of DVDs, would be nice to have more next time.

[chris_mk]

It is very subjective as I would say only L.Nimoy from your list would be on mine and thats at a stretch.

 

That notwithstanding Clearly SM should not have made such a bold statement in the first place but when they did clarification.

 

Surely Nimoy would be one of the biggest guests they've ever had? If you interpreted 'A List guests' to only include the likes of Tom Cruise or Will Smith, then you're surely going to get disappointed.

 

As we're all agreed that it's subjective, then surely by making the statement, Showmasters are going by THEIR interpretation of A list guests and you only have to look at their previous guests to get an idea of who they include in that definition.

[clloby]

No I agree with you completely! A-listers to people who watch these individuals in the programmes - that is the problem with using the term A-Listers no-one will ever actually agree on a definition!

Edited June 9, 2009 by clloby

[Dr Evil]

Regarding the stalls I did notice a lack of places selling DVDs, in previous events we've found some pretty hard to find stuff for reasonable prices (and a lot of other stuff at very unreasonable prices!) but there weren't any stalls set more than a handful of DVDs, would be nice to have more next time.

 

 

A lot of stalls had their DVD's (region 1) removed by Trading Standards at either the last Collectomania or the one before,i guess they didn't want to take a chance this time.

[chris_mk]

2 as to your point of the narrowness of the concourse they were twice as wide as the center MK and worked

much better than it would have been at the center

 

And shame the other thread got deleted, as I think my complaints were justified. :/ Can I re-iterate, because I think it's something that needs to be discussed in SM Towers.

 

No posed photos thing. We're in a recession, not everyone can afford £20 per photo (even the non-recession, I still think it's extortionate), and nor should they pay that much for a photo printed off from Boots. Plus, the queues felt like so much of a factory line at times, and I honestly haven't had that since James Masters.

 

Also, if you're on your own, it's a biiiiiiit creepy taking photos of the guest while they're signing. So you're left with the option of giving your camera to the people behind you and asking them to take photos.

 

It just made you guys look so money grabbing. Sure, my principles got in the way of not having a photo shoot. But I stand by that.

 

Stalls: the same ol', same ol'. I saw one new stall there, and I haven't been to events for a while. Is it possible to encourage some diversity? The problem is, a lot of the stuff like books, CDs, DVDs, etc. I find blah, because you can get all that stuff cheaper online.

 

Personally I think A Lister is someone whose name you could mention, in the majority of countries around the world without needing to go into any explanation of who that person is, or what they have appeared in. To that end Leonard Nimoy is the only individual who fits into my own definition.

Hah, yeah, pretty much. BUT, they are A-listers to us. For those in the SF/fantasy/cult world, everyone would know these names, and those are the people SM are geared towards.

 

(I've edited your comments, just to save space!) Which thread are you referring to? If it's the Troll thread, then it hasn't been deleted, just moved to the moderation part for further discussion between the SM guys/Mods.

 

Don't forget, of the £20 per photo, a big chunk of it goes to the guest, who would negotiate (probably via an agent/manager) a fee per photo. I can see where your comments about a factory come in (and it's an appropriate analogy), but it's a balance between attendee comfort and managing time so that as many attendees can meet the guest as wants to. Yes, you could be cynical (and I'm not suggesting you personally are) and suggest that SM want to make as much money per guest, so it's in their interest to get attendees through as quickly as possibly, but conversly if someone like Ben had spend time chatting and taking photos with everyone who wanted an autograph, then there would have been more people who went away disappointed. The fact that Ben completed his queue around 4.50 on Sunday afternoon, suggests that the decisions made were spot on.

 

As for the stalls, well more and more businesses are going broke. If there are no new businesses, then you can't expect them to turn up to the event.

 

I completely agree with your final statement about SM targetting genre fans, so an A List person would be someone most genre fans would know by name alone.

[Chris Quartly]

Regarding the stalls I did notice a lack of places selling DVDs, in previous events we've found some pretty hard to find stuff for reasonable prices (and a lot of other stuff at very unreasonable prices!) but there weren't any stalls set more than a handful of DVDs, would be nice to have more next time.

 

 

A lot of stalls had their DVD's (region 1) removed by Trading Standards at either the last Collectomania or the one before,i guess they didn't want to take a chance this time.

 

Ahhh I see, thanks. That's a shame

[chris_mk]

Regarding the stalls I did notice a lack of places selling DVDs, in previous events we've found some pretty hard to find stuff for reasonable prices (and a lot of other stuff at very unreasonable prices!) but there weren't any stalls set more than a handful of DVDs, would be nice to have more next time.

 

Biggest problem is the struggling pound, which has made importing DVDs financially unviable.

[clloby]

I don't want to report it to the police, I don't want anything back, I just expected and IMO deserve an acknowledgement that it was wrong and that next time more care will be taken to look after the attendees as well as the guests. Does that sound like an unreasonable request I'm making?

 

Absolutely not! I think the majority of posters on here agree that it was completely unacceptable behaviour.

[Dr Evil]

4 security they see things that we do not there job is to predict issues before they occur and thats what they do 500 times a day each day , i have nothing to say about there work exsept they are the best , thats not me saying this its just the truth , the end

 

You know, I put my point of view forth quite reasonably I think but your constant repetition of this is starting to make me angry. YOUR SECURITY STAFF ARE ASSAULTING INNOCENT BYSTANDERS. That's NOT right. No matter how many times you say it was deserved and that they are the best in the business, it DOES NOT MAKE IT SO. I think the people who posted about this issue were expecting you to reply with "Oh dear, we'll have a word with them next time and make sure they're not attacking people" rather than "Stop whining, we don't care if the attendees get assaulted, only the guests matter, and we'll continue having them act this way." They were overzealous and abusive, seeing things that didn't exist. That's not just me saying it, that's the truth. The end.

 

 

So Showmasters,if a member of the public had been seriously hurt,say the person in the wheelchair that has been mentioned,would you still be defending the security team?

 

Because one day some over zealous bodyguard is going to push the wrong person out of the way,probably leading to an almighty fight.

[Zagreus]

Psychosis, I didn't see you around during the weekend despite looking out for you. Were you there all weekend?

[Psychosis]

Psychosis, I didn't see you around during the weekend despite looking out for you. Were you there all weekend?

 

Hi! Yeah, I was. I got there about 11 on Friday, went home around 3, was there all day Sat until 3, and all day Sun until 2. A lot of people said they didn't see me though for some reason. I must be that invisible

[Jeni]

(I've edited your comments, just to save space!) Which thread are you referring to? If it's the Troll thread, then it hasn't been deleted, just moved to the moderation part for further discussion between the SM guys/Mods.

Yer. Well, ok, effectively deleted. To be honest, I should have known better than to post in there were people were whining. But it was late.

 

Don't forget, of the £20 per photo, a big chunk of it goes to the guest, who would negotiate (probably via an agent/manager) a fee per photo.

Yeah, but if I'd've gotten everything (minimum!) I'd wanted I would have spent £85! I appreciate that everyone has their little fees, but, it's a principles thing, too. Why should I pay £20 for a photo, one I don't even have a digital copy of? Especially when the guests aren't allowed to do posed photos. I'm not going to be forced into taking the photo shoot, just to get a photo of the day, especially when I'd be happy enough with an over-the-table shot.

 

I can see where your comments about a factory come in (and it's an appropriate analogy), but it's a balance between attendee comfort and managing time so that as many attendees can meet the guest as wants to. Yes, you could be cynical (and I'm not suggesting you personally are) and suggest that SM want to make as much money per guest, so it's in their interest to get attendees through as quickly as possibly, but conversly if someone like Ben had spend time chatting and taking photos with everyone who wanted an autograph, then there would have been more people who went away disappointed. The fact that Ben completed his queue around 4.50 on Sunday afternoon, suggests that the decisions made were spot on.

I only really meant the factory comment in regards to photos. The crew didn't shift us along with Ben at all.

 

But, sometimes I wonder if it's explained to the guests that not all attendees are autograph collectors? And are just fans looking for a cheaper way of meeting their heroes?

 

As for the stalls, well more and more businesses are going broke. If there are no new businesses, then you can't expect them to turn up to the event.

Cut rates for new stalls? Be picky about who gets a stall for the next event? More new businesses? I don't have the solution, but I think that is something SM could consider and discuss and organise. Apart from anything, what else do you do between waiting for guests? Browse the stalls! Would be a great opportunity for a new, inventive businessman to take advantage of. I don't know if it's the same anymore, but ages ago one stallholder was telling me about the process of getting a stall at a Collectormania, and it definitely seemed more geared towards the "regulars"...

 

OH! like that retro videogame t-shirt guy. When he first appeared at the Centre, I was so psyched! his t-shirts were brilliant, inventive and funny. It was the first time since forever I've been hooked by a stall. Glad to see he's still coming-- but moar merch plz!

 

(I'm difficult to please ).

 

 

And, er, yer. The security staff behaviour is rather more important than this. So pay attention to that!

[Chris Quartly]

With regards to the issue of photos, I always thought it would be a good idea to have a significant discount on getting your photo session printout signed, if you've spent £20 to get a photoshoot, why not make it cost only £10 to get it signed?

 

Personally I am only really interested in meeting the guest and getting a photo (not really bothered about an autograpth truth be told), quite often I have to pay to do both which is a bit of a shame if you ask me but that's how it goes.

Edited June 9, 2009 by Chris Quartly

[DavidB]

You'll get people moaning "well why should they get a cheaper autograph just because they want a photo shoot signed?" .. same with personal items etc.

 

Best to have the one price across the board, then everyone is equal.

[Psychosis]

Yeah, but if I'd've gotten everything (minimum!) I'd wanted I would have spent £85! I appreciate that everyone has their little fees, but, it's a principles thing, too. Why should I pay £20 for a photo, one I don't even have a digital copy of? Especially when the guests aren't allowed to do posed photos. I'm not going to be forced into taking the photo shoot, just to get a photo of the day, especially when I'd be happy enough with an over-the-table shot.

 

Then don't get one. You can't have everything you want. You want a way to meet your heroes, but you want a way to get free photos too. If they offered free photos then they'd have to spend less time actually speaking to you and acknowledging your existence.

 

Either get a photoshoot or don't but to expect such a busy guest to do posed photos is IMO unreasonable. Not only the time aspect, but imagine when they have to move in their seat, get up, sit down, get up, sit down, get up, sit down, for in Ben's case, what, 500+? Leonard's 1000+? In the course of a few hours. That's actually physically draining work. I know when I've been a guest assistant for a less busy guest and I keep getting up to take the photos, I don't mind doing it because I like making people happy, but by the end of the day I'm exhausted! And that's a max of maybe 100 photos or less.

 

I want a photo with the guests so I pay for it. It's really that simple. Yes, I agree, I'd like a digital copy, but hey ho.

Edited June 9, 2009 by Psychosis

[MikeDonovan]

SM should not have made such a bold statement in the first place

 

Christ - we've done this to death haven't we? Can we move on please?

 

Nicky once suggested that an A-Lister is someone who you can refer to only using their surname, and a person on the street would recognize them. I.e., Cruise. Hanks. DeNiro. I think this is reasonable. But if you think any of them are ever going to turn up at a signing event like this, you've got to be a few sandwiches short of a picnic.

 

Everyone knows perfectly well what Jason meant. A-listers in the context of a signing event. Imagine if Tapping hadn't cancelled. You'd have had Tapping, Fillion, Nimoy as your A-listers. Tell me another event in the UK that has 30 guests, with the top guests being of that quality?

 

Oh wait, that's right, there isn't one.

[Chris Quartly]

You'll get people moaning "well why should they get a cheaper autograph just because they want a photo shoot signed?" .. same with personal items etc.

 

Best to have the one price across the board, then everyone is equal.

 

Yes but we already have people moaning as it is

 

I thought it was a reasonable idea anyway.

[MikeDonovan]

[Why should I pay £20 for a photo, one I don't even have a digital copy of?

 

Scan it in. Done.

 

And we've done this as well. You'll pay £75 for Count Bakula at any other event he does, for just a signature. He'll be £25 at LFACC.

[DavidB]

true ..

 

My only problem is .. well I'll use myself as an example:

 

I want photo shoots.

I want autographs.

I don't want the photo shoot autographed.

 

Now because of that, I'd technically be paying MORE for my autograph just because I've chosen to have something else signed.

 

So yeah, can't say I'd be too happy about that myself