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jason thoughts for the weekend and what we feel about the future


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wow what a weekend

 

i was so recked by Saturday i am glad sunday was only Half what the first day was so i could recover .

 

ok down to some of your points

 

1 was this years event too big ?

 

this years saturday was 3 times bigger that any other show we have run and from the looks of the numbers it was the busiest day of a show in europe so dealing with the crowds was a lot of work , but saying this CM4 we encountered this and fixed all the issues and moved forward , then the next big jump was LFCC where we had the cast of Heroes which again was a record crowd , but again we grew the crew and the show to take the extra foot fall , so this is nothing new to us ,we run events when they grow we look at how it is run and we fix the issues that you have and move on .

 

we could not have see that this years event would have grown this big in one year , we thought that we would have record numbers and took on 25% more hall space but to grow to 3 times as buys on the sunday we could not of see this happening , so yes there is lots to go over here in the office and i know we will put things in place to fix them and get it working right for you all , but there is nothing we see that cannot be fixed for future shows this year and next year ,and i think you can trust us on this as we have proven this in past years .

 

 

 

 

2 things that did not happen or just did not happen in the right way

 

we had a few issues that you would not be aware of just before the show which did stop us achieving all what we wanted to do .

 

6 days before the show we were informed that the hotel that the crew and guests was to stay in had messed up , and instead of having the 90 rooms for crew and us being about to also have another 60 rooms for guest we had in fact had no rooms what so ever .

 

so we had to find 60 good rooms and 90 normal rooms in 3 days as guest were to be flying in by then , so the office stopped all work on the show and turned into resolving the major issue of not having anywhere to put the crew up and the guest both of which we do not have a show with out .

 

we soon found out that take that were playing that week , a big garden show was on and people were still over here for wimbledon and it just being summer there were very few rooms to rent in London this weekend , also there was the LFCC on that weekend too :D which also meant there were even fewer rooms to rent .

 

well 3 days later and just in time 4 people working for 3 days solid managed to book all 150 rooms in 4 locations in and out side of the m25 some being over 30 miles away and also worked out the logistics of getting busses to and from to pick up the crews and drop them off and also work out getting guests from airports to hotels that are now miles away and also work out the logistics of getting the guests to and from the show from this locations .

 

well as you can see this took all the man power this office has and also it put other things that we were finishing off on hold , things had to be dropped , so when we did not get the dvds for the screening room we did not have the time to chase up the people that were supposed to get them to us so we could not show what we wanted to show and make it into the big thing we had hoped for , next the tribute to Nick and Lis that we also wanted to make a bigger thing out also did not get the time dedicated to it that we wanted to , in the end we had some space for it at the organisers both but it was not a big thing what we had wanted to do with it ,we will do something in the future to help raise money for the charity's involved as that is something we do care about a lot , and the last thing was the auctions , we had planned to gather a lot of BTTF items but they were to be picked up just before the show but as there was just no time to do anything like this we just had to drop this and go with what we had for the auction , also on the day crew we had planned to help with photo pick ups etc and things like that were very thin on the ground , this was down to the unforeseen amount of attendees , which to look after this large amount of them we had to pull crew to help deal with them , this could not have been seen before the day , but it did add to us all not being 100% on the ball on all aspects of the show . so for this we are sorry , i hope you can now see that things did happen that were out of our control , i do feel we did our best to come thought on all aspects of the show , and i will be looking into all the things we did not manage to provide so that we can deliver them to you in the future .

 

 

 

3 big guests for the future

 

well i think we can see you all want to meet bigger guests and would be prepared to pay that little more to meet them , but i will be keeping the prices down on all the main guest as we have for years so the hobby is still a fair price and stays fun , but i think we all agree its great to gat some for the bigger names to make the show that bit special

 

 

4 space in the hall

 

this year we thought that the hall would need to be bigger to get all what we have into the show , so we booked another 25% more hall space , as we saw on saturday this was not enough , so for next years event we plan to take most or if not all the space in EC2 so you can all get around a bit better and we can have more activities like the stunt show and the likes .

 

 

anyway here are a few points i think needed to be explained i will come back on here in the next few hours and days as there are lots more to talk about from what we have learnt from the weekend , but i do still have a lot more thing to do with guests and flights so i will call it a day for now and i will come back on here soon and go over some more of my thoughts and to answer some more of your points

 

 

 

 

one last thing thank you all for attending this event and making it what it was last weekend we could never do this with out you all , we are all fans as you know and together we are getting to meet some mazing guest that i did not thing 10 years ago would ever attend a event like this so thank you for being there for us and supporting us and making it happen.

 

talk more soon

 

 

thank you

 

 

jason

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Thankyou for an awesome, awesome weekend.

 

Much appreciate the extra work you guys have put in, and thankyou for taking on board comments and feedback about some of the glitches and already taking measures to ensure next time is even better.

 

Many, Many thanks

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with such a large event you cant please every single person, things will go wrong. but considering what SM bring us I think some ppl are far to harsh on you. your events and guests are awesome.

 

deff need more space, and I like the idea of the friday you mentioned to me.

 

I went gold on this and it was still the most stressful event ive ever done, without gold I reckon I would of needed a paramedic, lol

 

bigger guests? sounds great, i mean Chris lambert I met for a photo shoot, I love some of his films, highlander, fortress, mean guns, mortal kombat to name a few of my guilty pleasures, i think he is a great leading man, but he is more of a cult star, and even at 35 quid a pop, he seemed to be doing decent business, esp on sat, and his shoot on sunday had a load of ppl, so imagine what a more main stream name would do, think him and tyson proved we are willing for those bigger rarer names. keep em coming.

 

my only request would be to get the big uk stars, try to get them for both days?

 

thanks for great cons

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so for next years event we plan to take most or if not all the space in EC2

 

But we arnt there next year are we? The program says we are in the grand hall at Olympia because of the Olympics. Is that bigger than EC2 hall-wise?

 

 

But anyway, thank you for another amazing event Jason! :blink:

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so for next years event we plan to take most or if not all the space in EC2

 

But we arnt there next year are we? The program says we are in the grand hall at Olympia because of the Olympics. Is that bigger than EC2 hall-wise?

 

 

But anyway, thank you for another amazing event Jason! :blink:

 

 

yes Olympia

 

grand hall, never been in there just seen from above, its similar to EC2 if I remember

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Hotels -- Please at least be aware of the fact that many hotels are already showing as solidly booked. Friends and I looked up the IBIS hotel at Earls Court, which is currently showing as having No availability for the whole month of July, which may mean many attendees might struggle to find reasonably priced accomodation around the time of LFCC 2012. This may cause problems for attendees having to stay further afield, and having to then get to the venue on public transport early in the morning.

 

With the Olympics in London next summer, you'll probably find accommodation for next July has been booked up for quite some time now.

 

@Showmaster - happy to house any celebrities in my place (fore free!!) next year if you're looking for accommodation :blink:

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As I wrote in another topic, I had only a few very minor complaints but they were nothing compared to all positive I got from the event, so I will simply forget them as they were really not that important.

 

In general, I think the event was very well organized despite a huge crowd on saturday and 3 photo shoots area for the first time.

 

Congratulatios and indeed more big guests with a reasonable price are very welcome :blink:

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I think under the circumstances that everone did exceptionally well, and Jason, you are right to be proud of your team. I only had 2 issues, and each time when speaking to the relevant pit boss I got an apology and an assurance that they would 'have a word'.

 

For reference, the issues were:

 

I was a gold pass holder but took my mum with me on a pre paid early bird. I left her outside and came in to get my pass and rush over to the Shawnee Smith shoot. I met up with my Mum after and she explined she had been in a huge queue, got to the door and then was told she was in the wrong (pay on day) queue. She showed her ticket, but was not let in, and was sent to the back of the pre-paid line, which was huge. She did challenge the crew mem, but was told she had to go in via a different entrance, so went with it as she wasnt familiar with how it works. Afterwards I had a word with the PB, but it was a bit late then. I think it would be a good idea to have BIG sings at the end of each queue, even if that meant having a crew mem out there to keep moving the sign down.

 

The other thing was at the Christopher Lloyd shoot the queue person told me that golds can join the back of a queue, not the front. I clarified that this was for autos, but we get first entry at photo shoots. He assured me I was in the wrong, so I joined the snake. Luckilly there was a red shirt in that area, who confirmed I was right, and ushered me to the front, so thanks to her.

 

Last thing was that Karen's limited edition prints were not numbered, which was a shame, but I guess this must have been due to the hotel spam up.

 

All in all though a great day

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I had a great time and got to meet some excellent guests in Karen Gillan and Christopher Lambert. The attendance I hope encourages you to press on and continue to bring in the quality of guests in the future as you have this year.

 

The price for autographs was very fair.No complaints here. The Gold pass system is great for those who can afford it.

 

The crew and photographers were as great as ever especially considering the pressure they were under. They all coped very well I thought this weekend. You will always get complaints but don't let that deter you from pressing on.

 

I spoke to a few dealers who said they had a good trading weekend.

 

In a time of economic uncertainty you have achieved and I for one am pleased as this guarantees future events!

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The more I look back on the show, the more I think what a good event it was and that is without knowing about some of the issues Jason mentioned above.

 

Here's to hoping we see a few more names from the poll in General Discussion at the show next year!

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As far as I'm concerned, it was a brilliant show. as attendees we didn't see the issues that you guys had in the background, and we felt very little effect of them, so well done for managing those so well. I hope it has been as successful as it appeared, congratulations to everyone who took part

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Given that the event is going from strength to strength and getting bigger and bigger, I think you could easliy opt for quite a few more expensive guests per show.

 

There are a few who will bemoan not being able to afford them but maybe people should be a bit more discriminating about what they buy. I paid £40 for two Brent Spiner autos this weekend, I'd pay thereabouts for 1x Ian Holm (hint hint for October). I'd pay £75+ for the likes of a legend like Sigourney Weaver, and I'm certain many others would too.

 

So long as there is still a broad ranges of guests and prices there will always be punters who will happily stump up the money.

 

My only concern with bigger guests is the pandemonium they will no doubt cause. As an example... Karen Gillan is stunning to look at, but in my opinion she is just an ok newbie actress in an overrated program. Still the business she generated was INSANE. I cannot imagine what it would be like if you did pull off a feat like getting someone like Sigourney or Ewan McGregor who have massive sci-fi followings and are real A-Listers. Not to mention the captive audience of other people from all over the world who will be attending the Olympics.

 

I was wondering...

 

- Could ALL the hall space in EC2 accomodate the crowds these kinds of celebs would draw?

 

- Would it be worth making the show a 3-day show event (all of Fri-Sun) so demand is spread out and less people go away empty handed?

(maybe even 4 days if the guests calibre of guests warranted it?)

 

- Would it be possible to have the event open for longer, say 8am-8pm?

 

 

I'm not a camp in the street / **** in the bushes kind of guy so am unwilling to queue up before the gates open i.e. the soonest I could get there would be when I could get my car in the car park at 7. Given the queues that would already be formed for a guest like McGregor outside the gates I would be seriously concerned about missing an amazing guest like this. People had camped out for this show since 4 am and others where getting in this show as early as 9:30 and still nearly missed (and some DID) getting autographs which isn't really acceptable.

 

I wish Showmasters every future success but I hope you find new and innovative ways to adapt to meeting the increased customer demand. I'm genuinely concerned fans such as myself (especially those who travel great distances) may miss out.

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- Would it be possible to have the event open for longer, say 8am-8pm?

 

 

:-o As lovely as that would be think the crew would die.... On sat we had to be at the venue for 7:20am and didn't leave the venue until 7:40pm and we were all shattered...dont think we would cope being their earlier and later plus the next day too. Would have to change crew mid-day for it to have a chance of working and that would be mental I think :-/

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I really enjoyed the event, it was fantastic to see it so busy, but with an increase in people and things going on etc, it also increases the chances of something perhaps going wrong. It's unfortunate, but Showmasters are very good at listening to people and improving things where possible. It may not be immediate at that particular event, but I've seen them go from strength to strength over the past 8 years at signing events, so things can and DO change.

 

And Jason isnt one to hide at the events - I know many of you have had a chance to chat to him, and he's always walking around and willing to listen and discuss things. Same with Too Tall, other crew members, the mods .. we're not a faceless bunch, we WILL listen and are happy to discuss things when approached.

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Appreciate the explanation and it makes it even more incredible what you achieved. Only this morning I was wondering what happened to the screening room but to be honest I was so busy with everything else I don't think I'd have had time anyway. I already had to miss a couple of talks because of the photo overrun but these things happen.

 

All praise for what you managed to pull off. I still don't know which one is Jason but I'd shake his hand in a heartbeat for bring us Chris lambert, Karen etc etc. I may be 44 but I was like kid in a candy shop thus weekend.

 

If the lineup is anywhere near as good next year I'll be there for sure and thoroughly enjoyed every last hectic, hot minute of the weekend. But really appreciated the gold pass room to just get a few mins breather from the crowds and I love my Chris Lloyd and Karen photos.

 

But I would say that if it was even bigger there's no way there'd be enough time to do everything unless you could go a bit later into the evening.

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- Would it be possible to have the event open for longer, say 8am-8pm?

 

 

:-o As lovely as that would be think the crew would die.... On sat we had to be at the venue for 7:20am and didn't leave the venue until 7:40pm and we were all shattered...dont think we would cope being their earlier and later plus the next day too. Would have to change crew mid-day for it to have a chance of working and that would be mental I think :-/

 

It would definitely be too much for the crew if the show was to be open any longer than it currently is. It would be very tiring for the guests as well as they would, presumably, be expected to be there for when the show opened and stay until the end.

 

A C Parkers-Girl says, it is a lovely idea but would just not be feasible.

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Two things -

 

1. Thank you for a great show.

 

 

2. How about less actors and more directors? I don't mean the Ridley Scott's who I doubt would attend, but the Rob Zombie, John Carpenters, etc.

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Thanks SM for an amazing LFCC!! :( This is only my second but it was my favourite!! :wub:

 

I only met two people, Natalia Tena and Karen Gillan. I only got Natalia's autograph (when I got there it said no photos but later they allowed them, but she had to go literally as I got to her desk for a photo! I understand this wasn't SM's fault or Natalia's but I didn't mind because I'd got her autograph anyways :P ), and I got my photo and an autograph from Karen. It took four hours to get to London from Oxford due to engineering on the train lines and MASSIVE queues for the Oxford Tube and Oxford Espress coaches. I missed Karen's first photoshoot but got there just in time for her second, and I was able to get near the front of the queue as I was number 49 for her photos. I had a great day overall but there was only one thing that was a little disappointing, even though it worked out. I don't like to complain but I just want to make this known:

I already mentioned it but I was VQ ticket 1418 for Karen's autograph, and so my mum decided not to buy an autograph ticket from the credit card desk in case our number wasn't called, but at about 5:55 it got up to 1399 so we ran to buy a ticket - only to be told by one of the people at the desk that she wouldn't sell us a ticket because the queue for Karen's autograph was too long! This annoyed us as she couldn't actually see the queue from where she was and nearly everyone had gone into the booth. I hadn't kept my hopes up anyway so I thought we would just go home without and I didn't mind, but then we went to go and find my friend who had just gone into Karen's autograph. She told us that it was Open Q so I waited by the queue while my mum ran through to the desk. We were so lucky to get into the booth literally seconds before six when the crew had said no one else would be let in - which was understandable.

 

Sorry for my mini rant but we did think that it was a bit unfair that we were refused a ticket when she couldn't see the size of the queue, I don't like moaning but I had an amazing day anyway - and hey, I got Karen's autograph anyway and she said she loved the photo, it was my photoshoot pic with her. Thanks again SM and sorry for moaning! :D

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