Disappointed with the talks

[Bazinga]

I really dont want to moan because overall I had a great weekend, but I need to say I am a little disappointed with the organisation and value for money of the talks.

 

Firstly, I attended the Game of Thrones talk on Saturday. The talk started ten minutes late due to the sound system not working, yet finished bang on its scheduled end time. A 15 minute talk costing £15 seems a bit wrong to me!

 

Secondly, the Hayden Panettiere talk on Saturday was so poorly organised. No mic to pass round the crowd meant a line of people queing down the middle and blocking most people's view of the stage. Also they changed the venue to the talk area with the open back (stage b ) Soon enough a large crowd gathered at the back and watched the talk for free.....I paid £10, who's the fool??? Hayden didnt seem all that impressed either!!

 

As I said at the top I did have a great weekend but I just hope the organisers think a little more about the organisation of the talks and the value for money they give.

Edited July 8, 2012 by Bazinga

[KingRichard76]

On the subject of PAID TALKS.

 

* My first gripe is for the French guy who opted to get a picture with Mitch and Nicholas at the desk when he went up to the front - I am glad you had your moment of glory and on everybody elses dime.

 

* My second is with the Girl who asked Gillian Anderson for a hug, sorry, I dont care what the excuse is, I don't care if her pet tortoise rescued from the clutches of a large python has given birth to a goose that lays golden eggs - they DO NOT I repeat, DO NOT ask for a goddamn hug in the middle of a paid talk. Be bloody thankful that they had a good seat because there were people RIGHT at the back of the hall who asked far better questions and for them they could hardly see Gillian, yes, Gillian was very nice with her response thus she was very polite in denying this Girl something that should never have been asked in the first place and rather than let it go the Girl then went "Please? Please? Please?" the mic should have been taken off her immediately.

 

This whole thing was discussed back in March in the Gillian Anderson thread and I thought that this kind of thing wouldn't happen. Anyways enough people I've spoken to about this were left not happy about this or indeed thought it was in poor taste.

 

Sorry, I just had to make my feelings known about this.

[Circuit]

I went to the Firefly talk and have to agree that the sound systems were terrible; I could barely understand Jewel and Adam at times because there seemed to be so much noise (though a moment when a mobile signal went through the system was made classic by Adam!).

 

As for questions, we had a poor one as well (the guy was quiet, wordy and the question, though I can't begin paraphrase it, wasn't particularly good). Least it wasn't as bad as the hug fiasco though.

How much extra effort would it take to run these talks Question Time style - when you buy your ticket you get to submit a question; a crew person sifts through them and picks good quality ones, and then during the talk calls each questioner in the selection by name to ask their question in turn? Given paying £15 for guest talks now seems to be the norm, I want value for money in the form of good questions asked of the actors.

[Wondermoose]

Well french guys behaved badly last year aswell. They thought everything was free because They paid to get in. Happened two times close to me lastyear when some thought They could get free autos...

 

I thought many of the talks was really good. But the timing overall... Not good...

 

And I agree Dont! Waste peoples time by asking for hugs in a middle of a paid talk.

[Zagreus]

* My second is with the Girl who asked Gillian Anderson for a hug, sorry, I dont care what the excuse is, I don't care if her pet tortoise rescued from the clutches of a large python has given birth to a goose that lays golden eggs - they DO NOT I repeat, DO NOT ask for a goddamn hug in the middle of a paid talk. Be bloody thankful that they had a good seat because there were people RIGHT at the back of the hall who asked far better questions and for them they could hardly see Gillian, yes, Gillian was very nice with her response thus she was very polite in denying this Girl something that should never have been asked in the first place and rather than let it go the Girl then went "Please? Please? Please?" the mic should have been taken off her immediately.

 

This whole thing was discussed back in March in the Gillian Anderson thread and I thought that this kind of thing wouldn't happen. Anyways enough people I've spoken to about this were left not happy about this or indeed thought it was in poor taste.

 

Sorry, I just had to make my feelings known about this.

 

I only had time to attend two talks this weekend - Gillian Anderson and the Saturday Dredd preview. Like a fair few other things at the show it felt like lessons learned over the past few years had been forgotten and the whole thing was very amateur. Yes, I loved hearing Gillian talk, but so many issues made it feel like Showmasters had taken two steps back from the current level of expertise they have when dealing with expensive talks. Don't mean to be rude to the lady who did the pre-talk announcements ("no flash photos" etc), but she could barely be heard, and I was in the first standard ticket row. There was also no big intro given to Gillian. The hug situation is a well-established problem and should have either been addressed prior to the talk, or as soon as the question was asked, instead of leaving Gillian floundering and trying very politely to say NO. Videoing - is this now allowed at talks? There was at least 4 people who recorded the entire Gillian talk, from beginning to end (one with an actual camcorder-type thing). The roving mic. crew member saw them, so...it's allowed now? Other factors maybe can't be helped, like the shortness of the talk, the banality of some of the questions asked (a lot of foreigners asking them so maybe they didn't realise they were asking the same thing over and over...), and not being able to hear any of the questioners.

 

And didn't you just KNOW what she was gonna ask when she started "It's not so much a question, more a request..."

Edited July 9, 2012 by Zagreus

[Rockstar6662]

Well french guys behaved badly last year aswell. They thought everything was free because They paid to get in. Happened two times close to me lastyear when some thought They could get free autos...

 

I thought many of the talks was really good. But the timing overall... Not good...

 

And I agree Dont! Waste peoples time by asking for hugs in a middle of a paid talk.

 

Crew member should have immediately stepped in there, taken the microphone and said that kind of thing isn't allowed or appropriate. Even better, add it to the pre-talk announcements that there are to be no requests for hugs, for gifts to be given to the guest, for photos etc. You want that, get a photoshoot or visit them at their autograph desks.

 

I really do think, espcially for the expensive talks that there should be a compare. Like at the Christopher Lambert one last year. Someone on the stage as well almost interviewing but more directing questions, going to the audience for more, expanding on points. It worked brilliantly well and was one of the best talks (even if not the best attended) that I've done at one of these shows.

[Zagreus]

Well french guys behaved badly last year aswell. They thought everything was free because They paid to get in. Happened two times close to me lastyear when some thought They could get free autos...

 

I thought many of the talks was really good. But the timing overall... Not good...

 

And I agree Dont! Waste peoples time by asking for hugs in a middle of a paid talk.

 

Crew member should have immediately stepped in there, taken the microphone and said that kind of thing isn't allowed or appropriate. Even better, add it to the pre-talk announcements that there are to be no requests for hugs, for gifts to be given to the guest, for photos etc. You want that, get a photoshoot or visit them at their autograph desks.

 

I really do think, espcially for the expensive talks that there should be a compare. Like at the Christopher Lambert one last year. Someone on the stage as well almost interviewing but more directing questions, going to the audience for more, expanding on points. It worked brilliantly well and was one of the best talks (even if not the best attended) that I've done at one of these shows.

I think the problem was (and I apologise to the crew members who maybe didn't know any better) that there was nobody experienced enough or confident enough to do what needed to be done. It almost felt like some of the more inexperienced crew members were just left there and told to do their best. I know the paid-for talks usually have TooTall or other very experienced crew members keeping control.

[PrincessDrusilla]

The Ben Browder talk wasn't organised very well either sadly - he wasn't even aware he had a talk until the Sunday morning and then there were I think 3 schedule changes including a relocation, and Ben wasn't sure where the new stage was. Plus it the talk was to follow the cosplay judging which took ages, meant that a queue for the talk couldn't form until the last minute and it caused much confusion. Not very professional though luckily Ben seemed to take it all in good spirit.

 

The sound quality was poor in the Holly talk on the Sunday, so even being only 3 rows away some of us struggled to hear her and Brian.

 

Such a shame as I don't remember so many obvious issues last year or at the other SM/ME events. It really did seem like the most crucial roles were handed out to the least experienced crew and that there was limited communication between them.

 

I had a great weekend overall, but I'm unlikely to attend a talk again.

[MattyP]

I went to a few talks and they were all good but with slight areas of disappointment. the sound problem at the end of the x-files talk which delayed the GOT talk on Saturday was a shame. Hayden on the Saturday talk was a true professional and organised the questions herself while staying polite and funny. A class act so well done to her. Also well done to Gillian for not having a breakdown as she was asked the same question 3 times by foreign guests! i actually think the talks at CMMK recently were better as they were in a quiet room and more controlled but obviously difficult to do at this venue. Enjoyed the Hunted & Thomas Dekker talks on Sunday the most as they went without any hitches.

[jediwarrior]

On the subject of PAID TALKS.

 

 

 

* My second is with the Girl who asked Gillian Anderson for a hug, sorry, I dont care what the excuse is, I don't care if her pet tortoise rescued from the clutches of a large python has given birth to a goose that lays golden eggs - they DO NOT I repeat, DO NOT ask for a goddamn hug in the middle of a paid talk. Be bloody thankful that they had a good seat because there were people RIGHT at the back of the hall who asked far better questions and for them they could hardly see Gillian, yes, Gillian was very nice with her response thus she was very polite in denying this Girl something that should never have been asked in the first place and rather than let it go the Girl then went "Please? Please? Please?" the mic should have been taken off her immediately.

 

 

I think they should ask the person what question they want to ask the guest before giving them the mic. Certainly agree about that girl should've had the microphone taken of her straight away. Poor Gillian trying to say no politely. If you want a hug buy a photoshoot ticket and ask the guest then if you can for your photo. All this girl did was waste other peoples time and stop other questions being asked.

[Charmer]

I think the main issues for me were the sound and the lack of a stage. I think stages are better for the talks personally as it's easier to see the guests for every and it feels a bit more intimate. I wasn't overly bothered about the Gillian hugs question myself and am slightly surprized at the size of the reactions here. Ok, yes, it's obvious that that sort of thing shouldn't be asked, not least since it's never going to happen whoever asks the question. At the end of the day it's that girls loss I figured, she could have asked an interesting question but ended up wasting her question. But thats just my opinion, I guess I'm able to let these things go a bit more, lol!

[Wondermoose]

The Ben Browder talk wasn't organised very well either sadly - he wasn't even aware he had a talk until the Sunday morning and then there were I think 3 schedule changes including a relocation, and Ben wasn't sure where the new stage was. Plus it the talk was to follow the cosplay judging which took ages, meant that a queue for the talk couldn't form until the last minute and it caused much confusion. Not very professional though luckily Ben seemed to take it all in good spirit.

 

The sound quality was poor in the Holly talk on the Sunday, so even being only 3 rows away some of us struggled to hear her and Brian.

 

Such a shame as I don't remember so many obvious issues last year or at the other SM/ME events. It really did seem like the most crucial roles were handed out to the least experienced crew and that there was limited communication between them.

 

I had a great weekend overall, but I'm unlikely to attend a talk again.

 

Well I agree on that the Ben Bowder talk was bad planned. But I have to say. The talk itself was super Awesome! Really was a perfect ending of my weekend :-)

[DavidB]

My main issue with talks will ALWAYS be people that don't consider anyone else in them. Like Richard has said above - PLEASE don't ask for hugs or anything personal in a talk, ESPECIALLY if everyone's paid £££ to go to the damn thing.

 

Stuff like sound quality or things going wrong or whatever else I'll leave to the organisers, but this is a plea as a fellow attendee to others - if you want a personal moment, go and buy an autograph or a photo shoot. You'll get your chance there. A talk in front of hundreds of people ISN'T the place for it. It's just common sense and I wish people had it.

[Rockstar6662]

My main issue with talks will ALWAYS be people that don't consider anyone else in them. Like Richard has said above - PLEASE don't ask for hugs or anything personal in a talk, ESPECIALLY if everyone's paid £££ to go to the damn thing.

 

Stuff like sound quality or things going wrong or whatever else I'll leave to the organisers, but this is a plea as a fellow attendee to others - if you want a personal moment, go and buy an autograph or a photo shoot. You'll get your chance there. A talk in front of hundreds of people ISN'T the place for it. It's just common sense and I wish people had it.

 

And I think it should be announced before hand that it is inappropriate. Someone suggested asking the person what they wanted to ask before giving them the mic. Would be difficult to implement, especially with people in the middle of a row and they could just as easily ask something else.

 

As you say though, want a hug etc ask in the photoshoot. I got lucky in Gillian's shoot, went to pose with her, had my arm round her just as Malcolm decided he needed a quick drink, so I got an extra long hug from her which she commented on and said I was lucky :)

[Zagreus]

I was at a talk with Matt Smith recently and while I wont dwell on a "rival" company's show, before the talk the large video screens on either side of the stage stated in very large letters the rules. "NO ASKING FOR HUGS - NO REQUESTS - NO APPROACHING THE STAGE" etc. It all went by without incident.

[DavidB]

It's a shame people need it stated like that but if it's something that will help, then yes perhaps that should be considered.

[showmasters]

this was a new venue for us all and there was lost of teething issues with the talks, we where told that the only please were we could control the lights in the hall was the west hall so that where we built the talks but the low room and these meant that there was a lot of bounce back which created distortion in the sound , this is something we will know for next time but something we could not have seen going into the show .

 

as a compony we do make mistakes but we rarely make them twice.

 

jason

[timelord81r]

couldnt get to any talks as was too busy but I did notice haydens in the small talk area by photo B was it, whilst walking past, wasnt that paid? as anyone and their dog seemed to be watching from outside the seating area,

[jediwarrior]

Will you use this venue in future Jason? As it was pretty good space wise I thought. Only downside about the venue to me was there were no pubs nearby to get a pint and some food at lunchtime, ready for the afternoon sesseion quite a trek to the nearest one. Earls court much better for this.

[nicky]

What was the question forigners kept asking Gillian 3 times?

 

And as for crew not stepping in to stop Hug Girl and take the mic off her, yes it would take a lot of confidence and boldness to do that but SM should be aware that you're always gonna get a few fruitloops at the talks for the higher profile guests so getting bigger and more butch crew members should go without saying. Didn't Gills even have a minder present? SM have done enough cons and talks by now to deal/prevent these situations by now, surly?

 

And yes, a talk starting 10 mins late but ending on time and still paying the £15 for it is pretty stupid. You don't shortchange and rip-off customers.

[jess4815162342]

Who were the three guests in the Dro who talk?

[Zagreus]

She was asked about any upcoming theatre work. I can understand the questioners maybe not hearing each other asking it, but they must have heard Gillian answer surely? Maybe they were too busy recording the talk...

 

She was also asked (from what I could make out) if she planned an autobiography, which she must have mis-heard and proceeded to talk about her lack of knowledge of X-Files 3. Someone later asked about the possibility of an X-Files 3 movies.

[Rockstar6662]

What was the question forigners kept asking Gillian 3 times?

 

It was whether she was going to do any more theatre work soon. It actually got asked 4 times but there was a gap after the first time and then the 3 in a row. And then there were the Russian stalkers she didn't seem too happy about either. It all got a bit embarassing and uncomfortable at times, hence why some kind of compare would be really good to avoid repetition, move on quickly to the next person etc.

 

Great to hear her speaking.

[Jemzamia]

I only attended the Dredd panel on Sunday. I think the choice and scheduling of talks this year has been poor. A Being Human talk would have been great. I heard that Anthony Head did an impromptu talk and sing song on Sunday, which is great but such a popular guest should have had a talk scheduled weeks ago.

 

I did pop to the DW talk on Sunday on the tiny stage B but the sound was so poor and it looked like Cribbins wasn't coming (I now know that he did arrive) I just gave up and left

 

I would have liked to go to the Firefly talk but sadly it was a paid one

[Theyarv]

Are all talks always pure Q&A? I went to 5 talks and they were all the same. I thought it was pretty poor that they sit down and start with 'I have nothing prepared to say, ask me questions'. I was pretty bored by all except the sunday firefly talk where Adam and Jewel started by having a couple of jokes with each other and went off-topic of the audience question. (oh and of course the singing lol).

 

Also the chairs were some of the most uncomfortable ever - 0 back support