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thoughts, complaints and feelings about LFCC 2015


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It would seem a consensus has been reached - We get Richard O'Brien to use the PA system and rename it LFCM 2016 (London Film & Crystal Maze 2016.) Instead of the Aztec, Medieval, Industrial and Futuristic zones we could have Autograph, Photo, Shopping and YALC zones... :clap:

 

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Trust me on this one, there will still be people that need to be forced outside.

 

I am a trained Fire Marshall with my company and we usually evacuate the store within 30-45 seconds, no biggie, but we still have people that will be reluctant to go / leave no matter what.

I'm deputy fire warden, and this is do true. We had a fire alarm go off once at a previous show. The stall owners were reluctant to leave their livelihoods and even one guest refused to move.

 

In the event of an actual fire, people will move eventually, but not without making sure. First rule of fire marshaling is don't be a hero, get the hell out with everyone else.

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So the main thing I had a problem with over the weekend was diamond pass holders getting priority in ques for things that were not part of there diamond package. It was bad enough on the Chris Lloyd delorean shoot that they were given priority over gold for some reason on the Sunday, but I also experienced diamond pass holders trying and in a couple of instances succeeding in cutting ques for neve Campbell and Hayley atwell. I mentioned it to the crew member at the times and he did nothing but say they paid for it and when I tried to explain that he is confusing diamond and gold he simply told me I am wrong.

 

I agree to this, Every single photo shoot I went to, They called the Diamond guests first? I thought the Diamond was only for that guests. But no, Diamond called then Gold then the Batches... I guess that was why the photo queues were massive, All the Diamond people should of been using their Batch numbers. Diamonds were only for certain guests.... Example since when was Jason David Frank a Diamond Guest? Jonathan Pryce.. Diamond went first? This year was just a mess and it seemed nobody knew what ticket order to call... :no:

 

Even Catherine Tate.. Diamond went first and she was not a Diamond listed guest.. Grrrrr I had many low number tickets and batches and was pushed further back because of this.... :no:

Edited by Spacecadet is here
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One thing that was odd was Claudia Wells had a no posed photo sign up but she was happily posing for photos all day, so clearly the sign wasnt her idea, so who put it up and why?

Sometimes the guests really dont want photos. In that case its Showmasters who have to be the bad guy. Maybe she was too polite to say no when people were rude and ignored the sign.

 

Alternatively, I don't think it would be the first time a guest's agent had asked for one thing and a guest themself had done something else...

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I am not against taking photos in the autograph areas but if there are signs up by the guests saying no photos or no posed photos this should be respected.

Everybody would like to have a photo with a guest when signing an autograph but sometimes it is just too busy. There should be a crew member telling people this

when there is a long queue so as many people as possible can get an autograph.

 

I did get some photos with some of the Star Wars guests when they were signing autographs as they did not have photo shoots and I was the only

person at their table at the time. I asked them politely and if they would of said no I would of respected their decision.

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When more floor space gets used for next year, more guests etc shouldn't automatically get crammed in. It's obvious that previous autograph and photograph areas can't cope with the sheer amount of people. Maybe have more crew to try and disburse people just standing around blocking areas. If you're only going to go to batch 3 on a photoshoot, have more crew checking tickets in the mass crowd and telling them they won't get in at this time. Don't just have 1 crew member shouting come back later as this never works.

 

I know layout has already been mentioned as being looked at. The main problem I always see, is queues merging into different queues. Having guests signing opposite a photo area just seems daft.

 

Also making sure all crew know the proper procedures for things will make a huge difference. I saw diamond pass holders getting priority for everything, which isn't what they paid for.

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One last thing. We all want LFCC to be the biggest and best event possible. But we've now had 2 summer events in a row with so much negativity from fans. So instead of trying to build it even bigger next year, why not try and stabilise the event and get out all the kinks. Make the event the best for EVERYONE and then work on making it bigger.

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One of the main problems I found was the sheer amount of stall everywhere. I think on floor 1, the row of stalls where the medical room was should be completely taken out so that aisle could be used as a fast track kind of thing where you don't get everyone cutting across because something caught their eye on the stall or a group of 10 people stopping so one could look at the stall.

At one point I needed to get to the medical room and it took ages to get through.

 

I noticed there were around 5 dedicated POP Vinyl stalls, how about remove say 3 of them and then put the stalls from the medical room aisle around the venue.

 

It would make it much easier for people who needed to get from the autograph area at the super stage to say the stairs or the Michael Gambon autograph area.

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One of the main problems I found was the sheer amount of stall everywhere. I think on floor 1, the row of stalls where the medical room was should be completely taken out so that aisle could be used as a fast track kind of thing where you don't get everyone cutting across because something caught their eye on the stall or a group of 10 people stopping so one could look at the stall.

At one point I needed to get to the medical room and it took ages to get through.

 

I noticed there were around 5 dedicated POP Vinyl stalls, how about remove say 3 of them and then put the stalls from the medical room aisle around the venue.

 

It would make it much easier for people who needed to get from the autograph area at the super stage to say the stairs or the Michael Gambon autograph area.

 

Too many stalls was definitely the main problem for the amount of traffic and lack of space when walking around, in my opinion.

I understand Showmasters need the money from stall holders to help pay for the event BUT did we really need two floors of stalls selling identical merchandise? Like you said, why were there 5 stalls selling POP vinyl?!

 

I can't grumble too much as I managed to get everything done that I needed to (besides a Christopher Lloyd autograph) but at times on the Saturday, I just felt like calling it quits as moving around was a complete nightmare.

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echoing a lot of sentiments here. I felt the main problem was overcrowding and concerned to read that Olympia would have been more than happy to let even more people in on the Saturday which was the day I was there. Heaven knows what would have happened if a fire alarm or similar had gone off !!!....just walking around proved a problem and there were a lot of people who just didn't move out of the way or banged into me, one very lovely chap leaving a lovely scram mark on my arm with his bag and no apology.

 

Levels 1 and 2 way too congested and I was grateful my Guests were up on Level 3 for the autographs and that I had got everything done by around 3pm. I am claustrophobic so don't do lifts, finding the stairs was a nightmare and they were narrow and congested and one misleading sign saying stairs to ground level just took you to the exit and YALC area , not the ground floor with stalls etc. Photo shoot areas should all be in one place and signing areas on one level. Also way too many stalls , all looking very similar.

 

I can not see me attending again - yes in some ways worth it because did get some lovely moments with my Guests - again that is the luck of the draw. I only paid standard entry, photoshoot tickets and autos , would have been very annoyed if shelled out for Gold etc and gone through some of the things I have been reading here. Also add on travel and accommodation it is not cheap. :no:

Edited by M'ladyAthos
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I have held off from getting involved in feeding back on the event, taking time to ruminate, see what other people have suggested and generally have a think about what was good and not so good about the event.

 

I have to admit that this year's event was busy; in general, and personally, as I chose to do a lot more this year than I have done at previous conventions.

 

Let's not beat around the bush - there were things that worked, and things that could use improvement. It's not negativity to provide constructive criticism, as long as it is exactly that - constructive.

 

As far as my tuppence goes, I agree with a fair amount of what has been said by other people on this forum. Showmasters have a lot of loyal, and knowledgeable, fans who only want the show to be exactly what we are aiming for it to be; the show piece convention event in Europe. SM and Jason have taken on suggestions from past events and I am sure that more will be taken from this event, in an effort to create the best experience for everyone; guests, fans, traders, and staff.

 

Bearing in mind the quote 'Opinions are like arseholes. Everyone has one, just don't shove yours in my face', unfortunately I am about to drop my trousers and show mine to the world. Feel free to agree or not, this is my personal view and will not be agreed with by everyone.

 

1. The Entry Queue

This was so much better than last year. SO much. Very well handled from my perspective. I was in the queue about two hours before the opening times on all days and it seemed to go off without a hitch. The queue was managed well by security, the barrier system was very well ordered, and I didn't see much evidence of queue jumpers. Overall a very positive experience compared to Earls Court. I know I probably speak through rose tinted glasses from being no further back in the queue than the end of Pizza Express down the side of Olympia, and not held in the holding bay or queuing back as far as Hammersmith Way again, but it did seem to all just work. I was inside within 5-10 minutes of the queue moving, and had no issues with ticket checks.

 

2. Photo areas and queues

This was a cause for concern for a lot of people over the weekend, myself included. There were times when things descended into a scrum to get to the front of the group when batches were called, and the number of times people had to be asked to step back from the queuing area were so numerous, I lost count. As I have said in a few other places, the crew did an admirable job in trying to maintain order. Luke and Chris upstairs at A, and Stuart at B were the noticeable standouts for me.

The areas themselves, as many have mentioned, were in places that were often busy, crowded, or at times inaccessible. I know this being the first year having a summer con at Olympia in a while, there were always going to be teething problems with the layout, but it did seem a tad problematic to say the least. (suggestions for improvement to follow)

 

3. VQ tickets

I can't say I had much of a problem here, not collecting autographs, but on the occasions where I went with friends so that they could collect them, I actually found the process quite well managed. The CL queue on Saturday went slightly awry however, as one member of staff had lined people up in a queue to get tickets... for the queue... which hadn't arrived, but when they did the person giving them out just called everyone forward and the orderly line became a ruck.

 

4. The Air-Con

Not even really going to get into this further than saying that people need to have a rudimentary understanding of how the system works. Olympia is massive. It takes a lot to cool the whole of the main building down. The temperature inside is best controlled when the exit points are closed, allowing the cool air to circulate without escaping. Factor in the front doors being constantly open, allowing cool air out and warm air in, and the press of thousands of toasty, anxious fans rushing from place to place, and it becomes even more difficult. The reason floor 3 was so cool, is because it was very well contained. The doors were closed after each person came through, which gave the air more of a chance to cool down. I doubt very much that the air-con wasn't on the whole weekend as some have claimed, but just simply struggled to regulate the larger areas.

 

5. Attendance numbers

We knew it was going to be busy. Two days of the show were sold out, it's hardly surprising. Actually, I felt like I had more room to move between the stallholders this year than we did last year, although granted there were some bottlenecks, especially around the photoshoot areas (i'll get to that...). But despite the amount of people that were there, I think that we as a community need to be a heck of a lot more tolerant with each other when things get busy.

 

6. Con Etiquette

Manners cost nothing, and there were several times when someone barged past me without even saying excuse me or apologising, when simply asking if I could step aside would have been no more difficult.

I have read the other thread here about mixed experiences with disabled con-goers, and access through crowds etc. I have worked with disabled people for nearly 15 years, and am currently working for a charity supporting physically disabled adults, but during all that time, I have never come across the attitude of a couple of wheelchair users I witnessed at LFCC. Con-goers in general are very respectful of wheelchair users, and I see many people move to accommodate them. But I saw one woman practically using her wheelchair as a battering ram, whilst exclaiming that people should get out of her way as she was in a wheelchair. I do not condone this behaviour, it has the potential to tarnish all by the actions of a few. No matter how busy it gets, we are all looking to get to somewhere as quickly as possible and that kind of behaviour is unacceptable to me.

 

There could probably be a couple of other things to mention, but at the risk of boring everyone here are a couple of suggestions for next year:

 

Use of Halls

I know that SM have already said we are using the whole of Olympia next year, which is great, but when thinking about what to have in each hall I echo many when I say that separate halls for different things would be great! A photo hall, a signing hall, a traders hall, talk halls, and (why the hell not) a food hall! Keeping things separate makes them entirely more manageable, easier for con-goers to find stuff, and stops queues for different things crossing over (don't cross the streams!!)

 

Photo queues

Probably my biggest bugbear. A small investment needs to be made here.

  • Electronic screens with pertinent information that can be seen by everyone at each booth
  • Loudhailers or small pa's so that queue managers can be heard by the masses
  • Tensa barriers! If you have all the photo booths in one hall, would it not be possible to run Tensa barriers back from each booth that could hold each separate section of those queuing? eg. 6 lines of barriers - one for Diamond (if needed), one for gold, one for batch 1 etc.. with a blue shirt at the end of each line checking tickets as people enter the line. That way you can better organise your crowd, make sure people go in in the order they are meant to, and should the unthinkable happen and you have to get everyone out of the hall sharpish, they are a less permanent alternative to chunky metal ones.. I really do not think that the tape on the floor is fit for purpose anymore.

Signage

Make things easier to find! Whilst it was great having the U.N.C.L.E pennants hanging from the rafters, actually, what would be more helpful would be to have something which tells you what zone you're in. Larger signs for the photo booths that are above head height. Signs for stairwells that also tell you if they are up/down only. Number your trader lanes, and give each booth a number. Then you could include a list of traders in your programme and make it a lot easier for us to find things, and for your staff to direct people to places.

 

Communication

Communication is key. I think that more needs to be done to communicate changes to the staff as they happen, to ensure that everyone is singing from the same hymn sheet, but also, as many have said, being able to update con-goers on the fly would work wonders. Information screens dotted about advising of day cancellations, changes to photoshoot times and areas etc. Yes you would need to have someone on the ball and constantly updating, but it would save you more time in the long run. Would I like to see live updates on Twitter? YES! is it possible? Only SM can answer that...

 

All in all, I had a great weekend with awesome people. Met some amazing guests, and will definitely be back. If just a few little tweaks are made, what is a GOOD show, can become a GREAT show.

 

*applies Savlon in preparation for the burns ;)*

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The main issues for me are: please don't increase the ticket numbers inline with the extra space next year.

 

Space out guest signing queues a bit more/ have more signage, and update it, e.g. what VQ ticket numbers are allowed in the queue and if the guest is at a break or photo shoot and estimated return time. I noticed these for the popular guests on level one but not on level three, so it was confusing to see which queue I could join/ if the guest would return before I needed to be on another floor.

 

And more space and organisation for the photo shoot areas, updating the whiteboards, showing which batches were called in the morning session, I had a very stressful time on Sunday with clashing photo shoots and with all the people around the photo shoot area, I couldn't even get to the crew members to ask for help so I almost missed one of the four shoots I had that day. At the start of the shoot all I needed to know was how likely/when I was likely to be called in that shoot, then I could have relaxed but I had to keep going between floors and getting more and more stressed which almost ruined the day. Would be really good to have a centralised place to update the status of all the photo shoot areas (what batches are being called). An electronic one would be best but obviously expensive, so having a couple of crew members to go back and forth to update it would be great.

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my thought/idea/complaints concern the wandering cosplayers.

 

firstly; i get all the effort etc and the attention-wanting that makes people do big and outrageous, but seriously - having someone lumber around in a massive mech-looking thing in a place as crowded as that just doesn't help matters at all. neither does 4 or 5 people chained together pretending to be escaped felons or whatever ~ one stops at a stall and no one else can step in between them. as far as i'm concerned there should be a size limit on costumes. you get someone in big gold boxes lumbering up the stairs and it's inconsiderate and potentially dangerous for them and others as they take up space, encroach on the "down" side (assuming of course people are sensible enough to keep to that one-side-up-one-side-down rule) and risk a fall w/ their limited vision and maneuverability. get them in a lift and they take up the space of 3 or 4 people at least, limiting traffic between floors, and that doesn't help either.

 

secondly; FFS please make recessed areas for pics, instead of having people make blockages all over the place when they stop a cosplayer for a pic. They block flow, and if people walk between them they take longer to take the pic and it just escalates. surely having a place where they could step out the way would benefit everyone as they would get a decent pic too?

Edited by Wolfie138
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I'd be very surprised if ticket numbers weren't increased - the 40% space increase won't pay for itself.

No, I know that, I meant don't increase tickets by 40% too. In Jason's post he mentioned sthe number of stalls will remain about the same, which is good. But even with layout improvements and no increase in stalls, I think there should be a little more space to move and breathe! So I'm hoping no more than about 30% increase in tickets.

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Hi showmasters still can't believe what an awesome weekend last weekend was really loved it there's one thing I'm just wondering am not complaining is the pics for the autographs some of them were pretty blurry don't no if anyone else noticed and was wondering will the gold pass prices be the same as this year?

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Hi showmasters still can't believe what an awesome weekend last weekend was really loved it there's one thing I'm just wondering am not complaining is the pics for the autographs some of them were pretty blurry don't no if anyone else noticed and was wondering will the gold pass prices be the same as this year?

yeah I noticed one autograph pics were blurry and I'm also hoping that gold prices stay the same
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