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Post event thoughts of weekend from Showmasters


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I didn't realise the diamond pass gave me special powers with non diamond guests. That would have helped my panic had I know but I got everything I want so no harm no foul.

what did the diamond pass do with non diamond guests?

 

 

If you touched a non-diamond guest with a diamond pass whilst saying "Hakuna matata" they became diamond guests for 3 minutes and you were able to use your priority with them, though not if someone else had done so within a 30 minute period or if you get tagged by a security guard. This too could only happen on a day with an S in it but not a day with a Y in it... :whistling:

Edited by Zahariel
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Thank you for your comments; most of them make sense and I look forward at the improvements you promise for the next edition. Errors cannot be undone but can be avoided in the future. :rolleyes:

 

However, I wanted to point out, briefly, something that came up on the "Lack of Flexibility" thread. Since you locked the thread (preventing any possible reply to your message) I post here my reply.

In your message regarding the possibility to have a picture retaken, you state: "if there is something that stands out like blinking or looking away or fuzzy image then we will tear the photo in half and put you back in the line at the front to get a re shoot , thats our policy and its what everyone is trained to do , but it is totally down to you to check the photo your self , you HAVE to look at it and decide if you are happy with it to not , it is not down to the crew to check for you , if the image is fine but you feel you do not like it then this is down to the head of crew to look at it and it is down to them , but you may not get a re shoot "

 

So, I checked the picture myself and ask the man in the red shirt if my son could retake the picture but he refused (twice) stating that it was a good picture. As you can see in the picture below, my son is looking away - so your "trained" staff should have conceded a retake without even having me insisting twice. Now, I ask you if, in your opinion, my son's picture should have been retaken or not.

If you think your crew member was right, I will accept your opinion and will not ask further questions. No grudge. See you at the next convention.

If you think that my son has been denied the right possibility of a retake, I expect some form of compensation, in a form you deem appropriate.

Cheers.

 

Although I can see your point and if it were me id want it retaken, it is a good enough reason to have it retaken and i think the crew should have allowed it, however going buy your sons facial expression and body language it appears his not to bothered by being next to MJF

 

 

 

One more reason for having it retaken! My son was actually super excited but he got that kind of expression as he was a bit surprised by the people "directing" him and with the lights and the rest he got lost for a moment.

 

I can see what you mean regarding your sons photo and that should of been retaken. Actually the photographer should of noticed when they took the photo that your son was not in position.

Edited by Iceman71
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I thought having a diamond pass meant you could use one standard entry person as your personal slave for the weekend. Guess I owe someone an apology. :blush:

I did tell you that doing those things for you weren't part of the price but you were very insistent..

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Please please please address the issue with pit bosses physically manhandling people into photoshoots, no attendee should ever have to have someones hands placed on them unless they're doing wrong. The MJF shoot on Sunday was one of the worst I've encountered in 13 years of attending events.

Thank you

 

It was my first event and I didn't expect to be pushed from behind to be honest. I'm can be a worrier anyway and have suffered panic attacks in the past and the way we were all being hustled through was really quite stressful and poor MJF must not have enjoyed it either - a more relaxed photoshoot would surely be better for all parties. Again, I fear his tickets were oversold.

 

 

Photoshoots: The Big hate of the 3 days, first of all in a post Too Tall said it would be roughly:

 

10-15 min shoot = batch 1

20-25 = batches 1 & 2

30-35 = 1-2 and probably 3

40-45 = 1-3 probably 4

50-55 = 1-4 probably 5

1HOUR shoots 1-4 probably 5&6

 

Now this was an epic fail because of the DIAMOND PASS HOLDERS which lets be honest, yes these passes get the guests, but it was CLEARLY OVERSOLD

 

...

 

So in a 45 min shoot should be batches 1-3 and probably 4 but not all of 1 made it through.

same with S,Weaver normal shoot at 10.30 only Batch 1 with clashes were the final lot Which lucky for me that included me as I had a clash.

 

I think we would all be screwed if the answer was come back later

 

 

Agree with this completely - coming back later was not always an option for most of us with clashes and to be honest shouldn't have been the answer anyway. I agree Diamond passes were clearly oversold.

 

Furthermore, the queuing system struggled as a result of the batches not being called on time because people were getting so desperate to get seen. There was a crew member telling people to "come back in half an hour" but when you know that's the last photoshoot of the day for that guest you're not going to risk not being able to get in when half an hour comes and the queue is twice as long. A bigger area of space seems to be the way to go for photoshoots as they can even perhaps be sorted into batches so people know exactly where they are in a queue.

 

I went to a memorabilia exhibition at the NEC once and they had electronic number boards calling numbers forward, which seemeed to work well though I can see that at such a busy event this may not work too well.

 

--

 

Whilst I agree that the Diamond pass holders are what have made the big names possible, I think it is very important to remember that us non-pass holders are still spending a considerable amount of money at this event and probably end up spending more with the traders, sales desk and autograph tables anyway because we're not rushing here, there and everywhere like the Diamond pass holders have to do, due to what they're entitled to. I agree with the earlier comment that it would be a shame to make this an elitist event.

 

However, I'm eternally grateful I managed to meet my favourite actor and actress who I never, ever dreamed I'd actually get to meet and for that you have my sincere thanks.

Edited by silverbird
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All I'm seeing is that Diamond passes are given priority and special treatment. My experience of this was VERY different. I did think that getting a Diamond pass would be something special but my experience in full was pretty dreadful. I hope very much that the long email I sent regarding this on Monday will be responded to pretty soon as well.

 

I also don't agree with your entry times feedback for Sunday Jason - this is incorrect according to the time I accessed the building, and missing the talk I paid for!

Edited by LeceWoody
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I think it would be good to either limit gold passes down or let them have the first vqt for any guests and batch 1 for photos so that any standard ticket holder knows that if they get vq ticket number 106 they are actually 106 and don't have to guess how many gold passes need to go in front of them.

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As others have said, all photoshoots should be in one area or at least on the same floor. I'd never had this many photoshoots and with only being there on Saturday, the majority of my time was going from ground to level 2 to level 1 to level 3 for shoots. This aside, me and my daughter had an epic day and we're looking forward to doing the whole weekend next year :dance:

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I had a great weekend as always and loved it!

The only things for me was having to trek up and down the floors to find out what numbers the guests were at and trying to navigate through the queues at the large signing area as there were too many people in close proximity.

The syfy stage was fantastic but didn't leave space to get round so you could only go one side and this caused a large amount of people going in both directions in a small area.

Couldn't get some of my autographs as the guests were on gold only for ages and barely made it to 300 autographs such as Richard Dean Anderson, 3 days with VQT's around 300 and still didn't get his auto although I heard we was taking a long time talking to everyone. The Crew member at Hayley Atwell on the Saturday around 5 realised that she was signing up to 300 but most people had tickets around 400-500+ including myself and no one was going to her with the intended 300 or less tickets as they were obviously away somewhere else in the con so he used his initiative and started filling the queue with any number as she was signing fast! Thanks for that as we didn't think we would get her autograph at all!

Thanks showmasters for another great weekend!

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I've been attending Showmasters events since 2006, my first being at the MK shopping centre and have usually attended 2 events each year since then. I have to say although it was such a great experience to meet Sigourney Weaver and Bill Paxton, this is the first Showmasters convention that I have not enjoyed, and will seriously question whether I attend another Summer LFCC. It was extremely busy and the heat just did not make the event fun for me like it should have been. It was obviously oversold, and I understand that Showmasters are aiming for bigger guests, but bigger does not necessarily mean better in my opinion.

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Please please please address the issue with pit bosses physically manhandling people into photoshoots, no attendee should ever have to have someones hands placed on them unless they're doing wrong. The MJF shoot on Sunday was one of the worst I've encountered in 13 years of attending events.

Thank you

 

Whoa, wait, are you seriously saying a pit boss touched you without your consent, while you were doing nothing that warrants a pit boss, who is not security as far as I know, to physically intervene??

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Please please please address the issue with pit bosses physically manhandling people into photoshoots, no attendee should ever have to have someones hands placed on them unless they're doing wrong. The MJF shoot on Sunday was one of the worst I've encountered in 13 years of attending events.

Thank you

 

Whoa, wait, are you seriously saying a pit boss touched you without your consent, while you were doing nothing that warrants a pit boss, who is not security as far as I know, to physically intervene??

 

 

I can confirm this happened. MJF Delorean shoot late Sunday afternoon. I was batch 4. We were told to start moving as soon as the flash had gone for guest before, even if they weren't up yet. I did this but had to hesitate as the gentleman kneeling by MJF hesitated (I think he wasn't sure if his pic had been taken). In my hesitation I was pushed from behind by pit boss. Not violently but enough to make me move forwards and the hand didn't move until I'd started walking once the guy had gotten up. It was happening to others before I got there as well. Hands placed on backs and pushed forwards. It was a shocking photoshoot and was obviously vastly oversold and/or trying to get it done in a very short, tight near-impossible timescale.

Edited by silverbird
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What I think, though this may mean a lot of going up and down stairs for some people, is that the ground floor and 1st floor photo areas were in a bad place. For a start, the ground floor photo areas didn't have a large enough queuing space so the paths for people looking round the traders stalls were blocked. The 1st floor photo area could have worked, if people just queued in a straight line! As people like to "bunch queue" the signing desks on the left were hidden behind masses of people just waiting for their photos. Maybe have signings on one floor, photos on another or just spread them out accordingly so everyone has enough room. Just an idea. Overall though, it all went well. Got to all my photo ops in the end! Thanks SM!

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A lot of people have suggested this and you should at least take this on board and consider not only putting all the photo shoots on the same floor, but doing the same for all the other activities now you have the space, Diamond guests on a separate floor , Traders on another and guests on their own floor also i was sunder the impression that Diamond passes were for those guests you had brought them for, not to use them for others ,so why were Diamonds being put through first at photo shoots for guests that were not diamond ?

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What I think, though this may mean a lot of going up and down stairs for some people, is that the ground floor and 1st floor photo areas were in a bad place. For a start, the ground floor photo areas didn't have a large enough queuing space so the paths for people looking round the traders stalls were blocked. The 1st floor photo area could have worked, if people just queued in a straight line! As people like to "bunch queue" the signing desks on the left were hidden behind masses of people just waiting for their photos. Maybe have signings on one floor, photos on another or just spread them out accordingly so everyone has enough room. Just an idea. Overall though, it all went well. Got to all my photo ops in the end! Thanks SM!

 

Photo area C which was right next to the dealers hall was pretty bad. Saturday afternoon Jason David Frank shoot was packed, I got there about twenty minutes before it started and the queue was already very long. The crew member was shouting instructions which were impossible to hear and the constant flow of people at the merchandise stalls made it a very uncomfortable experience.

 

I was batch 1 so when I did get into the queue which was crammed into the taped off area I saw several people with different batch numbers ahead of me, none of whom had been called as far as I could tell. It seemed like a bit of a free for all.

 

I don't want to give the impression I am just complaining though so a special mention to the chap running Photo area B on Saturday morning for the Bill Paxton shoot. He had it perfectly organised, was very friendly and I didn't feel wedged in at all even though there were lots of people present. He definitely deserves recognition for a sterling job.

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Please please please address the issue with pit bosses physically manhandling people into photoshoots, no attendee should ever have to have someones hands placed on them unless they're doing wrong. The MJF shoot on Sunday was one of the worst I've encountered in 13 years of attending events.

Thank you

 

Whoa, wait, are you seriously saying a pit boss touched you without your consent, while you were doing nothing that warrants a pit boss, who is not security as far as I know, to physically intervene??

 

 

I can confirm this happened. MJF Delorean shoot late Sunday afternoon. I was batch 4. We were told to start moving as soon as the flash had gone for guest before, even if they weren't up yet. I did this but had to hesitate as the gentleman kneeling by MJF hesitated (I think he wasn't sure if his pic had been taken). In my hesitation I was pushed from behind by pit boss. Not violently but enough to make me move forwards and the hand didn't move until I'd started walking once the guy had gotten up. It was happening to others before I got there as well. Hands placed on backs and pushed forwards. It was a shocking photoshoot and was obviously vastly oversold and/or trying to get it done in a very short, tight near-impossible timescale.

 

One of the crew in photoshoot area D was hands on as well in the Marc McLure shoot in the afternoon, very uncomfortable.

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55 minutes to get in seems like a really long time as thats people waiting outside not inside getting vq or spending money! As I have said a few times now I am beyond greatful for the amazing help I had getting to my BP photoshoot, so this is not me just having a go but hopefully being constructive.... you don't queue that long to get into concerts (not even at O2) or even the Olympics (5/10 minutes tops and I had to go through scanner and have my bag searched)! I know we can't open multiple doors as that wouldn't be fair with regards to VQ tickets but I really think having numerous staff walking down the queue scanning tickets and stamping peoples handto show they had been scanned would work or I am sure others have better ideas...but people do need to get in quicker.

 

Also maybe not having photoshoots at 9.30....the earliest photoshoot needs to be at the time the last person in the queue gets in...so if it does end up taking 55 mins then first photoshoot should be at 10 etc.

 

Loved the incredible photoshoots I had and am beyond delighted to have been given the opportunity to meet the amazing guests I have and I understand thats its DP and GP that make these possible but as an ordinary standard ticket buyer, I spent more on this event than I can ever imagine - all attendees make the event happen :)

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I came up with a group from the south coast and we had a great day out on the Sat. The outside queue was a bit daunting, but when we found the end it didn't seem to take that long, maybe because of all the great cosplay.

 

Inside was hot, so anything to help cool it down would be great. Maybe have a Mr Freeze set we can cool down in.

 

I think a rest area would be a great improvement, it doesn't need to be anything fancy, maybe on the theme of a mediaeval banqueting hall😀.

 

The age range for our group was 8 to somewhere over 50 o erall enjoyed it and managed to purchase items for stuff they were interested in and we would go again.

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I don't know if this will help, but we've been to quite a few U.S. cons where there is a fastlane for VIP/Gold pass ticket holders, that runs alongside the main queue for the guest.

 

There, they feed a handful of VIP in, then an equal amount of regular attendees, then back to the VIP, and so on, so that you stand equal chance of getting through. The line is kept moving at a brisk pace, but you do get your moment with the guest. Often enough to ask one question, or say hello. That said, they do sell only about 300 VIP badges tops though.

 

On another point, I do think there needs to be stricter control on the amount of items being signed. I know I saw one guy with about six or seven items at a table with a large queue forming behind him.

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One of the crew in photoshoot area D was hands on as well in the Marc McLure shoot in the afternoon, very uncomfortable.

 

I had a crew member in area D on Sunday put their hand on my back and leave it there for a few seconds, as if pushing me towards the collection desk (I couldn't go anywhere - there was a small queue). I didn't like it.

 

It's not a huge complaint for me, but I think that crew do need to be careful, as it can be a very big deal for some people. Any kind of physical contact should be 'invite only'.

Edited by MinkyKnights
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Regarding photo shoots: Jason you are correct that people should check their pictures before the shoot finishes to rectify any issues but it's not always so easy ;), especially if you need to rush elsewhere or are being 'encouraged' to leave. I get that you have to get everyone through but trying to exit isn't always easy as you have to wait for your photo - it might only take 30 seconds or so for it to be printed but it means people start to bunch up who are also waiting which also means it gets hard to get your bags back. One suggestion, although it would require a little more room for each shoot area is to have 2 distinct 'room's - the first being entry and bag dump. leading into the secondary area where the shoot happens, then we leave back into the second part of the first 'room' that has a little bit more room for people to wait for their photo's and get their stuff together who aren't therefore also blocking up the shoot area any more or being seen as 'hanging around' to get one last glimpse of the guest. Sometimes the exit can be very crowded when it's also the entry and you don't want to bend your photo when you are being encouraged to leave. A couple of extra moments would be helpful, especially to check your picture. Having said that though when I got home from Sherlocked I did notice that one of my pictures was a little less than totally in focus. It was my fault for not thoroughly checking it but tired eyes combined with needing to be at other places (and therefore not having time to check the whole picture in detail) meant I missed it. The picture is adequate but not perfect now that I know it's not totally in focus :whistling: I know you have a lot of people to get through but with respect when you are paying (in my case £120) for a photo you do expect a professional photographer to get it right and not rely on the customer noticing such details.

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Re: the touching/pushing comments on here, I have to commend the staff at Photo shoot A for Robert Englund in make-up on Sunday. They made that shoot run like absolute clockwork. I still can't believe how they got through that many people in the time they had but it was like a production line and the woman instructing us to go forward for our picture with Robert was commanding and firm but got the job done. There's no need to be hands-on if you can instruct people professionally.

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