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Aug 13, 2011 16:30:23 GMT -5
Post by RFlatstone on Aug 13, 2011 16:30:23 GMT -5
We need to have something in the programming that makes people choose us over Wizard. That's it in a nutshell. Wizard actually SUCKS but folks are so programmed into going that it's hard to change their thinking. Wizard world was billing 98 guests (not counting artists and fan groups). Among them were Patrick Stewart, Christopher Lloyd. LaVar Burton, Ray Park, Bruce Campbell, Anthony Michael Hall, Lou Ferrigno, Pam Grier, Louis Gossett Jr., James Marsters, Charisma Carpenter and Felicia Day. They also had an Adam West style Batmoble, Back to the Future DeLorean, Ecto 1 and Scooby-Doo Mystery Machine on display. Thousands of booths! It's HUGE. Does WW suck? Yeah. Still, people are paying to see these big names and features. Michael, I love Cyphan, but it's not comparable to WW.
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Hotel
Aug 14, 2011 15:33:35 GMT -5
Post by Michael Bollow on Aug 14, 2011 15:33:35 GMT -5
I never compared the two shows... I just said Cyphan is much more fun. Chicagoans don't need to waste their money on two comic cons a year. C2E2 is bigger and better than Wizard, so folks should do that one in May then Cyphan in July. Wizard is just getting old and the spark is gone.
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Hotel
Aug 14, 2011 17:19:43 GMT -5
Post by RFlatstone on Aug 14, 2011 17:19:43 GMT -5
Apparently there were some logistics problems? The costume contest was at the same time as the party? Not smart. I see what you're saying, Michael.
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Aug 14, 2011 17:20:22 GMT -5
Post by RFlatstone on Aug 14, 2011 17:20:22 GMT -5
Again, though, I think it's the shear number of big name stars they have more than anything else.
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River
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Posts: 150
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Hotel
Aug 15, 2011 4:57:14 GMT -5
Post by River on Aug 15, 2011 4:57:14 GMT -5
I went to WW this year and things I noticed were:
- A lot of stars, but most of them you could walk up to. - It was MUCH bigger this year, Artist's alley was nearly doubled in size. - Gaming area didn't make sense but was there. - bigger sights like Batmobile, ecto-1, and Delorean all being in on section.
Things I didn't like - Floorplan not organized, too much bunching up no matter WHERE you were. - No theme, just 'hey we're WW' - and no big name companies there, just the Capt. America Trailer.
I like C2E2 cuz it seems 'brighter', the displays are much nicer, and the areas also seem wider and more open.
Paying for a ticket there was outrageous, not to mention the people running it really don't know what they're doing. it was a madhouse there on Saturday.
Bollow, you're giving people an option to go to smaller con that is made up of mostly 'local' people. Someone had stated that they like the idea of visiting local vendors within the state or at least, just across the state lines.
Also, fans can meet some of their favorite stars on a more intimate level instead of dealing with the droves of crowds that came in.
Another thing, on sunday I saw Robert Picardo come to one of the vendor booths and sat with that vendor for some time. It occurred to me that not only do the fans get a reprive from the crazy-big-cons, but so do the celebrities. LOL
Anyhoo, just some food for thought. WW will always try to be bigger, albeit I still feel it's days are numbered.
-River
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Aug 15, 2011 9:23:58 GMT -5
Post by RFlatstone on Aug 15, 2011 9:23:58 GMT -5
River's got it. To put it another way, WW is a con without a soul, whereas you put the Fan in Cyphan (okay, I know that's cheesy, and the "phan" is for "fantasy", but still).
Really, the venue does not make the convention classy.
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kearstin
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Posts: 212
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Hotel
Aug 15, 2011 15:19:40 GMT -5
Post by kearstin on Aug 15, 2011 15:19:40 GMT -5
AGREED. Wizard SUCKED. I hated it. I had a terrible time. It was a hot clusterfuck. The costume contest sucked, the crowd was ridiculous. I almost passed out from heat. It was chaotic, and nothing honestly worth GEEKING over other than Sir Patrick Stewart, Buffy cast, and apparently Felicia Day got incredibly huge and very fast.
C2E2 is nicer from a presentation level. Neat, clean, open, LARGE SIGNS TO TELL ME WHERE TO GO lol
Overall, the second that convention was over, Mike Prost and I agreed immediately that CYPHAN was more fun. Not just because it was all of our friends, but because it had a real con HEART to it. Not "LA LA LA HOT MESS CHILDREN EVERYWHERE NO LINES JUST MESS PIGS IN A PEN"
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Aug 15, 2011 15:24:15 GMT -5
Post by RFlatstone on Aug 15, 2011 15:24:15 GMT -5
Coincidentally, a co-worker of mine just stopped by to say exactly same things about WW. I mean, almost word for word - he hit every single point Kearstin just did!
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kearstin
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Hotel
Aug 15, 2011 16:14:17 GMT -5
Post by kearstin on Aug 15, 2011 16:14:17 GMT -5
I'm serious! WW isn't even about the fans anymore. It's about how much money can it make, NOT EVEN WITH ANY HUGE VENDORS ANYMORE, and how much clusterfuck can they put together in one room. I "had a booth" this weekend, Cosplay Chicago (new group a dude named Bill Higa is putting together, which Bollow, I'll send him your way), and we were to "run" the kid's official Wizard World booth on Sunday with my Disney costumers group. We asked Wizard staff for 20mins where they wanted us what did they want us to do, etc etc. Couldn't tell us shit. Just "stand over there". Which was in the MIDDLE of the walkway entrance next to the celebrities. Which was already a hot mess of chaos as is. We blocked face paint and balloons and of course people taking pictures blocked the masses. Completely unorganized. Costume contest? Bullshit. Didn't call up a page worths of online registrants (which then defeated the purpose of registering early by doing it online?!!?!) up in the 'one massive line with no separation' of costumers. Over 100 applicants WHILE STILL ALLOWED LAST MINUTE APPLICANTS. It was 40min late. And because James Marsters had a panel in the same room after, the contest went LATE and had to migrate everyone to ANOTHER ROOM for the winners, and even then didn't fit everyone. Best Group was won by 1 dude. Yeah... GROUP... by ONE dude. Kids costume contest was shoved into a room that was 1/3 of the adult contest size. WHO THE F THOUGHT OF THAT? Everybody knows kids mean PLUS PARENTS PLUS THEIR SIBLINGS. So they had more than half of the show's audience OUT IN THE HALL waiting. No categories just "kid come up on stage, take a pic, now pic a prize". With Sir Patrick Stewart, and all the other photo ops booth people... LOVED meeting him... but the people running the photo op booth? IDIOTS. They took up to 3hrs for getting your prints out when they told us 15minutes, they were never printed in the order of who took their pic, and all they did was lay out terribly 100s and 100s of photos on like 4 small picnic tables. It was a mess, nobody was coordinating it. Mike and I waited the entire time for ours to print in fear that some asshole would see our photo and go OH THATS FKN FUNNY AND MEME WORTHY IM GOING TO TAKE IT: I HATE WRISTBAND BADGES. I HATE THEM SO MUCH. What ever idiot thought that was a good idea, should be shot in the face. As a costumer that's the most inconvient pass in the world, especially if we buy a weekend pass. The fuck if I'm wearing that shitty thing OVER my costume (which most of the time is a completely encased spandex suit) and the only way to get it off is cut it, and I come complain to you next morning and all you do it just give me a new one to put over my wrist? YOURE RETARDED. LAMINATED BADGES FTW.
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Aug 15, 2011 17:11:34 GMT -5
Post by iam8114 on Aug 15, 2011 17:11:34 GMT -5
Well according to my buddy Matt, WW gave out a ton of free booth spaces in artist alley to get the artists out there this year which is probably why it was so huge. He's very anti Wizard but hey, free booth and admission is great for him since he's just starting out as a professional comic artist.
If you want to get more comic book stuff going I could hook you two up. I'm sure if you asked he'd be willing to do a digital inking panel or something.
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River
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Posts: 150
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Hotel
Aug 16, 2011 7:03:48 GMT -5
Post by River on Aug 16, 2011 7:03:48 GMT -5
Well according to my buddy Matt, WW gave out a ton of free booth spaces in artist alley to get the artists out there this year which is probably why it was so huge. He's very anti Wizard but hey, free booth and admission is great for him since he's just starting out as a professional comic artist. If you want to get more comic book stuff going I could hook you two up. I'm sure if you asked he'd be willing to do a digital inking panel or something. FREE BOOTHS!?!?! Ok so when did they decide that?? I have at least two good friends who paid $$$ to get their booths! Heck if I knew they had free booths "I" would've had one for my studio!!! I know exactly what Kearstin is stating when it comes to the photos. I was in orlando for a business convention about 3 years ago. They had different backdrops for the different disney characters, actors, actresses, etc. My co-workers and I got to pose with these people, and then nearly waited over an hour to get the prints. Some I never got and i really wanted this cool one of me and my buddy posin' 'gangsta style' with Chip 'N Dale. But i never saw it hit the table. Anyhoo. I have to agree that WW is just about making the almighty $$ no thought put into the con-goers or how it looks. I mean. I feel like i'm in a warehouse all the time. The artist's Alley was bigger but the aisle's were shorter to accomodate the surge of artists! That's insane! I'm literally bumping into people with my camera i had to hold it the entire time i was there so It wouldn't break. if it wasn't my camera it was my satchel. As for the photo booths, I only saw two one at the Capt. America truck and one around the back a few rows in from Ecto-1. the one in the back didn't look like anything was going on. Cyphan, albeit smaller, was so laid back, and fun, i really did love the idea of getting to chat it up with my fellow 501st'ers and some of the fans and new fans that came to our booth. and seeing Robert Picardo chilling with a vendor, man that will stay with me for the rest of my life. So awesome to see that. Not to mention getting to talk to Richard Hatch on the elevator up. Wow I felt like I could talk to him for hours. I don't think one would see that at WW, i mean Sir Patrick Stewart was behind a curtained-off room? *sigh*, i know Carrie Fisher was too. but c'mon. would be nice to see the guy. Anyhoo, WW is getting stuffier and overcrowded, i'm surprised Marvel, DC, nor any studios stop over and suppor them. hmm. wonder why. But C2E2 definitly has it down as far as presentation, fan consideration, etc. As for the wrist bands, i don't mind them, but they are a PITA to get off. and for $35 a pop for ONE DAY at Donald E. Stephens. not really worth it. ok i'm done. -River
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Aug 16, 2011 8:33:51 GMT -5
Post by RFlatstone on Aug 16, 2011 8:33:51 GMT -5
I'm tellin' ya, there's no way to prove or measure it, but it think the venue keeps more people away than it attracts.
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Aug 16, 2011 8:38:18 GMT -5
Post by Michael Bollow on Aug 16, 2011 8:38:18 GMT -5
We have a contract to be at the Hyatt again next year, and I really think the positives outweigh the negatives. We just need to make people want to STAY and that means awesome nightly parties!
The Friday night entertainment will be handled by me personally next year and Burlesque is absolutely going to be a big part of it. I am even thinking about a Moulin Rouge theme to the whole night....
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Aug 16, 2011 8:43:30 GMT -5
Post by RFlatstone on Aug 16, 2011 8:43:30 GMT -5
Oh, how cool would it be to open up with "Willkommen" from Cabaret?
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kearstin
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Posts: 212
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Hotel
Aug 16, 2011 10:37:03 GMT -5
Post by kearstin on Aug 16, 2011 10:37:03 GMT -5
I ALWAYS look forward to the after parties lol especially now that I get drunk hahahaa
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