Convention Pre-Planning – Part 3 | The Convention Report: A Wizard Universe Blog

Convention Pre-Planning – Part 3

August 28, 2009 on 4:33 pm | In Uncategorized | No Comments

Now that the Con Recovery phase is all done, it’s time to get back to planning for a convention!!

Ok, we’ve covered a lot so far. And there’s always more to cover! This Con Pre-Planning Blog can go on for years! But it probably won’t. Mostly because I get bored easily and will want to write about something else soon. Probably something to do with kittens and how they’re evil and must be stopped. With extreme prejudice. But in the meantime, we’re talking about Conventions.

So far we’ve covered hotel, flight, parking, passes, food, bags and where to spend your money. This week, let’s talk about the free side of cons!

You already should know how to spend your money at the show (we covered that last chapter), but what is there to do at the con for free?

First off, there are panels. Panels are one of the greatest inventions of the Con. It’s a giant room where you can sit down and be entertained by all your favorite actors, writers and artists, just like they were on TV in front of you. AND you get to ask them questions. And unlike the boring TV, here they actually answer you.

And you can ask just about anything you want! Most of them will have amazing stories about working on this movie, or that TV show, or writing or drawing this or that comic. It’s priceless stuff. And it’s FREE with your admission to the con!

The Comic Book guys will also hold classes and teach you some basics of how they draw/paint/color, etc. These kinds of experiences are completely unique, and you never know what’s going to happen next, or who might just pop in to join the conversation, or what awesome announcement or exclusive video clip you might get to see.

Another great free area is also a great pay area. It’s the Autograph Area!

As much as our guests would love for you to come by and buy an autograph, a lot of people forget that you can actually just walk up to the guests and say hi. Tell them you’re a fan, ask them a quick question, or even just shake their hand. Of course, if they have a line of people waiting for autographs, you do have to wait!

One thing I hear a lot from doing so many conventions a year (literally between 10 and 14 a year) is the obligatory “I just met that actor (So and So), and he was very rude to me.” At the end of every con, there are people who have a list of actors and actresses, and artists and writers that they now hate because they were rude, or gruff, or dismissive. I hear it all the time. And then, after they say it out loud, there’s always someone else who will pipe in with, “Really? I met (the same So and So) this weekend and he was super nice to me.”

Try to remember that the guests, though often actors, are people too. And as people, they have good days and bad days. You don’t know if they just got to the con after spending 4 hours sitting on a plane on the tarmac waiting to take off, landed 2 hours late due to bad weather, the airport lost their luggage, hotel bumped them because they were late checking in, the convention sat them right under an A/C vent and they’re freezing to death, it goes on and on (and I’ve actually heard all of this happen, many times, though never all of it to one person at one time). I’ve personally met many actors and actresses at cons over the years and absolutely hated them because of how rude they were. Then met them again, and they were super sweet. It really does all depend. Just like they say, “Never judge a book by its cover”, my rule is to meet someone three times. Best two out of three tells me if they’re actually nice or actually mean.

Remember though, if you’ve gone to any amount of conventions over the years, you’ve heard those horror stories about some guest who is rude and should be avoided, and I’m sure you’ve told your friends that you heard how rude someone was. And I’m sure you yourself have met one of those people and been surprised that they were actually nice. So my advice to you is simple. Please don’t go around and talk trash about con guests after only having met them once. Word does travel fast, and it’s not nice to gossip about guests that you’ve only met briefly, or only heard were mean.

That’s enough of that rant, just wanted to get it off my chest.

Another thing that’s (sort of) free to do is… COSTUME CONTEST!! Not only is it free (as long as you don’t count what it costs to make your costume), you have the chance to win stuff!

So, the question always is… how do I make sure I win…

Simple! First – get the most amazing costume ever. Second – win the contest.

See how easy that was?

In all honesty, I’ve judged and hosted a lot of costume contests over the years. And there are a few things that a lot of people miss when putting together costumes for competition.

1 – Footwear. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen an awesome sci-fi, or even historical or fantasy costume that is finished off with a pair of sneakers. Instant fail.

2 – Presence. Be there. Be the character. If you’re supposed to be evil, be evil. Don’t smile and be silly! Cosplay!

3 – Humor. Even evil people can be funny. And making the judges laugh goes a long way towards winning!

4 – Quality. I’m sure the licensed store bought costumes are great, but they’re not going to win the show! And cardboard almost always looks like cardboard.

5 – Originality. Ok, the 400th Rorschach to show up to the con is probably just as good as the 1st, but none of them are going to win the contest.

Well, we’re getting close to the time when the internet shuts down here. So I’ll wrap this up here. And I probably won’t be Blogging next week, as I’ll be down in Atlanta for DragonCon. So if you’re near the Marriott bar, stop by and say hi!

And for those who missed the Saturday Night after party in Chicago, you missed me getting to meet Dan Logan who plays the young Boba Fett in Star Wars Episode 2.

It being a party, we were a bit loose, and I did ask him if it makes him feel like less of a man to know that his character will grow to be the most awesome bounty hunter in the Galaxy and yet will be taken out by a blind guy, and a guy who’s been a Jedi for a week and a half.