Jedi Council Forums - The Goods and Bads of CE

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Author	Topic: The Goods and Bads of CE
Darthsmuse Registered: Nov '04	Date Posted: 7/16/07 11:25am Subject: RE: The Goods and Bads of CE - Date Edited: 7/16/07 11:27am (2 edits total) Edited By: Darthsmuse
	My camera "went" sometime, complete with tightly adjusted strap from my wrist, within the five minutes I walked back from the toilets on the waterfront side to standing in the queue for the Celebrity Theatre for the second show on the Saturday i.e. circa 11.35 hours. -----signature----- http://www.myspace.com/darthsmuse
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IncomT65 Registered: Jul '99	Date Posted: 7/16/07 12:43pm Subject: RE: The Goods and Bads of CE
	I only went on Sunday and since it was my first real con, I took it all as I walked around the area. I thought about getting an autograph, but seeing the setup of that area and the long queues, I passed. The area with the Legos, Tantive IV and such was well spaced, but the dealer area wasn't at all, like others mentioned. Skywalker_1982 said ExCel should've used the entire hall, and I agree with him. Although I was only there on Sunday, I can imagine how Saturday must've been. Maybe ExCel understimated the number of visitors... What I liked a lot, was the number of kids who are SW fans. Sure brought back some memories of a long time ago, haha! And the Troopers did great with those kids. Very cool to see that. Still, I enjoyed the whole thing a lot and will definitely be there, if there's another CE. -----signature----- "This party is over." - Mace in AotC "Freedom is the right of all sentient beings." - Optimus Prime "Aayla Secura is one hot Twi'lek!" - IncomT65 "I sense a disturbance in the Force."- Luke "You always sense a disturbance in the Force!" - Kyle
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skywalker_1982 Registered: Dec '04	Date Posted: 7/16/07 2:50pm Subject: RE: The Goods and Bads of CE
	As I said this one was only really a tester from lucasfilm's behalf being the first star wars convention, I suppose you can maybe work out a average from the likes of memorablia and london comic con but as you saw it outgrew that. I think it would be only be fair to have the next one in another part of europe instead of london but to take in consideration the scale of the size of the hall,hotels and odviously international links. As its my third celebration I have found all the locations lack when it comes down to resturants and places to eat I mean everyone of them is either expensive hotel food or dennys,IHOP. -----signature----- TK8203 US PSN: Snowtrooper (main PSN) JAP PSN: djtwissb UK PSN: Stormtroopertk Wii code: 3769-0203-7850-9045
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ForceGhostOfCozmic Registered: Apr '05	Date Posted: 7/16/07 3:55pm Subject: RE: The Goods and Bads of CE
	Only problems I had with CE was the layout and crowds, I found it so hard to do anything when I wasn't manning the table. They really should have used more of ExCel. -----signature----- Come and join us at the FF-UK: North: http://boards.theforce.net/north/b10739/p1 My fan art: http://boards.theforce.net/fan_art/b10020/27139494/p1 Please check out my new Fanfic ~Updated: 05/04/08~ VV http://boards.theforce.net/the_saga/b10476/27665405/
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skywalker_1982 Registered: Dec '04	Date Posted: 7/16/07 4:51pm Subject: RE: The Goods and Bads of CE
	Oh yes the hyperspace lanyards shocked me the most. I took my passport to CE with me just for ID purposes to prove I am a member, I walked straight up to the booth and without any questions asked just handed me it -----signature----- TK8203 US PSN: Snowtrooper (main PSN) JAP PSN: djtwissb UK PSN: Stormtroopertk Wii code: 3769-0203-7850-9045
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jamesehomepage Registered: Mar '05	Date Posted: 7/17/07 2:03am Subject: RE: The Goods and Bads of CE
	This was my first convention and I was really disappointed by the queues to get in everwhere and getting around (I went on Saturday). I think they should have had more than one hall open, because it was way too crowded inside and hope they do this if they have another CE (which I hope they do). -----signature----- Visit My Star Wars FanSite; Coruscant At http://www.geocities.com/jamesehomepage Or http://www.coruscant.uni.cc Download My Star Wars Toolbar At http://coruscant.ourtoolbar.com
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Obi Anne Title: FanForce RSA Europe Registered: Nov '98	Date Posted: 7/17/07 2:05am Subject: RE: The Goods and Bads of CE
	Was the same for me, I just said that I were a HS member and got my lanyard, at C4 they at least checked that I was in the database or something. Anyway, overall I think it was a good show, and even if there was a lot of cues at least I got in to everything I wanted to see, which was a big difference from C3. Anyway here are some things that I thought of: Bad cues and crowds The logistics of getting 2000 people in and out through a single entrance was clearly not thought about. It took too long both to get in and out, which caused quite a lot of delays. And on Saturday there was a total chaos. I stood at the FF table when I saw that the guards were telling people that they wouldn't get in to the Anthony Daniels talk, at that point the cue was going to the official shop. Since I really wanted to go to the Rick McCallum talk I thought it was best that I got in the cue for that show already at that time. What happened was that when I got to the entrance to the AD talk I was among the first 900 and had to let around 1100 people before me. Then of course I was first in line but I felt that I would not go out of this cue since it was so crowded and I felt that I could just as well stand there than trying to get around in the crowd. But if the security guards hadn't started to talk about the AD being full, when it clearly was not, I wouldn't have had to be in line for that long. Overall the security people were clearly not very well informed about what was going on, and were quite rude to us when we tried to explain that we were in the cue for the show after AD. On the other hand they didn't even seem to know that there were different shows, since when I got back in for the costume contest they were asking why I was there again. Anyway a simple solution to some of the problems would probably have been to have a poster outside of the stage with the schedule and they could have had one guy, why not one of the volunteers, go with a counted and be able to tell people if they would get into the show or not. That's how it was done at C4 and there were hardly any cues because people knew directly if it was worth standing in cue or not. I also felt that many people in the cue didn't even know what they were in cue for, they just wanted to see a show. Also next time it would be good to have more space for everything, after this time it should be obvious that they can fill up more of the venue. other things I was really sad that there were no books or comics presence at all. I love going to panels with the people involved in the EU and get things signed from them. For me that was clearly a thing that took this celebration down a couple of notches from the US ones, and even the German ones. I'm guessing there might be some licensing issues in the UK, between Titan and Del Rey, but this was probably my biggest disappointment. The rapper, can't remember his name, at the Platinum stage was really bad. He destroyed the John Mollo talk, since he didn't have a clue about what he was talking about, or what people would be interested in. John Mollo is a costume designer, and while I was there he only got questions about what he thought of ILM work with CGI. The people doing the presentations should really be more prepared than he was. As a last thing I think that the celebrity stage had a problem with the fact that there no real walls against the main hall, it was disturbing that you heard the sounds from the outside the whole thing, especially when the film music was played. Good It was really cool guests that were there, having both Mark Hamill and Ian McDiarmid there was a real treat, and well worth everything else. The food situation. I know a lot of people complain that it was expensive, but it wasn't that bad, and compared to the situation at C4 it was so much better. There was a variety of food, and I don't think the cues were that long, except for Saturday at lunch. The store seemed to have worked well, and it was also great that you could buy the figures and some smaller things in the stands outside the store itself. The merchandise overall was much better than C4, I didn't have enough money but I just loved the t-shirt designs. That was a job very well done. So I hope that's a big of both the good and bad, and hopefully the next time the good things will remain and the bad things can improve. -----signature----- "That is the beauty of grand opera; you can do anything...as long as you sing it" Anna Russell
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Lord-Tice Title: FF-UK: London CR FF-UK Webmaster Registered: Aug '01	Date Posted: 7/17/07 2:44am Subject: RE: The Goods and Bads of CE
	I agree with pretty much everything said here. I actually liked the exhibition hall being open planned with the dealers, fan area, artists & exhibitors sharing the same space. People posing for photos did cause blockages but from the POV of the fan area, it meant we got great exposure which might not have happened if we had our own little room. And while the food was a tad expensive, the options were great and for a convention centre, that's a very rare thing indeed. Plus Canary Wharf isn't too far away which has many eating options and supermarkets. What I also liked about ExCel was that it was like a mini-city complex so when you walked around in the evening, there was a great atmopshere as you knew everyone around you was a Star Wars fan. It's fair to say Lucasfilm underestimated the demand for this show, hence the cautious approach (and it was cautious) but now they know what to expect for the future. If you build it, they will come! -----signature----- My Youtube showreel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsB1eBjUNwI FF-UK:L http://boards.theforce.net/Board.aspx?brd=10419 Monkeys are great!!
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ForceGhostOfCozmic Registered: Apr '05	Date Posted: 7/17/07 3:27am Subject: RE: The Goods and Bads of CE
	Aye, bring on CE2 -----signature----- Come and join us at the FF-UK: North: http://boards.theforce.net/north/b10739/p1 My fan art: http://boards.theforce.net/fan_art/b10020/27139494/p1 Please check out my new Fanfic ~Updated: 05/04/08~ VV http://boards.theforce.net/the_saga/b10476/27665405/
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IncomT65 Registered: Jul '99	Date Posted: 7/17/07 5:01am Subject: RE: The Goods and Bads of CE
	I second the wish for a second CE . Wouldn't mind if it were to be held in Amsterdam -----signature----- "This party is over." - Mace in AotC "Freedom is the right of all sentient beings." - Optimus Prime "Aayla Secura is one hot Twi'lek!" - IncomT65 "I sense a disturbance in the Force."- Luke "You always sense a disturbance in the Force!" - Kyle
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TwiLekJedi Title: Classic Trilogy Manager Registered: Jun '01	Date Posted: 7/17/07 6:50am Subject: RE: The Goods and Bads of CE
	I pretty much agree with everything said and there seems to be a consensus about it anyway. Bad queueing setup, bad use of space for everything - they could have put the autograph hall someplace else and move some stuff over there and it would have made a world of difference! The Saturday was bad, the Sunday almost felt relaxing in comparison! I really hope they take that as encouragement for a 2nd CE and expand it. And of course I have to agree with Johanna on the complete lack of EU people. It's the only thing I consider worth signing (not much of an autograph person) and it's a lot more up to date than a 30 year old movie (only half-considered asking one question in 8 panels or so). The closest thing to that was the Force Unleashed panel. IncomT65 posted: What I liked a lot, was the number of kids who are SW fans. Sure brought back some memories of a long time ago, haha! And the Troopers did great with those kids. Very cool to see that. QFT! That was the best thing I hadn't considered beforehand (unlike FanForce, guests, exhibits/merchandise, etc.). I was all like "oh, right, there are kids, too". I loooooved all those children in their cute, clumsy little costumes, especially those pyjama-like Clone Trooper things Though the Jedi robes were lovely, too and I thought some of them were pretty well done, too (though I don't know much about costuming, let alone making them). but then again, that's hardly to the organizer's credit -----signature----- We do what we must Because we can For the good of all of us Except the ones who are dead
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Emperor Pinguin Registered: Jan '00	Date Posted: 7/19/07 1:02am Subject: RE: The Goods and Bads of CE - Date Edited: 7/19/07 1:03am (1 edits total) Edited By: Emperor Pinguin
	Besides some SW weekends at Disney MGM, this was my first SW Convention. If it wasn't in London I was going to the C-IV in the USA. Good stuff there. Toys, lots of people in costume, good talk shows (Warick Davies is good, saw him also two years ago in Florida). The new video game and the new TV shows!!! Also some less good stuff, as mentioned above queing, hot, crowded. Worst interview is the one woth the costume designer, hope they do not ask that interviewer back! Overall, good times and good experiences. Hope that there is going to be a shift from the OT to the PT, TV shows and EU. The cast and crew of the OT are getting on a bit, so time for new stories from other people. Contacter the 501 at the Fan Stage (stage being a big word for the cube they had....next time a REAL stage please!) and will join up once I have found and made a Trooper armor. See you at C-V or CE-II!!! EP Oh, almost forgot. THE FANBOY MOVIE ROCKS!!!!!
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moosemousse Title: CR - FF:UK South Registered: Oct '04	Date Posted: 7/19/07 8:03am Subject: RE: The Goods and Bads of CE
	CV and CE2 will be great. Hopefully I'll be able to go to both. -----signature----- Vader's Mousedroid Society Fanfic links in my bio My fan art: http://boards.theforce.net/fan_art/b10020/26961879/ Bei der Instalation ältere Versionen aktualisiert # Boards: -1 \| # Messages: -1 (-1 today)
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CARBONITEKID Registered: Apr '05	Date Posted: 7/19/07 8:43am Subject: RE: The Goods and Bads of CE
	Emperor Pinguin posted: Contacter the 501 at the Fan Stage (stage being a big word for the cube they had....next time a REAL stage please!) and will join up once I have found and made a Trooper armor. If you need any advice etc feel free to give me a shout . Rache can vouch for me. Matt/ TK2388 -----signature----- Missing......Presumed fed. [img http://www.ukgarrison.co.uk/sigs/tk2388.gif [/img]
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duanekemp Registered: Jul '07	Date Posted: 7/20/07 3:50am Subject: RE: The Goods and Bads of CE - Date Edited: 7/20/07 3:53am (1 edits total) Edited By: duanekemp
	Ray Park - Darth Maul Warwick Davis - Whicket (On Sunday Obi-Wan Kenobi) Duane Kemp - Qui-Gon Jinn This is the single most amazing experience I enjoyed during the weekend. For a reinactment of the Episode I fight sequence there was a search for someone with a beard to play Qui-Gon Jinn. My wife’s hand floated over my head in view of the searching Ray Park which drew his attention. “You in the bandana.”. I was apparently the only one with a bandana. I stood up an began to undress my abundance of superflous video and camera equipment. Master of Ceremonies, Warwick Davis, remarked that we didn’t have all day. I rushed the stage, shook their hands and presented myself to their mercy. I am honoured to say that I was killed on stage by Ray Park as Darth Maul while in the role of Qui-Gon with Warwick Davis in the lead as Obi-Wan Kenobi. The moment passed much too rapidly and unfortunately, it was after the event took place that I wished I said something to Ray Park like, “Your Shwartz is bigger than mine but, my midiclorians are more masculine.” See photos of this at http://www.kemppro.com/starwars_2007/starwars/Gallery.html Fallowing the fight, there was a questions and Answers segment of the show where I publicly asked if I could have the Lightsabre I used on stage but, to no avail. I promised myself to not buy any new toys since I’m now trying to sell my collection - not add to it. But, boy, I sure wish I had a light sabre. They are so cool! That day I met other actors and made some great contacts and actually ran into Warwick later in the main hall. All in all, it was quite the day for me. It’s good to get out a bit! There are several clips available on Youtube and links here provided by other fans who were present during the show. I am seeking out anyone with video footage of this fight sequence. If you have some, please contact us here. I have written Warwick Davis and solicited the help of a friend of his to obtain an official copy recorded by Lucasfilm at the event. Will keep you posted if I receive a copy. We are building a site about Celebration Europe and it's success at http://www.kemppro.com/starwars_2007/starwars/Welcome.html We are also searching for anyone who has real good, clear video of this reinactment. If you do, please contact me directly. Thank you and may the force be with you. And if you're interested, Here's a parody I made in tribute to my love of Vader and comedy. http://www.kemppro.com/starwars_2007/starwars/Film%3AVader%27s%20Bad%20Day.html Have fun.
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