By Gabriel Neeb
This was a distinct con. The departure of main media entities (or “studios”) had the chattering lessons sure this spelled the finish for the San Diego Comic Con. How may the con go on? Whatever will turn into of Hall H? The world wonders!
Judging by the sentiments expressed at the Comic Con talkback in Room 23ABC on Sunday, the con not solely acquired alongside fairly properly with out Hollywood, it was a largely constructive expertise for a lot of of the attendees.
I knew this is able to be a distinct talkback when there was applause and cheering for the assembled members of the panel: Craig Fellows (VP of Operations), Eddie Ibrahim, David Glanzer, and Robin Duncan.
My suspicions have been additional confirmed when the first individual to ask a query – there have been twenty-eight individuals who rose to talk – said that this was a superb conference. A typical tactic of the crowd was to say what number of conventions they’d attended, with two gents claiming to have attended 52 and 51 conventions every.
That stated, there have been points that merited the concern of the panel. ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act)-accessibility points have been the most distinguished. One gentleman expressed an issue with the remedy distributors and safety confirmed in direction of people with disabilities, saying they have been both ignored or brazenly discriminated in opposition to (although one individual singled out Funko as one which “did it right”). The panel was not happy to listen to this and took word. They did say that the calls for made by the Fire Marshal, like having to take away chairs in sure areas, hindered their efforts in direction of ADA compliance. Other ADA complaints needed to take care of the scooter rental techniques, which required rented scooters to be returned by 7:00 pm regardless that there was important conference programming that lasted till 9:00. For as worrisome as these deficiencies have been, one gentleman stated that – as somebody that had made earlier talkback complaints – these complaints made in the previous have been remedied from one conference to the subsequent.
Although the notorious Hall H was calmly attended this yr, the query of metallic detectors arose regarding conference safety, as they’re solely used at Hall H and nowhere else. Glanzer fielded this one and stated that the metallic detectors exist not simply to stop malicious gadgets from getting used, but additionally to stop the “leaking” of proprietary footage from the studios exhibiting reels and trailers not prepared for mass launch. Glanzer understood the concern for safety however reassured the attendees that there are a lot of eyes all through the conference.
Like this one beneath:
Speaking of room utilization… as the conference had a handful of notable panels canceled, one attendee associated the story of how the Studio Ghibli panel in Room 9 had a restricted variety of seats (250), and a really lengthy line that prolonged onto the conference middle patio. With this in thoughts, was it attainable to make use of a bigger room left over from panels which were canceled. Ibrahim answered by stating that many panels had seen an uptick in attendance. Glanzer got here to the protection of Programming by utilizing a (fictitious) instance of there being more demand for a panel on the forged of The Expanse than say, “David Glanzer Talks About His Cats.”
The excellent news is attendees have been knowledgeable by the Ghibli personnel that the studio needs to return to the Convention and that sure, they want an even bigger room.
Other issues have been the merchandising for the conference: the firm Fanfare was cited as not having sufficient shirts for attendees to buy – one thing the earlier vendor (Graphitti Designs, who have been “on hiatus” this yr) was capable of do. There was a major problem with the Convention screening of the movie Talk to Me, the place attendees that obtained entry wristbands have been denied entrance as the firm A24 let in different ticket holders earlier than the Convention wristband holders (the panel requested the individual making the criticism to see them after the panel for additional data).
There was additionally a request that the conference concern and publish stronger tips relating to cosplay. Some folks have been seen taking inappropriate photos of cosplayers or bodily touching costumes and the wearers.
Library programming was talked about as having its most well-attended yr because it started.
The panel additionally revealed that the reason behind the hearth alarms on Friday was a burnt pretzel.
One of the final points raised, from a gentleman that met his fiancée at a earlier Convention, was about carpeting. I don’t use battle metaphors calmly, however the panel appeared to have a “thousand-yard stare” at the point out of this. There have been a number of points. Carpeting Is EXTREMELY costly; Glanzer talked about he thought a decimal level was in the fallacious place when offered with an early estimate. The quantity of carpeting wanted isn’t even accessible as that trade continues to be recovering from the pandemic. Lastly, when the conference is completed, it has to eliminate the carpeting it used, and that’s ecologically unsound. Robin Duncan hopes it comes again, however till then, it was urged that attendees spend money on comfy footwear.
The panel completed at 4:30 pm. Other talkback panels in the previous have lasted up till the final moments of the conference.
Miss any of our earlier SDCC ’23 protection? Find all of it right here!
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