|
For 4 years, I helped run a Anime/Gaming convention in New Brunswick called Animaritime as staff member for the convention. It was more successful than my previous attempt at working with a Anime convention, Shimo-kon, which failed after one year due financial issues stemming from the convention being paid on credit cards. While Animaritime is very successful in the market it currently operated in, the organization has many of the same issues like most groups run by geeks and nerdy people. Why am I doing this? To Entertain and educate in a way. Conventions by nature are their own little vacuum for both attendees and the people who run them regardless of the subject. Anime conventions are biggest events in some people's lives for both attendees and staff. There are many hosed up things that happen behind the scenes and also during the con that will usually surprise many who haven't been to one. These can range from attendees that are batshit crazy, panels that went loving bonkers, and staff meltdowns. I will give honest answers to any questions people have about running a con and the many people who attend these events. Anything about my time staffing the convention is open to discussion, but I will not name people as I have some friends who still work with the convention. I will not name attendees as they can be really creepy and scope out stuff like this. I am open to financial questions as well but I can't give specific details about income and other figures. I started out with Animaritime in 2010 doing their accounting as a way to pad my resume for accounting positions in my last year of university with volunteer experience and a cheap way to attend the con since they would pay for board and food. The organization of the group was very different from anything else I have volunteered with. There were few people in the host city and all the staff members were from all across Canada. Meetings were weekly over Skype and followups were done over email during the week. Planning began in September till December and implementation began from January up to the Event in July. Being a new person among the Con's lifers and senior staff, I was kept an arm's distance until they met me at the convention. There is a known history of people who overstate their talents and end being very useless at the event. I really got to know many of the people I am still friends with outside of the con. I got drunk with people from our Industry guest (Spike Spencer)and life was good. My second year was even better. I met my current girlfriend that year and I got drunk again with our guest Chris Carson. He wowed me with his stories of living in Texas and doing real estate hunting with Spike Spencer in Compton. I introduced him to the food that drunken college students eat in East Coast Canada and passed out in his suite. At the end of this convention year, the founders of the con were stepping down as Chair and Vice Chair as they were starting a family. The coming year would be the first year without them at the helm, and we changed our event location from Moncton, NB to Fredericton, NB. This was the town I am living in currently, so my responsibilities then increased. My third year with the con is when the wheels started to come off. Because I was living in the host city and the only person with a car, I had more responsibility dumped on me as a result of it. It also began a flareup of my latent depression due to the levels of stress from trying to balance this and work along with my personal life. I was in doing venue, logistics, and anything else they wanted in the city. It became a cult-like devotion at this point as I was putting my personal needs before the convention. Everyone else was doing it so I didn't want to let anyone down by not following this lead. The meetings were less and less productive and the work environment was toxic at best. We then began to hire incompetency into the ranks to replace the senior staff who left due to the backstabbing and a lack of clear vision that results in poor decision making. Our convention was always small staff-wise and the growth of the staff was the biggest issue of the convention. Most conventions will have a 50 attendees to One Staff Member ratio to ensure smooth operations. Our con ran with a 100-200 to 1 ratio. The people we hired were usually high caliber and vetted by others in the organization. However, our new venue was larger and required quick growth of anyone we could get our hands on. They were next to useless, did nothing in the pre-planning were less than respectful to the organizational chart of the organization. The worst one was a guy I will call G because he was a model of someone with completely incompetence in everything he said and did (I will go into detail with him, trust me, I hate this guy). The stress grew but the convention went off without a hitch. My mental and physical health suffered from this, and my girlfriend was worried about me. She quit to get back into Brazilian Ju-Justiu and cosplaying more, which other staff members insulted her reason for leaving. The same problems continued but expanded to a unacceptable level. My last year was a nightmare. We kept hiring more staff members with various levels of skills. G made a giant mess and costs the organization money due to promises he made and the convention made but could not deliver. Our organization became very cutthroat as people were trying to jock for better positions off the back of others. My life balance was a mess as I was using every spare moment in my life to do things for the con. My girlfriend tried to pull me away from it all because it was destroying my relationships and my depression was getting much worse. Our date nights were me on the computer doing con stuff and her watching netflix. I never went out and did anything because I was just devoted to this convention. I ignored this and kept going. I fought more with my family and responded less and less with them. Then in February of 2014, I had a massive breakdown after planning to commit suicide at the end of the month. I opened up about my depression to my family and friends, and they were behind me with all their support. I started to listen to my girlfriend and began to pull me away all the destructive behaviors and focused on my well being. This caused me to leave the con for a month. Everyone freaked out because they piled so much on me that no one could fill the void that the convention made with I left. I started to do other things, along with therapy, and Judo was one of them. When I came back, I saw the convention with a different view as I was not clouded with the issues I had before. The staff expected me to keep doing what I was doing before without issue. I refused and asked for a reduced work load so I could have a life outside of the con to get better. I was given grief about this when the con expected people to take on more roles with the convention to help smooth operations. The con freaked out again when I got injured with a sprained ankle from Judo. My mobility was limited but it did not stop me from going to therapy and physio. They tired to put more work on me and again, I refused. All this work put into the convention was not resulting into anything meaningful and my disillusion began to set in. I was worked like a mule during the convention event. I was given no breaks and expected to count cash on my free-time. I was expected to be available at all times to do this. The only time I could eat was counting cash. I was not allowed to leave the event to go to Judo or get my girlfriend from her BJJ club. I broke down during the con due to only getting 10 hours sleeps in 72 hours. There was no way I could keep up with this. I was enjoying life outside of the con too much to have it ruined again. I quit soon after as it was not fun anymore and martial arts was letting me enjoy myself with something to show for it. I turning over all my stuff to the con and focusing on my life more. I officially left in October of 2014. Leaving was a big weight off my chest and I have no regret doing so. My depression is under control and being managed by good diet and exercise. My girlfriend and I are still together, even thought I get the strangest look when I tell people that I met her at a anime con and not at a martial arts meet. Despite my experiences, I still attend conventions a few times a year and they are enjoyable when you do it with the right people and for the joy of the trip.
|
#
?
Aug 25, 2015 21:35
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 26, 2024 17:21 |
|
|
I've read a lot of threads here about fandoms in general here on SA. I'd like to hear your thoughts on what it is about fandoms that perpetuate their leaders to combust and why it is that they ask so much for so little.
|
|
#
?
Aug 26, 2015 03:03
|
|
|
MC Hawking posted:I've read a lot of threads here about fandoms in general here on SA. I'd like to hear your thoughts on what it is about fandoms that perpetuate their leaders to combust and why it is that they ask so much for so little. Many will decry Fandoms and try to expose them as evil by nature and they ruin all that they touch, but in reality they are not. Fandoms are a weird sub-culture in the sense that they bring people together that normally would not interact with each other. I met most of my friends in College due to geeky fandoms I enjoyed at the time and still talk with them almost 10 years later. The issue with Fandoms that while it can be a communal experience as they are all people who enjoy the same media, there is a personal level of the fandom which the individual experiences. When the organization is loose, fandoms can allow for sharing of ideas and beliefs which leads to better connections to the members of a fandom, Leaders in these groups are usually people who are charismatic or manipulative to be put into that position as most are loosely organized without any kind of power structure. The people who become leaders are usually individuals who do not have the skills or abilities to maintain a group but want to have power over something as they lack this in their day to day life. When they become the leader, they usually put their own experiences as the important ones for the group and will push out the communal ones that do not met this. Most people in the group are passive and likely will follow the leader as they have the same views on the fandom or will adopt their individual views to maintain their connection to the group. Breakdowns usually happen when their reality is "attacked" by someone else so they will viciously defend it and isolate those who do not share the same reality as them. People who are heavily invested in a fandom do not venture outside of their comfort zone so they will not have a different opinion unless they want to leave or become a outcast for attention. This is the more common image of the fandom and they don't stray too far from the truth on this. Unlike most people who can just shrug something off like this, this becomes a attack on their identity as the leaders are so invested in what they believe in that they can't handle a opinion or view of a fandom in a different direction. They will make the meltdowns public because leaders want to get support/attention from as many as possible and to feel like their concerns are valid from the feedback that they will get from others. I have witnessed my fair share of meltdowns from people who are in the anime fandom from the cult of personalities they tried to make and most of time, it is about someone who does not live the lifestyle of the person who is melting down so they are the enemy. It was the same way I felt when I left Animaritime. The reason that they can ask for so much devotion for so little is because the stakes are low but artificially made to seem high by those who take the roles. From the onset, you are made to believe that this is going to help you get a job, you are helping the community, and all the work you do is very important. The actual output of the positions greatly vary with the majority of them having no output to show for all the time being spent on it. You can be chastised for not responding to emails as soon as you get them, even when you are work. I was repeatedly told to be more flexible for evenings meetings when I started to spend more time away from the Con after my breakdown. It was demoralizing to hear after I left the con when all the measures and processes I set up were removed within a week of my departure and being made for the blames for problems I never had a hand in at all. The majority of people who staff cons are people with little job experience, in post secondary school, or working a low end opening position i.e. Fast Food and Call Centers. The biggest selling point is that you can attend for free with hotel and food covered for all the work they put into the con planning. This results in people doing as little as possible to get the benefits and others to pick up the slack. When you are understaffed, you will normally keep these people because the amount of people applying to staff is a few at best and trying to keep your ratios is important for smooth operations. People who are unable to preform in pre-planning will normally be given jobs at the con like working the information desk or showing rooms. If you mess up there, they keep chipping away at what you can do until you quit. There are few times I hear someone get fired from a position with a con so they will give them the silent treatment until they go away. Some people do not get this so the passive aggressive treatment can go on for years.
|
|
#
?
Aug 26, 2015 18:18
|
|
|
MC Hawking posted:I've read a lot of threads here about fandoms in general here on SA. I'd like to hear your thoughts on what it is about fandoms that perpetuate their leaders to combust and why it is that they ask so much for so little. Based on the people I know and have known that are into "fandoms", I've developed a hypothesis.I always asked myself, "Can't they just enjoy the things they enjoy without making such a big deal out of it?" And I realized that no, they can't. It's all they have. Most people define themselves based on a few dimensions: Career/money, family, hobbies/interests. Some combination of the three results in a well-rounded, functional adult. Like, if you asked me to describe myself, I'd say a lot of things, but the specific television shows and films I enjoy wouldn't enter into it, other than as a broad cateogry, like "reading sci-fi and fantasy books" (or, as my best friend calls them, "virginity manuals"). They just don't rate very highly compared to all of the tangible things in my life. And for the record, I don't consider myself particularly well-adjusted. I just have a lot of poo poo going on that's more important than TV. If you have no career, no family, and no hobbies outside of consuming television/movies/video games, you naturally end up defining yourself based on the specific media you enjoy. But since they have such a dearth of things going on in their lives, they are incredibly tedious and obsessive. I'm pretty sure it's why there are so many super creepy and intense people in every fandom you can think of. Harry Potter or Star Wars or Japanese Fighting Mega-Robots or whatever is all they have. They expect that everyone else will have the same level of devotion as they do. I'll tuck the sociology and psychology 101 classes I took in college over a decade ago away now.
|
|
#
?
Aug 27, 2015 04:06
|
|
|
I"m jealous you got drunk with both Chris Cason and Spike Spencer. They are literally my two favorite voice actors. We have a big convention in my area called Naka Kon. It's a great Con but at 34 I feel oddly out of place there, and I'm not really connected to anime fandom like I used to, so I just don't go anymore. Naka Kon has a really great staff (for the most part) except there are few con staff that thing they are king poo poo of gently caress mountain. It always amazes me that these massive events can be run smoothly from the front end, while on the back end the world is on fire. I know you don't want to give out specifics, but what "range" of profit is there on these things? Naka had 8,772 people last year, if they average $30 a head (and thats being conservative since a 3 day pass was $50) thats a quarter of a million dollars.
|
|
#
?
Aug 27, 2015 04:26
|
|
|
SalTheBard posted:I"m jealous you got drunk with both Chris Cason and Spike Spencer. They are literally my two favorite voice actors. We have a big convention in my area called Naka Kon. It's a great Con but at 34 I feel oddly out of place there, and I'm not really connected to anime fandom like I used to, so I just don't go anymore. Naka Kon has a really great staff (for the most part) except there are few con staff that thing they are king poo poo of gently caress mountain. It always amazes me that these massive events can be run smoothly from the front end, while on the back end the world is on fire. Chris Cason is a sweetheart. Very nice with the fans and so personable with the staff. We were not suppose to drink during the con since we got up early every day but since you never get a chance to unwind, I usually took the Saturday night to knock back a few beers at a bar not too far from the hotel. Chris joined me and we got along famously. We had some attendees who were Bronies join us and he was just peachy about the whole affair. It was around the time where Bronies were still acceptable but they were still really cringy on how the related the show to everything. They all called each other "ponies names" and tried to give me one. I happily declined. Spike Spencer was a pretty big dick when I met him in 2010. He was single, and he brought along a PUA friend to get women for him when they are in town. He crafts a great image for the fans with his panels and appearances, but we got confirmation from other cons that he likes to drink....a lot. One of our staffers found him wandering the hotel drunk the first night he was there and was escorted to his room. After the con, he had a posse of locals that came to our "We survived Con" dinner and booze fest. He was really self-absorbed and tried to wow everyone that he went to Ireland and sells Real Estate. His PUA friend tried to get me to pick up women with his system, but I was too drunk to care. He has a girlfriend now and he is turned around 180 from what Chris told me. I got a picture with him on a old sd card I will need to dig up. I was really drunk when we took it so he was pretty joyful then. Cons have a pretty good profit margin as long as costs are tightly controlled and payments made in reasonable timeframes. I put on my resume that we made a 312% profit in our 2014 operational year. This was a improvement from only 7% the last year where we just broke even due to uncontrolled spending and non-complacence of budget limitations. The most expensive aspects of a con's operations is going to be venue, printing and guests. They make up a vast amount of a con's budget and can get out of control without proper negotiations and imposing limits on acceptable spending. The vast majority of why conventions fail is due to poor financial controls. If you want a example of how not to run a convention, read up on Dash-Con. It was a rolling train-wreak when the tumblr posts and internet news sites began reporting it on and it smelled funny to me from the opening reports. Many of the details about the hotel asking for money during the con, slap dash fundraising on site and not paying guests for travel and lodging at the event are all telltale signs that it was a terribly organized con with hidden motives. We are a smaller con with only 1700 attendees so our spending is going to be naturally less than bigger cons in Canada like Anime North or Hal-Con. Venue costs can be reduced when you agree to host the event for X years with strong going concern of the business. We can normally afford one big name guest and then we look for more local guests in the region because we have to cover travel, accommodations, stipends and anything else that they request on rider. Guests are pretty normal about the riders at time. Printing is usually for the guide booklets for the attendees cons are pushing for more digital use as our user base is very technically connected and Fredericton has city-wide WIFI they can use on tablets, cell phones and laptops to get their con information. Ithaqua posted:Most people define themselves based on a few dimensions: Career/money, family, hobbies/interests. Some combination of the three results in a well-rounded, functional adult. Cons love these kinds of people coming through the doors. They have a lot of disposable income which is a boon for vendors and artists as they love people who have fat wallets wanting to feed their love for the latest fandoms. This environment gives them a safe place to fulfill their fandoms so it just feeds int their obsessive nature. Casual Viewers do not have the attachment to the "hot new things" like the people who consume the media and will usually get things around the anime/manga that they really like. As a personal antidote, when I started to staff Animaritime, all I did was play video games and watch anime. My girlfriend did the same thing for the first year of our relationship but she bought a lot of manga too. We both spent $300 dollars on average at cons for merch from the vendor rooms and god knows how much yearly. When we got back into martial arts, our consumption of media reduced. Our spending at cons was greatly reduced as a result as I spend like $50 and she spend $60 at Animaritime when we attended it. The only time we watching anime is when we are doing daily exercises in the living room and I only buy video games when they go on sale. My girlfriend does spend more on cosplay, but she is taking Fashion Design so she is designing and making her own costumes.
|
|
#
?
Aug 27, 2015 19:55
|
|
|
Whiskey A Go Go! posted:Chris Cason is a sweetheart. Very nice with the fans and so personable with the staff. We were not suppose to drink during the con since we got up early every day but since you never get a chance to unwind, I usually took the Saturday night to knock back a few beers at a bar not too far from the hotel. Chris joined me and we got along famously. We had some attendees who were Bronies join us and he was just peachy about the whole affair. It was around the time where Bronies were still acceptable but they were still really cringy on how the related the show to everything. They all called each other "ponies names" and tried to give me one. I happily declined. Thats cool. I had about 10 minute one on one conversation with Chris Cason and he was really goddamn funny. He told this really funny story about Aaron Dismuke (voice of Al from the first Fullmetal series) getting stuck in the recording booth. It's apparently a fairly popular story because when I googled who the actors name was it was the first thing that came up. Thats really interesting about the financials of a con, I always assumed they were money machines and I'm glad to hear that well run ones can push a tidy profit. I was following Dash Con as it was happening and I would've loved to see the backroom areas and just see the chaos that was unfolding. I've been a believer for awhile that Dash Con was one big scam to make money from Tumblrites.
|
|
#
?
Aug 28, 2015 04:23
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 26, 2024 17:21 |
|
|
Did you get any free swag doing this? I worked as floor staff for a star trek con once, got a pair of sweet staff T shirts that look like TOS blue shirts.
|
|
#
?
Sep 14, 2015 22:48
|
|
