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newtypezaku

Member Since 02 Oct 2011
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Topics I've Started

Tekkoshocon X-2 Post Mortem

11 May 2013 - 04:17 AM

Tekko X-2 Post-Mortem Notes (April 21, 2013)

Quick Stats
* Largest attendance growth ever to date: +700 attendees to roughly 4000
* Staff: 150 staff, roughly 30 of which were no shows
* Down from 250 staff at X, which was down from 500 staff at IV

Post Mortem Procedure
* List all pros and cons on whiteboard
* All staff in attendance choose three from each side
* We discuss top three vote-getters in more detail
* Website is the "banned" topic: we know it sucks and are fixing it

CONS
* Needed staff org chart
* Needed individual staff responsibilities clearly enumerated
* Staff application form
* More signage, especially regarding hours in exhibit hall
* Lack of staff assignment pre-con (CHOSEN #1)
* Attendee complaint: lack of nearby/onsite food
* Unclear bag check policy
* Both staff and attendees weren't aware of Guidebook app
* Complaints about panelist reimbursement policy (Board of Directors is looking at this)
* Lack of general publicity (CHOSEN #2)
* Art show thrown together at last minute
* Paper forms for at-door registration suck
* Staff retention (CHOSEN #3)
* Staff accountability
* Guest bookings and announcements earlier
* Onsite communications equipment
* Shorter RPG sessions: 4 hours is a lot to dedicate to one event
* Locations of badge check
* Panel/art show supply issues
* Needed department responsibilities clearly enumerated
* Bag check needs more staff (4 staffers this year, 1 stolen from main events)
* Many forum complaints about prop check
* CCG sharing space with dealers and artists
* RPG in a separate room
* TekkoShowdown location (basically they swapped with RPG)
* Using rooms to fullest potential; schedule optimization
* Too many chairs in main events during concerts and dance
* Difference in operating hours for things in exhibit hall

PROS
* Bag check policy worked when properly implemented
* Good teamwork
* Excellent site: DLLCC had tons of space but felt full
* DLLCC staff was helpful
* Department synergy - people were flexible and shifted where bodies were needed
* Code Adam went well
* Pre-registration QR codes were handy (when they worked)
* Staff politeness (CHOSEN #1)
* Panel content
* Things running on time; schedule buffer helped with this
* Load-in and load-out were efficient
* Leadership best it's been in years
* Facebook/Twitter showing potential
* Good musical acts
* DLLCC layout
* 18+ content in RPG
* CCG attendance was up
* Attendees comments: "This was my first Tekko and I'll be back!"
* Parents and grandparents attending and reacting positively
* Staff problem solving and customer service (CHOSEN #3)
* Game room
* Staffers given time to unwind and enjoy the con
* Less staff/attendee tension
* Doubletree staff was very accommodating - they let us use their ballroom FOR FREE
* Con ops location and setup
* Robust press presence
* Tekko Baby Doll T-shirts
* Guests were happy; relations did well
* Tech crew
* No legal threats - not just a joke, ask the Wyndham
* Attendees were well-behaved
* RPG attendance up 72% over Tekko X
* Registration staff worked hard and long despite having half as many people
* Masquerade content keeps improving - KuroKiiro acts are getting polished nicely
* More community involvement (CHOSEN #2)

STAFF DISCUSSION
* This covers four of the six chosen topics
* Application process
- Issues
   > Department heads received staff on the day of the con with no prior warning
   > No way to distinguish staff that needs training from "unskilled" floaters
   > Too many underage applicants
   > Some duplicate applicants: they weren't notified of acceptance or denial
   > No shows, or people picking up a badge and disappearing
   > Perception that Tekko is elitist and only "friends" are on staff
- More responsibilities must devolve to department heads
   > Schedule staff around con events they'd like to attend
   > Take applications earlier and start email communication ASAP
- Possibly add a "Chief of Staff" to process and triage applicants
- Possibly hold recruitment events, standalone or at other PittJCS events
   > In same vein, maybe revamp minion system to get more people involved
* Staff Training
- Question: Do we need to identify people who know what they're doing?
   > Difficult to do. Skills can be taught. Need more people first.
   > Z story: tried to hold training for game room staff; nobody showed up.
   > People with right attitude will succeed if given chance to do their job
* Staff Meetings
- Attendance at general staff meetings low
   > 150 staff for X-2, maybe ~35 at this meeting
   > People are on all-staff email list and never get removed
   > X-2 staff didn't get onto d-list until right before the last meeting
   > Some staffers are out of state and can't attend
- Observation: general meetings are typically boring
   > Generally only department heads are needed
   > And even then, not all department heads have info pertinent to them
   > Maybe publicize meeting agenda ahead of time
   > Do we need to have these every month?
- Maybe incentivize meeting attendance?
   > Count towards hours for full badge or Hard Rock dinner
- All-staff meetings can be useful if some departments are overloaded
   > Departments need to be willing to ask for help
   > Some general knowledge can help personnel shift around as needed

PUBLICITY DISCUSSION
* Theme
- Is this information something people need early?
   > People plan cosplays around theme
   > Fanart for program, badges based on it. Need consistent message.
- Option: Let artists submit anything and choose theme based on entries?
   > Offer incentives to submit like badges or schwag
* Getting the word out
- Press coverage at event, but not before
- Recent networking event: 40 organizations, only 1 knew us
   > Couldn't pronounce or remember name, "Oh, you're the furries"
- Does advertising at nearby cons work?
   > Hard to measure success rate
   > One hand: people are probably aware of other cons in the region
   > Counter: 25 registrations at Setsucon, who didn't know we exist
   > Generally, get 1 response from every 30 fliers
- "Stickiness": just getting our name and logo out somehow
   > Table swaps, eventually we'll get recall if we go each year
   > T-shirts with the logo can spark interest, "oh what is that?"
- 501c3 non-profit status will help
   > Can get more involved with chamber of commerce, local businesses
   > Will be able to write off some of the costs for promotion
   > Maybe try Hulu?
* Can we get guests besides bands and American voice actors?
- Webcomic artists are off-mission and generally low traffic
- Getting Japanese guests is time consuming
   > Dealing with agencies can take more than a year
   > Would have to start now to have someone for 13
- 501c3 status will help with money
   > Guests charge higher appearance fee for for-profit shows
- Reputation and attendance are needed for manga-ka or seiyuu
   > We tried to get a seiyuu; show itself was 1500 short
   > Have to guarantee attendance of 400 at a Q&A panel
   > And this is for someone none of us had even heard of
- Can we start small, like with bands?
   > Initial attendance hurdle is too high to clear right now
- Tekko also falls near Golden Week, which makes scheduling tough
* Do we want a welcome video?
- Depends on who does it and how it's distributed
* Do we need both forums and Facebook?

COMMUNITY DISCUSSION
* Japan America Society interaction has been positive and growing
- Connected with a lot of teenagers at speech contest
- Appeared in their newsletter
* Dragon boats?
* Ran out of fliers at First Night
* Pitsburgh Art Show?
* Website banner swaps?
- Rebranding to tekko.us
- Crunchyroll, cosplay.com, guest websites... other suggestions?

KKF 2013 Staff Application

30 April 2013 - 09:40 PM

This thread is for staff information related to the 2013 KuroKiiro Festival.  If you will be 18 years old by the time of the show (dates to be announced) and would like to help out, please fill out the staff application form.  (This form is also being used for Tekko XII, but if you don't want to staff that show, you don't have to.)

Perks of staffing include badge reimbursement after a certain number of hours have been logged.  We recognize that you are sacrificing your time and effort to help the Festival run -- please let your department head know if there are specific events you want to attend so your hours can be scheduled around them.  We want you to have fun, too!

If more than 4 weeks pass after sending your form and you haven't at least heard back that we got it,  complain loudly until that's fixed.

General Staff Info Thread

30 April 2013 - 09:35 PM

This thread is for staff information related to Tekko XII.  If you will be 18 years old on April 5, 2014, and would like to help out, please fill out the staff application form.  If you will be under 18, you are still eligible to be a Minion.  Details to follow.

Perks of staffing include badge reimbursement after a certain number of hours have been logged.  We recognize that you are sacrificing your time and effort to help the con run -- please let your department head know if there are specific events you want to attend so your hours can be scheduled around them.  We want you to have fun, too!

Important dates to keep in mind:
* February 28, 2014: Last day to submit the staff application.
* March 7, 2014: At this point, accepted staff members should know what department they will be working in.
* 2-4 weeks after sending your form: You should receive a notification that your application was received.  If you don't, complain loudly until that's fixed.

Gundam, Politics & War in Mecha, Wits & Wagers, Tokusatsu...

08 April 2013 - 03:53 PM

This is me asking for feedback on four of my five panels:
  • Gundam in the Modern AGE
  • Tokusatsu Through the Ages
  • Politics & War in Mecha Anime
  • Otaku Wits and Wagers
I'm not going to bother asking for feedback on Japan and the Beautiful Game since only two people were there, but if you are one of those people, thank you for stopping by to listen to me blab.

I already got some good feedback on Wits and Wagers immediately afterward.  45 seconds was probably too long for writing answers and bets down, and cutting that time down would have made it possible to play a third round instead of resorting to audience games to fill the remaining time.  Heck, the game format itself might change since the Wits and Wagers Family ruleset is a lot simpler.

In addition to feedback, I'd also like any suggestions or recommendations for robot-related programming to run next year, or whatever else you think might be fun.

General Tekkoshocon X-2 Feedback

08 April 2013 - 02:20 PM

Please post any feedback you have regarding Tekkoshocon X-2: what went right, what went wrong?  Feel free to offer any suggestions you have.  Please try to avoid any arguing within the thread so that staff members can browse through here and more easily pick out action items for next year.

If you have specific things you'd like to call to our attention, or want feedback on specific panels you or your friends ran, feel free to create other topics within the Feedback forum.

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