Robotech_Master eyrie.org> shaped the electrons to say:

Oh you poor bastard. :-)

If you want to talk about it sometime we can get on the phone or Skype
or something. I did all the programming for AXNY and I've helped run
programming a couple of years at PMX. The hardest part you're going
have is permissions, it always is. Especially now with companies
going under and becoming harder to contact - like Geneon.

Tossing in some old shows as a theme block isn't bad, I've done it,
but keep in mind it can be harder to get permission on older shows if
the company isn't still around, or the rights have lapsed, etc.

One way to handle deciding what to show is to make the contacts with
the companies first, and then ask *them* if they have any premiers,
fresh titles that will just be streeting when the con happens, etc.
They *want* to show they're new and hot titles, because they're more
likely to generate sales from the con viewers who go home and want to
buy the rest. (Well, at least not the assholes who just go home and
BitTorrent the rest.)

Anything key factor is the con's guests. You, of course, what to
show titles related to the guests if at all possible. If you have
voice actors, ask for titles they're in, etc.

Yeah... We should talk. :-)

There are LOTS of little things you learn from experience - like NEVER
schedule shows back to back based on their run time. ALWAYS provide a
buffer - do something like schedule to 15 minute blocks, or even 30
minutes, and ROUND UP. Because you WILL need that buffer time for
switching discs, dealing with technical glitches, people coming/going
during the break, and just random crap. I've seen many cons get
burned by trying to pack every minute with programming - then one
problem fucks the whole schedule.

Speaking off - if there is a problem, DROP SOMETHING. The worst thing
you can do is disrupt the whole schedule. If a technical problem - or
anything - causes one title to get skipped, or to push the start time
too late to get it in - drop the title and move on. Better to have
one dropped title than piss off everyone by shoving the schedule
around. And maybe you'll find time somewhere else to show it, like at
the tail-end of the day or end of the con, etc.

Do your damnedest to have the titles in hand BEFORE THE CON. I've had
to stalk studio reps at con open to get titles from them that they
promised for the video rooms, going as far as having to go to their
booth and get them to give me copies off their table. That's
stressful. If you can do it, arrange to get the screeners in advance.

A related point - get backup screeners. Odds are someone will drop
the ball and you won't get a disc (or two, or three) you were
promised. With just one room perhaps the risk isn't as great. But it
pays to have backup. I always got more screeners than I had time for,
and kept the extras in reserve to substitute when shit happened.

Post the schedule at the door in a readable format. STICK TO IT.
Update it when forced, but keep disruptions to a minimum.

Control your screeners - do not send the whole con's screener stack to
the video room at once. Videos have a tendency of vanishing when that
happens. Dole them out - a few hours worth at a time. When you give
the room operator (if that isn't you) the next block, collect the
previous one. Some studios will want their screeners back, some may
let you keep them. Keep track of which is which.

For equipment I'm a HUGE fan of LCD projectors and simple screens.
Much easier to setup than a big TV, and you get a larger picture. You
may have to rent the gear, but prices are so low now that buying is an
option - of course borrowing works too if available. The nice thing
about screens is you can put them up high, against the ceiling even,
which helps everyone see. A TV, even up on a dais, tends to be too
low - especially if your showing subtitles. Screens are also a
godsend if you have to share a room with panels, etc, and need to move
things. Light and easy to move.

If you do have to share a room, set things up and mark the positions
with gaffers tape on the floor. Then the change is as quick and easy
as putting everything back on its mark, no futzing around.

Try not to counter-program things - don't run a creator's video
againstr their own panel, etc. Try to set things up so that people
with a specific interest can flow through the con without fretting
over conflicts "Do I go to the magical girl panel, or the showing of
the hot new magical girl show?! Why are they at the same time!" DO
counter-program in that you should offer content for those not
interested in the 'Big Event'. Personally I don't care for cosplay
and avoid masquerades, and I tend not to care for dances, concerts,
etc, at cons. Some cons go DEAD during these events, shutting down
all the other rooms. That's lame. There is no reason not to keep a
video room going, etc. (Unless the con has real space issues and the
video rooms get turned into the dance room, etc. That sucks but
sometimes that's life.)

Try to tailor the videos you're showing to the audience the con is
targeting. And as a general rule you start out with the more
family-friendly, G-rated stuff earlier in the day and slide up the
scale as it gets later. So that at night you might be showing PG-13 &
R level content - the violent action, the horror, etc. And, if so
inclined, there is the midnight madness hentai option. (Personally I
don't - I don't have a thing against hentai, I own a fair amount
myself, but running it at a con is risky and a hassle - you really
need to check IDs, etc.)

I'm a little scattered because I'm about to drop from exhaustion AND
I'm a little drunk... So I think that's all I can manage at the
moment, but we should probably talk.

-MZ