Since my Alice costume is finished ahead of time I would like to spend the time here talking about another very important aspect of cosplaying: the convention. Most often cosplay are exhibited at convention halls, hotels, and other large buildings. These are usually areas rented out for the entire weekend, with events starting Friday through Sunday. Some conventions even start officially on Thursdays. This past weekend I've gained the experience of staffing a small-sized anime event. And believe me-- it's not easy!
A convention takes a lot of hard work, and many staff members and convention attendees to make things happen. A lot of organization of scheduling, coordination must happen. I experienced creation of a brand new event this year in 2010, called Gobble-Con in Milford, CT. It took a whole lot of planning and money to make it happen. Not only that but the basic necessities are needed for it to be a convention: adequate staffing for all rooms, successful scheduling of events, organization of costume contests, craftsmanship contests, prizes, creation of certificates, scheduling special guest appearances, setting up, maintaining and returning necessary AV equipment and video game consoles... and lastly, the contacting of promotional business supporters like GameStop, Bandai, Funimation, and so on. I've seen a lot of hard work put in, and with a great success as an output.
Even though I had only minimal role in the convention I still experienced through other volunteers and staffers how much work and the level of caliber and leadership is needed for a convention to get on its own feet. There needs to be the creator, the person who helps contact guests like voice actors, artists, musicians, companies, businesses, vendors, and so on. Once the guests are situated they also need to be sure of when their panels will take place, and if anything else is needed for their time spent at the convention (like audio-video equipment or help with hosting their panel in general). A resident photographer/recorder is necessary for further promotion of the event. Competent and hardworking staff willing to spend their time to make sure things get done correct are also a must. A web designer to help promote the event, and business cards and other advertisements are also a bonus for getting word around for a small 1st year event. Forums on the web site is a must in order to help establish long distance contact of questions & answers, along with planned meetings. Some attendees will be travelling from out of state so it is important that conventions should be held in or near hotels for those who do not live nearby. Equipment not inside the hotel such as TVs, projectors, and video game consoles are "rented" out by companies like GameStop which take a lot of planning, as I had stated. Staffers need to insure that people do not damage anything including the hotel as they will be held accountable, and no drinks be near electrical equipment. The judging of contests must be fair and concise, along with prizes to be award to the positions of 1st, 2nd, 3rd place and so on. The staff need breaks eventually, and rotation of staffers is critical in order to make sure there is fairness with the area unless they specifically request to be in one field of their specialty (ie: audio-video panels).
In summary, a lot of hard work, time, effort, and money is put into a convention to bring it to a start. Then great guests, plans, panels, and entertainment follows. It is also important that anyone who registers for the convention to a) pay for an identification badge, b) fill out a waiver for possible accidents or property damage, and c) adherence to all rules and regulations or else they may be disqualified from contests, or banned from the convention without refund. A very important rule is for anyone under 18 to be accompanied by an adult when registering, and anyone under 18 to wear a special band so staffers know they are underage and therefore have restricted access unless parental supervision is met. Strict monitoring of every room and attendee activity is necessary to insure safe conduct at these events. The convention events and guests make up for all the usual boring rules and regulations. In conclusion I had an excellent time volunteering at my first convention, and it is a great experience to see a convention from the other side! :)
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