This will be long as there is a TON of information but I'll try to keep things broken down in to categories so you can find what you need:
HOD IN GENERAL
This is not your typical convention. It was best described as a mobile amusement park. It's basically two items - things to look at (and drool over) and things to do. There is very little in the way of stuff to buy, with the largest vendor being the show itself. I liked that very much. It seems much more like a gift to fans rather than a spend all of your money sort of event. FYI - you can buy clothing and then get a name added to it right on site for another 20 bucks. There are a couple of clothing items (specifically the black men's pull over and the women's black zip up) that for whatever reason they aren't able to do the names on them well so they stopped doing it. But the grey hoodie works like a dream as do the t-shirts etc.
It is NOT large. But it is beautiful. The attention paid to even the smallest detail is amazing.
There will be lines. Expect lines. Don't be sad about lines. Line up with friends and make it part of your event. The stuff you're lining up for is worth it so don't let the lines get you down.
Autographs are really limited. Remember it's a human sitting there and signing their little hand off for free so be respectful and don't register your disgust around the world via social media if you're unable to get the signature you want. Remember, I said they are free.
Be ready for changes to be made on the fly and once in awhile it might impact you in a way you're not happy about. They did their very best during the Orlando show to learn as they went and make adjustments for the betterment of overall experience. They listened constantly. They watched all the time. They did their best and will continue to do so. The top execs even stood in line for some of the experiences - one of them for 2 hours - just to make sure they were doing everything they could. Sometimes though the change they make impacts you directly. Don't let that ruin your day. Accept that they are doing their very, very best. It's not often you can say that about a convention of any kind so remember to look at the over all big picture.
405th BOOTH
This is incredibly important so I'm going to say this many, many times. The booth that Robb (
Asgardianhammer) built is designed so that it all packs back up in to the crate. That means that lots of it is in many separate pieces. FOR THIS REASON I'M GOING TO YELL HERE SO EVEN THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK HEAR - NO ONE IS TO ASSEMBLE OR DISASSEMBLE ANYTHING WITHOUT THE DIRECT INSTRUCTION OF THE PERSON IN CHARGE OF SET UP AND TEAR DOWN. I know especially with tear down it's in all of us to want to jump in and help out to reduce the load and get everyone out of there as fast as possible, however, we can't do that. There is a high likelihood that stuff will be damaged and we have no ability or time to get that fixed for the next show. Do not make the person in charge have to argue with you or constantly have to watch what everyone is doing. Just let them do the things in the order they need to be done and in an organized manner. Wait for specific instruction from that person and that person alone.
There is a plexiglassed box on top of the booth that is intended to display helmets or other props. Again - the person responsible for set up and tear down is the ONLY one (unless they specifically task and educate someone else) that will be opening that box and putting items in or out. There is a step ladder included in the crate for this purpose (as well as for set up and tear down). That step ladder can be folded up and stored under the table in the booth or even in the back change area. NEVER LEAVE THE STEP LADDER OUT. It is a hazard.
The crate has power. That power needs to be turned off each night when the show closes so we do not overheat anything.
The crate also has a TV and plays a loop of photos. That definitely needs to be turned off each night.
The Sticky Bomb toss was very popular but it is hard to play. The bombs are a little too heavy and the velcro not sticky enough so they mostly just bounce off. People didn't seem much to care but it certainly needs some revisions to try to make it more playable. Those sticky bombs will disappear so they can only be left out while we have someone working at that station. If there is no one working, the bag can simply be moved to the change room or under the main booth table until there is someone working. The danger with this station is making sure to go after any bombs that go through the curtains so that no one trips on them. They don't always go through but they do from time to time. They also get caught in the curtains - the velcro certainly sticks to that!
The targets themselves need to be checked each night towards the end of the event (and really preferably during the day as well) for any velcro that is pulling off. We tried CA glue which definitely made it stick but it also bled through and left a white residue on the front side of the velcro (we coloured it in with marker so you can't see it now). Hot glue however seemed to do the trick.
The location of everything will be different in all future stops of HOD. The biggest change is that we will be inside with the main exhibit. In Orlando we were out front of the exhibit hall. I think it worked well but the organizers were very apologetic. I don't think we ever heard what the reason for us being outside in a different hall was but they do very much want us inside at all of the upcoming events.
The next biggest change will be the photo op that we didn't know they built for us. Some of you have likely seen photos of the really fabulous area that was facing outside of our booth that has a back drop and faux rock wall and plants and big containers. We didn't know until half way through Friday that it was for us. Given the set up however, staffing was an issue so we ended up not really using it. The next shows will have that display on the inside and beside out back drop photo op areas, which gives us 3 locations for photos all in a row. I'll tell you why that's important in the staffing section.
There was a curtained off area for us and members of the public to gear down and relax for a bit. We knew that would be there. What we didn't know was that area was going to be full of some super comfy couches! We've recommended that area be opened up. It's still useable for people to hang out and relax but you can watch all that is going on in the booth at the same time.
The Cosplay Hospital for those of you who haven't heard yet is to be manned by us. I made a list of stuff we'd need and they ordered a lot of it. There are two big totes inside the 405th crate that have most everything we could need to make quick repairs. Glues, strapping and buckles, foam, snaps, scissors, xacto knives and cutting board etc. We affectionately referred to it as the Mary Poppins Bin, as it must be bigger on the inside to hold that much stuff. Also usable - Hermonie's bag or a Tardis - whatever fandom you prefer. They forgot to get signs printed for this area so hopefully we'll have those at the next show. In the new set up we have it curtained off with the short 3' curtains so it's visibly an area but people can still watch and see what we are doing. We are the ones that fix stuff - we don't allow anyone but us to use the supplies. And we need to be conscience of keeping the area clean. You don't want to set the next person's armor down in glue accidentally. There is plastic sheeting to put down should the table get messy. There are face masks to help with the glue stink. And there is a big box of bandaids - just in case.
There will also be an area that is the main booth. This will have the flags in the back and the large crate display and our information table in the front. We ran in to some issues having the backdrops with this area which again I'll mention in staffing, so it should make it easier for people who want to talk to us to be able to do that.
STAFFING
We really do need all hands on deck as often as possible. We got slammed sometimes with people wanting photos etc. and with the backdrops in the same location as the information booth AND people wanting photos in front of both backdrops, we ended up lots with booth spaghetti. So the new arrangement with the area for lines and then the three photo ops in a row means that we have a flow of people and will end up more with....I dunno....booth lasagna - nice and organized - instead of the tangle of booth spaghetti. With the photo ops you need two sets of people - people in armor and people there to take photos. I think if you plan on having as many as possible in armor for the first couple of hours of the day when VIP and then the regular passes come in AND two people to take photos (one for the large photo op and one to take photos at both backdrops) you should be covered. IF you have weapons/props that you are going to allow people to borrow for photos (and that definitely is not something you have to do) but if you do, you'll need a weapons/prop person as well to handle giving them out and getting them back. I would suggest that the props only be given to people at our backdrops so that weapons/prop person only has one location to watch and deal with.
If you end up getting slammed with people and you don't have the staff to cover people at all of the photo ops, simply reduce down to one and keep it simple. We do not have to struggle to keep all three staffed all the time.
There will be times when the booth will be dead - usually this is during large panel times on the main stage or during the costume contest. Shut down the sticky toss and just have a couple of people in the main booth area to answer questions.
CHANGES
Changes happened constantly. And we were given opportunities to do things - like present some thank yous to Jen and Steve on stage before their panel and another time they took everyone in armor to the warthog and removed the stanchions around it for great photos. These opportunities aren't guaranteed to happen. If you see something that you would like to do, ask your POC and have them ask the organizers. I don't want 40 people going to them at 40 different times. They are open to all sorts of stuff but do it only through the POC.
Accept that you might be standing in line somewhere or perhaps be changing at the time something exciting happens on the fly. You aren't likely going to be able to do all of the fun stuff. Don't get mad because you missed it. It literally happens that they come to the booth and grab whoever is available so just accept it and move on. Everyone will do their best to reach out to people when there is advanced notice so keep in touch with the booth and with your friends for things like that. But nothing can be done about the last minute stuff.
COSTUME CONTEST
90% of the people in costume in Orlando were our members. Therefore most of the contestants in the costume contest were our members as well. The show was scheduled to be in the main panel room and starting at 7:00. After many changes it ended up being on the main stage (which was very cool) and they started it at 6:00. Prejudging happened between 3:30 and 5:30 ish and the prejudging happened in our booth which was fun to watch. When the contest started there was literally no one in the booth but Dakota, Kevin and I (and a bird - long story) for the entirety of the contest pretty much. But you can't leave the booth unmanned so you must have a couple of people willing to miss out on seeing it.
If you are going to be in the contest do not schedule yourself for any shifts in the afternoon. Assume that you're going to have the first 3:30 time slot for prejudging and need to be in your gear for that time. You won't know your prejudge time until during the day on Saturday when we get the list to sign people up for that. If you end up with a later prejudge time you can always do time in a photo op area (which we'll greatly appreciate) while you wait to do your prejudge, but keep in mind that you're going to be in your gear the whole evening so plan accordingly.
CHANGE ROOM
There is a change room for us behind the main booth. It isn't very big but it worked just fine. You can store your bins back there but try and limit the amount of space you take up. We've asked for a few tables to help out with putting smaller stuff up top etc. but we have to work together to make it not get over crowded. There are the couches and also round tables out front for everyone to sit and relax in so try not to hang out in the change room. Leave that just for changing please and thanks.
There is no private space in the change room so please either come in your undersuit or use the washrooms. And for the love of pete take your undersuit home at night and throw that sucker in the washing machine or wash it in your hotel room tub if you plan to wear your gear again and leave your bin open to help let things off gas over night. A change room that smells like a hockey locker room by midday Saturday is gross. So everyone please do your best to reduce the stink. FYI - Shower in a Can is not a good substitute especially in an area with several people. The noxious cloud that forms could be hazardous to us all, not to mention those with sensitivities to scents. And no, I'm not referring to situations that happened in Orlando but rather to 16 years of change rooms. We all do our small part and everyone stays happy.
Anyone that can bring bottled water to share is much appreciated. Talk to your POC and let them know if you are able. We all need to keep hydrated! When the photo ops are busy, be sure to bring water to the costumed members AND the people taking photos. They all usually need to be reminded to take a break.
MORE CHANGES
The changes are still happening - there is potential that we will be doing our panels within the booth and that they'll build us a little stage for that purpose. We'll sort this out in Philly and see if it works and then pass on the information for Chicago etc.
SHIRTS
All of you who have signed up to volunteer should by now have provided your shirt size to your POC. If you have not, please let me know IMMEDIATELY. I need to get that information to them today. For anyone who signs up after today, I apologize but you won't be able to get a shirt. They are trying to get these printed for us by Philly so that everyone has them for the event. This is something nice they are doing for us so please, please, please, don't be upset if you missed out and do not complain to them or on social media about it. We are doing our best to incorporate everyone we can who has already signed up.
QUESTIONS??
If you have any questions about anything here or anything that you think I've missed, please post it here. The Orlando crew did an AMAZING job as the guinea pigs so the rest of the locations have some extremely big shoes to fill. They ran like a well oiled machine and rolled with the changes smoothly and without complaints. Their efforts were very much noticed and commented on by the organizers and 343. They made me VERY proud. Hats off to the Orlando crew for a job very, VERY well done!
I'll just pass on this comment I have received from Community Manager, Sarah Campbell -
It also bears repeating, y’all really do make such a tremendous positive impact. A lot of the folks who just didn’t ‘get’ the community, or fandom, or cosplay, suddenly DO now, and a great deal of that is thanks to you.
Well done everyone. Seriously, you're the best!
). Because of this situation the security wouldn't let me in the last morning, but we got it all figured out! They were also very patient and kind about the situation
www.405th.com
