by Animom on Mon Aug 17, 2009 7:11 pm
This was one of our first Anime Conventions, although we did just get back from the San Japan, and I wanted to mention a couple things. We were there with our son, but I wouldn't want a "parent's pass", I wanted to participate, and thoroughly enjoyed the experience and the participants.
1) We LOVED the size of the Animix, and the fact that it was self contained in one place, however;
2) You DO need another place. While I understand wanting to keep it in Killeen (and we loved Killeen), if you can't find another venue, I would suggest you look at someplace else close by for one year. DO NOT go to Austin, but what about Cove or Temple as suggested? I am not familiar with what they have to offer, but I think it would be better somewhere else close by for one year than to skip a year completely.
The Plaza was reasonably priced, but the heat was untenable and there is no place to expand...also, the rooms had no sound insulation value. In one room, we could barely hear the artist speaking because of the music in the next room. I did hear there was an ant issue...could the Plaza guarantee to overcome all these problems by next year? Were there other rooms available? Are they willing to replace the air conditioner? I heard some of the staff saying it was a chronic problem.
3) The guests were very interesting, but some of the panels were set up as Q & A's, and the actors seemed frustrated at times because no one asked the questions they wanted or expected (there were some embarrassingly stupid questions). It would have been better had they been given a topic to discuss (What it takes to become a Voice Actor, maybe?) for 2/3 of the time and then a Q & A.
4) The Airigami guy was a hoot and obviously loved what he was doing. He left his mark everywhere- and was great for all ages.
5) I would like to suggest a panel on Dollfies/BJDs. I saw a few and was really interested in knowing more. Does anyone have contests or a fashion show for these? Diversity in topics will widen your target audience. Look for something that might set your Con apart.
6) As to the AV room- I just wanted to say that it was better than the San Japan. I love good anime, but haven't watched a lot, so I enjoyed seeing something and then being able to identify more of the cosplay. My small experience has been that people walk by the AV room and stop if its something they love- whether its old or not. Even if we have seen it before, seeing it with others, or on a big screen is different. Of course, if you have something new to highlight at prime time- that's great too. Make or break---stick to a schedule and be prepared for those technical problems. They WILL arise.
All in all, I think you guys did Killeen proud. We had never been there before, and would be happy to come back. These kind of events in "small" towns are a boon to the economy and energy of the area. Look to some of the local businesses to support you. Did anyone check on getting any help from the hotel tax revenue? You might be able to get some money for advertising your event to out of towners. I know we dropped a few $$ in town while we were there. I notice that in San Antonio, some of the restaurants gave us a 10% discounts with our badges.
Hope something I said was helpful, I am definitely a newbie to the Anime Cons, but so are lots of others. Good luck and thanks for all the hard work.
