Yes- it was crowded again this year, and despite being able to make it for only 15 minutes on Friday and whole day Sunday and Saturday, I still managed to have a decent amount of fun in the congested con!
The 401 traffic Friday afternoon was killer and pushed me back more than I’d like, I barely made it in time to pick up my badge and see things and people! I first hunted down Alex and her booth, however the reunion was cut short as Ackson entered the stage and we all chatted. Everyone was packing up and leaving at that point (closing time). I was hungry and there was an awesome dinner waiting back at her house!
I left Saturday morning to make it in time for ten o’clock entry, I immediately scoured the dealer’s room for anything and everything. The layout was different and made to accommodate even more people, but I’m wondering just how long until both the south and north building will have to be used concurrently, as the South is literally exploding being over capacity. I still have certain areas extremely bottle-necked and raised an eyebrow to the layout…
I went over to see Mike and Jay from RedLetterMedia and fanboyed a bit over them, their stuff if highly hilarious and educational. They’re fraud VCR repair-man who milk an old man out of his money while reviewing movies at his place. Check it out.
I found it rather difficult finding or locating people at the convention this year, there was no real “Relaxing” area, there were booths everywhere! I went and lined up to play some Halo 4 mid-day, the system had to conveniently crash as my group started playing, had to wait almost 10 minutes to get that repaired. Overall it was interesting, but I didn’t get enough time to feel the controls out and all the options. This game really takes details to a new level, with almost no time to check what’s what. Load-outs, menu options and everything else is on a more complex level, and this I can see some time getting used to.
I attended the masquerade Sat night, I triiiied taking some photos but the lighting was poor, I was a bit too close for my 85 lens, and the entrants walked on stage from my side, meaning their backs where towards me. The photos are nothing like the ones from AN. I’ll need coordinate and plan a little more if I’m going to photograph any more masquerades. Two things I noticed, a lot of master-level costumes were actually novice/journeymen level, which is crazy on the quality of their costumes/props; and the other thing is how little anime-related skits there were, perhaps two or three before I had to leave at 10 o’clock. Where did I leave to you may ask? With Chantal, her BF and other friend to Korean Grill house for food!!! I’m glad someone understood my hunger at that point and said yes, woot!
Sunday I brought my comically-giant camera again and everyone’s head and eyes glaze over the beautiful Nikon D4 pre-prod wood model with its 11-400mm f2.0 VR lens. I was asked for several pictures both days and received many compliments/comments asking if it was real. It’s not. It just seems to be something that makes anyone do a double-take on it. I enjoy seeing people’s smiles : )
I met up with the awesome Jack from Rooster Teeth and talked with him for a bit, love the guy's voice. There's new and old people that I've run into and its always nice to see and meet.
To wrap-up, I had a fun time, with a single photoshoot which shall be posted later, weather was decent for what little traveling was required, and people/staff were actually fine, no complaints on anything that I witnessed. I also attended the Reboot panel on Sunday which was awesome, hosted by Gavin Blair (Who’s Reboot booth (with Jim Su) was two over from my GF Alex’s!) and Dan Didio who told some funny stories about Reboot’s history, production recounts, and answered fan questions. Awesome childhood memories.
I’m hoping Hobbystar will make the alleyways a little wider in the dealer’s room to help traffic flow next year, and maybe even hold some stuff in the north building as the south building is evidently struggling to keep everyone in there!
So check out the photos (which are honestly a little lackluster due to venue, not true for Photoshoot though ) and leave a comment on anything.
Edit: Photoshoot is up!
Thanks for tuning in!
Mike