Sam Carter/Amanda Tapping Discussion/Appreciation

[Chelle DB]

Oh I hope they don't write "Michael Jackson" then

Lol - now that would be just downright hilarious and scary!!!

[EH-T]

Really excited about this one...Three of SG1 on stage together...


Packing as we speak...leaving tomorrow first for 2 days with the family in Belgium, then driving over to Dusseldorf on Thursday for the weekend...can't wait!!...

Have also bought a Trio Photo Op as well....lot of Euros but darn well worth it imho...


Deeds xx

Very happy for you! If it weren't for work commitments I would definitely have gone to Fedcon. Hopefully there will be another chance one day. Enjoy!

[Fresh_Horse]

Did you notice that on the program (for the trio panel) they wrote Amanda Carter instead of Samantha?

Yep, that's what you get when you the convention is all about the money.
Also, I am not sure why they insist on using a rather old pic of Amanda on their site.

[neverendingimagination]

Anyone going to Fedcon, listen up!

On Saturday May 30th ActionforS4K and FishingforS4K (Two fundraising groups) are coming together for a live auction in aid of Sanctuary for Kids.

Please check out the flyer below. Signed merchandise up for grabs. Plus an online silent auction for a Helen Magnus Costume.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BolCMjWCQAAZPNJ.jpg

[cyced]

Can I ask a really stupid question? What actually happens at a con? I know there are talks from actors , writers etc- what do they talk about, are they question answer sessions, will they just do a talk about their show? Are there other things happening- displays of costumes etc? I really want to go to a con eventually and feel like a right twit that I'm not a 100% what really happens at them

[Skydiver]

It does depend on the con, but generally, there are the Q&A sessions....the actor on stage talking a bit, fans asking questions (really they do depend on the questions to fuel the conversation). Photo and autograph sessions that may be included in the ticket, may have an extra cost. These can take quite a while. If the con is well organized they know that they can get X number through in 4 hours, if they're not well organized or are a bit greedy they overbook the autos and photos and they can turn into marathons. Patience is the key here.

Many cons will also have dealers rooms, people selling their merchandise, usually official dealers of photos or memorabilia. How good that is depends on the con. These dealers are here to make money and may have paid a fee to be there so they want to know they're going to turn a profit. So they do tend to stick to larger cons.

There may/may not also be a charity auction of some sort or some sort of VIP event (pay extra to have dessert with the actor....but be realistic, it's you and 49 other fans or something like that, it's not going to be just you)

[cyced]

Thank you Skydiver! At least the mystery is solved and it does suggest the first con I try for I'll make sure its a bigger one

[EH-T]

Yep, that's what you get when you the convention is all about the money.
Also, I am not sure why they insist on using a rather old pic of Amanda on their site.

I have heard about the prices for Fedcon. Really is all about the money. Are you going anyway?

[EH-T]

Thank you Skydiver! At least the mystery is solved and it does suggest the first con I try for I'll make sure its a bigger one

Sky explained it all perfectly.

Whether you go to a big one or not really depends on the guest or guests you want to see. For example, if you really just want to see Amanda, then opt for her London Gabit event (next one is April, 2015). The ticket price includes 4 Q&As, photo and two autographs. Much more intimate and not so exhausting. Also, you will get much more of an opportunity to have time to talk to Amanda. Also, you can be in a lottery for the cocktail party and for 1 GBP have a chance at the raffle to have tea with Amanda and there are only 4 guests present. If you want to see multiple Stargate guests or guests from a variety of shows then opt for a bigger event. Be prepared though to spend a lot of time in line. Also, if you go to the really big events (San Diego ComicCon for example) then keep in mind you are not even guaranteed a seat in the hall for the Q&A and often spend a lot of time lining up just to get in.

I started small with Gabit and have been to a few of the Stargate cons. Gabit is still my favourite. Have not been to one of the really big events yet.

[Fresh_Horse]

I have heard about the prices for Fedcon. Really is all about the money. Are you going anyway?

Yeah but I am just going to meet the usual suspects.
Haven't been to Fedcon in 15 years but I was asked by so many people if I was going this year that I finally caved in.

The only nice thing I can say about Fedcon is that it was never a problem getting a table for a fanclub, free of charge and with very little bureaucracy (I simply wrote an email IIRC).

[AmberLM]

I've been to Gatecon and Gabit and can agree that Gabit was waaaay better! I waited in a queue for 8 1/2 hours (!!!) for a whole cast photo at GC and whilst I would do it again, it was very impersonal and at the autograph signings they were like "next! next! no photos!" (JR Bourne actually got told off by his "minder" for allowing me to take a photo with him hence why I love him coz he did it anyway )

Gabit is much, much better because it's smaller and more about the fundraising than making the big $$$ by charging the Earth for every photo and signature.

[Chelle DB]

With regards to cons, I've been to two of the Gabit events and had a lot of fun.
But this year the Adelaide OzCC was amazing. Had spent good quality time with Amanda at the cocktail party and the breakfast with 9 other fans was tops. Lots of opportunities to purchase many photo and auto ops which also meant more time with Amanda. Then when she was leaving on the Sunday, Amanda left her car to come over to us and say one last goodbye. Brilliant event.
Australia holds smaller events than the OzCC and they've been awesome. Like the Gate to the Sanctuary events. Small and intimate with dinner and plenty of photo/auto ops.

[Fresh_Horse]

Here's my take on cons: I went to my first con in '96, back then you paid to get a ticket. The ticket included at least one autograph with any of the guests.
Photo ops first appeared in '97 or '98. You couldn't get a photo if you were a day guest because they had to have the film developed over night.
One con I went to took polaroids. The prices were something like 5 to 15 Euros and the photos were smaller than the once you get today.

Then cons started to approach things differently. You paid to attend and then you had to cough up extra money for autos and even more for photos. They usually had photos they would sell to you so you could have them signed. When you brought your own photo you still had to buy one of their photos to have yours signed.

They also started doing the cocktail party thing or meet and greet. In the beginning it was the first 100 people who bought a ticket were in. Free of charge. Then they started charging for cp or m&g as well.

What some fans don't realize is that the actors get paid to appear at conventions.

The more you have to pay an actor the more expensive the con gets. What they do now is they pay the actors less but actors get a share from the photo/auto ops.
If you go to events like Fedcon where there is like 15 or so guests, it's up to you how expensive it all gets.

I went to a con once where the auction money did not go to charity. The organizer had done other cons before and there the money was always donated to charity. This one time however it wasn't and it really wasn't clear to me or a lot of other people until after the auction when we realized they weren't handing out a big cheque to anyone.
The organizer and some of his friends had just made a bit more money on the side by this.

Things like that put me off the big events.

[Frostfox]

I don't really 'get' media cons.
I've been a con goer since '82 (earlier if you count day cons) and SF cons just don't work like that. The main guests get free membership, a room, travel and expenses. Everyone else gets zilch. But then our guests aren't actors, they're mostly authors or artists or fellow fans. And all the authors hang out in the bar, it's the main socializing space. As an attendee, you pay to join the con (about £50 for an Eastercon?) then that's it, you are part of the con, free to go and do pretty much what you want.
Worldcon in August, eating up the whole of British fandom's time and energy, will be a big one, about 8 to 9 thousand! Rather a lot of hard work as every single person involved is a volunteer, we don't have any paid staff. SF fandom does con running for the love of it! And the egobo, of course!

FF

[XFchemist]

On my way to FedCon.
But I will get only 2 photo ops. That's all. It's bloody expensive!