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Arisia '08 - August 2007 ConCom Notes

A08 concomm

August 19, 2007

MIT, 2.30pm

Hotel

  • The corkage waiver with the hotel suggests that we can bring our own alcohol.  But it's better to hire their bartenders, avoid liability.
  • Tell hotel that when the Art Show is closed, we will be having a sleeper on 16 to make sure that no one, including hotel staff enters the area. 
    • We'll need a cot (will the sleepers actually be sleeping?).
  • Remind the hotel to tell us how many rooms they will need for their people (including on-site elevator repairman, visiting staff, ...).
  • Murphy bed rooms connection to king on quiet end of 2 might be useful for some groups (Higgins, 501st, Robot Guy).
  • Staff on 4 & 5, make your reservation ASAP & email innkeeper@arisia.org with your conf. # & preferences.
  • Hotel will get rooming list approx. 3 weeks precon, and can order fridges/cots/etc. then.
    • For A'07 the hotel had enough mini-fridges for medical requests.  If we need more, we'll need to let them know three weeks in advance.
  • Resume (room setups, changes, ...) is due two weeks before the convention.
  • Zambia issue: sometimes one room can be two rooms: schedule air wall closings.
  • Phi wants to fit hotel food requests into Zambia.
  • Innkeeper table needs better signage, more light, perhaps move it to one of the niches next to the escalator, but within sight of the Front Desk.
  • Info Desk needs to be closer to reg, fan tables & freebies will move 
  • Escalator signage: Edna w/ "NO CAPES" x2 (or perhaps a picture of a cape being pulled into a jet engine)
    • Other suggestions "Show your ankles" (long dresses are also vulnerable to the escalator's appetite).
  • No apparent movement on the hotel altering gift shop and coat check; keeping an eye on it.
  • Parties will be stacked in suites (starting at 11th floor)
    • Use the BU Lounge for parties?  It has a glass door, so it may not be ideal for closed parties.
    • Tech party in 14?  Add comfy chairs to resume (from 12?)
    • Need a way to separate FT stuff from masq stuff
    • Suite request deadline 10/1
    • Balcony room = active king, email hotel
  • Need early resume requests (by 12/1 latest, preferably by end of Sept.)
    • Especially wrt money, food we need to know NOW as it effects budget
    • Look at the budget online for more info, check line items
  • Need Green Room door guard (Green Room is opposite elevators)
  • Elevator situation: do we want attendees? Express elevator? What are they able to do?
    • Don't respond to calls AT ALL (can't be abandoned, or it'll be lost) -- needs operator, must be over 18, costs 4 volunteers
    • For A'07, the hotel offered to provide  daytime (9-5) elevator operators (if their staff isn't busy with room changes).  Perhaps they'll do the same for A'08.
    • Express elevator operators could also can handle "Door Open" button (see below).
      • Hotel: express to art show during open hours (start at 2, go to 16; another for 1, 2, 3, 14, 16).
        • TEM: Run handicapped sticker ideas for badges by Buzz to get to the head of the line
        • Signs on 1st floor to warn people that the express elevators starts on 2.
      • Operate others during daytime peak hours
      • Chairs in 1st and 2nd floor lobby for people waiting for elevators
      • People in lobby on 1 & 2 -- max. 2 hour shifts
      • 16th floor lockout might be a special case.
      • Attend elevators during peak hours (6-12, 2-3 shifts)
    • Lock out 16th floor -- will still respond to a call from that floor, but the riders can't press the button for that floor; may be all 4 or none? Any employee can change the setting.
    • We'll need people on 1 & 16 to evict people from the elevators who are "riding down to go up".
    • DO NOT TOUCH THE ELEVATOR DOORS.
      • Use the DOOR OPEN button to hold open the doors.
      • It's not a weight limit thing, the doors derail easily if you use your foot/hand/arm to hold the door open.
      • There is a seeing eye; we could  mark it to show people where to wave their hand.
      • Change the timeout?  -- Increasing the timeout would slow all of the elevators.
      • Signs in the elevators and the newletter and web site and ...
      • Caution tape the edge of the doors to warn not to use touch the doors.
    • Volunteers must have the right personality (and physique), and some ID (tag, button).
    • Abdou came up with the idea of keeping the repairmen on-site, and feeding/housing them.
    • Attendees shouldn't use the service elevators unless the hotel is escorting them.
    • Staff should be encouraged to only use the Service Elevators if necessary.
    • Service Elevator lobbies on the 1st and 2nd floors are located within hotel's internal space.
    • Hotel must know that masq will be using service elevator (14 <--> 1).
    • Hotel is 40% sold out (15% of that is Arisia usage).
    • Expect hotel to sell out October-ish.
    • Promote the Stair Walking Club (encourage people to practice walking upstairs before the convention starts)

Pubs:

  • Crystal needs Lew Wolkoff's email (newsletter)
  • Pubs now owns restaurant guide
  • Membership cap 2000 total (plus 100 wiggle room), print run extra 200 (look at last year's numbers)
  • Mini mass mailer will go to attendees that didn't come last year (basically flyer)
    • This is now under Tem, not Pubs

Other areas:

  • We need someone ASAP for transportation, we have companies looking to bid for it
  • Also coat check is unstaffed
    • Art show will be running their own on 16.
  • Art show mailing on Sun. 9/9 at Dr. Karen's, 2pm (fold & stuff envelopes)
  • ITA will fund the video room, might have some say on the movies, want bad stuff
  • Need better signage, no static-sheets-- use Post-it glue & blue tape
  • Easels are low & large from hotel, so be aware of easels
  • Get sign shop requests in ASAP
  • Marketing DH resigned, we are splitting up its functions
  • NCOA is being done by Phi by end of the month.
  • There's an entertainment meeting next week (8/26) to talk about room allocations at Jill's house.
  • Show pirate and ninja movies?  Errol Flynn, The Pirate Movie, Hong Kong films
  • Masquerade Green Room food will not come from the hotel (just a water service)

Announcements

  • If you call Tem, leave a voice mail (especially if you're calling from a number she doesn't recognize)
  • Another Anime Con, Oct 13-14, Nashua NH (anotheranimecon.com)
  • United Fan Con (Nov. 2-4)
  • Smofcon, Dec 7-9, Boston (www.mcfi.org/smofcon)
  • Go to PiCon next year
  • Video gaming room rocks -- DDR mat, guitar hero, getting people moving (overnight)
    • Where do we put it?
    • Who provides the equipment?
    • company demo?
  • Also video karaoke

Eric "in the Elevator" appeared, wearing a shirt that says, "Embrace the Tao or ye walk the plank," and "Yin-Yarr! on the front with a ying-yang pirate/ninja. He showed us his presentation

EitE Discussion

  • Put a link to the EitE trailer online
  • Needs a cameraman and a MiniDV camera
    • Camera needs to be wide angle, low light
    • He'll send the specs
  • Put EitE set in an alcove between the elevators?
  • 6 seasons of EitE have been edited (7th season not yet edited)
  • Has about 1.5 hours of video
  • Looking forward to using the Giant Ice House pieces
    • we will need to remember to retrieve them from Pandemonium
  • Might have an hour
  • Theater setup for the Fan GoH event
    • The event could be Sunday night to pull in his MIT Mystery Hunt fans
  • Could do some sort of Fast Track event and then show the kids the raw video.

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