Line ups outside were handled like the photo ops where there were a series of rows set up in a parking lot and each group of people was loaded into a row, alternating between sides. We were on the left-hand side facing the building and these fine people were being loaded into the right. The middle actually never fully filled up, which surprised me. Crowd management this year was top notch. Good job Expo.
After accidentally taking a video and being told my exposure level was off (thanks Oliver), I discovered I really am terrible at photography. Guess any skill I may possess with video creation does not extend to cameras with a more than a few simple buttons. At least I remember the memory card today.
We waited out in the snow (yes, snow) for the doors to open and the staff to let us inside. I snapped a close-up picture of the opposite side to showcase the crowd's eager anticipation. Also I saw Captain America over there. Some volunteers climbed up to the roof and tried to get everyone's attention for a mass photo. The woman really could have benefited from a megaphone. Then, we were allowed in side and...
It was really not that bad. The people all filed in so gradually that there were no swarms of people. In fact, the majority of the day was quite good for crowds unless you happened to pass by the tower of t-shirts (that's...always an uncomfortable adventure). This photo was actually taken moments before I approached the booth with the books there and purchased a subscription to a science fiction/fantasy journal. Comic con really gets me with the impulse buys...
Regardless, we met up with Rachel here and browsed while we waited for a panel.
Actually got a decent photo of an Ezio this year. He seemed a little surprised that I wanted a photo of him though. This was probably because there were about 500 assassins walking around the con that year. Okay...that's not quite right...it was clearly 1000. I saw Connors, Ezios and Edwards all over the place. I only spotted one Altair though. Why does Altair never get any love?
Rachel, Oliver and I made our way over to the pavilion for another panel with Billy Boyd, this time joined by Sean Astin. Unfortunately while we waited, we were subjected to god awful Metallica covers. Because apparently we all needed a little more blue grass Metallia in our lives.
Most of the questions were pretty good aside from the cringe worthy lead-in of "this may be a bit personal but..." covering topics about favourite sets to memories of filming. There were some fantastic stories about Elijah Wood and his metal music, Tree Beard being the most uncomfortable thin Billy Boyd has ever sat on (and he has "sat on a lot of things") and some of the most memorable fan gifts they had been given. Then we got to watch Sean Astin run around to a bunch of the cameras near the stage so he could show us a picture of their fellowship tattoos on his phone (which was what that "personal" question ended up being about).A slip from one of the question askers led to Billy Boyd endorsing the name "Tree Love" as a name for a child and we ended the panel by singing Happy Birthday to Billy's son, Jack.
Shortly after the panel, Rachel and I lined up for our photo op with Billy Boyd and Sean Astin. We waited in line for a good 45 mins despite being there fifteen minutes early for the session. Across from us was the Dr. Who photo op, which I spotted at least three Daleks in. I did not get pictures of them all, so perhaps that does not count towards the overall Dalek count. There is one in this photo, however, so we will let it slide.
This weekend I should have been counting line-ups rather than Daleks as I remember experiencing much more of those (line-up to get inside (2) + line-up for Billy Boyd (1) + line up for Hobbits of middle Earth (1) + photo op (1) + line-up for pizza (1) + line-up for washrooms (3) + line-up for Cyanide and Happiness (1) + line-up for Felicia Day (1) = 11 (some spoilers included as I'm writing this on Sunday)).
Once we got there we got the usual production line style of "no hugging, no conversations" from the volunteers and we had our photo taken with the two (who seemed nice for the 5 seconds we were standing there). We picked up our pictures and well...
I never really realized how small my head was until now. Regardless, I don't look like a complete goof, so I consider this a decent picture!
After the photo we returned to the upper floor for some delicious pizza. We then spent a good few minutes as table vultures as we waited for a few free seats to open up. When we finally snagged a couple chairs, we ate our lunch and said hit to a few friends we spotted. After lunch we got a few photos of the cosplayers in the area (the first two may actually have been from before the photo op...), my favourite being the last one with the Ring Wrath. We watched that fellow put on the helmet. It appeared to be an arduous affair. What really impressed me was that the armour on his arms and hands were actually metal. I was super impressed.
As for the previous two photos, they were quick snaps, but I'm not sure what was going on with Optimus there. I remember when cosplaying with Sarah a lot of people asked her to hold signs or other materials to promote products or services. I think this was one of those instances.
PS - Loki in the side of that last picture had an amazing costume.
While we waited for Bev to purchase a new jacket, this fellow walked by. We decided that it was a beholder, but were wondering if he had caused any accidents in the aisles yet. Jay mentioned that costumes over 4 feet in width had to have a dedicated guide (not a volunteer or staff...but a friend willing to steer the costume through the crowd). Seems like a lot of effort to me. I'm lazy though.
Before we headed out for the day, I snapped another two pictures of cosplayers, which might be a couple of my favourite from the con. The first was the Captain America I spotted earlier on in the line-up to get inside who I swear could have been Chris Evan's younger brother. The second here was just a chance passing when Tuxedo Mask and the White Knight encountered the Sailor Scouts. Best timing ever.
All in all, a very different Saturday from what I've been used to dressing up over the past two years. I missed it a little bit, but it was also fun to spend the Saturday "incognito."
xoxox cuties
ReplyDeleteIf I was to ever do a cosplay, I'd be either Edward or Professor Snape.