How Much is the Geek Dollar Worth?

In the aftermath of the meat grinder that is San Diego Comic Con and with the relative underperformance of Pacific Rim (in cinemas now! Go see it!) I’ve been wondering how much of a dollar figure can you put on the support of the worldwide, internet savvy nerd. Are films and comic books destined to remain in some form of ghetto? Ignored by the mass audience until something like “The Avengers” or “Harry Potter” breaks out into the mainstream once a decade? Full disclosure, I’m a geek. I play video games, have watched and enjoyed Anime, read comics etc. But I’m also financially minded, I studied Business in college and work in that area, I read a lot of articles about economics and finance. My life is clearly thrill a minute stuff to be sure. As a result of my education, I’ve always been interested in the business part of “entertainment business.” I’ve been known to read a book or two about the topic on my commute to work.

First, let’s talk “Pacific Rim”. I saw it, loved it and will likely try to see it again before it leaves cinemas. I’m sure many of you reading this had the same reaction. My Twitter and Facebook feeds are full of my friends saying great things about the film. It’s probably got the best word of mouth of any film this summer. But the end result is that the movie will struggle to achieve $100 million in its theatrical release in the United States. It’s good money to be sure but it’s far behind several inferior films released this summer. A cinema ticket costs ten dollars, a 3-d ticket somewhere around fourteen dollars. Going by those metrics probably around seven to nine million Americans will pay to go see Pacific Rim in the cinema. When you take into account those of us that will go see it twice or even three times the number of paying individuals shrinks down to the lower end of that 7 to 9 million figure.

That’s a reasonably sized market, but it’s only about 3% of the population of the entire country going to see one of the biggest and best summer films of the year. The film clearly hasn’t hit the mainstream in the way that its makers would have liked. It had a few things going against it: no brand name recognition and no “stars” being the main ones. Studios cannot make money selling a mass released product to 3% of the people, which means that films need to reach a broad audience. One way of ensuring this has been to take product from other sources and adapt it. Comics and books are the old reliables for adaptation as evidenced by the proliferation of comic books on screen we’ve seen since the mid-nineties. World War Z was based on a well-received, though not really mainstream book. Adaptations of pre-existing material have benefits, if they’re good they have a built in fan base and have a story arc mapped out on the page which means less guessing as to how to fix those problems in the third act.

Pacific Rim is an original creation, more or less, it’s heavily influenced by Japanese monster and mecha films and shows but it’s not a straightforward adaption of any of them. As a result it’s not as easy to market it to mainstream audiences. Most peoples experiences with the genres it draws from are “Godzilla” or something brought over from Japan and badly dubbed to be shown to an audience of sugar crazed eight year olds in the mid to late eighties. Telling people that the movie is “Robotech versus Godzilla” isn’t going to sell tickets. We’ve already been burned by that sort of thing thanks to Matthew Broderick. One complaint I’ve read about Pacific Rim is that the trailers didn’t grab people. This is most likely because the coolest stuff from the film isn’t blown in the trailers. This is something that’s infected Hollywood in a big way this past decade. The money shots are used up in two minutes of footage shown four months before the film is released. It drags people in to see the film but it also leaves audiences with a bad taste in their mouths once the film is finished 

Which brings me to San Diego Comic Con, this years’s convention was the biggest ever. 140,000 people passed through the doors of the convention centre to see previews of next year’s slate of geek friendly product. There were massive queues, some crying, new trailers etc. What got good buzz? The Hunger Games, The announcement of Batman versus Superman, The Marvel Studios panel and Agents of SHIELD. These properties don’t really need SDCC to sell themselves, they’re based on pre-existing material with a large fanbase. The trailer for Catching Fire could have been released at any time and garnered just as much attention. Batman versus Superman is a fine idea until you hear that Zack Snyder is directing it because you can then be assured that the plot can be written in two sentences: Batman and Superman are manipulated by some villain to fight each other. They then team up to take down said villain.

SDCC is a great promotional tool but it mainly works for pre-existing properties and caters to those fan-bases. The hype about the show being where projects are made or broken is just hype. There’s very little in the way of evidence to back up that assumption. New properties, whether they’re independent comics or new TV shows don’t break out into the main stream from a good showing at SDCC. I went to SDCC a few years back, one of those years there was reasonable buzz about the “Bionic Woman” pilot that was shown. The result? The series didn’t survive. Good word of mouth from SDCC didn’t help it reach a worthwhile audience share. Maybe there are examples of breakout successes for new properties from the convention but I’m honestly struggling to remember any. The  hype generated by SDCC doesn’t pass beyond the people who were probably going to buy or watch the product anyway and that audience isn’t particularly large to begin with.  

So in short, the engaged, hardcore geek audience is small, maybe it’s five million people in the United States and a few percent of the global market worldwide. There’s money to be made there for sure. But is it enough money to fund massive films and base an enterprise on? I think this year and next year will show it for certain. The summer blockbusters this year all underperformed except for Iron Man 3 (which was successful on the back of 2 previous films and the Avengers). Will the blockbuster season become one breakout hit per year with a bunch of barely profitable also rans like this summer has been? It’s a scary thought and it would mean that our summer films become ever more generic, mindless and dumb in order to get Joe and Joan Average to attend them in cinemas. Scripts and production design will continue to fall in importance in the Studio’s minds as it will all be about the marketing. Trailers will continue to show the best moments of the movie in order to get people in the doors. Which is exactly what Pacific Rim didn’t do and is now paying for.  Go see Pacific Rim and show the studios that there’s an audience for a superior summer film, before it’s too late

Convention Preparation: Part Three of Three.

OK, so it’s time for the final part of convention preparation:What to do at the con itself.

Convention Etiquette.

I covered basic hygiene last week so I’ll assume you’re washed and dressed appropriately.

You’re going to have to queue, sometimes for hours, to get into the more popular panels. Be nice, don’t cut the queue, don’t break wind in the line and nerve gas the people around you and please, no shoving.

Treat everyone like you’d want to be treated and make the effort to talk to people. You’d be amazed at the conversations you’ll strike up if you make the effort. Even if you’re a bit of a loner socially (and many of us are) or at the con on your own I’d strongly urge you to make the effort. Remember, you have at least one thing in common with the stranger beside you: your shared love of pop culture. There’s a conversation starter right there. 

We’re in a connected world and the online fandom can sometimes breed a bit on anger in people. You may run into people you’ve crossed swords with on a message board in the past. It happens. Resist the urge to smash your pint glass in their stupid faces, I don’t care if they insulted Joss Whedon or committed another heinous crime: leave it alone. You will be thrown out of the con or arrested.

You may run into guests outside of the convention. Remember to give them their space. Don’t rush over to them in the Indian restaurant down the street and demand they sign your chest or speak to them while they’re taking a dump. Both of these are things I have seen happen.

Having said that, if they’re holding court in the hotel bar, get in there and buy them a drink! They’re regular people too. You may be surprised what you have in common.

Attending panels.

This is the fun stuff right here, it’s one of the major attractions of attending any convention. You get to sit in a room and hear someone whose work you adore just talk for an hour. The best panels I have attended are hours I will remember forever. (e.g. Veronica Mars panel at SDCC in 2006.) 

There’ll usually be a Q & A session at the end. Have your burning questions ready. You’ll usually be only able to ask one as time is always against you. Keep it short and sweet. Sometimes someone else will have asked your question already, have a back up prepared and written down somewhere just in case.

Oh and don’t be the guy AT EVERY CONVENTION I’VE EVER BEEN TO who asks the voice actor “What would happen if (cartoon character A) and (cartoon character B) went to a restaurant and didn’t get what they ordered.” Voice actors hate these questions. In fact, if you asked one what was the question they’d least like to be asked it would probably be one of these types of question. (Someone asked this to Gary Chalk (Voice of Optimus Prime) at a con I attended a few years back and got that exact answer.)

Also DO NOT ask an actor if they’ve read slash fiction involving characters they’ve played. They haven’t. Most of them have no idea it even exists. (This was also asked of Gary Chalk at the con in the UK I attended. He was asked it at a Canadian convention the next year as well.)  

Signings.

Many cons put a limit of the amount of things you can get signed. Three or four things is usually the maximum allowed. There are lots of other people in the line so be considerate of them and the wrist of the writer or actor who is doing the signing.

Some people will charge for a signed photo, its how many jobbing actors help pay the mortgage. You’ll usually be informed in advance by the con organisers if it’s the case. Most actors in my experience will usually be ok with getting a photo taken with you though.

Buying stuff!

Also a major attraction of attending a con in person. Online shopping is fun but you can’t beat the feeling of finding at item you really wanted in the flesh (as it were).

Sometimes there’ll be con exclusive items (toys, limited edition art prints etc). These can be worth getting but they’ll occasionally be pricey. Depending on the item there may be an aftermarket value so buying a spare for Ebay can be worth your while. (SDCC convention exclusives can go for four to five times their retail price, depending on the item).

Make a shopping list of what you really want to get to help you budget. Get your list done and everything after that is gravy.

You should be prepared to bargain if possible. Some dealers won’t do it. Many will. Shop around. But remember that rare items will go quickly. The last hour of a convention is a good time to do some shopping. The dealers want to bring as little as possible home with them. Getting fifty percent knocked off something is not uncommon if you can haggle. 

Buying artwork from artists is also possible. Sketches can run you anything from €10 to €100, depending on if it’s a head sketch or a full figure. It’s a great way of having a unique item that you can get framed and hang on the wall of your man cave / hovel.

Some artists will be selling the original artwork from comics they’ve worked on. These can cost anything from €40 to a few thousand a page. The higher prices are usually commanded by “Splash page” images (i.e. a single image of a famous character or characters) or comic covers. Expect to pay less for storytelling pages with lots of smaller panels.

You can often walk away with a decent page of published artwork from a top tier comic for €200 to €300.

 
Getting your luggage / purchases home.

Some cons (particularly ones that deal heavily in toys) in the USA will have a Fed-Ex or DHL desk on site that will allow you to send stuff home directly. It’s usually expensive but you’re paying for the convenience.

You can always post packages home from a nearby post office as well. Chances are you’ll make it home before the parcel does.

Book an extra bag in for the return journey in advance if you are planning on getting a lot of stuff. It’s cheaper than showing up at the airport with the extra bag.

That’s it, that’s all I can think of off-hand! I’d be happy to take further questions via the comments or facebook if you have any.

Convention Preparation! Part Two of Three.

Hopefully the three people reading this found last week's post to be interesting. Today I'll cover accommodation and personal matters.

Accommodation.

Unless you’re planning on buying a copy of Spider-man number 1 then this is probably going to be one of your biggest single expenses. There are ways of getting this figure down but they aren’t pretty.

Many cons are held in hotels or in convention centres connected to hotels. These are usually your best bet for accommodation. Reduced room rates are generally offered to attendees and these can be good value they often throw in free parking or Wi-Fi as well.

Another reason to stay in the con hotel is that there’s also a bit more of a buzz around the con location with attendees and guests often mingling in the bar into the small hours of the morning. UK and Irish cons are really good for this kind of thing in my experience. Go on, have a drink with your favourite cast member of Doctor Who. It’s worth paying for that isn’t it?

Sharing a room with another attendee can bring down the cost but ideally make sure you know your roommate. I’ve heard horror stories about people being left in the lurch by randomers they’ve agreed to share a room with at a convention. (Room service they didn’t order, breakages, being locked out of the room and forced to sleep in the hall etc).

Most conventions will be held in a city centre or within a short bus journey of same so you’ll have other options if you want to spend less on your place to stay. Tripadvisor is your friend, or ask someone with local knowledge.

As regards SDCC, Hotel rooms in San Diego can run on the expensive side though many hotels offer reduced convention rates. These reduced rates will still run you around $150 a night or more and they’re as hard to get as tickets for the convention itself. This year’s allocation was offered via the comic con website and is gone already.

Expect to pay $200 a night for a standard (i.e. clean and not rat infested) room at SDCC. Three star hotels in NYC will run you around the same price but there’s many other options to get those costs down if needs be. Such as staying away from the convention and using the subway to get around.  

If going to SDCC, try to get a hotel on one of the convention organised bus routes. The buses run through the night from the convention centre to the hotels and are a safe way to get around. I’ve never experienced any trouble on them no matter what time I got one. Most of the convention approved hotels are within walking distance of the con as well and San Diego is reasonably safe even at night.

Personal matters.

The usual tips for travelling in any city apply: Don’t look too much like a tourist or leave your bag hanging off the back of your chair. Try avoid any areas where membership of a gang is a prerequisite.

Now, this next part isn’t addressed to you, don’t be insulted. But….there is always, ALWAYS some people at every con I’ve been to that smells like Satan’s armpit. These people (again, not you) clearly didn’t like the price of the hotels and decided that sleeping in a dumpster was the way to go.

There’s probably a shower in your hotel. Use it at least once a day. They have unlimited hot water. You have no excuse: SHOWER!!!!!  No amount of deodorant or eau de toilette will cover up your stink after standing in line for hours on end if you haven’t had a shower. (Though a good deodorant is also necessary. Roll on ones work best. Body spray cracks under the pressure.)

Also, brush your teeth and use mouthwash, you may end up chatting to Stan Lee or someone equally as famous. You do not want your breath to stink like a horses’ hairy hole. 

What should I bring to the con with me?

Firstly, bring a backpack, one you can carry comfortably for hours. It'll be extremely handy and will allow you to have you hands free. Your backpack should contain:

Food and water. Nothing too crazy. Just a bottle or two of water and something to graze on. It’s often difficult to find time to get food if you have a full itinerary and on site food provision at cons is stupidly expensive (think airport prices.) and usually rancid.

Extra bags. Plastic bags are necessary if you’re planning on buying merchandise. If you’re thinking of getting a lot of stuff or something particularly grandiose then pack one of those massive bags that Toy’s R Us give out when you buy something there or even one of those IKEA blue bags.

Camera. Holy cow! That’s (insert famous person name here)! I really wish I had a decent camera to take a once in a lifetime picture…

Seriously, photo opportunities will happen. Be prepared to capture them.

Batteries. For your camera.

Money and credit card.

Baby wipes. Yes, Really! You may break out in a cold sweat at certain times. Have something to clean yourself off with.

Dress comfortably for the con if you can. You’ll be standing for long periods in queues etc and will probably walk quite a bit to get to panels and on the trading floor if it’s a bigger show. I've heard of people losing several pounds at SDCC due to the amount of walking that needs to be done to get around the convention centre. Hence why you should bring water and why people get really sweaty.

 

If you're cosplaying, well...good luck.

Next Week: At the convention!

Convention Preparation! Part One of Three.

I’m taking a break from the short stories for a few weeks as I wait for the inspiration fairy to deliver some ideas. I thought I’d throw up a few articles over the coming weeks on various things.

 

The first thing I though I’d talk about is attending a comic or science fiction convention. I have some experience in this kind of thing having attended multiple cons in the past including San Diego Comic Con and some in the UK.

 

This year I’m planning to hit up four or five cons including the Barcelona comic con next month, Roll Out Roll Call in the UK and DICE, Dublin Comic Con and Arcade Con in Dublin. I’ll more than likely do write ups on those after the fact as well.

 

This article will be in three parts, the first will cover tickets, getting there & finances, Accommodation, general preparation and what you should bring with you will be part two. The final part will cover convention etiquette, attending panels, signings, buying stuff and getting your luggage / purchases home.

 

What convention should I attend?

 

Depends on what you’re after. The main event in the geek calendar is San Diego Comic Con (SDCC). San Diego is an amazing experience and is worth attending at least once just because of the sheer scale of the thing. 130,000 people pass through the doors of the convention centre in a weekend.

 

Most of the movie studios attend as they try to shill what they think will sell to the geek audience. Anyone starring as a superhero / vampire / girl fighting against an evil capitol next summer will most likely be there. However, you WILL NOT be able to meet any of the actors or celebrities who attend it; they’re on a studio financed junket and are usually being interviewed by the media all day except for a brief panel appearance. So if you’re hoping to meet Robert Downey Jr at SDCC then you are out of luck my friend. The best you’ll get is a view of him on a video screen as he presents a clip of Iron Man 4 from a stage about 100 metres away.

 

Which isn’t to say it’s a waste of time. Those massive panels are often a lot of fun to attend. The actors are usually charming and trying their best to be funny: They’re trying to get you to spend money on what they’re selling so they put on a show. Also it’s one of the few times in their career they get to bask in the glory of having thousands of fans so they’re generally up for a good time.

 

Smaller cons are the way to go if you want to have a chance to actually talk to writers, artists and actors about their work. I’m hearing good things about the Phoenix comic con which is held in Arizona in the early summer, it seems to offer a high calibre of guest line up but it’s smaller and you might actually get to talk to Leonard Nimoy or whoever.

 

Local comic cons are an enjoyable cheaper alternative. If you’re trying to break in to the industry they also offer opportunities for networking that are hard to beat.

 

Tickets.

 

San Diego is pretty cheap for what you get; it’s priced similarly to a middle of the road music festival. It is steadily getting more expensive though. Of course there’s the fact that tickets are now almost impossible to get. All the tickets for this years’ con went in about an hour a few weeks back. Unless you’re lucky, Tom Cruise or get a cancellation then it’s going to be pretty hard to get in the door. Personally I blame the increasing numbers of PR people attending it; those bloodsuckers leave less room for actual fans to get in the door.  

 

Tickets generally go on pre sale some months in advance of the con, even for the smaller, more fan focused ones. It allows the organiser to plan their budget out and have cash to pay for deposits etc. It’s a good idea to purchase early as then you can spread out the cost over a few months rather than buying everything at the last minute. Occasionally there’ll be discounted early bird tickets or goodie bags for early purchasers too.

 

Getting there!

 

Going to America for a con will cost you. Flights to the West Coast can easily run to €1,400 from Europe and there are few options, particularly from Ireland. Aer Lingus used to run direct flights to Los Angles and San Francisco but stopped a few years back. A stopover, either in London, New York or Atlanta will probably be necessary. Prices and timetables will be better to New York as well. Maybe plan a couple of days sightseeing there on the way over or back?

 

Booking early doesn’t seem to shave much off the price either in my experience.

 

Remember to get a tourist visa in advance. Apply directly to the US government immigration service for it online if that option is available to you. It’s quick, painless and you get an answer within a day or two. You’ll see lots of companies offering to middleman it for you for an additional fee. It’s a waste of money.  

 

European cons are much less hassle to attend from a travel perspective, Thanks Ryanair! But the usual warnings about flying apply as you will get creamed for overweight luggage, which isn’t as much of a problem for the U.S. with the generous transatlantic luggage allowances.

 

Finances.

 

Full disclosure: I am a Qualified Financial Advisor. I know. You’re jealous. Women positively melt when I tell them that.

 

I’m kidding. I’m so desperate for human contact that I hug the postman every morning. Anyway, the good thing is I actually know that of which I now speak.

 

Get travel insurance with health cover included if you’re going to the USA. This is a MUST. If you get sick after bad Mexican food (a probability) or beaten up by ravenous trekkies (also likely) then you’ll be glad you did. Plenty of places do it for €20 - €30 for a single trip and can cover you for a whole year for a reasonable sum. It’s also not a bad idea for Europe either, though at least in good old socialist plagued Europe there’s functioning public health care. They don’t leave you to die by the side of the road of a burrito fuelled spastic colon in Madrid like they would in some parts of the States that will go unnamed…(Alabama).

 

How much spending money will you need? Budget $100 (€70, £55) a day to cover food, drink and transport etc. Eating out anywhere is expensive unless you’re consuming horse burgers but it’s doubly so in the Peoples Republic of California also you should at least attempt to eat a decent (i.e. not McDonalds) meal every day to avoid the aforementioned spastic colon issues. California is amazing for sushi by the way.

 

Save money by buying basics (bottled water, Oreos, yoghurt) in the local store and leaving it in the fridge in your hotel. Some supermarkets don’t charge you the sales tax in the USA on food items if you’re obviously foreign, so practice your funny accents! I saved twenty cent on yoghurt that way.

 

Always have your credit card with you. If you can (and you should!) load a few hundred euro onto it in advance of the trip so you aren’t in danger of breaching your limit should something happen.

 

Warn your bank in advance of a foreign trip, particularly if you’re planning any big purchases. They’ll put a flag on your account to expect increased activity from the foreign location for the time you’re away and therefore won’t cancel your card or stop you buying a new Ipod.

 

Use the card to buy the expensive items (like electronics, for example) as your purchases will be insured by the card company and you can claim a refund via the card if you need to. Keep your receipts but don’t let the customs guy find them on the way home!

 

Taking money out via an ATM is doable overseas (check if your ATM card has a maestro symbol on it). Maestro cards should be accepted at ATMs connected to bank branches but may not work in those standalone machines you sometimes see in shops. A sign on the machine will tell you either way. I once spent 30 minutes wandering around Las Vegas looking for a compatible machine a few years back. Things have improved since though.

 

You will be charged ATM transaction fees, which can be steep, so use it sparingly and take enough in a single transaction to last you for a few days at a time. The exchange rate on any card isn’t as good as that at the foreign exchange desk in your local bank but it’s far safer than buying a weeks worth of foreign cash at the bank branch and walking around with it on your person.

 

Keep your credit and ATM cards in separate places in case you get pick- pocketed. I know that seems like pretty basic advice but I see it ALL the time. It’s like people leave their common sense behind them when they go on holiday. Remember, at a con you will be brushing up against people all day. Not all of those people have your financial interests at heart.

 

You’ll know yourself what you intend buying at the con and can therefore budget appropriately but do bring a little bit extra in case a Holy Grail item that you always wanted is somehow available at a decent price.

 

Use cash at the con itself as very few vendors have portable credit card machines and the queues for those few that have them are normally huge anyway.

 

Do not expect the convention centre or hotel where the con is being held to have a working ATM. These will be tapped out within a few hours of opening time, if you’re staying off-site then pick up your cash on the way or make a run to the nearest bank and get your money out during down time.

 

 Try hold onto small notes as many dealers or artists selling their work will run out of change in no time and exact change is always welcomed.  

 

That’s it for part one. Next week: Accommodation, General preparation and what you may like to bring to the con with you.