BABSCon Guests

[WeAreBorg 59]

BABSCon Guests

The latest Information can be found here.

 

Guest of Honor: Andrea Libman

Andrea Libman has worked as a voice over actor for more than twenty years. She has had roles on numerous animated TV series, including Madeline in Madeline and The New Adventures of Madeline, Emmy in DragonTales, young AndrAIa in Reboot, and Cathy in Monster Buster Club. Recently, she’s voiced the characters of Lemon Meringue, Pupcake and Princess Berrykin in Strawberry Shortcake’s Berry Bitty Adventures and Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.

Andrea teaches and plays the piano and enjoys running, skiing and snowboarding, yoga and volunteer work. She holds her Bachelor of Applied Science in Civil Engineering from the University of British Columbia.

 

Guest of Honor: Tara Strong

In addition to being the Queen of the Bronies and the sweetest “twoll” on all of Twitter, Tara Strong is, quite simply one of the most accomplished voice actresses working today.

In addition to voicing our favorite Alicorn Princess and and bookworm, Twilight Sparkle, on My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Tara has voiced the likes of Bubbles from the The Powerpuff Girls, Raven from Teen Titans and Teen Titans Go!,  Juliet Starling from Lollipop Chainsaw, Timmy Turner from Fairly Oddparents, and so many more. If you’ve enjoyed Western animation or video games in the last 20+ years, you already know and love her.

 

Guest of Honor: Cathy Weseluck

Cathy Weseluck is a marvelously talented voice actress, producer, composer, and much more. Her personal credits—aside from voicing Spike the Dragon & Mayor Mare on My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic—include excitable bunny Buttercream Sundae from Littlest Pet Shop, Ayumi from InuYasha, Near from Death Note, and the ever lovable Chiaotzu & Android from Dragon Ball Z.

Cathy also offers professional tutelage in voice acting and narration, disseminating her wisdom and skills to prospective VAs through in-depth trainings and comprehensive workshops.

She’ll be bring ALL of her mad skills with her when she visits us in April!

 

Guest of Honor: Nicole Oliver

Nicole Oliver is an actress of grand stature. In addition to her work as Princess Celestia & Miss Cheerilee on My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, she’s lent her voice to a plethora of beloved characters, including Zoe Trent in Littlest Pet Shop, Molly McGrath in Max Steel, Shahrzad from 1001 Nights. She’s also appeared on-screen in Seed, Supernatural, and The Falling, among others.

On Slice Networks’ Crash Test Mommy, she served as Director, Producer, and Host as she helped 52 mothers garner well-deserved recognition and relaxation…awfully fitting when you consider her motherly disposition!

Possessing a heart of gold, with wit and charm for the ages, Nicole will bring an air of royalty to the proceedings this April at BABSCon.

 

Guest of Honor: Peter New

Peter New is an enormously talented actor, writer and film producer. Although most renowned for his role as the lovable Big Macintosh in My Little Pony, Friendship is Magic, he has an extensive list of credits in animation, movies, and video games. His range includes Littlest Pet Shop’s own Worrying Mongoose™ Sunil, Ian Vashti of Mobile Suit Gundam 00, and most curiously, a number of angry space orks from Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War.

Peter has also performed supporting roles in American and Canadian television series, most notably Fringe and Smallville, and has helped produce numerous independent short films.

Personable, kind, and funny, we’ll be looking forward to having Peter as a part of the BABSCon family.

 

Guests of Honor: Brian & Brynna Drummond

The father/daughter team of Brian & Brynna Drummond bring tremendous talent & versatility to the cast of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, and having young Brynna there that can mean only one thing:

http://ow.ly/i/3GWt4%C2%A0*SQUEE!*

Brynna voices Babs Seed on My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, has been a working voice actress since she was freshly out of the womb, and is about to have a starring role in a super-secret animated show she can’t even tell us about yet. She’s also so adorable we can’t even stand it. HNNNNGGGGGGG!

Her Father, Brian, in the meantime, has voiced many of the stallions on MLP:FiM, including Mr. Cake, Dr. Hooves, Filthy Rich, Caramel, Sheriff Silverstar, and Daring Do nemesis Ahuizotl, among others.

But that’s not all! In addition to being a prolific voice actor on Western shows, Brian has an anime dubbing résumé as long as your arm, but he’s probably best known for his roles as Ryuk on Death Note and as Vegeta on Dragonball Z. That’s right, he gave the ‘net the meme-tastic, “IT’S OVER NINE THOUSAND!”

 

Special Appearance By: Tabitha St. Germain

T. St. G. started her acting career at the age of 0.9, when an improbably collision cells resulted in clotsome little singularity that squeaked. Radiation from the planet Ninc[1], or ‘ninny rays,’ followed, giving us the T. St. G. of today, who is capable of being almost anything that doesn’t involve math or common sense, for a union-approved fee. The T. St. G. singularity worked at the Keg Steakhouse in Halifax as an (appalling) hostess for about a month in the eighties and then took the next logical step and joined the theatre.

She was the lead singer of the wildly forgettable band ‘Mystery Diarrhea’, who released many things, none of which was an album.

Asking personal questions will usually only bring forth a string of tatty fabrications from this monkey. “I’m not lying,” she has said, “I’m ACTING.” This is because, while she does have a rich inner life, her outer life is pretty much divided between mucking about in gardens and making noise.

She was hatched, not born, vaguely recalling siblings twittering about in a wasteland of cracked shells. It is possible that she ate them. She amuses herself by setting all the egg timers in Ikea to five minutes, and leaving.

[1] Ninc OM- poop 4. Dimmest star in the Getyerteamontheice nebula—which bursts like a carbuncle every 30 Octobers and gives off these pernicious rays.

 

Guest of Honor: Jayson Thiessen

Jason Thiessen is one of the big cheeses on the show given that he’s been Supervising Director of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic seasons 1-4—the entire run of the show to date—in addition to the very successful My Little Pony: Equestria Girls, which didn’t destroy the fandom after all, now did it.

Jayson’s résumé also includes work on such hit shows as Ed, Edd, and Eddy!, Pucca, and Kid vs. Kat. That means he’s responsible for happy childhood memories in many a fan in addition to giving us all four years of pony goodness!

PS: He’s also been a special little Snowflake.

 

Guest of Honor: Meghan McCarthy

 

Who gave Pinkie Pie a “Party of One” and Twilight Sparkle a “Lesson Zero”? Who raised the Crystal Empire, turned Queen Chrysalis & the Changelings loose on Equestria, and helped Twilight win the crown in the scariest place possible—high school?

Who’s bringing us an epic-looking Season 4 in mere days?

Only one woman can wreak such havoc and make us love her for it, and that’s My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Head Writer & Story Editor, Meghan McCarthy!

Her tweets are tantalizing, her writing mesmerizing, and her…dry cleaning…um, Martinizing. But we digress.

Meghan’s association with Lauren Faust, started when she was writing for Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends, and she was also the Head Writer for the surreal Class of 3000.

 

Guest of Honor: M.A. Larson

 

M.A. Larson, is a man of many hats, quills, and Alicornification. Renowned for writing “Swarm of the Century,” “Sonic Rainboom,” “Luna Eclipsed,” “Magic Duel,” and many more hallmark episides, he’s brought a distinct prowess to My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic that brings joy, smiles, and thrills to many. If you need Ponyville destroyed, he’s your man!.

Aside from his contributions to MLP: FiM, M.A. Larson has written for the wacky My Gym Partner’s a Monkey and continues to deliver in the ongoing Littlest Pet Shop series on the Hub.

 

Guest of Honor: Amy Keating Rogers

 

Amy Keating Rogers originally started her writing career as a playwright. In fact, when her play The Stuff was being produced in Hollywood, Craig McCracken approached her to write for The Powerpuff Girls (she was working as a Production Assistant at the time). Craig liked her work and after freelancing for a bit, she was brought on as Head Writer for the show. From there, Amy wrote for many Cartoon Network shows: Dexter’s Laboratory, Johnny Bravo, Samurai Jack, and Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends.

As a freelance writer, Amy has written for a range of shows from The Fresh Beat Band and Handy Manny to Danny Phantom and The Fairly OddParents. Then in 2009, her friend Lauren Faust asked her to write for My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Amy was excited to jump into this land of Equestria where ponies fly and sing. She wrote on Seasons 1 and 2 and then took a brief break to be the Story Editor of Care Bears: Welcome to Care-a-Lot. But Amy is happy to be writing on MLP: FiM again because ponies are awesome!

 

Guest of Honor: Big Jim Miller

 

Born of star stuff and the nightmares of children, the beast known as Big Jim Miller has been haunting your dreams for night on 38 years.

His devious plan was to infect your minds through subtle messages placed in animated television series, which he began doing as a storyboard artist on Cartoon Network’s Ed, Edd n’ Eddy, Disney XD’s Kid vs. Kat, and the Hub’s My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, as well as a brief stint on Capcom’s Dead Rising 3 video game.

Not content with simply drawing the boards, this abominable creature clawed his way into a storyboard supervisory position for the second and third seasons of MLP as well as the DVD release of My Little Pony: Equestria Girls. His nefarious ascent has not stopped there, as he has moved on to infect more minds as co-director of MLP’s fourth season. His current whereabouts are unknown, but it is well documented that the Monster abhors sunlight, and subsists solely on the tears of the lonely.

…He may have also voiced a certain crystal-loving baddie from MLP. But this fact remains UNVERIFIED!!!

Here’s an artist’s rendition. The creature is rumored to be fond of jawbreakers, so if you should see him at BABSCon in April, be sure to offer him one before edging away slowly.

 

Guest of Honor: Natasha Levinger

 

BABSCon is very proud to be the first MLP con to offer you Natasha Levinger as a Guest of Honor this Apri! Natasha is one of the new class of show writers for Season 4, contributing “Pinkie Apple Pie”—and we’re still tapping our toes even now to “Apples to the Core“—and the upcoming “It Ain’t Easy Being Breezies”.

In addition to her work on MLP:FiM, Natasha has won a Gracie Award from Women in Radio and Television for Outstanding Comedy for her work with the Oxygen Network, and had a successful run in LA for her first play, How I Ruined Everything. Also, check out her podcast, the Ro-Co Review, for all your romantic comedy kibitzing needs.

 

Guest of Honor: Josh Haber

Josh Haber is another amazing member of the Class of Season 4™. So far this season, he is credited with writing the episodes “Castle Mane-ia” and “Simple Ways”, which Meghan McCarthy has proclaimed “might feature [her] favorite Rarity performance ever.”

(And we couldn’t agree more, dahling!)

Before joining the My Little Pony herd, Josh wrote for the Kaijudo: Clash of the Duel Masters cartoon. He’s also been seen on screen in the movie The Assistant, and guest-starring on TV shows like Gilmore Girls and Everwood.

 

Guest of Honor: G.M. Berrow

 

G.M. Berrow is the author of the official My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic books, Pinkie Pie and the Rockin’ Ponypalooza Party! and Twilight Sparkle and the Crystal Heart Spell, as well as the novelization, Equestria Girls: Through the Mirror.

By the time BABSCon starts on April 18th, her upcoming releases—Rainbow Dash and the Daring Do Double Dare and Rarity and the Curious Case of Charity—will be out and we’re looking forward to hearing all about them.

 

Musical Guests:

 

 

Musical Guest: Odyssey (aka Eurobeat Brony)
Odyssey is the first musician to remix MLP:FiM, and, with his ubiquitous album series Super Ponybeat, has created some of the most iconic songs in the scene, such as “Luna (Dream Mode)”, the original “Discord,” and “Fly.” Odyssey remains a powerful force for all things Eurobeat in and out of the fandom, with appearances in the Initial D arcade games and anime, Toho Eurobeat, Super Eurobeat, iOS games, Densha De D, Sega’s JoyPolis parks, and many more. Look forward to Odyssey’s signature energy and fast beats in a stage performance unlike any you’ve ever seen!

 

 

Musical Guest: F3nning
With over 100 WIPS, tracks, and podcasts on SondCloud, F3nning is one of the most prolific brony musicians out there. Capable of a wide range of electronic music (especially dubstep) in addition to making some great hip-hop, F3nning is easily one of the most active and vocal bronies in the scene and has done a great job of building a rapport with his audience.

 

 

 

Tarby 
Known for his energetic live performances and driving progressive rock music, Tarby has been a well-praised addition to the concert lineup of pony conventions since the beginning of the fandom, as well as one of the 8 performance acts to take to the road last summer for the Musiquestria tour. Check him out on YouTube, Bandcamp, or Facebook, and prepare yourself for an awesome bucking show.

 

 

Musical Guest: Michael A.
Michael is a California-local Brony, and his Electronic Dance Music is known throughout the fandom. His music has appeared in many places, including the “100% No Feeble Cheering” Album and the brony documentary. His electronic music is sure to make everyone rave their hooves off!

 

Note: Guests are subject to change at any time

[ferrousphantom 40]

Does anyone know if we have to pay to have things signed? I heard at another brony convention everyone had to pay $20 at the signings

[PiquoPie 28]

Does anyone know if we have to pay to have things signed? I heard at another brony convention everyone had to pay $20 at the signings

 

Generally any talent at a con will have a signing if they can. Part of that is that they get paid for their signatures. It's one of the things that helps bring them to conventions. The amount differs depending on the agreement with the con and depends on a multitude of factors. Even if their costs are covered it's how they get paid. Some talent is willing to sign things for free outside of their signing time but it's not a polite thing to ask at a convention where they charge unless you can't make it to the signing time for some reason.

 

I Know $20 has been the price at some of the other cons, but I believe it has varied a bit.

[WeAreBorg 59]

Does anyone know if we have to pay to have things signed? I heard at another brony convention everyone had to pay $20 at the signings

Signing will be by vouchers and each voucher will be 20$. As an exception Tara Strong will only take 20$ in cash and not the vouchers.

[ferrousphantom 40]

Signing will be by vouchers and each voucher will be 20$. As an exception Tara Strong will only take 20$ in cash and not the vouchers.

So each voucher will grant one signed item, or one person to sign a certain number of items?

[Simon 4,554]

Oh my God, they just added Ashleigh Ball... including Tabitha's skype call they're going to be the first convention to have all of the mane 6 in a single panel <3

[Diva Pony 345]

Signing will be by vouchers and each voucher will be 20$. As an exception Tara Strong will only take 20$ in cash and not the vouchers.

Please accept apologies again as I am new at this but I want to make sure I understand that after paying a small fortune for my package that I will have access to the front of the signing line but will still have to pay $20 per person to get one item signed?  Seriously?  Maybe this is standard.  Sorry if it is.  So getting all of the signatures on the program or something is going to cost around $340.  Is that correct?

[Diva Pony 345]

While I wait for an answer to the above which I already assume is confirming what I have said, I have more to say.  Even if I hadn't purchased an expensive package I would be insulted by this.  Do the math.

 

The mane 6 plus Celestia and other main characters are going to sell the most autographs.  I realize some do more than one voice so there is a savings there but think about it. 

 

I don't know how many people are coming to this con but let's say 1,000 people want each of their signatures.  Those folks are not only getting paid by you but they are earning $20,000 for a day's work.  Not bad for a little writers' cramp, is it?  I'm not going to comment on intentions as to why one will only accept cash. 

 

Now let's also say that because autographs are so expensive that this means the less popular folks will be sitting around embarassed because no one can afford to get their autographs too.  So they will be there bored and somewhat humiliated.

 

Wouldn't it be nicer to have a package that say if you purchase a certain number of vouchers there is a discount?  A package price for every signature so everyone is included?  Of course the celebrities have to buy into it but it keeps everyone participating.

 

I'm sorry but to me $5 a signature is reasonable for 30 - 60 seconds of work (I'm allowing for the personalized comment or it would be about 10 seconds) and will allow a lot more participation than charging $20 a piece.  Even $10 is high but brings this to a range that more people can afford.  I can afford to get multiple signatures at $20 and am about to say heck with it.  I hate to use the rape word but that's what comes to mind.

 

Am I the only one who feels this way?

 

Sorry.  I really don't mean to be negative.  And not too many people are reading the comments on this string so I strongly doubt I am causing an uprising.  :-)  You have no idea how much I'm really looking forward to this Con and I will be a model attendee. 

 

6 DAYS LATER I AM WRITING THIS:

 

I feel really bad about this post.  I don't think deleting it will do any good because I have been quoted on parts.  I have written my humble apologies later in the post but I want to include something here too.

 

I like many others jump to conclusions without having all the facts.  This is not a good trait to have!  :-)  I have seen the error of my ways due to the patience of a couple of really nice bronies on this post and I feel bad that I said what I did with the energy behind it that I had.

 

I am not generally a negative person and I really apologize if I have offended anyone. 

Edited March 22, 2014 by Diva Pony

[easymac 106]

Please accept apologies again as I am new at this but I want to make sure I understand that after paying a small fortune for my package that I will have access to the front of the signing line but will still have to pay $20 per person to get one item signed?  Seriously?  Maybe this is standard.  Sorry if it is.  So getting all of the signatures on the program or something is going to cost around $340.  Is that correct?

that sounds about right

[Simon 4,554]

@@Diva Pony, Your math is off because there's no way they would do that many signatures.  First of all, not everybody is going to get everybody's signature.  The VA's have I believe about 4 or so hours of autographs, and there's no way that they could do a thousand signatures in that time... remember they actually do talk to the people for a minute so they couldn't possibly do autographs for every single person.  And I believe babscon is expecting a total of about 1500 people, so it won't be a thousand autographs even if they had unlimited time.

Remember also, even if the VA's made a ton of money on it, it isn't just about the signatures.  They're flying out from Canada and spending Easter weekend at the convention to be with the fans.  They deserve to make a few bucks.  

 

You also have to remember it's a supply and demand issue.  If they just constantly sign stuff for 5 bucks, they'll have a thousand people in line and they won't get to spend any time with the fans, and it won't be anything unique.  Everybody in the fandom would have a million signed things and it would degrade the value of their signature.

 

And as for the reason why Tara isn't taking the vouchers, at another pony convention in Las Vegas called Los Pegasus, they had huge money problems and the voice actors, artists, vendors, and all the other guests got seriously burned on a voucher system they were using, so it makes complete sense that she wouldn't want to participate in the voucher system at another first year convention.

 

Bottom line, however, is that just like all the art in the vendor's area, it's worth what people are willing to pay for it.  There's nothing wrong with not wanting to pay 20 bucks for autographs, but there's no reason to attack the VA"s or the convention over it... it's a very standard price for autographs at this kind of an event.

[Diva Pony 345]

@@Diva Pony, Your math is off because there's no way they would do that many signatures.  First of all, not everybody is going to get everybody's signature.  The VA's have I believe about 4 or so hours of autographs, and there's no way that they could do a thousand signatures in that time... remember they actually do talk to the people for a minute so they couldn't possibly do autographs for every single person.  And I believe babscon is expecting a total of about 1500 people, so it won't be a thousand autographs even if they had unlimited time.

Remember also, even if the VA's made a ton of money on it, it isn't just about the signatures.  They're flying out from Canada and spending Easter weekend at the convention to be with the fans.  They deserve to make a few bucks.  

 

You also have to remember it's a supply and demand issue.  If they just constantly sign stuff for 5 bucks, they'll have a thousand people in line and they won't get to spend any time with the fans, and it won't be anything unique.  Everybody in the fandom would have a million signed things and it would degrade the value of their signature.

 

And as for the reason why Tara isn't taking the vouchers, at another pony convention in Las Vegas called Los Pegasus, they had huge money problems and the voice actors, artists, vendors, and all the other guests got seriously burned on a voucher system they were using, so it makes complete sense that she wouldn't want to participate in the voucher system at another first year convention.

 

Bottom line, however, is that just like all the art in the vendor's area, it's worth what people are willing to pay for it.  There's nothing wrong with not wanting to pay 20 bucks for autographs, but there's no reason to attack the VA"s or the convention over it... it's a very standard price for autographs at this kind of an event.

Hi Simon, only 4 hours for signing the entire weekend? And the flying from Canada- doesn't the con pay those expenses?

 

I'm also a little surprised that there will only be 1500 attendees that weekend.  Are you sure about that number?  It doesn't seem like a lot to me for a Con as well publicized as this one.  I was thinking more like 3 to 4 thousand.  Are you sure or are you guessing?

 

I do apologize about the not taking vouchers part.  I was entirely wrong.  Lesson learned about assuming when you don't have the facts.  My bad.

 

I wasn't attacking.  I'm really sorry you took it that way too.  I thought especially by my closing comments that I am more frustrated by the situation than attacking.  But I'm pretty horrified at paying $340 to get a full program of signatures and nothing you say is going to change that.

 

OK, your point is well taken about the time although only 4 hours the entire weekend sort of surprises me.  But let's say they do only get 4 hours.  Let's say they move the line along a minute per person.  Let's even say 2 minutes allowing for fan compliments.  That's 30 an hour would be $2400.  That seems reasonable but I still can't believe that is all the time they would get.

 

And in my post I was also trying to stick up for the folks not as in demand shall we say that will not be frequented by people for $20 a pop because it is so darn high.  I was trying to say that maybe lowering the rate would raise the popularity for all.  So that the least popular would get some action as it were as well.

 

I am sorry if I offended you.  I happen to enjoy our comments with each other and I appreciate what you offer on this forum.

[ninjamon102938 222]

I wish i could go to a convention let alone a meetup

[FoqueMe 44]

Have you tried looking for meetups on places like meetup.com in your area?

[Simon 4,554]

@@Diva Pony, Not offended, just wanted to give you the other perspective.  I think the thing you have to remember is that they don't go down there to do autographs they do it to be with fans.  The cheaper autographs are, the more people want them, and the more people that want them, the more time they have to spend signing their name to sheets of paper.  They don't do autographs because they want to make money, they do it because they know that fans are going to want autographs so they do it in the way that makes it so it's orderly and not overwhelming.

 

The 1500 number came from one of the interviews babscon has done.  That's not a definite number, they just said that they're expecting somewhere in the neighborhood of 1500-2000 people.  It could be more, but that's what they were anticipating.

 

The preliminary schedule is here if you want to take a look: http://www.babscon.com/events/

 

I actually was a bit wrong on the numbers... it looks like the writers are doing four and a half hours over three sessions, and the VA's are doing 2 hour sessions which I didn't notice, so they are actually doing 6 hours.  Regardless, it's not quite a thousand autographs... at most maybe 300-400.  But really, it's going to take longer than a minute for most, because while some people just want their signature, others will be interacting with them, telling stories, taking pictures, and all sorts of stuff.  And I honestly don't think they care much about the money, it's more about trying to make it so that they don't have to spend every minute of their free time at the convention doing autographs.  From a fan's perspective, lowering the price would encourage more people to buy them, but from their perspective, they don't want to spend a weekend signing sheets of paper, they want to browse artist ally, interact with fans, and look at the cosplayers just like the rest of us do.  Like you said, if you lowered it to say, $10 or $5 you'd get a ton more autographs and a lot of people would want them to sign several things instead of just one.  So it would really make it a lot less enjoyable for the show staff.  I mean, most of the VA's and writers will sign stuff for you if you mail it to them with return postage for free... they just don't want to spend the entire convention doing it.  And while the con does pay for their travel expenses, they are still giving up their weekend to be there with the fans, so I really think they deserve whatever money they do make that weekend. 

 

And while I don't think this is a direct reason for the autograph prices, I'd also remember that the charity auction sells a ton of autographed items at huge prices, and if they're practically giving autographs away all weekend, it can really hurt the charity auction.  Just something else to consider.

 

Anyway, that's my perspective.  I'm not particularly excited about how much autographs will set me back either, but when you really think about the time they're taking out of their schedule to come out there, and how hard it would be for them if they had to sign even more autographs than they already do, I think it's totally fair for them to be charging what they are.

[ninjamon102938 222]

Have you tried looking for meetups on places like meetup.com in your area?

yeah but nothing came up

[Diva Pony 345]

@@Diva Pony, Not offended, just wanted to give you the other perspective.  I think the thing you have to remember is that they don't go down there to do autographs they do it to be with fans.  The cheaper autographs are, the more people want them, and the more people that want them, the more time they have to spend signing their name to sheets of paper.  They don't do autographs because they want to make money, they do it because they know that fans are going to want autographs so they do it in the way that makes it so it's orderly and not overwhelming.

 

The 1500 number came from one of the interviews babscon has done.  That's not a definite number, they just said that they're expecting somewhere in the neighborhood of 1500-2000 people.  It could be more, but that's what they were anticipating.

 

The preliminary schedule is here if you want to take a look: http://www.babscon.com/events/

 

I actually was a bit wrong on the numbers... it looks like the writers are doing four and a half hours over three sessions, and the VA's are doing 2 hour sessions which I didn't notice, so they are actually doing 6 hours.  Regardless, it's not quite a thousand autographs... at most maybe 300-400.  But really, it's going to take longer than a minute for most, because while some people just want their signature, others will be interacting with them, telling stories, taking pictures, and all sorts of stuff.  And I honestly don't think they care much about the money, it's more about trying to make it so that they don't have to spend every minute of their free time at the convention doing autographs.  From a fan's perspective, lowering the price would encourage more people to buy them, but from their perspective, they don't want to spend a weekend signing sheets of paper, they want to browse artist ally, interact with fans, and look at the cosplayers just like the rest of us do.  Like you said, if you lowered it to say, $10 or $5 you'd get a ton more autographs and a lot of people would want them to sign several things instead of just one.  So it would really make it a lot less enjoyable for the show staff.  I mean, most of the VA's and writers will sign stuff for you if you mail it to them with return postage for free... they just don't want to spend the entire convention doing it.  And while the con does pay for their travel expenses, they are still giving up their weekend to be there with the fans, so I really think they deserve whatever money they do make that weekend. 

 

And while I don't think this is a direct reason for the autograph prices, I'd also remember that the charity auction sells a ton of autographed items at huge prices, and if they're practically giving autographs away all weekend, it can really hurt the charity auction.  Just something else to consider.

 

Anyway, that's my perspective.  I'm not particularly excited about how much autographs will set me back either, but when you really think about the time they're taking out of their schedule to come out there, and how hard it would be for them if they had to sign even more autographs than they already do, I think it's totally fair for them to be charging what they are.

Thanks Simon.  I appreciate your perspective and taking the time to explain all this.  I'll shut up now.  -_-

[FoqueMe 44]

What would you say would be the busiest day, not just as far as panels/special guests go and general attendance?  

[easymac 106]

What would you say would be the busiest day, not just as far as panels/special guests go and general attendance?  

Usually Saturday, if my (three cons) of experience is anything to go on

yeah but nothing came up

what about EqD ( searching on FB, fyi Meetup.com cost money to be on, so some groups will not be on there.

[ninjamon102938 222]

Usually Saturday, if my (three cons) of experience is anything to go on

what about EqD ( searching on FB, fyi Meetup.com cost money to be on, so some groups will not be on there.

is fb facebook? I'm not sure what it is?

[easymac 106]

is fb facebook? I'm not sure what it is?

yes, fb is short hand for facebook (though i some time will call is derpbook) 

[ninjamon102938 222]

yes, fb is short hand for facebook (though i some time will call is derpbook) 

where would i look over there?

[easymac 106]

where would i look over there?

don't worry about it, i found one that might be close to you

[ninjamon102938 222]

don't worry about it, i found one that might be close to you

do you have a link?

[easymac 106]

do you have a link?

i just pm'd you

[ninjamon102938 222]

i just pm'd you

i got it, thanks a bunch man