FANIMECON DANCE 2011 FEEDBACK

Started by eHash, May 31, 2011, 12:52:06 PM

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eHash

#20
instead of starting a new thread I will edit this one (first post, this reply) to reflect some of the information I am directly looking for:

Good afternoon. As the 2011 FanimeCon Dance Co-Head, I am looking to get more productive
feedback about our 2011 event and soliciting suggestions for next year.  The 2012 Dance head
has not been selected yet; this feedback will be provided to the 2012 staff(so past efforts
won't be wasted).

Basic Information (what people may not know):
- The 2011 Dance was held in 2 locations, The Hilton Market Room and the J Ballroom of the
 convention center.
- The dance started earlier to accomodate additional DJs.
- The budget for the dance was (is) significantly limited to covering the substantial cost of the tech
 and facilities of the J (since we need to use Union approved equipment suppliers and contractors)
- DJs, Staff, and volunteers are not paid, but their badge/membership/liability coverage represents
 a cost to con.
- DJ equipment in the J Ballroom and Hilton Market Room for provided for use by the co-head of dance.
- Sound and Lighting equipment in the Hilton Market Room were provided for use without cash payment
 and at the owner's risk.

Feedback Area 1 (Multiple Rooms)

Lessons learned from this year were that
- the Hilton Market room draws people if promoted, but is still too far from the main con floor
  to draw enough people to make it truly successful
- The Hilton Market room opened too early and represented more of a nuisance to restaraunt patrons
  than a benefit to the con attendees.

Specific Questions:
- Should there continue to be multiple dance rooms?
- Should it return to being Hip Hop/Top 40s only or 18+?
- Why did/didn't you check out the Hilton Market Room in 2011?

Feedback Area 2 (Headliners)

Lessons learned from this year were that
- Headliners must represent a fiscal benefit to the con (meaning the draw or return must be a
  direct reflection of an increased number of attendees who come to con to see this guest rather
  than regular attendees.
- If people want headliners (like hardcore synergy/red alice/etc) they must provide that direct
  feedback to upper-con management through the form of a suggestion card at con or feedback emails.

Specific Questions:
- How will a headliner DJ benefit the con (not the dance)?
- Why should money be spent on a headliner dj versus an anime-related panel guest or musicfest artist?

Feedback Area 3 (Misc)
What improvements from the previous years' dances to you like?
what changes did you not like?
what other fedback can you provide?

YuffieK

The one and only reason my friend and I even went to the dances was because we saw 'Asian Pop' in the schedule, and we assumed that included k-pop. We had a BLAST dancing the night away to k-pop/asian-pop, and even the songs we weren't familiar with were still fun! It's very disappointing to hear that k-pop hasn't done so well overall at Fanime's dances, but I would definitely suggest bringing it back for 2012! Other than my friend and I, our whole group of friends was not at all into k-pop/j-pop, BUT after dragging them to the k-pop panel/musicfest/hearing all of the k-pop during the Masquerade- they're all hooked! (I don't know if there's a huge difference between the type of people that go to the dances and the ones that go watch the Masquerade, but SO many skits had k-pop this year and the crowd would go nuts every time!) K-pop/asian-pop is expanding more now than ever before, especially with so many artists doing the openings/endings for anime. Also, pretty much every k-pop group nowadays promotes in Japan, as well, so k-pop and j-pop are very much intertwined. Hopefully Asian pop gets another chance!!

Oh, also, I really loved the idea of the different dance rooms. However, I feel that the Hilton room could have been advertised/announced more clearly. It seems like most people are familiar with the main ballroom, so maybe posting up some signs there letting people know of the alternate rooms? (My friend and I asked the staff at the ballroom about any other rooms and they told us that they didn't even know there were other rooms.... -_-';; )

bluefir111

the only suggestions that ive been getting from the facebook event page ( https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=124092381005785 ) are these
1) high intensity glowstringers need to switch to flowlights
2) keep glowstick bracelets and necklaces
3)more dubstep
4) more hardstyle
5) more happy hardcore
6) more lasers
7) volume was perfect keep it there
if there are any more ill post here
Attended Fanime since 2008. RaveCow since 09, Dj RaveCow since 2011

bebop

#23
I think the Dubstep amount was fine just the way it was
Awakening to otaku inside. ^-^

bluefir111

Quote from: bebop on June 21, 2011, 01:28:51 AM
I think the Dubstep amount was fine just the way it was

i found it fine too but people either as asking for more or less of it. i personally would like to see some newer mixes out there like from pandora.com under the playlist of x-treme (exclusive club)
Attended Fanime since 2008. RaveCow since 09, Dj RaveCow since 2011

eHash

As the 2011 Co-Head of Dance, I am once again reaching out for feedback.
Positive feedback (especially for the staff) would be appreciated. 
Most of the feedback we have received has been extremely negative.

The entire staff put in a lot of hours and effort to make it successful. 
Where the Con didn't provide equipment, the staff filled in the gaps (Gabe
provided the mixer for the market room, I provided the entire sound and lighting
for that room and the dj equipment +6 lights for the main room.  As staff we
were not monetarily compensated for our time, equipment, or effort. 

We can't make everyone happy, but honestly, the feedback is discouraging.
Your positive feedback would be uplifting and encouraging amidst the flurry of criticism.

kookiekween99

Sorry if I sounded negative before. I tend to only point out issues that need fixing, so anything I didn't mention was pretty awesome. I did enjoy my overall experience at the dance, and I regret not spending more time there.

My only request is that you don't start taking any of the amazingness out of it. The Dance is one of my favorite events, and I would hate to see it die.
ASAHiCon Registration Head - '10-'12
ASAHiCon Web Head - '11-'13
FanimeCon Attendee - '10-Forever
FanimeCon Info Desk Minion - '14

DayDreamerNessa

For me I go to the dance if I'm passing by and my friends are willing to join, cause it's fun to pop in for a bit. I think almost every year since '06 i've at least popped into the dance just for a bit! I enjoy more mainstream songs that are recognizable from the various dance genre of music, and pop/j-pop songs.

I roomed at the hilton and Friday night we were having drinks in the hilton area, and could hear the music we were on the couches right next to the door, me and my friends were drawn in when Michael Jackson's thriller came on.

When we popped in, there was.. i think 2 people on the floor, but that didn't stop us. There was a good amount of people sitting in chairs at the back wall though.

My opinion about the location: it's a good size room if it's not crowded. If your not in the dance room and outside in the lobby it is quite loud. But I have to say if I wasn't rooming at the hilton I probably would've never of known of it.

Regardless me and my friends had fun ^^
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demonchildling

Sorry for waiting so long to write a reply to this thread. I actually planned to make a review right after Fanime but school took my mind off of it.

I have to say, I had the most fun at the dances this year, and it was my 7th year at the con. I have no idea what the glow stick restriction was about, since my friends and I got through with our little glow sticks no problem. I did think it was interesting that this year, Fanime switched the placement of the stage. I remember in past years, it was on the far end of the room, but this year it was on the closer wall. That was a good idea, since it felt like more people could dance close to the music (while in the other formation there was a giant empty area near the entrance).

As for the music, I think the DJs did very well. There was the usual electronic/techno stuff (sorry, not a music buff) and some dubstep (which I don't think is a type of music made for dancing). But what really stuck out to me was the kpop mixes. It had to have been either Saturday or Sunday night, but right in the middle of the normal Fanime rave music, the DJ began to spin Kpop into there. And my friends and I just went wild. I'm talking about screaming at the top of our lungs, jumping around like we were high, and crying tears of joy type of wild. Because honestly, that mix was so easy to dance to, plus we were already familiar with the music so we followed along with moves from the music videos. I distinctly remember hearing After School and Kara in that mix. So thank you very much, DJ Peter Lo, or whoever that awesome person was. That mix made the dance one of the most memorable moments of the con.

Unfortunately, I missed out on the smaller dance room. however, a few of my friends went there, and told me about it afterwards. Apparently it was small, and a very intimate setting. For some, they thought that atmosphere was awkward. I had another friend who thought it made that dance the best thing in the world. The location did seem to be a bit weird though; right in the middle of the dining area. Maybe that can be improved in the future?

As for music for next year, here's what I would suggest. Keep playing that rave-ish music, whatever that is. I took a quick look at the 'request music for 2012' thread, and I had to laugh at some of the responses. Unless you can make an electronic remix of jazz, just leave that slow and instrumental music for the black and white ball. Also, please continue to play Kpop sets. The Korean music scene is becoming extremely popular, and many people that I know even listen to it more than Jpop now. Plus, many of the songs are great for dancing to. As for the Jpop, it might be a good idea to look at popular new anime themes (new anime series in the winter or spring, for example) as well as mix it with older anime songs that have a good history with the dance crowd. I'd also love to hear some of the top 40 songs in there as well. I'm talking stuff that you'd hear at a college party (Lady Gaga, Rihanna, an so on...).

I feel like, at the moment, headliner DJs would not be very beneficial to the con. People who may recognize them represent a small portion of the convention crowd, and many people just go to the dances without knowing who is playing, just looking for something good to dance to.Unless that person can incorporate different music into their sets to make it more diverse (tailor is to the Fanime crowd), just save the budget money for something else. Almost everyone going to the convention watches anime, so having an artist who is related to anime would bring much larger crowds.

chifunii

Quote from: demonchildling on December 03, 2011, 09:41:40 PM
I feel like, at the moment, headliner DJs would not be very beneficial to the con. People who may recognize them represent a small portion of the convention crowd, and many people just go to the dances without knowing who is playing, just looking for something good to dance to.Unless that person can incorporate different music into their sets to make it more diverse (tailor is to the Fanime crowd), just save the budget money for something else. Almost everyone going to the convention watches anime, so having an artist who is related to anime would bring much larger crowds.

Took the words right out of my mouth--  ::)
FanimeCon attendee: 2008-

alvaang

It was ok but fun. Biggest issue i had was the SMELL. It was rly bad there should be deodorant spray stations..Also i wanna hear stuff i like mixed with a dubstep or rave beat. I want to hear mortal combat, pokemon theme song, mario, zelda, ff, etc mixed to dance too!

eHash

QuoteI feel like, at the moment, headliner DJs would not be very beneficial to the con. People who may recognize them represent a small portion of the convention crowd, and many people just go to the dances without knowing who is playing, just looking for something good to dance to.Unless that person can incorporate different music into their sets to make it more diverse (tailor is to the Fanime crowd), just save the budget money for something else. Almost everyone going to the convention watches anime, so having an artist who is related to anime would bring much larger crowds.

A headliner is less likely to be diverse and most likely stay true to what they are known for.  The dance does not have a budget, any headliner would most likely be paid for by the dance staff out of their own pockets or taken from another department's budget (also not likely).

My question comes from your argument that an anime-related artist would bring a larger crowd.  Is this from the existing con attendee pool or outside of the con?  Many people have presented this idea, yet few have been able to demonstrate how an anime-related headliner=more people to the con.  I am seeking your arguments in order to better represent this issue if it seems like a good idea.

demonchildling

I'm talking about people from the existing convention attendee pool. Certainly, there might be some people who are more motivated to attend a convention (who have not been to Fanime before) if they knew that an artist who has performed the theme songs to their anime. However, I see any increase due largely in part to this reason to be minimal at best. Unless you can get an artist who is outrageously popular, so popular that people would go to the convention solely to see the artist perform, I don't see the attendee numbers rising just for this.

GoodAsianDriver

Quote from: demonchildling on December 03, 2011, 09:41:40 PM
It had to have been either Saturday or Sunday night, but right in the middle of the normal Fanime rave music, the DJ began to spin Kpop into there. And my friends and I just went wild. I'm talking about screaming at the top of our lungs, jumping around like we were high, and crying tears of joy type of wild. Because honestly, that mix was so easy to dance to, plus we were already familiar with the music so we followed along with moves from the music videos. I distinctly remember hearing After School and Kara in that mix. So thank you very much, DJ Peter Lo, or whoever that awesome person was. That mix made the dance one of the most memorable moments of the con.


Yup that was me. Thanks for the comment! It is greatly appreciated, knowing that the peoples are happy makes me happy. Before I went on that night you heard Stormy Rayner who played trance. MOAR KPOP FOR 2012. Also, will you be attending kpopcon this weekend?
--
www.spinkpop.com
Each man is given a scientific heritage plus a continuing barrage of sensory stimulation; and the considerations which guide him in warping his scientific heritage to fit his continuing sensor promptings are, where rational, pragmati

CommandantCat

I personally had a wonderful time at the dances!

My only note is keep away from the lyrics and stick to the beats. No one cares what the hell someone is saying as long at the rhythm is sick and beats are hard.

Personally, I love more indie for listening pleasure, but pump up the dubstep, house, and occasional trance. Hardstyle never hurts either.
COMMANDANT CAT
----
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Malocide

I hated that I could not bring in food or drink most people do not really have a place to store stuff close to con and asking them to throw out there food to dance is rather nuts. Have a check bag area or something if its really such a problem. I understand why but the silly thing is I had prescription pills(I take them at night) on me which could very well been illegal drugs and they were not found. If your gonna try to get drug dealers PLEASE GET THEM! but don't hurt the con goers with no where to put there bags filled with all their belongings. When I first went to Fanime and AX I was always crashing in rooms I could not really keep my stuff safe so I carried everything with me including my food for the con and asking me to throw it out back then would have been devastating.

eHash

Malocide:

Food and drinks are not allowed in the dance due to liability issues with the venue in terms of the carpet. 
-> This will not change <-

Even though security checks bags, things can slip by.  Your comment is noted.
We are attempting to evaluate the feasibility of a bag/prop check this year, but if we are unsuccessful,
I encourage you to consider checking your bag at the front desk of one of the hotels.



Malocide

Thank you the food thing makes sense. I hope you can do some kind of bag check it would be way appreciated. This year I will try hard to just have a close room or car but as I said I am concerned about those new con goers with like I was carrying everything in their backpack.Thanks for taking all I have said into consideration and I am sorry to let you know about the pill thing.

Besides that keep it up I love the dances and recommend them anyone who loves dancing. My sister who is not big in the anime scene might go just because the dances sound so fun and worth the cost of the con.