Anthrocon 2007 Masquerade Followup
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Hi all and welcome to this year's edition of the Anthrocon 2007 Masquerade Followup! This was yet another widely praised show, demonstrating that Anthrocon is the place to be for costume performance. I'd like to thank everyone who participated for making this event as easy for me as it was for them. Every performer was on their mark and attentive, resulting in a show that ran well and is being praised for its content. I'd like to also thank John "KuddlePup" Cole for lending us his expert skills as MC once again and for helping me coordinate the rehearsal and presentation. Extra special thanks to Rob Paulsen for contributing his talent to our humble production. I also want to thank Simba_Lion, Cheetah, and both of their A/V crews that worked tirelessly to present the performances with the light, sound, spots, cameras, and other tech that let the show be seen, heard, and recorded. These guys supported not only the Masquerade, but every other event in that Ballroom. If you see any of them, give them the appreciation they deserve because they're probably one of the most hardworking crews for the whole weekend. More gratitude is in order to Triggur, who provided us with a fully-operational time machine that sent us whirling through the ages! Also thanks to Nonsanity, who created the time vortex graphics between individual acts. Finally, I want to thank all my Masquerade staff and volunteers, without whom there would be no event at all. Their help is what keeps this running on an annual basis and I hope they'll be just as eager to be with us again next year. In no particular order, big thanks to Jason "creature" Murdock, Mike "Mrianti" Pierce, Steven "Tora" Sears, Lincoln "JBadger" Kliman, Shaun "Stahi" Daugherty, Jesse "Tango" Stringer, and Matt "Danruk" Adey. Here is the list of the performances in the order they were presented. They may be slightly inaccurate due to last-minute casting changes or inexact rehearsal data. Titles were either provided or are a best description. 1. Lace Panda, Electropaw - "Time to Start" Thanks again very much, hope you all enjoyed the rest of the convention as well, and see you again in 2008! - Rigel |
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Location: Moreno Valley, California
Website: [Link]
I really enjoyed the masquerade. Honestly though... I can't wait for next year's Stage Ninjas vs. Tech Pirates. This year, it seemed the Stage Ninjas had the upper hand. And we can't forget Whiteboard. Oh, that Whiteboard.
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OMG! My waffle! Oh, the humanity!
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permalinkLocation: Chicago, IL
Tech Pirates? I think not! My crew are the original stage ninjas, and somewhere I've got a T-shirt to prove it
All jokes aside, the few technical problems we ran into were a reminder of how incredibly difficult it is to pull off a show as complex as the Masquerade, live. I can't begin to express how grateful I am to everyone involved for all the hard work they put in, and I apologize for the few miss-cues my crew had with the videos. Our video setup was harder to run than it should have been, and that was entirely my fault. I'll be making some changes to our equipment next year to make that aspect of the masquerade easier to operate.
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permalinkLocation: Moreno Valley, California
Website: [Link]
I know what you mean, in some small sense. I'm an a/v person myself here at the college I work at. Our stuff is toddler compared to what I noticed you guys had to work with. The most we ever had to cue up was a song or two during a graduation or celebration of some sort. You guys did an awesome job being on the spot like that.
Oh, during the "Boot to the head" skit, it was mentioned that realplayer was buffering and that was why the sound cut out just seconds after it started. Were you guys really using realplayer? Just curious.
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OMG! My waffle! Oh, the humanity!
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permalinkLocation: SE Michigan
Nah, somebody fat-fingered the mixer board, and the audio that was running from the PC got cut off.
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permalinkLocation: Jacksonville, Florida, USA
The one and only complaint I had about the AV system in the ballroom was the audio was really unbalanced. The bass bins seemed to take dominance over your arrays, and that made everything really hard to hear. The individual channel EQing could've been used to help smooth that out a bit, and I think the crossover points were too high for those sub cabinets, given the directional nature of midrange and high frequencies.
Another thing that could've helped make voices more audible would've been aiming the arrays more outward, since you had small cabinets on top of the subs to cover the middle section.
/| \ / |\ <-- something like this.
A grand example of the bass being too dominant was during the 2's Rant feature, when he started playing guitar. All I could hear from sitting to the extreme stage left seating section was bassy rumble and a sizzle of distortion. The actual notes and nuances of the guitar were completely lost. I mentioned to the sound engineer at the time that the bass on his guitar channel seemed to be a bit strong. He cut it back and the guitar immediately sprung to life.
Anyway, I know you guys had your hands full, and overall it was awesome. These are just a couple of things to keep in mind.
-Crossover points (more mids to the arrays, less on the subs)
-Less overall bass, particularly in that acoustic nightmare of a room
-Aim the flying arrays more outward
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permalinkLocation: Nokesville, VA
The Stage Ninjas will destroy you, FOREVER MORE.
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permalinkThe Masquerade was very well organized and executed. Having the three standby stations made sure that any delays were taken care of well ahead of time. The show was executed with minimal A/V technical difficulties, and the crews worked really hard to accomodate the performers with what they needed on and off stage.
My only recommendation would be, if possible, a way for the performers to also enjoy the show - perhaps if a television could be set up in the green room that's linked up to a camera feed.
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permalinkWebsite: [Link]
Blog: [Link]
We have actually tried a green room video feed in past years, but the technical logistics required to provide and support it added a burden to our A/V crews that was above and beyond what they could handle with the volunteers they had. They are already pushed to their limits as is.
We allowed a third party to provide the service one year, but differences of opinion on priorities and technical approaches made it infeasible.
Your best bet is to have a friend in the audience record it for you for private viewing afterwards.
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permalinkBlog: [Link]
(Or you can pick up the Masquerade and Highlights Tape!)
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permalinkAlready on my to do list
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permalinkMakes sense, totally understand!
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permalinkLocation: Maryland
Website: [Link]
It was so nice to be part of the Masquerade this year. I got a chance to act out one of my fav songs, (Billy the Theme park shark) with some of my closest fur friends.
Thanks to all who helped make this such a wonderful con.
Now we can start planning for next year !
Signed
Billy the theme park shark
(Sharky)
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permalinkLocation: MD, USA
The Masquerade was loads of fun.
One small note: #12, "Octopus's Garden," was performed by LiliFox, not LillyFox. (Yes, I'm being a picky bunny. Lili's a friend of mine. >;) )
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