CSTS wants everyone's opinion for 2009 by Stoweaway

BROWNCOAT EVENTS

CSTS wants everyone's opinion for 2009

POSTED BY: STOWEAWAY
UPDATED: Friday, July 11, 2008 07:54
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Thursday, July 3, 2008 8:14 AM

Organizers for Can't Stop the Serenity would like everyone's input to help improve the event for 2009.
This is a chance for all Browncoats to speak their piece.
If you went to a screening this year, head over there and tell them what you liked and what you didn't.
If you decided to skip it this year, tell us why -- and how we can get you to come next year.
Attendance in some cities was lower this year compared to previous years and we'd like to find out why.

http://www.cantstoptheserenity.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2652

This thread is visible to everyone. But you might need to join the forum to post. (I've been a member there so long that I can't remember

)
Before you join, check out this thread for the password:
http://www.cantstoptheserenity.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=188

** Password keeps spambots off the forum **

You all have a voice -- let's hear it.

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Friday, July 4, 2008 6:32 AM

STOWEAWAY

Seriously, we want your opinion.

Everybody has an opinion, right?

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Friday, July 4, 2008 8:01 AM

ECGORDON

There's no place I can be since I found Serenity.

The only thing I can think of right now is to suggest they make sure to keep up the communication with Universal so they are sure there will be prints available.

wo men ren ran zai fei xing.

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Friday, July 4, 2008 8:14 AM

KATESFRIEND

I couldn't go this year or last, even though I would have loved to, because the nearest city only has midnight or 11:30 showings. After a long work week, staying up till 2 to 3 in the morning for fun is just too painful to imagine. If it started earlier, it would be a different story, but I'm sure the theatre would demand more money then. But I did notice that CSTS was much less advertised or talked about around the various Firefly and SciFi sites than last year. Hope you have the success and answers you want for next year.

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Friday, July 4, 2008 8:48 AM

JADEHAND

We had 2, yes 2, great screenings in Raleigh this year. New fans seeing the film for the first time at both screenings. Everyone had a great time at both screenings. The only negative thing I heard at all was some of the sponsors got their stuff out late and the shipping costs were passed on to the local organizers which decreases the contribution. We still managed a nice increase in the donation size here though.
I also noticed lower levels of advertising around the various fansites. That can be improved with a little effort next time around. Every year I go to a screening (or 2), and every year it's the best movie I've seen on the big screen.
Cheers, and happy "Independents" day !

"It's all so clear. We can see the madness perfectly from here." - Asylum Satellite 1 - Happiness is the Road - Marillion

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Friday, July 4, 2008 10:55 AM

JEWELSTAITEFAN

The CSTS Madison, WI was organized well, but the indepentent paper (Ithsmus) refused to provide a pre-pub copy, and they published the time 1/2 hour after start.

With only 13 copies of the film remaining after Universal destroyed most of them, maybe the dates should be spread out more. I drove 5 hours to get to mine, and if other cites nerby had a showing on successive weekends or months instead of all the same day, I'd likely go to more of them. The Minneapolis/St Paul one in the winter/spring was on a weekend with record snowfall and horrendous roads, or I would have driven 5 hours to get there as well.

Also, the poster didn't even look like a movie was showing, you neede to know in advance. Had I happened upon a theater with the 2007 poster, I'd have gotten a ticket (even though I didn't know about bornwcoats or Firefly then).

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Friday, July 4, 2008 1:45 PM

MADMOLLY

I agree about the posters. The designs from last year and this year were very cool indeed. But only really meant something to hardcore Browncoats. If you want to capture someones attention and drag them into a theater, the poster needs to speak about what's in the movie. It needs action, the very best violence and the BDHs on it.

When the movie first premiered most of the BDHs were relatively unknown. Now they've all gone on to do other films and are making names for themselves.

On a different note, I didn't know about Universal destroying copies of the film. Why in hell would they do that? That just makes no sense at all. Paul Ginsburg needs a good talking to. Or a spanking.

madmolly

No power in the Verse can stop me.

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Friday, July 4, 2008 2:37 PM

EMBERS

Quote:
Originally posted by Stoweaway:

http://www.cantstoptheserenity.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2652

This thread is visible to everyone. But you might need to join the forum to post. (I've been a member there so long that I can't remember )
Before you join, check out this thread for the password:
http://www.cantstoptheserenity.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=188

** Password keeps spambots off the forum **

it won't accept the authorization code...
but I'll just say I attended in San Francisco and it was a fun and lively evening... very well planned.
I hope they made a good amount of money, I certainly think it is worth doing so long as there are organizers who are willing to put in the time and effort to do it! I had a great time myself!

New Firefly fans should check this out: http://www.fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=2&t=15816
DON'T MISS DR.HORRIBLE! Nathan Fillion sings!!!!!

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Friday, July 4, 2008 3:24 PM

ANONYMOUS1

Quote:
Originally posted by madmolly:
On a different note, I didn't know about Universal destroying copies of the film. Why in hell would they do that? That just makes no sense at all. Paul Ginsburg needs a good talking to. Or a spanking.

It was a mistake. Universal had set aside 50 or films and everything was okay. Universal contact was horrified when someone destroyed the film by mistake. Us too.

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Friday, July 4, 2008 4:53 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN

Thinking about it more, I had kinda been hoping fior some get together afterwards. The theater lobby was OK for selling t-shirts and the tables, but not much for sitting and getting aquainted with browncoats. I asked about after shindigs, was told nothing organized, some secret messages had been sent to select few tho. So some further interaction at some bar, pizza parlor, other gathering place would have been cool.
I ended up going to another film at another theater.
A gathering before would have worked for me as well, either could have optional contributions to the cause. A mini-picnic would have been nice.
I know some from this board attended, but I have no idea who they were, and hardly got to chat with most of the attendees. I'm thinking with so many browncoats, there must have been many stories to be heard.

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Friday, July 4, 2008 6:29 PM

STOWEAWAY

These are great! Just what we're looking for.
So far I'm hearing great feedback on:

-- Earlier start times
** Sometimes the organizers are limited by what the theater will allow. But it's worth mentioning that not everyone wants to watch a movie at midnight - me included

**

-- More advertising needed
** If we started making banners available to everyone to post around, would you guys help us spread the word? Then you could drop some Browncoat wisdom everywhere you go -- knitting sites, anime sites, comic sites, etc. **

-- Newspaper coverage
** We all struggle to get local media coverage. Some cities have more luck than others. We have one lovely & faithful reporter here. The rest are purple-bellied scum. The good news is that the longer we're around, the more we'll start to show up on the radar. **

-- Staggered screenings
** That's something we are DEFINITELY planning for next year. Even some of the organizers want the chance to attend each other's events. And how cool would it be to go to multiple screenings?! **

-- The Poster
** Personally I'm hoping we have an open submission for artwork next year. We have some very talented artists in the 'verse and I'd love to see them show off. That said, we have to be really careful about what goes on the posters because of licensing issues -- no cast members. And some other things fall into a licensing "gray area" that we try to avoid. I loved the Earth That Was design from last year too. If you have an idea for next year's poster, be sure to submit it to CSTS. No art degree required -- we're not elitists. **

-- After (or before) parties
** I agree - it's a great way to meet other Browncoats. That's how our local group got started was a gathering after the first screening in 2006. And you're right, it should be open to everyone. We had a 2-hour social event with music and food before our movie played. It was the perfect time to mingle. **

-- IDs
** Nametags would be a good thing to have at check-in so folks can identify each other. And everybody should be instructed to include their screenname. 'Cause I wouldn't have recognized "Alene" when I met her but I do know ThatWeirdGirl. **

Thanks everyone. Keep them coming. I'll take these over to the CSTS thread. (and hopefully find out why the password didn't work)

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Friday, July 4, 2008 7:50 PM

MADMOLLY

2 years ago I asked Paul Ginsburg at Universal about having the actors on the poster I was creating for the first shindig. This is not a direct quote but basically he said it shouldn't be a big deal. They are in the movie we are showing and Universal is allowing us to show the movie. We should probably ask for permission to be on the safe side. But I can't imagine any of them saying no.

p.s. I put all ther pics on my poster but no names.

madmolly

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Sunday, July 6, 2008 6:26 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN

If the film is rented for the day, you could have 2 showings for the same price of the film rental, right? Having a mid-day viewing would be nice on a hot June day, and a midnight viewing for those on a different schedule (I'd probably go to both, not like I haven't seen the movie before).
Don't know how the screen rental rates compare for mid-day, midnight, and prime time (Madison was 7pm).

For atrwork, they wouldn't consider Serenity to be a character, would they?

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Sunday, July 6, 2008 6:51 PM

MADMOLLY

They showed the movie twice this year at the Phoenix(Chandler)screening, once at 3:30 and again at 7:00. So it makes good financial sense to screen it twice if you can.

I think I will look into whether we can use the ship and the characters in the posters. I was told 2 years ago it wouldn't be a problem. So I will find out what I can.

madmolly

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Sunday, July 6, 2008 6:58 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN

The IDs would be a great idea. Some people in the parking lot I conjured were browncoats due to wearing silky Serenity symbol blouses, but others (including myself, in the hot weather) were harder to figure.
Sites like here could have online versions we could make ourselves (add pic maybe, in Jayne-hat motif maybe), so they had names, screennames, were recognizable, any other details we wanted added, we could think about them for a few days before printing out, for example.

In addition to banners, could mini-posters be made, that could fit into car windows? I frequent cinemas, and having a poster with details in the window as the moviegoers walk by might bring in more than just us die=-hards. If the mini-poster had a blank spot for local cinema and screen time, than might be cool as well as easy.
For that matter, are there Serenity sun shades being sold/made?

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Monday, July 7, 2008 6:42 AM

STOWEAWAY

Quote:
Originally posted by jewelstaitefan:

In addition to banners, could mini-posters be made, that could fit into car windows? I frequent cinemas, and having a poster with details in the window as the moviegoers walk by might bring in more than just us die=-hards. If the mini-poster had a blank spot for local cinema and screen time, than might be cool as well as easy.
For that matter, are there Serenity sun shades being sold/made?

LOL, now those are two ideas I have NEVER heard before. Bonus points for originality!

There were mini-posters this year but they weren't received by cities until days before the screenings. And weren't distributed until the night of the screening. So they couldn't have been used for publicity.

I'll get that posted over at CSTS. The time to start on stuff like that for next year -- is right now.

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Monday, July 7, 2008 6:27 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN

Quote:
Originally posted by Stoweaway:
Quote:
Originally posted by jewelstaitefan:

In addition to banners, could mini-posters be made, that could fit into car windows? I frequent cinemas, and having a poster with details in the window as the moviegoers walk by might bring in more than just us die=-hards. If the mini-poster had a blank spot for local cinema and screen time, than might be cool as well as easy.
For that matter, are there Serenity sun shades being sold/made?

LOL, now those are two ideas I have NEVER heard before. Bonus points for originality!

There were mini-posters this year but they weren't received by cities until days before the screenings. And weren't distributed until the night of the screening. So they couldn't have been used for publicity.

I'll get that posted over at CSTS. The time to start on stuff like that for next year -- is right now.

For that matter, sell them to us and make more money. For those with less spending cash, those who pre-purchase tickets next year could get some free (mailed to them, the earlier the better).
Thinking now, I conjure that walking by a car with a Firefly sunshade will make me breakout the sillygrin. Don't recall ever seeing an Enterprise sunshade, and we are mightier than them.
I'd hope to have mini-posdters for my vehicles before May. I have a car that many people look at attentively.
Can the various styles of the original posters be re-issued? as mini-posters as well?

Another thought came to me, seperately. I had noticed a somewhat steady stream of people coming into the cinema lot from a weird direction, until I conjured they came from the bus stop. Perhaps the CSTS cinemas should be selected close to a bus route. Many current Browncoats may have been teenagers during orig broadcast, and now could be cash-strapped college types. So a bus route convenience could be an idea not just for the next few years, but well into future years as more younger folks see the DVDs.

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Tuesday, July 8, 2008 7:23 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN

Quote:
Originally posted by jewelstaitefan:

Thinking now, I conjure that walking by a car with a Firefly sunshade will make me breakout the sillygrin. Don't recall ever seeing an Enterprise sunshade, and we are mightier than them.

And by Firefly, I meant 03-K64 Firefly sunshade. Even somebody not familiar with one might see that and want to look closer, "Hey - what is that?" and read the details, like www.fireflyfans.net, serenity, CSTS.org and whatall. Bottom (or top) corners could have the Firefly show logo, and Serenity poster logo.

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Friday, July 11, 2008 7:54 AM

STOWEAWAY

Quote:
Originally posted by embers:

it won't accept the authorization code...

I got a response from one of our mods. She says the password is still valid and should work OK.
She did warn that you have to be careful with the CAPTCHA code -- it is case sensitive.
If you have trouble registering, try refreshing for a different CAPTCHA code that might be easier to decipher.

I hope you guys have dropped in over at CSTS to leave some words of wisdom.
There have been lots of folks giving input -- it's great!
Everything that's been posted here was copied over to the forum so all the organizers could read it.

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