29th MCM London Comic Con

Article by Demon Slayer

MCM had a great selection of celebrities, but their inability to take credit cards on site and the confusion in getting photos was a big let-down.

MCM London comic con had big name celebrities! They had celebrities from cult classics, block buster movies and tons of shows.  Their selection of stars included stars from: Batman vs Superman, Big Bang Theory, Agents of SHIELD, Agent Carter, Dark Matter, Preacher, Arrow, NCIS, NCIS L.A., Being Human, Murdoch Mysteries, Game of Thrones, Sleepy Hollow, Lost Girl, Gotham, and The Shannara Chronicles!  

At most European conventions I have attended, an attendee is normally given a choice of either purchasing an autographed picture, a photo with the star of your choice, or both.  The price for either is normally the same, but photos could be a few pounds dearer.

MCM ran a sound ship when it came to organizing lines for the relevant stars. People came starting 15 minutes before the shoot, and were compacted into snaking lines so they did not run into areas they shouldn’t (e.g. exits from shoot areas, and walkways that surround the photoshoot and autograph areas.)  This was a change from some of the more chaotic cons I have been to.

The problems started when I was buying tickets.  If you didn’t purchase your ticket in advance online, you had to buy on the day of the shoot.  If you bought them on the day of the shoot you had to use cash only and you couldn’t pay for a different day.  You couldn’t, say, turn up Friday and pay in cash for a ticket for Saturday or Sunday. Due to this, I missed out on a photoshoot with Elizabeth Henstridge. (Jemma Simmons in “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”) This was very disappointing, and hasn’t been a problem at most other cons.

Things did run smoothly when I passed into the curtained off area where all the photography was done. They were very good at checking tickets and they had an area for me and other costumers to put all the junk we were carrying. They took my things and placed them on a table on the other side of the shoot for me to collect on way out.  This was nice as you don’t want you’re purchases and other stuff at the base of your feet in the photo. 

When it came to the process of getting the photos MCM did a bad job.  This was by far the worst part of the process and a let-down. At MCM there were always two different shoots going on at the same time. These were done in partitioned rooms next to each other, a third partition would be where a costumer would pay for tickets or picture reprints (If for some reason the photos didn’t print or if the costumer wanted extras). There was also a picture collection area.

Now here’s where things fell apart in my eyes. Apparently photoshoot room one was furthest from collection area and had printers for itself (never noticed as the queue, the star, or both were being paid attention to). The first few pictures were printed off as you passed the printer or were picking up stuff. But after a while it took longer and longer, and you could be out of the area and have forgotten to pick your picture up. The volunteers were busy getting you out of the shoot area for the next customer, making sure you picked up your stuff (and not someone else’s), and forgetting to direct you to pick up your photo. Naturally, you automatically go to the main collection area to pick up your print. Now there is only one line, which is compact and snaking to use less space. The print area can only hold two (three if you squeeze) people. Now there are four printers here and they are printing off pictures taken in room two. So now you’re getting an ever growing line of people waiting for their pictures, some in the correct area, some not.  Only two people at time were served.  If you are in the wrong line they make you wait in a longer line because the one person (max four) at the desk only asks whom you are looking for and not what room you just come from.  To make matters worse, at times there is data blockage between the camera computer and the printers in the print area. This make the waiting time longer still, and customers tempers high. One afternoon during this weekend it took almost two hours to find and receive a print!

Other conventions have handled this better.  They should have told the customer to come back in an hour (unless it was one of the last two shoots for the day) and lay them out in a large oval table for collection. If after an hour it hadn’t shown up on the table, then you could ask for a reprint.  This method reduces the waiting time and allows people to do something else whilst they handle the printing of the photos.