Written By Summer 2011 : Page 19
Been there, done that? Don’t be naive. shows and science fiction conventions (which I also strongly advise you to attend) in one major way: Most of those consist of only a few thousand attendees, you’re given ample opportu-nities to speak to panelists after their presentations, and there’s a central place to hang out and talk (usually the hotel bar). At those venues, the energy is friendly and can even be laid-back. Not so Comic-Con. At its beginning, it was a small com-ic-book-oriented convention; movies, books, and TV were merely side interests. In the old days, if you went to panels and hung out in the green room, you’d get a lot accomplished. But over its 42 years, Comic-Con has grown exponentially until it’s become the essential, elite, inescapable, colossal Super Venue: Con, the Eighth Wonder of the World. It’s where stu-dios and networks must roll out their blockbuster movies and new TV series to generate worldwide buzz. A-list stars, directors, comic book authors, novelists, and showrunners must come to the Con to bang the drum. Although most of the major big-names have not yet been announced (with the exception of a few luminaries, including Grant Morrison and J. Michael Strac-zynski), the complete schedule is listed 10 days to two weeks prior to the date of the Con on its website (www.comic-con. org). Beyond this, there are always last-minute guests, so don’t be surprised to see the likes of J.J. Abrams, Peter Jackson, James Cameron, Ridley Scott, Harrison Ford, Daniel Craig, or the en-tire cast of The Hobbit suddenly sprint on stage. It’s dangerous territory, exotic, and you can’t step in the same Comic-Con twice. So allow this Con survivor to guide you through the pop-culture jungle. Getting in Professionals (and that’s anyone in film, TV, books, comics, gaming, or related industries who can demonstrate legitimate credits) get into Comic-Con free, plus one guest. You’ll need to go online and register well in advance, because registration tends to close early. If it’s closed, talk to your pro friends who might be attending. Odds are they’ll have a free guest pass that isn’t taken. Then: prepare, prepare, prepare. What you can expect to accomplish breaks down into four categories: Gaining information on current and upcoming film, TV, comics, gaming and book projects—including their creators and distributors. Making new Industry contacts. Marketing yourself. Pitching your projects. What you must be mindful not to do is waste your time and run yourself into the ground. To avoid that: S tart by listing your first, second, and third objectives, in a sentence each, in order of importance. For instance, in my case it might be: • Talk to TV showrunners about staffing opportunities. • Talk to book publishers and editors about my new book. • Talk to comic book editors about possible assignments. I keep this list with me at all times at the Con and ensure the most important one gets done first. Remember that what you write can be marketed in many media. A script can be marketed to film, TV, books, comics, audiobooks, the Internet, and more. Think of it as intellec-tual property. Talk to as broad a swath of people as possible. One way or another, practically everyone is a part of your business—and vice-versa. Practice saying what legitimizes you in a single sen-tence. The people you target won’t listen until you say some-thing that proves you merit their attention. For example, here are some sentences that have worked for me: “I’m Marc Zicree, and I’ve written and sold over 100 scripts.” “I’m Marc Zicree, and I wrote The Twilight Zone Compan-ion. ” (My first book has sold more than half a million copies and most folks in the Industry own one.) “I’m Marc Zicree, and I’m currently nominated for the Hugo and Nebula Awards.” (These are the top two awards in science fiction, and it was for the George Takei Star Trek episode in 2008. When I said this, every listener wanted to meet with me.) Practice pitching your project in less than a minute. Never pitch every single beat of a story. Give us what excites you, what makes it cool and fresh, the heart of it, and be brief. Visual aids are great—illustrations, trailers (on a jump drive or iPad)—but they have to be great. A shitty picture ruins a thousand words. Choose your targets. Scour the Comic-Con website for info on attending guests and scheduled events. These firm up the closer it gets to the date. I recommend using Google image, so you see what everyone you want to meet looks like. Once you’re there, get a hard-copy schedule with even more info. Additionally, everyone at Comic-Con wears a name badge; this can be incredibly helpful. If you’re on the fence as to whether or not to talk with someone, then do speak to them, regardless of whether they’re important. But if they are important, make sure to say something you genuinely feel. Be specific and don’t gush. Comic-Con consists of major presentations of TV shows and movies in vast halls that hold thousands, with panels in smaller rooms relating to TV, films, comics, books, etc., and a vast Dealers Room where artists show their wares, toys, books and other collectibles for sale, and major publishers, studios and networks have booths. In the largest halls, you’ll have no opportunities to speak with panelists. In the medium-size halls you might get a chance. And in the smallest rooms, you definitely will. In the early days of Comic-Con, there was one green room
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