Intervention Con Wrap-Up

Another con weekend done!

This weekend was Intervention Con. It's one of the best out there. It started out as a con to mix Internet and convention. With husband and wife team, Oni Hartstein and James Harknell's core mission being to "Intervene and Inspire everyone who participates. With us you can come meet the creators, actors, developers, and producers of your favorite works and also learn about the process of how it’s all made. Our Creator’s Track within the con is all about mentoring people into fandom industries and many of our guest participate as mentors. It’s a 3 day fandom celebration with a heart toward helping the community."

It is in Rockville, MD at the Hilton Hotel there. It;s a great location, right on the Pike and with lots of shopping and food choices within walking distance of the con, across the street and next door on both sides. 

Intervention this year had more celeb guests than previous years but it did not distract from the original mission of the con. I love celebs so that's always a big draw for me anyway, but with Intervention, I always go because I learn a lot from the discussions, panels, and celeb interviews. 

It's really one of the only cons, along with its sister con, RegenerationWho, that I really just want to attend every panel! I even love the panels so much, I need to make sure I find an hour to get food for lunch and dinner! If not I need to make sure I bring food with me so I don't pass out from the awesomeness! HA!

Intervention does what no other con has managed to do for me, I go to the panels to take notes and learn from the experts and those with much more experience than me, to learn about filmmaking, marketing, and starting my own business. All the things I currently do and am trying to thrive in.

One of the things that Intervention tried out this year was something called "Creator Space". It was meant to bring artists and vendors alike, to a safe place that you could for however long you want, sit at a half table in the hall, to sell things you have made-whether is was fine arts artwork like paintings, or jewelry, or other arts and crafts you have made yourself. I actually did partake in it because I didn't want to vend at the con. (Because I love the con too much to want to attend everything that I don't want to be stuck at a table I can't leave to go learn stuff!) So this was great! 

It dd have its hiccup on Friday, day one. You could sign up for Friday online and you should have received an email saying they will text or call you around 1pm to tell you to set up or if there was room to sit there. While I received my initial email, I hadn't received anything further in the day and it looked completely empty all day there. I did have some free time and could have sat and vended for a short time if things had run smoother. There was some lack of communication on the rules and instructions for the volunteer sitting there. So the space went unused all of Friday, unfortunately. And I did talk with James later that night about it. Hiccups happen, miscommunication happens. The good thing with James and Oni is they are aware of situations and we all know mishaps will occur and trial and error prevail. James and Oni though, they fix things. Always. Never be afraid to tell them when something isn't working, they fit that nonsense then and there! Anyway, so we chatted and things were to be fixed for Sat.

I go to the sign up sheet Sat and they are to text me if there is space. There was even a column to check off on the sign up sheet if texting was ok or not for you. Still nothing by mid-day. Though I do see the tables are starting to be used at least, So it's a step in the right direction. I couldn't find the woman in charge as she is so busy herself with the vendors most the time and you can only be in one place at a time. (Lovely gal, not her fault I couldn't find her for help.) But in quickly talking with someone else sitting there selling her artwork, she mentioned that we just sit in an open space for however we like (part of the rules page) and someone will come to check you off from the sign up sheet. Oh! Ok! That was not communicated with potential creator space vendors. But with this new and very helpful knowledge, I went off to lunch quickly and then came back to set up for a couple hours. And though I didn't sell anything, I was happy to have that opportunity to try to sell my wares and see what may or may not happen. The creator space was a great opportunity to at least get my business out there and to see the fans and those who may be interested in my skirts and bags. And it was nice to meet other creators doing the same thing and we could talk shop and business skills were shared and such. I really hope, once the kinks get worked out, this comes back next year, maybe even at RegenWho, 

Perhaps there could be an actual timegrid for people to sign up on instead of a con worker needing to contact foks, or maybe make it clearer in the rules and instructions of how the system works-- i.e. - to just plop down when you want and we'll check you off, vs we'll contact you method. They had very clear instructions overall but implementing the instructions is where the miscommunications happened, unfortunately.
Sidenote- The woman in charge of the vendors and creator space did talk to me later and apologized for the miscommunication or lack of communication in general. I understood her side and did not, in any way, blame her. I had some interactions with her at RegenWho as well when we couldn't find another specific volunteer to help us with a different issue. So I knew how hard-working this individual is in general. I am just glad it worked out in the end and I was able to get info from other creators in how the space was suddenly supposed to be run.

At Intervention Con, I can ask questions freely without judgement, or fear of backlash, to those in my field. And I can approach celebs without there really being a barrier between fan and celeb. The celebs are open and honest and love the interaction with the fans and attendees. And I've heard on a number of occasions from the celeb themselves, how much they love the cons Oni and James have developed, even for just the guest-to-fan ratio and personal interactions they can have. They love the one-on-one time and to of course speak about their profession and give behind-the-scenes stories to share with their fans. They love the intimate nature of Intervention and RegenWho. It's great to hear the celeb tell me that themselves. 

I had a great time at Intervention. I always get so much out of talking to other creators, even if they aren't in my field, we all learn from one another's experience, stories, and mistakes. So I love interacting with panelists, guests, and other attendees who are there for the same reason.

I didn't really know who Rachel Talalay was before going in, tho i was familiar with some of her work or IMDB page but once I sat in the first panel with her, wow! She blew me away! She directed Tank Girl, episodes of Sherlock, and Doctor Who to just name some big ones! So much work history in a man dominated workforce. She discussed how that's effected her, how she handles it, and how things have changed or not, in many cases. More on that in a future post. But without this con, I wouldn't even have known who she was really or been so enthralled to want to learn more about her now and really pick apart some of the episodes and movies she's done to see why she made certain choices, whether it be from lighting, scenery, sets to costume choices. What an amazing lady and all thanks to Intervention for introducing me to her name and making me realize just how important she is to the filmmaking and television worlds.

So it's things like this, that make me want to come back to Intervention Con every year, even if I have to drive 4 hours to get there.

Thank you Oni and James and their whole staff of volunteers for everything you do, for making the guests feel at home and at ease, and for making the attendees feel like they are just as important and that their experience at the con matters, too. You all make the con welcoming, safe, enjoyable, and go above and beyond to make your cons the best possible cons out there. Thank you!!!

I'l be posting up my reviews and what I did at the con in the following posts. So look for those soon!