PAX West 2018 Monday

I had about 6 hours of sleep. This is expected because I am in Convention mode. The video had converted while I slept. I then set it to upload as I posted things and worked on notes.

I checked my time and decided to get the 8:45 ferry. It was too late for the 7:20. I worried there would be too much traffic, but the time was perfect to arrive at the convention center at 10. So I took a quick shower.

After a few days, I was sick of wearing g the same pants all the time. The shower was nice simply because I wasn't wearing pants.

The pack up was slow but methodical. I told myself I would miss the ferry, but try anyway. A cover went missing for the 360 camera. I had to retrace my steps. Adam's stepson found it for me. Something was off, he should have been at school.

I rushed to the parking spot, but expected it to be full. There was plenty of openings. Finally it kicked in today is labor day. I was on Holiday time.

The line for parking tickets had people telling the time till ferry. It was six minutes before I got my ticket. I ran to place the ticket in my car, and grab my backpack.

They were doing final call -two days in a row!- for the ferry. I am glad I decided to try anyway.

While on the ferry I grabbed some breakfast.

Then I chatted with some others. They were a retired couple, and I even took there picture of the view. She was from Maine, he was from the NW. But he wore a shirt with a Wyoming symbol.

I wrote notes after that. My big worries were that I wouldn't get the entire PAX. It takes up multiple floors, and I had a single day to do it all.

During the walk I met a couple who worked in Seattle but lived in Bremerton. They called themselves spaghetti because of their badges. They say SPG for Special Guest. Mine says that as well. They both worked at Nordstrom's.  He was IT at Nordstrom's, and we chatted about how the store was changing to be online mostly. Apparently most of the sales have been through the website.

They knew the routes better than me. It was a fun conversation, but it ended at the Sheraton.

There was some odd security points at the convention center. My pass actually didn't get me to the room I worked in. The guards let me through because the room was so close.

At the room I tried to plan out how to film. There was a ton to see. I wanted to make sure I had a good route, and was safe. The moving tripod had bright lights and a bunch of other stuff. Crowds would still be difficult, which is why I had safety modes set up.

I scouted out the area and was overwhelmed at the main floor. It’s big, but it stopped being amazing to me a while back. What I noticed was how big they were trying to make everything, and how this sort of failed.

The Twitch booth had a competition area, and hosts trying g to sound cool.

“Oh man, you are about to learn the power of Dragon Ball Z”

“I already like Dragon Ball Z.”

“When you see the giant Thunderball, you will be converted.”

“Yes I know”

That was the hosts. They had a giant fishing pole holding a camera to get sweeps and other shots. The presenters at other booths were having the same conversation over and over again. The fake laughter was the clue to that. I felt sorry for them because none of them was in a nice sitting position.

One guy just demonstrated a game, and talked like he was selling knives. He even had the microphone and elevated platform.

On the other hand, I saw people outside of the screen light enjoying themselves. One guy was dancing to music being played from another booth. The room I worked at had families playing as they sold stuff. I became best friends with a two year old.

The lines were so big, I didn't even think about playing games. There was also a large crowd. The main floor just seemed like a bad idea for the moving tripod. I would have to use a mono pod or my arm.

The Indie area on the sixth floor was a lot less busy. It had lights on, and easier to maneuver aisles.

What I didn't know was that the security was overly sensitive.

Back at the room, I sold the tables as best I could. A couple had brought their kids while they sold. There wasn't enough badges to go around, and a two year old was involved. The parents would swap so there was always someone selling, and taking care of the new best friend I made. He wanted swings and to be held upside down like my sister when she was the same age.

We said the tables were getting the toddler test.

The tables were designed by the guy in charge of Seattle Retro Gaming Expo. They could be normal kitchen tables, but once panels were removed, they became boardgame ready tables. There were slide in cup holders, and LED lights that changed color from an app. It really was an impressive table, and at a good price. We were a tenth of the price of competitors. Technically one of them went under recently.

After selling a bit, I prepared the moving tripod. I was only going to shoot floor six, but that meant a series of elevators. While heading to one, I refilmed an area that had mostly closed down when I passed the day before.

The elevator to the fourth floor was easy. I even got compliments. The elevator to the sixth floor was tough, because I had to flash my badge and guide at the same time. Still, it was easy.

The route was going down every aisle and trying to only move when there was clearance. I had been practicing for this, so my skills were good. One guy backed up to turn and hit my car. I'm glad it was my car and not a person though. He wasn't looking.

Near the end of the route an enforcer approached me and told me to leave the show floor. I was done anyway, so I did. On the way to the elevator, I traveled and recorded the FreePlay area.

On the near last bend to the elevator, and after filming was done completely, two more enforcers approached and told me I was being kicked out. It was very obvious they were the brute Force, and didn't realize their requests were weird. They didn't know the moving tripod was designed to go through crowds, and not to hurt people. So they had me carry it. Then they carried it.

I was able to convince them to take it to the room I was working in.

I've had to brute squad before, so I knew their positions. I knew what they were told, and what they were not. It was to stop one problem from being more than that. They even told me to ask corporate about it because they thought it was cool.

I was feeling scared and angry so I didn't talk much.

“I was told some guy was driving an RC car around, I wasn't expecting anything like this. This is bigger and cooler.”

At the room, I dumped my recordings from my camera, and began to convert the first one to a viewable format.

I sold the tables from the computer. There was so many salesmen I felt like I was in the way. Especially when I forgot the words Dice Tower. I found out more info on the tables as well. There had been so many requests for coffee tables, they started to promise a height request. The tables wouldn't change, but the legs would.

I nearly got a Steadicam for filming the main floor, but it's battery was out.

After the first conversion, friends from SRGE showed up. We gave them badges and let them explore.

When they returned they had a weird comment. The show floor didn't feel like a real penny arcade expo. It was more of a generic money grabbing scheme than a feeling of videogame culture.

I went to film the main floor using just my arm. It was difficult. My arm felt tired, and I worried my camera wouldn't pick up much. I hoped the crowds would be picked up and maybe some of the screens. The games looked really cool.

The human eye can suss out darkness and light a lot easier than a camera. The videos all around me looked amazing, but the camera lacked the ability to focus and alter the Iris for proper viewing.

My arm ached, so I had to use the other arm to hold it up. Then I switched arms. There were some moments when I had to lower the camera, but they weren't common.

People asked me why I film this way. The reality is, as and anthropologist I want to show a culture not explain it. You can see the movement of crowds, the different cultures and all sorts of other things with the footage. I am not in the shot, but I can explain as needed. This is what anyone would want with footage.

Because of this, I worked hard to get the footage as best I could. The other options are using my phone, and taking a ton of video and pictures.

It's nice but it doesn't quite work. I'll be getting a new 360 camera with higher resolution and HDR in November. Hopefully it does the job well.

The most difficult part of the tour was the indiecade. They had aisles to their own.

After that I dumped it all to my computer. My plan was to upload a video every night. First though, I needed to wait for the convention to close so I could get my moving tripod out.

We sold even as things were being taken down. I found out one of the sellers was from mainland China.

I also took a picture of a zombie game.

There were a couple cosplays, but not a lot.

Then back to work.

The family I was working with were heading out, and I asked for a ride. It was hard work, but I got the MT over the several blocks to their car.  

She knew the route because she used to work at the Subway.

I got the MT up, and found a princess peach cosplayer.

We talked about the guy dressed as a blue shell. He threw one at the MT. I guess she got one tossed at her as well.

I had to drive the MT through the gates to use my ticket, but carried it onto the ferry. It was the rare time a pedestrian had a car.

I grabbed a Gatorade and then drove the MT to a place to sit. Right before I got to my chosen spot, a security guard told me to carry it.

This is the third time in a day. I don't really know how to think about any of it. Not the guard, the timing. I'm done, but suddenly I have to schlep the schlep mobile.

The journey back in mentioned the weirdness to other travelers. A married couple and a mom of three. We laughed at PAX and it's weirdness.

“PAX right now is like the IRS decided to run a carnival.”

We laughed at stuff and had a good time.

I drove back, and watched some Monday night RAW with my buddy. Then I began to convert and upload videos. My plans for one a day became everything in 24 hours.

I slept waiting for my lappy to convert a really big video. I would upload in the morning.