Antonia Ellis / San Diego Event Update

Hi all,

I haven't provided any updates on the Antonia Ellis event in a while...
perhaps because there hasn't been anything to report! I've literally been
waiting months for the convention organizers to say yes or no on whether or
not they've got a room for us to have a question & answer session with
Antonia.

Well, yesterday, I got the word that they've got one room left for us.
This would be on Saturday from 11am - noon. The room holds 120 people,
which I would think would be MORE than enough. The Q&A would be open to
the public, and I suspect will appear in the convention program (but I
don't know that as of yet).

The room also has a video setup, so I'm hoping to show the short video
"Tomorrow Today", which features an interview with Sylvia Anderson and
shows Antonia Ellis wearing her UFO costume around London and on the UFO
set. (I'm still waiting on someone who has promised to send me this). I
suppose we could also show some short clips of Antonia Ellis in various
films, as I own copies of The Boyfriend, Mahler, Percy, and "10".

One thing which would be nice is to have someone videotape the Q&A session,
so that we could later transcribe it for the website. Is anyone who is
planning on going willing to do this?

Also, it might be nice to have a "SHADO discussion group" only dinner that
night (probably with Antonia also). Perhaps even someone here might want
to take charge and set that up, as it might be better to spread the work
around a bit... Anyone interested? Shawn? Denise? Anyone else?

Marc

I have a hi8 camcorder we can use but I am a terrible camera man. Odd, I
can shoot rockets taking off but trust me, to shoot the session we'd be WAY
better off just setting up the camera on a tripod and leaving it pointed at
Antonia. Unfortunately I do not have an extension mike only the built in.
I can and will shoot decent stills though. Perhaps someone else can shoot
and I'll just provide the camera. I also have a portable rig so we can
transcribe the hi8 to VHS immediately.

I'll be happy to arrange a diner too but something that'll be rather
required will be a head count. I know a nice little Italian place about 10
minutes north of town that will *not* be inundated by con attendees nor is
it too expensive. They know me and my family very well. They serve a
variety of meals and of course pizza and can easily handle groups up to 30
with a few hours notice usually, (or more with more advanced reservations,
the larger the group or the more popular the night, the more advance
required of course). All we'd need is a count and some wheels (I'm sure we
can figure out ways we can ride-share).

S


>Subject: Antonia Ellis / San Diego Event Update
>Hi all, <SNIP>
>One thing which would be nice is to have someone videotape the Q&A
session,
>so that we could later transcribe it for the website. Is anyone who is
>planning on going willing to do this?
>
>Also, it might be nice to have a "SHADO discussion group" only dinner that
>night (probably with Antonia also). Perhaps even someone here might want
>to take charge and set that up, as it might be better to spread the work
>around a bit... Anyone interested? Shawn? Denise? Anyone else?
>
>Marc

Hi Shawn,

I think setting up the camera and leaving it on a tripod would be fine,
actually, as long we'll be able to decipher what's being said!

As for a dinner headcount, you should count me in plus my wife. And
Antonia as well. :-)

Anthony Taylor has already sent me an e-mail advising me that we should
really attempt to find a restaurant which is walking distance from the
convention center, as he believes that nobody will have a car (?). I must
say I don't know anything about that, although I know our rental car will
be parked at our hotel!

Marc

Marc Martin wro
> Anthony Taylor has already sent me an e-mail advising me that we should
> really attempt to find a restaurant which is walking distance from the
> convention center, as he believes that nobody will have a car (?). I must
> say I don't know anything about that, although I know our rental car will
> be parked at our hotel!

I should have been more specific; while many people may have cars
available, they would probably prefer not to incur an additional $20 or
so in parking fees by taking it out of their hotel parking garage and
then returning it a couple of hours later.
AT

replies intermixed below:


>>I have a hi8 camcorder we can use <snip>
>>I'll be happy to arrange a diner too <snip>
>
>Hi Shawn,
>I think setting up the camera and leaving it on a tripod would be fine,
>actually, as long we'll be able to decipher what's being said!

It should do that fine. If it doesn't, I'm sure we can have the audio
track extracted and enhanced a bit.

>As for a dinner headcount, you should count me in plus my wife. And
>Antonia as well. :-)

There'll be myself and one other, possibly two.

>Anthony Taylor has already sent me an e-mail advising me that we should
>really attempt to find a restaurant which is walking distance from the
>convention center, as he believes that nobody will have a car (?). I must
>say I don't know anything about that, although I know our rental car will
>be parked at our hotel!
>Marc

The big drawback to that is that there are 25,000 people with that same
idea. There is a bay on one side and a ball park on another so even where
you can walk to is limited and therefore the mass of people concentrated.
The other problem is expense, everything in the heart of downtown SD is
more expensive, probably enough more expensive to offset any parking
expense. (Shouldn't you have free parking and in/out privileges at your
own hotel? I suppose that's another courtesy that's gone by the wayside.)
One of the initial requests for the dinner was for it to be somewhere
quieter than the areas already overrun by con attendees. That mandated
getting a little out of the heart of downtown.

My car will likely be parked around in back of the convention center in a
secret spot. I could shuttle other drivers to their cars at closing time
if the free, con-provided shuttle busses don't stop at their hotels. I
could also maybe retrieve a second car (which would give us 4 open seats)
in the time between con-end and dinner. (It is typical after a long day at
con, to go back to the room drop off your swag and 'freshen up' before
dinner.)

I'll go along with whatever you decide of course Marc, but I can assure you
that it will be decidedly more difficult to both get a place and have that
place be quiet in any way shape or form, downtown. Our only good chance in
town might be in one of the outlying hotels, late, certainly not in the
streets.

S

> >I think setting up the camera and leaving it on a tripod would be fine,
> >actually, as long we'll be able to decipher what's being said!
>
> It should do that fine. If it doesn't, I'm sure we can have the audio
> track extracted and enhanced a bit.

And if anyone's got a portable audio recorder, we could always just put
it in the front of the room for backup.

> One of the initial requests for the dinner was for it to be somewhere
> quieter than the areas already overrun by con attendees. That mandated
> getting a little out of the heart of downtown.

Yes, it would be nice to be in some place quiet... whaddya think
Anthony?
I suppose it also depends on how many people are coming... if it's only
a few, then travelling should be no big deal.

Marc

P.S. Here is my current draft of our panel discussion description:

---
11:00 - 12:00 "I Was a Purple-Haired Moonbabe" - Anyone remember Gerry
Anderson's 1970 TV series UFO? (now on DVD and with an upcoming comic
book). Actress Antonia Ellis (Lt. Joan Harrington) will tell what it
was like to wear her silver catsuit and purple wig on SHADO's Moonbase.
Marc Martin (ufoseries.com) will show a rare short that should've been
on the DVDs. Antonia will also be signing autographs at the FAB Gear
booth (booth #???) Saturday and Sunday. Room 1A.
---