Tech at my first DW Con
Take one enthusiastic geek, a Discworld Convention, some seasoned hands willing to teach newbies, mix well, and what do you get?
I should perhaps step back and introduce myself. I'm Crazyscot, a professional geek by trade, long-time sci-fi and fantasy reader, and owing to not being the most sociable of creatures I was new to this whole Convention thing; I was talked into DWCon 2008 by my good friends Rachel and Tony.
I knew from before the Con that I would like to help out with the tech as it goes with my nature: I'm into software, electronics, DIY, bike maintenance and generally being useful. When Shevek (head of tech) put out the call for volunteers before the Con I needed no second bidding.
Turning up at lunchtime on the Friday, I found myself in a hive of activity: there was a half-built tech tower, boxes of kit everywhere, and a small army running around doing useful stuff. I didn't know anyone or what was needed, so tracked Shevek down and was immediately put to work. Not knowing how the kit went together wasn't a problem as there was plenty to be done - putting out microphones, setting up projectors, running cables and so forth. By the time of the opening ceremony you would not believe the transformation that had taken place. Once, it was a hotel ballroom in relatively close proximity to a place known as Birmingham; now, for the following 72 hours, it was...ours!
Om's faithful don't need to be told what goes on at a Con, but the tech side deserves explanation. There are many jobs that need doing throughout, some events needing more people than others (sound, lights, cameras - the list goes on and on). The beauty of tech is that you usually get one of the best seats in the house (well, I think so anyway - a camera podium or the tech tower) and can often enjoy an event whilst working it. Me, I teched for a few events, learned a lot about how the kit works - and also attended programming, met people and generally had fun. (Who'd have thought?) The best bit was looking around, seeing the audience enjoying the show and realising "I helped make this happen". It's a tremendous buzz.
... Guild? Guild?? Tech was my guild! :-)
In the beginning...
There were parts...
and the parts were good...
After a lot of hard work...
we had the stage in the Dysk!
