FrightFest ticketing 2015

Taking place over the Bank Holiday weekend, August 27th - 31st 2015
MalJutley
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Re: FrightFest 2015 dates for you diary

Post by MalJutley »

Just some thoughts from me…. I think the sleepy queue has always been good to meet other frightfesters Each year I meet new faces in the queue and it adds to the general ‘family’ feel of the event. I have used the pre-registration system for other events and it does work well, however currently in the sleepy queue you can but a large number of tickets under one name and ensure you sit next to who you need to. Below are some suggestions and questions:

Would it be possible to not have any overnight queue as such but start the queue in the early hours of the morning instead. So just state that queuing can start from something like 5am like when it moves from near the Odeon to the cinema itself ?
Could we have a separate area of the cinema to use on the day to buy tickets and we queue inside (1st floor bar area? Or top floor cinema screen, start early in the morning)
What would happen to the traditional film screening for those that were in the sleepy queue?
If a pre-registration is the answer would there be a limit on the number of tickets one person can buy?

I do like the idea of a ‘season ticket’ style option as mentioned above

Lastly and a bit cheeky
Will we have Ian, Alan and Paul on hand to advise us on films as they always do ;) (that element will be gone without a sleepy queue)
Alex J
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Re: FrightFest 2015 dates for you diary

Post by Alex J »

Personally I have always been a bit worried about the multiple tickets per person option, in case it encourages touting, unnecessary excessive buying etc, but I can see that it makes sense to allow one person to buy for a couple for instance.....

We have never had an issue with touting even though many FrightFesters at the front of the Sleepy Queue are buying multiple tickets. They tend to be for mates saving them the bother of queuing.
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Reanimator
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Re: FrightFest 2015 dates for you diary

Post by Reanimator »

It would be a shame if there was no sleepy queue this year - it has become part of Frightfest tradition. It has always been a good place to chat with friends and other frightfesters about the films etc, plus the knowldge that you have your seats and tickets safely tucked away until August.

Is there an alternative place nearby where the queue could form overnight before moving over to the Vue in the morning?
HeadOnAStick
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Re: FrightFest 2015 dates for you diary

Post by HeadOnAStick »

It would be possible to create a Frightfest 'club' membership, would it not? People who are committed to the FF experience could pay an annual subscription part of which would be redeemable against tickets and passes and other events. They could be offered priority booking online which would prevent the situation where _everyone_ has to hit the site on the same day.

I must confess I haven't really thought this through but it might be possible. I think football clubs often have priority seating for official fan clubs and the like.
Alex J
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Re: FrightFest 2015 dates for you diary

Post by Alex J »

I have always fancied the idea of membership, not just because this should guarantee tickets to events, but also if the festival was only attended by members then I believe this would get around the problem of Westminster Council interfering with the films being shown, such as A Serbian Film was - although please correct me if my understanding is wrong! Any film could then be shown uncut.

However, I know there is a desire to keep the festival open to all and of course membership could become a "closed shop", with potential implications on income, as well as losing the "open to all" embrace to new fans. There is of course the financial impact as not everyone could necessarily afford a subscription. However, as I said, I do like the idea of the membership approach....

We had thought about a membership/subscription type thing, but in the end we concluded it wasn't a good idea. We felt that like you that it could become a closed shop. The festival needs new blood each year to survive, so putting barriers in people's way is not a great idea.
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jonbly
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Re: FrightFest 2015 dates for you diary

Post by jonbly »

It's obvious.

Put golden tickets into chocolate bars, then sell them all over the country. Then, whoever finds the tickets gets sent to a secret location where they find an abandoned chocolate factory. As the bravest ticket holders explore deeper into the factory, they slowly realise that they are not alone...

Once they've all been eaten by the rabid Oompa-Loompas, there should be plenty of tickets left for me.

Problem. Solved.
namesy
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Re: FrightFest 2015 dates for you diary

Post by namesy »

Two ideas here

1) we queue up the side street by The Vue. Where we moved to in the morning. Starting a bit further up it takes us away from the main square and should mean we're not bothered anymore than we were down by the Odeon. By 2-3pm there's already enough of us that it's unlikeky we'll get hassled.

2) the PCC has numbered tickets. You can collect one during the day which is orange. Then to show you did the whole night you have to be back at the Pcc by 10pm or midnight or something and swap it for a blue one of the same number. And the Pcc then houses us until 5am when we shift over to the side street by the Vue.

One positive of option 1 is that if we're there during the night the it's unlikeky people will pee in that street which means it won't stink when we move there in the morning!
namesy
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Re: FrightFest 2015 dates for you diary

Post by namesy »

I also agree with MalJutley that it is part of the experience. And meeting up with everyone is something we all look forward to.

The problem with the starting the queue at 5am is how do you stop someone getting there early. Also it would then leave it pretty much to those that live in London as there's no transport in at that time. Or you have to be in London overnight anyway.

I think the biggest issue with moving it online is if people can still buy at the box office - which it seems unfair to stop - then someone will still queue. I think the queue will probably happen naturally as people will want to do it and will not trust an online system until they hear that it happened hassle free. So all that will be needed to be agreed is where it takes place.
MalJutley
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Re: FrightFest 2015 dates for you diary

Post by MalJutley »

@namesy I think you have a point the queue will probably happen anyway, I for one don't trust the online system after last years issues so will probably (if i can) go down in the morning anyway. Option 1 of what you suggest could work, just queue outside the vue and snake round, last year it only went far back as half way round the other side of the building so shouldn't cause too much hassle.
iomega
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Re: FrightFest 2015 dates for you diary

Post by iomega »

We are very much aware that the Sleepy Queue experience for many is as much part of the festival as the event itself. However, please go back and read my earlier post on page one of this thread.

You will see that VUE, after last year's issues with the online ticketing, have asked us to for festival and day passes to put other arrangements in place. They will still be handling our single tickets.

Vue has very kindly said that we can use the building on Sleepy Queue day. However, to do so, and this is very much the crux of the matter, we would need to set up a temporary box office.

Now, while this would not be rocket science to do, it is something that we have never done before. Etched into our brains are the troubles that the professionals have gotten themselves into over the years at the various venues that we have used by underestimating the tenacity of FrightFesters to get tickets. Taking this into account, you can understand her apprehension in doing so.

I hope this goes a little way towards explaining why, while nothing has been decided, we are looking at alternatives.
MalJutley
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Re: FrightFest 2015 dates for you diary

Post by MalJutley »

Thanks for the update...I think this shows the beauty of this sort of interaction and the frightfest family. As such if there is anything I can do to help, I certainly would be more than happy to do so and I'm sure others will too.
jonbly
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Re: FrightFest 2015 dates for you diary

Post by jonbly »

eBay. Dripfeed, starting with the best seats. More money for the festival overall.
iomega wrote:We are very much aware that the Sleepy Queue experience for many is as much part of the festival as the event itself.
But for others, it's just a colossal pain in the ass. It wastes the best part of a day on travel, and costs as much as the Frightfest ticket (for those of us who choose not to spend the night on the streets).
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Re: FrightFest 2015 dates for you diary

Post by Critter Egg »

MalJutley wrote:Thanks for the update...I think this shows the beauty of this sort of interaction and the frightfest family. As such if there is anything I can do to help, I certainly would be more than happy to do so and I'm sure others will too.
To echo MalJutley, if it's a question of enough volunteers running the tills to keep the queue moving I would also be happy to help out. Prior queue busting experience: I was managing a bookshop when the final Harry Potter book was released :D

Although travelling to London is expensive, I would still rather collect mine and my partner's tickets in person than have to rely on a website trying to cope with hundreds of requests at the same time.
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ian
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Re: FrightFest 2015 dates for you diary

Post by ian »

i've just recently moved south and was excited for frightfest to by my 'local' festival - i've been going to Grimmfest and Celluloid Screams the past few years - but to be honest all this talk of queuing in the streets and the online system being shoddy is putting me off. I didnt realise that tickets for this were a pain in the arse to get, 'up north' you could literally pay the day before!

i would be pretty put out if any system that gave preference to previous attendees or london residents was put in place, but if it is as difficult as all this is making out then it looks like i will just be going back up to manchester or sheffield come october.
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Re: FrightFest 2015 dates for you diary

Post by DJBenz »

ian wrote:I didnt realise that tickets for this were a pain in the arse to get, 'up north' you could literally pay the day before!
Both the sleepy queue and the online ticketing difficulties are testament to how popular Frightfest is. In terms of demand it's like the Glastonbury of horror festivals. The sleepy queue isn't a necessity to get tickets, it's a tradition that's developed over the years among the longstanding attendees that want to get certain seats or be seated with their (big groups of) friends.

Although there have been difficulties with online ticketing in previous years, there are always full festival passes available for a fair length of time after the initial furore calms down.
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