Faced with the dilemma of what the hell to wear to the iVillage Fashion Extravaganza, the most hyped SL fashion show ever, I gave up and went as a nun. Quite often when I don’t know what to wear, I trundle around as Sister Doolittle. This is, in fact, my only outfit folder and I drag it onto myself alarmingly often. I don’t even have to pick hair!
Truly, it is fabulous garb, made for me by Raven Rosebud of Raven’s Creations. (No, you cannot have one; that is what “custom” means. Go buy the one Salome bought when I wouldn’t let her have one, either. Yes, greed is a sin, but then so is envy. Get over it.)
Anyway, I was truly shocked that my 100+ prim rosary belt didn’t crash the fashion show sim. But it didn’t, which just goes to show that gluttonous prims do not make baby Jesus cry. What does make baby Jesus cry, however, is having to turn up THREE HOURS IN ADVANCE to get a seat for a one hour show. Seriously, I was shocked when our interpid Round Up reporter Arraiin Grayson IMd to suggest I grab a seat while the grabbing was still good, but indeed when I arrived, the sim was filling up fast.
And despite the fact that I was surrounded by lovely, talented, amusing fashionistas on all sides, I was so bored I thought my teeth were going to bleed. We were all so bored. It got so bad that I started hosting impromptu trivia and dispensing cash prizes, and I don’t even like trivia. (And someone at iVillage owes me $500L, damnit.)
Anyway, the iVillage crew did a lot of things right. The stage setup and seating were excellent. The show took place on a four corners plot across sims, so the crowds were both well managed and distributed via a HUD. The venue looked fantastic and was pretty light on textures to be loaded, which is clever. There was audio feed, but all the commentary was delivered via standard chat, and that is for sure the way to do it.
And when the models hit the runway, my SL install hit the ground, and that was it for me and the fashion show. I really honestly did want to attend, and I did attempt to log back into the sim(s), but SL just was not having it. And for the few moments when I was actually able to be there, nothing the models where wearing would rezz for me.
So if you want to see all the fashions I didn’t see either, check out the Second Style round up. How she got all those textures to rezz I have no idea, but Celebrity apparently owns the computer version of the Rock of Gibralter.
Having had, oh, three hours to think about it, this is how I would do a large-scale fashion event. (Read on if you’re interested in Monday morning quarterbacking…)
Over at The Alpha Marketer, iVillage’s Chief marketing Office was quoted as saying,
If we can get this group of women–who are chatty, who look to one another, who frequently are bloggers themselves–that’s a great way to market ourselves in a new form of media…
So I’m pretty much their target market, and I would have loved to blog merrily about Fashion Extravaganza, but this event totally failed for me. What would have made it better:
- I would not attempt to pack a large number of avatars into a single event, even across multiple sims. I think it is a better idea to re-run the same event a few times in one day with lighter numbers.
- Even better, run it across a couple of time zones. I stayed up until 2 am GMT to go to this thing, and that all on its own sucked.
- If you want members of what is realistically SL’s fashion press to be able to cover your event and give you press that doesn’t include the word Satan in the title, have a press preview so we can actually see the items and shoot them. We’re not a big guest list, and we’re perfectly capable of respecting a release embargo*.
- At a bare minimum, provide a notecard with a shot of each outfit and it’s details so that people can see snapshots of what they can’t see on the runway. You don’t have to make the card dispenser operable in advance.
- Get a model for every outfit, and have them all turn up and wear the outfit backstage well in advance so the textures have plently of time to load before they are strutted down the catwalk.
- Never, ever rely on audio commentary.
- If you can anticipate that crowds will be early, do something - anything - to entertain them. A hostile crowd is just that much harder to win over and there are plenty of activities that can be enjoyed by seated avatars. Play some music, dish out some trivia, play Name That Tune… anything.
Anyway, while i know any number of people had a great time, this was truly one of God’s most frustrating wastes of three hours of my life ever.
And I didn’t even get my free gift bag out of it!
* An embargo is a note at the top of a press release telling journalists not to leak or print the story before a particular deadline. They are routinely used in print and online, and could be used in SL as well.
good point of view sabrina, i’ve linked this post on my blog report of the event. your ideas on just how these kind of events might take place in the future get’s the porridge in my head cooking. there’s got to be a better way.
Comment by EnCore Mayne — February 7, 2007 @ 1:58 am
Thanks for the feedback Sabrina. I admit I was pretty damn nervous about packing that many avatars into one location. Using 4 sims helps, but graphics cards are still going to suffer with all those avatars and attachments… and at a fashion show, who doesn’t have attachments?
I think you make some great suggestions we’re going to pay attention to. We have to figure out ways to scale. In past we’ve used DTV. At this event, DTV was having the same problems as everyone else fighting the lag. Trying to run multiple events on a single day definitely increases the complexity, number of models needed, time investment of the designers, and overall cost, but it is worth trying (or running recurring events on multiple days) for the right kind of event.
We did not expect the sims to get packed so early, and I agree with your point about pre-event entertainment.
I was able to take a whole bunch of photos and even machinima as long as I kept my camera pointing to the stage and away from the audience. I have a 256MB nvidia graphics card btw. For photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/giffforseti/sets/72157594521093303/
Comment by forseti svarog — February 7, 2007 @ 2:09 am
Oh suck! After all that you didn’t even get to see the grey sashay down the runway. I STILL can’t believe I sat there all that time (and answered email and read blogs and filled out client invoices). At some point, I zoomed in on the stage and quit breathing. I crashed the minute I stood up.
Maybe there should be an “invited show” for the press, or maybe the press could go back stage ahead of time for pictures (a press pool might work just as well). I wonder if uploading lower rez versions of the textures would improve the visibility for the audience members.
Comment by Ida — February 7, 2007 @ 2:41 am
ugh ida, I’m sorry it was so rough on your computer. On the other hand, your comment allowed me to discover your blog, which I dig.
The problem wasn’t resolution of any textures in the build or the outfits… the problem was the number of avatars in the immediate vicinity, and all the clothes, attachments, hair, etc your graphics card was desperately trying to render.
Trying a 4-sim event was an experiment, and while I loved the energy of all those avatars being in one place, one really can’t say “only those with 256MB graphics cards should show up, otherwise your experience is gonna be more miserable than sylvia plath on a good day”.
Well, we’ll keep on experimenting.
Comment by forseti svarog — February 7, 2007 @ 2:59 am
Never mind her blog; I dig Ida!
In a hot girl-on-girl action kind of way, of course.
Comment by Sabrina Doolittle — February 7, 2007 @ 4:05 am
I apologize in advance for my lack of brevity. And whining about my system’s incapability of letting me attend the fashion show properly.
This was my first big SL event (as I’m still pretty new) and I’m not sure what I expected, but it definitely wasn’t that. I arrived early due to a warning from a friend (who missed out on another big SL event due to the sim being full) and found a seat… then I crashed and was unable to actually sit down again. (I thought originally it was related just to my PC, but I found out other people had the same issue.) And while I arrived early (and managed to pay some of my bills and do some other mundane items during) I was disappointed that there was no pre-show entertainment of any kind. Most events I attend in real life usually have some kind of cocktail reception at the least - while that’s not possible in SL, your suggestions of games or whatnot are nice equivalents.
Putting it across four sims was a very clever idea - maybe there should have been walls between them to block the potential overloading of different textures from one sim to another. (I really have no idea how it works, so any suggestions I make should probably be disregarded.)
Anyway, I agree with all of your points and I was just annoyed with the whole thing because I only saw very few of the outfits modelled (most of them didn’t fully load) and I didn’t understand SL modelling at first, either. (For some reason I thought there would be multiple models, not just one.) I didn’t even bother to try the audio feed either, in an attempt to not crash and to possibly see some more of the outfits. And the HUD completely baffled me, it would have helped if it’d come with some kind of explanation (again, I’m still fairly new, maybe this is an SL commonality.)
The only thing that I might add to your list of points is that a program would have been super cool. Something that listed at least the names of the designers. In a dream world this would also include (and I plan a lot of events in real life, so most of this would be standard with some minor modifications to allow for SL) the designer bios, the order of the show complete with models names, bios, outfits they’re wearing (complete outfits, mind, with all proper credits), possibly prices of outfits and possibly some pictures. Ideally it would also include a link to the designers’ blog and landmarks to all of their store locations.) Then a nice thank you to our sponsors and audience for attending and these designs will be in stores on X date. (And then, of course, in the back could be all of the ads saying, “Congratulations on a great show!” “Buy matching jewelry for that outfit at Random Boutique!” “Our company fully supports Designer X and has created a complementary line of hats to go with their outfits!” “We love you Designer Y!” “Hungry after the show? Come and enjoy a great meal at…” and you get the picture.)
For an experiment, it worked for a lot of people and just didn’t take for people like me, who crashed quite frequently and because of the massive amounts of people and my poor PC struggling to load was unable to move for most of the event for fear of crashing yet again. I think next time I’ll just wait to go to the store and check the outfits out there.
Comment by Delfina Vacano — February 7, 2007 @ 5:43 am
multiple time zones on multiple days are a must! Even for me livng in the USA, my work time and play time varies. I’m often on SL in the morning/day or very late at night. Had the show been earlier in the day or much later I could have attended. (only one SL capable box in this household and it’s often occupied when I do have free time) I so wanted to attend
Having a press only event is a very good idea.
It might also be necessary to ask attendees to remove attachments.
That one Paper Couture model reminded me of Lauren Bush and the other “bushy eyebrow models” one sees in the magazines these days.
Comment by CronoCloud Creeggan — February 7, 2007 @ 6:21 am
How about making a small attendin fee? Making the even cost a bit would hinder the newbies attending, I admit, but in that way you could keep the amount of audience lower.
Also videotaping the event and broadcasting it “live” on stream might help scatter the event a bit
Just a thought
Comment by Cay Trudeau — February 7, 2007 @ 9:32 am
*fans herself after reading Sabrina’s comment* My, is it warm in here?
I thought the four sim idea was a great one, Forseti! Ever since the play I had been wondering wether or not something like that would work. I thought the stage was great and I’d love to see it tried with attachment-less avatars (although an announcement about prims was made, I never actually saw anybody taking things off - it was a fashion show after all, folks wanted to look GOOD). People think about scripts and lag, but I don’t know that it occurs to anyone that with a 200 prim hair, every computer is trying to render every single one of those prims. I wonder if it would help to have the audience all wear the same outfit (fewer textures to load)?
If I had though ahead, I could have lowered my draw distance, turned off ground rendering and a couple other things. Incidentally, Paper Couture and Callie’s outfits half-rezzed for me, but Simone’s looked beautiful (which is why I thought about smaller textures). I was able to take pictures the whole time, it was just when I stood up at the end and the camera moved that I crashed.
In the Big Picture, it’s the “shared experience” that really makes events worthwhile in SL - and you managed to have 150+ avatars share more or less the same thing. That is an amazing accomplishment! Besides, even if I hadn’t seen anything, the chat (and all the famous people) made it completely worth it.
Comment by Ida — February 7, 2007 @ 1:05 pm
I actually enjoyed the pre-event banter (for 3 hours LOL)…but I am weird like that.
I crashed once while zooming and even with a killer machine, lots of outfits wouldn’t rez at first.
The HUD didn’t work for me at all - just a massive pink rectangle on my screen. I had to rez it on the ground and open it to get the landmarks out.
I think many suggestions in the comments above are fantastic - including all wearing the same outfit (!!) and notecards with all the outfits listed clearly and with supporting credits for hair, jewelry, etc.
Oh and no giftbag for me either…I didn’t know where those might be hiding but if they were delivered via the HUD then that would be my problem.
Overall - I thought it was a great attempt at something very cutting edge. I had fun. I would definitely try to attend something like this again.
Now, to rest my computer before the Dazzle event
Comment by Gillian Waldman — February 7, 2007 @ 3:28 pm
I think, in an event such as this having a “uniform” would be the way to go. This should include non-prim system hair, non-prim system shoes, and non-prim system clothing with no attachments. I guess you could even have a skin if you wanted to do it up right. Then asking people to remove all other attachments (glasses, jewelry, 1000 prim rosary beads, etc) would go a long way to making this a much better event. You could make the outfits tintable to give people a little feeling of personal expression, but that’s as far as I’d go.
Then just include a polite, but firm note indicating that anyone not in uniform will be asked to change or leave. It might seem a little strict, but not playing with the group infringes on the experiences of others and that’s simply not kosher.
Of course, you also have the people like Sabrina who’d show up nekkid if you give them the slightest encouragement so that might cut back on texture rendering as well.
Sure it’ll look a little big brother and it does fly in the face of a fashion show theme, but our virtual world requires compromises.
However, unless you have a press pool preview I am *never* going to one of these things. It is, honestly, my idea of hell. And, if I can’t be bothered to try on demos because it takes too long, I”m certainly not going to sit around for 3 hours waiting to look at clothes. But then, you really do want Bri and not me. All I’d do ask uncomfortable questions like “what is that poofy thing on her head?” and it would be Bible camp all over again.
Comment by Salome Strangelove — February 7, 2007 @ 6:10 pm
Salome went to Bible camp???!! Ohmy. (thinks of Strauss’ opera where Salome sings and dances around with the freshly severed head of John the Baptist…)
*poof*
Every time I’m invited to a fashion show I always ask, “Will there be a press/machinima preview?” And invariably the answer is, “Oh, that’s a good idea. But no.”
Maybe I should just stop going unless there is. :/
Comment by Celebrity Trollop — February 7, 2007 @ 8:16 pm
I love the note card idea - even if it were after the show, and since I’m not press, even without the pictures. I saw a dress backstage that I loved, but I crashed before it was on the runway, so I don’t even know who made it…
I’d also be willing to wear a “uniform” to attend these events (and have hopes of *seeing* them while attending). If it were done right, they would become “collectables” that gave one bragging rights, proof of having “been there”.
Comment by Ariel Chihuly — February 7, 2007 @ 11:24 pm
OK the uniform idea is a stroke of communal brilliance. I love the notion of it being a coolectable as well.
We are so totally doing that for BlogCamp. I am all over that.
Comment by Sabrina Doolittle — February 8, 2007 @ 2:17 am
I did the whole “big screen” thing, which didn’t work…so I missed the first 15 mins or so of the show which was a bummer. Then the usual lag prevailed when I managed (somehow) to make it to iVillage. I got to see most of the stuff by using my cam to see backstage. I loved what I got to see, but I didn’t take any pics. After the fact, I was bummed and didn’t blog it. Oh well. There’s always next time.
Comment by Kalia Meiklejohn — February 8, 2007 @ 2:50 am
i figure if we are all there to take in the fashions we might all be formed into 1 prim boxes with default texture. maybe blank would work better. who knows. i’m gonna be there however it’s done. aint we creative? goal: two hundred avis in one place.
Comment by EnCore Mayne — February 8, 2007 @ 5:10 am
HAH! I SEE THE CORNER OF MY HAIR! O_o …lol
Comment by Tenshi Vielle — February 8, 2007 @ 3:49 pm
great comments… honestly with all the lag in SL generally, i’m shocked anything rezzed for me. even being in my empty sim, on sunday, i couldn’t rez at a 64 draw distance… so i was thrilled that for the show, i could rez and see pretty much everything.
that being said… i thought a “show outline” with pics would have been great, i actually stated making one, but with a time issue, i never did finish. in the future i think it’s a wonderful idea for ANY show. with the complete narration too.
IF ANYONE DID NOT GET THEIR FREE BOX FROM THE SHOW.. PLEASE IM ME, I AM MORE THAN HAPPY TO GET THEM TO EVERYONE WHO DIDN’T SEE MY BIG GIANT HUGE BOXES IN THE BACK (winks at forseti)
and thanks everyone for the comments. as i designer, i WANT those at the show to have a lag free, enjoyable time, and we all know how lag can make the most exciting of events, uh, a terrible bore (thinks about weddings)
anyway, i still had a blast and it was a great experience, i’m sure in the future (crosses fingers) things will get better.
and multiple showings and press only showings sound great to me… less people, faster, etc.
take care all!
xoxo,
caLLie
Comment by caLLie cLine — February 8, 2007 @ 8:15 pm