Sector 14

Name:	Sector 14
Date(s):	1996-to maybe 2003
Profit/Nonprofit:	profits were supposed to be donated to charity
Country based in:	the UK
Focus:	for profit, media and literary fan cons
External Links:	wayback link around 2003
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Sector 14 was a company that helped procure guests for media and literary fan cons. It operated in cooperation with local fan groups.

It also ran Nosferatu Night, a regular Buffy and Angel fan gathering.

FAQ

Since 1996 Sector 14 has run events in different parts of the UK, bringing a variety of guests from in front of the camera, behind the scenes, and the literary world to meet their British fans, sometimes in conjunction with other groups, often by ourselves.

Who are you? Who runs Sector 14?

That's a question without an easy answer - Sector 14's committee changes somewhat from event to event - rather than a set group, its more like a club, with different members running different events at any given time; as real life and stuff sometimes intrudes and commitments to one Sector 14 event sometimes prevents us having the time to be involved in another Sector 14 event we rarely have the full group working on any one convention. Also, none of the committee of Sector 14 run the events for the recognition - we do it because we like the shows were covering and want to give everyone a chance to meet the people who work on those shows. Over the years the organisers have included Allan, Chris, Roger, Carl, Stuart, Elaine, Harminder and Doc, though never all of us at once on the one event.

What is Sector 14?

Sector 14 is the name we started running events under in Scotland. We maintained a central P.O. Box, but otherwise our events are distinct from one another. The point about Sector 14 is to run fun events around whatever shows we enjoy, and to make some money for charity (all profits from our conventions, once the costs are covered, is donated to charity.)

So you've run events before?

Weve [sic] run or been involved in running at the committee level several events in the last several years, sometimes by ourselves or in conjunction with other groups.

Do you have XYZ coming to a Sector 14 event?

When we have an event in the planning stages then we are in negotiation with guests to attend. But until a guest has made a solid commitment to come, we will not list them, nor tell you who we are talking to. It's not fair to have people book on the strength of We might get , and negotiations can and do fall through.

On the other hand, if we list them, then we do have them. It's as simple as that.

Whats [sic] this Subject to work commitments clause in the small print?

Conventions are not the main priority of any actor; acting is. So the only way to get an actor to confirm they will attend an event is to offer a get-out clause in case they get offered a film role. If that happens, the actor is released from their contract with us, and can go off and further their career. Most times, even if they are working, the actor still manages to get the time off filming to pop along to the convention - at Nocturnal 99, both Nigel Bennett and Doug Bradley fitted the event in with their work commitments.

What happens if you do lose a guest?

Then we attempt to replace them with someone of a similar standing. It rarely happens that we lose a guest, but every time so far when we have, we have managed to replace them, even when we only had two days notice.

So you make a lot of money out of this then, do you?

No. We figure out the price to charge attendees based on working out the projected costs of the event (business class flights from Los Angeles, which is what most actors expect, cost in the thousands of pounds; technical equipment for a decent disco and for big screen projection screens so that people at the back of the hall can still see the guest and the like are also priced in the thousands; actors are giving up their free time and so like to be paid - its not cheap to put on one of these events), then we work out what we hope are reasonable numbers to expect to attend, and then we work out the price so that we will break even with those numbers. We don't look to make a large profit, we just want to cover our costs.

And after the event, if we have made a profit, then it is donated to charity (often one picked by the guests). We aren't running these events for money, we run these events because we are fans of the genre ourselves, because we want to see these actors meet the British fans, because we want to put on a good party and a good convention, because we want to ensure every attendee has a good time and enjoys themselves (and while we can't always please everybody, we do try).

Will the guests mingle?

It's entirely up to them. Though we will certainly provide you with as many opportunities to see them as we can, at the end of the day their free time is their own to spend as they wish. However, they are far more likely to hang out in the bar and mix with the fans if they feel comfortable - in other words don't mob them every time they step out in public, remember your manners and give them a little space (attempting to get an autograph from them while they are using the toilet facilities, which I once saw a fan do to one of the Babylon 5 actors, is right out!). If we all remember to do that, then the guests are far more likely to feel like they can relax and mingle.