Cybertron Con 2012 Day 1

Was at Cybertron Con for practically the whole first day. I'll just be touching on some aspects and events that took place in this post. I'll be uploading all the pictures when I'm done sorting them.      

Went there early to check things out. Got there around 7.15am. Unsurprisingly, there were people already in queue to get the serialised version of the Exclusive Special Edition Set. It was reported that the first guy in queue had camped overnight. Hats off to him.

The following is the stage where the opening ceremony took place.

Many guests and the media were in attendance.

The opening ceremony consisted of appearances by NEST soldiers, a couple of short speeches and a precision drill bit.

  

Mr Harland Chun (Senior Vice President Hasbro Asia Pacific) and Mr John Hallenback (Vice President Universal Studios Singapore) launched the event. They activated the Allspark Cube which rose from the contraption. Mr Hallenback was presented with a Special Edion set.   

The limit for tthe serialised Special Edition sets was reached well before opening time. Or so it was thought. When the con opened, it was announced that there were still six sets available.

Optimus Prime and Bumblebee make their appearance.

The ballroom is in the basement. Here's the entrance. 

The queue about half an hour before opening. It stretched back to at least the Allspark Cube display.

Some shots of what you'll see inside. 

   

Hideaki Yoke signing the the first 100 Special Edition sets.

The special edition set.

The merchandise zone. Seemed like many went straight there when they got in. It got crowded pretty quickly and later in the day, you had to queue just to enter.    

Just a sample of what was on sale. I heard Arcee and Ratchet were new.

One of the biggest draws of the day was the Transformers Brand Developments and Products Panel Discussion. On the panel were:

• Jerry Jiovin (TRANSFORMERS Global Brand Director)
• Aaron Archer (Vice President Design & Development Hasbro)
• Hideaki Yoke (Executive General Manager Takara Tomy)
• Kikuchihara Takashi, (Deputy Manager Takara Tomy)
• Ikezawa Kei, (Takara Tomy)

The panel touched on Kre-O, Rescue Bots, Bot Shots, Transformers Prime RID and Transformers Generations. And also on items that will be available only at Universal Studios and a new online game. I can't recall but I think the game is for the China market. The biggest reveal was of Fall of Cybertron Starscream which will be coming out Spring 2013.

I took pictures of most of the slides. You can view them here.  

The second panel of the day was the Hasbro Studios General Interview Panel - Prime Animation Series. On the panel were:

• Stephen Davis (President, Hasbro Studios)
• Jeff Kline (Showrunner, Hasbro Studios)
• Jose Lopez (Designer, Hasbro Studios)
• Shuzo Shiota (President, CEO Polygon Pictures Inc.)

The panel started with the screening of a recap of Transformers Prime Season 1. They talked about how the collaboration between Hasbro Studios and Polygon Studios began. Hasbro were looking for a studio to develop the Prime Series. And whoever took the job had a year to complete a mini-series in time for the launch of the HUB (a TV channel in the US). Polygon Pictures was the only one who were interested. Mr Shuzo described the first time he visited Hasbro studios. The place was apparently only filled with cardboard boxes (Hasbro Studios was just starting out at that time). Their discussions took place in a little corner. Mr Shuzo said that Polygon Studios wanted the project as the concept of Transformers first came about in Japan and to develop the new series was a homecoming of sorts.

The panel talked a bit on the process of developing an episode and the interaction between the two studios. Designing the characters is a tough part of the process as you had to consider their personality and whether the transformation was logical. An example given was Starscream. He has a treacherous personality and so was designed to resemble a snake.

At the end of the panel, they showed a clip from an upcoming season 2 episode of Transformers Prime. Optimus Prime is seen driving down a desert road. He appears dirt covered . A guard from a military facility sees him coming and tries to get him to stop. He stands in the middle of the road, arm outstretched. Optimus continues speeding towards the gate. The guard jumps out of the way. Optimus crashes through the gate. He speeds past several complexes and an air field, wrecking several parked helicopters. He stops. The military have mobilised. Trucks and helicopters approach him. Soldiers surround Optimus, demanding that whoever was in the vehicle surrender. A guard opens the cab door. Theres no one inside. The door automatically slams shuts. Optimus transforms. He says, "I am Optimus Prime, Leader of the Autobots, and I bring you this message." Optimus suddenly aims his gun downwards and fires.  

There was a big turnout for both panels. A Q&A followed each session. I cant seem to find my notes on them. If I do, I'll post it up. That's all for now.         

 

 

Click here for Day 2.