Minimate Labs

Showgirls Poster

September 3, 2009

- Project Date:July 21, 2007

The San Diego Comic Con in 2007 was a weird one for me. Instead of leisurely strolling the convention hall or ducking into random panels, I spent most of the first three days taking Minimate photos for DST's Scavenger Hunt contest. It took the lure of Gold and Silver Spider-Man Minimates to make me squander such valuable time.

DST released a couple of the Hunt Challenges before the convention started to allow contestants a bit more creativity. One was to create a Minimate movie poster for a movie beginning with the letter 'S'. My pervy entry is enclosed within.

Like I wrote in the opening, SDCC07 was weird compared to other SDCCs. All because of DST's Minimate Scavenger Hunt Contest. DST provided each team of contestants with a Hunt Minimate that had to be used in various photographic 'challenges'. They ranged from "A photo of your Minimate getting ready in the morning" to "A photo of your Minimate being kissed by a celebrity". Each challenge was worth a set number of points and whatever team accumulated the most won a Gold Spider-Man Minimate, a Silver Spider-Man Minimate, and every Minimate that would be released throughout the next year. A tempting grand prize to be sure.

There were various artsy/craftsy type challenges as well. They included "Create a 'shoebox house' for your Minimate" and "Create a Minimate movie poster for a movie beginning with the letter 'S'". DST had created various popular Minimate movie posters for several of their upcoming licenses (including Spider-Man 3 and Rocky) and this challenge was an extension of that theme. I wanted my entry to stand out. I wanted to choose something that the judges would remember. The movie that had the best balance of notoriety and Minimatizability was 'Showgirls'.

I thought it came out pretty well. I printed up a full 8.5" x 11" on glossy photo paper and took it with me to San Diego. Ended up using half the ink in my printer cartridges, but that was better than trying to explain it to the girl at the Kinko's counter.

All said and done, I didn't win the grand prize. Not enough Storm Troopers in one of my photos I guess. I did win a consolation prize that included a bunch of promo Minimates and an iPod Shuffle. I think I still have it around here somewhere.

The best thing about that year's SDCC for me was meeting all the Minimate Multiverse regulars (Timbo, Shane, Nervous, Aaron, JL, Storm, Jatta, Eagle). We had a meet-up at a San Diego pub and had a great time. It was surprising to get that many hardcore Minimate-fans together at the same time. Looking back, I remember that night more than any of the Hunt photos I took.

All my fond memories are in sepia.