I have been at this for the better part of a decade and during that time, I have had a group of people who have developed weird guidelines and etiquette but it seems to work for us.
1.) KIds - I dont let them wear a pack. Often time kids will ask if we can 'fire' the wand or "bust a ghost that is really a friend next to them" and I usually respond with a shrug saying, "sorry, the city didn't get back to us on the paperwork in time and we dont have permission. what a bunch of jerks huh?" The kids get a kick out of that more than adults would realize. Kids are often times rebellious and a reason why the movie works so well to them that we often overlook. I also will scan a kid and say, "he seems very much alive. you're not fooling me AGAIN, pal!" It works VERY well if you channel your inner Venkman.
2.) Photos. I have come to accept that I exist in thousand of photos on strangers phones. It comes with the job. I rarely ever see the results so I just keep doing the thing and when you make it seem like you want a photo with them more than they want that photo with you, it leads to some fun moments. The photo is the keepsake, the moment is forever going to be "their story" to others about you. Make if memorable and fun.
3.) Temperature control - I have done summer days around 90 F to winter parades at -20 F. The Tru Spec that I have doesnt hold heat for better or worse. For cons, sure, go all out if you want, but you really don't need to. I have had members of the group fully decked out and I have done just the uniform without a pack many times over. Ghostbusters is so loved, it really does not matter how truly "decked" out you are. It's about the wreckless care free attitude and humor that you can bring to someone. For the cold, thermal gear is a must have underneath. Thankful for the coats this year!
4.) Get normal with your flightsuit. It will help you out in the long run. My group has a tradition of going out for Chinese food after events because it is cannon to the first movie. They LOVE chinese food and we carry that forth with us. People see us eating? Chinese. It's like "of course they are eating that with the last of their petty cash." Go places you normally go with your flight suit on. (you can skip the pack probably.) It builds confidence and the less weird you make it, the more joy it brings to people. You don't need to PKE scan people at Target but shopping there as you normally would in flightsuit is okay. I think of it as someone in a plumbing business not making "pipe" jokes at Target, nah they are just there getting things after work and came in their work clothes. I know that this may sound odd and weird to some but I have had to go in public dressed as Captain America after a charity event and at that point, you're tired, you're sweaty, and you just need two things "real quick." These weird moments have led to some of the most honest and beautiful moments with the public. Those moments keep you going.
It is also a tradition in our group that you don't want to be the first person out of the uniform. I come from a brotherhood of hockey players and firefighters where we had weird little things about first one here and last one there. I think that tradition came from those world and entered our ghostbusters group. We haze the first person out and champion the last person out of their uniform. It pushes us to take on more moments with the public and deliver positive interactions. There have been many moments of long pauses by myself looking at my friends in the eyes and saying, "Are we really doing this? Fiiiiiiine."
My home area is SO used to us in uniform, they don't even blink. If we go to another region like say, Minneapolis which is 3 hours away, it always alarms me that I begin to see people reacting to the car or us in uniform. However, their genuine excitement is a NORMAL thing. I am just desensitized to it.
When Ghostbusters North went to Fan Fest, we were both honored and shocked that many people from other franchises recognized members of our group because we just made things normal and did videos of normal life things, like buying ECTO Cooler. We had fun with our time as Ghostbusters and didn't blend into the crowd by leaning on quotes and typical stances for photos. We just were ourselves in flightsuits and we stood out. Some of the people who talked to us said that they wished they had the confidence that we had and that was cool to hear. (I hope that does not come off arrogant and I apologize if it does. It wasn't that we are confident but we truly just don't know any better. I think that's what made the making of the 1984 film so important. They just did and tried to outdo one another in a positive way.)
The world is full of anxiety and pressure; take that off your shoulders and embrace the weird with a smile and a coolness about dressing up something you love from a movie. Don't overdo the movie quotes or what you think a "ghostbuster" does.
I've done this for a long time and it still feels weird to me when someone says, "You really are a Ghostbuster" and I just shrug as it's just a uniform that allows me to make people smile because of something that makes me smile.
1.) KIds - I dont let them wear a pack. Often time kids will ask if we can 'fire' the wand or "bust a ghost that is really a friend next to them" and I usually respond with a shrug saying, "sorry, the city didn't get back to us on the paperwork in time and we dont have permission. what a bunch of jerks huh?" The kids get a kick out of that more than adults would realize. Kids are often times rebellious and a reason why the movie works so well to them that we often overlook. I also will scan a kid and say, "he seems very much alive. you're not fooling me AGAIN, pal!" It works VERY well if you channel your inner Venkman.
2.) Photos. I have come to accept that I exist in thousand of photos on strangers phones. It comes with the job. I rarely ever see the results so I just keep doing the thing and when you make it seem like you want a photo with them more than they want that photo with you, it leads to some fun moments. The photo is the keepsake, the moment is forever going to be "their story" to others about you. Make if memorable and fun.
3.) Temperature control - I have done summer days around 90 F to winter parades at -20 F. The Tru Spec that I have doesnt hold heat for better or worse. For cons, sure, go all out if you want, but you really don't need to. I have had members of the group fully decked out and I have done just the uniform without a pack many times over. Ghostbusters is so loved, it really does not matter how truly "decked" out you are. It's about the wreckless care free attitude and humor that you can bring to someone. For the cold, thermal gear is a must have underneath. Thankful for the coats this year!
4.) Get normal with your flightsuit. It will help you out in the long run. My group has a tradition of going out for Chinese food after events because it is cannon to the first movie. They LOVE chinese food and we carry that forth with us. People see us eating? Chinese. It's like "of course they are eating that with the last of their petty cash." Go places you normally go with your flight suit on. (you can skip the pack probably.) It builds confidence and the less weird you make it, the more joy it brings to people. You don't need to PKE scan people at Target but shopping there as you normally would in flightsuit is okay. I think of it as someone in a plumbing business not making "pipe" jokes at Target, nah they are just there getting things after work and came in their work clothes. I know that this may sound odd and weird to some but I have had to go in public dressed as Captain America after a charity event and at that point, you're tired, you're sweaty, and you just need two things "real quick." These weird moments have led to some of the most honest and beautiful moments with the public. Those moments keep you going.
It is also a tradition in our group that you don't want to be the first person out of the uniform. I come from a brotherhood of hockey players and firefighters where we had weird little things about first one here and last one there. I think that tradition came from those world and entered our ghostbusters group. We haze the first person out and champion the last person out of their uniform. It pushes us to take on more moments with the public and deliver positive interactions. There have been many moments of long pauses by myself looking at my friends in the eyes and saying, "Are we really doing this? Fiiiiiiine."
My home area is SO used to us in uniform, they don't even blink. If we go to another region like say, Minneapolis which is 3 hours away, it always alarms me that I begin to see people reacting to the car or us in uniform. However, their genuine excitement is a NORMAL thing. I am just desensitized to it.
When Ghostbusters North went to Fan Fest, we were both honored and shocked that many people from other franchises recognized members of our group because we just made things normal and did videos of normal life things, like buying ECTO Cooler. We had fun with our time as Ghostbusters and didn't blend into the crowd by leaning on quotes and typical stances for photos. We just were ourselves in flightsuits and we stood out. Some of the people who talked to us said that they wished they had the confidence that we had and that was cool to hear. (I hope that does not come off arrogant and I apologize if it does. It wasn't that we are confident but we truly just don't know any better. I think that's what made the making of the 1984 film so important. They just did and tried to outdo one another in a positive way.)
The world is full of anxiety and pressure; take that off your shoulders and embrace the weird with a smile and a coolness about dressing up something you love from a movie. Don't overdo the movie quotes or what you think a "ghostbuster" does.
I've done this for a long time and it still feels weird to me when someone says, "You really are a Ghostbuster" and I just shrug as it's just a uniform that allows me to make people smile because of something that makes me smile.
Statistics: Posted by Heroic35 — February 7th, 2024, 11:51 am