About two months or so back, there was a focus group consisting of A Song of Ice and Fire fans in New York City. Well they are doing it again, and they’ve asked me to help spread the word. So if you are a fan of the Ice & Fire series and live in the NYC area, you should sign up, as it could be a lot of fun. Here is the info:
Today we have a very exciting opportunity for all our A Song of Ice and Fire fans living in the New York City and surrounding area.
We are currently recruiting fans of the A Song of Ice and Fire book series to participate in a focus group discussion happening on November 9th in New York City. This will be an exciting opportunity to share your thoughts, passion and ideas with fellow fans.
If you:
a) have read and enjoyed Game of Thrones and b) are able to attend a 2.5 hour discussion group on November 9th in New York City (all participants will be required to supply their own transport). Please, contact us either by email (xxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx) or by phone (xxx-xxx-xxxx) and we’ll give you more details.Thanks! We look forward to hearing from all of you Song of Ice and Fire fans.
UPDATE: We’ve received a new message stating that recruiting for the focus group is now closed and that they will be following up with all who applied. Here is the message:
Hi A Song of Ice and Fire Fans,
Thank you so much for your interest in our upcoming focus groups. As a result of a massive and enthusiastic response to our post, recruitment is now closed. We apologize if you did not have a chance to apply. If you have already been in contact with one of our representatives, you will receive a follow-up call soon. Thanks again for your support. Your passion for the series is inspiring!
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55 Comments
Dammit. If only I had my work visa I would be sooo there. Although because I dont have the visa I get to that I can go to the moot. So I guess it balances out!
Crotalidian (Paul)Quote Reply
Is there a link to this company’s website or something, by any chance?
Myles EhrlichQuote Reply
Do you get to watch any footage during these, or is it just talk?
John GaltQuote Reply
Wish I were in the area, I’d totally go!
LinayusQuote Reply
Man, I’d love to be a part of that but alas NY is a bit to far away. Hopefully you’re all over this Winter.
dizzy_34Quote Reply
I just called the number – based on what the guy was saying, it sounds like I was either the first, or one of the first, people to call and give my info. I’ve never been a part of a focus group before, I’m not terribly familiar with the process, but it sounds like I’m going to be a part of this. He said he’ll call me back in the next day or so, and at that time I’ll participate in a five-minute screening process, and then all systems are go.
So, hopefully, I’ll be involved in this. If I am, I’ll whip something up and send it along to Winter!
Brian SmithQuote Reply
I emailed, waiting for a reply. Hopefully it’ll work out!
InkasrainQuote Reply
I just spoke to someone on the phone and the person I spoke to said they weren’t actually ready to deal with people yet, that the information got sent out a day earlier than planned, so they’ll be getting back to anyone who inquires tomorrow or more likely Monday.
Jan FennickQuote Reply
Darn. Wish i was on the other side of North America right now. If I remember from reading about the last focus group, they quiz you on your knowlegde of the books when pre-screening so make sure to study up.
Raynette SchroederQuote Reply
Is it footage or talk? If it’s footage then I’ll take a day off.
JarmelQuote Reply
2.5 hours doesn’t sound like nearly enough…but I hope it will be shivery delicious! Good luck to everyone on here who is attempting to sign up.
MongerelQuote Reply
Dang! You NYC-ers are so lucky. I bet they are going to show some clips, too…
clumsy_plumsyQuote Reply
Looking forward to the reports!
Hear Me RoarQuote Reply
my phones aren’t charged. so email was sent. I’ll call them by Monday if I don’t get a response. :-D
stevelabnyQuote Reply
Just one more reason to hate NYC.
Steven ScottQuote Reply
This is fantastic news. The more they focus group, the more sure-footed they will be in creating the world we can’t wait to see.
Chair-gate fans, here’s your chance!
DH87Quote Reply
I live in Queens, NY…I plan on going. I hope they have a spot open. I think the people we should truly be jealous of are the workers/actors at the Paint Hall. This show is going to be huge and they are at the epicenter. Plus Belfast is probably one of the most beautiful place on Earth.
Crotalidian (Paul),
Brian AndersonQuote Reply
I attended the first one of these and we didn’t get any footage. I had hoped they would show us some or all of the Pilot (even though it was largely being reshot), just to gauge our feelings about the look of it, whatever, but it was none of that. It was a lot of talk about the books, about marketing, slogans, what we thought made the books so obsessively exciting, etc. It will be interesting to see how all of that works into the eventual promotion. It was a great discussion, everyone in the group was very intelligent, highly educated and were all smart readers with good insights and ideas about the books.
It’s entirely possible they will show footage this time, now that so much as been shot. They had only just started production when I went to the other one.
Also, based on the phone number it looks like it might be a different company who is running the focus group – or maybe it’s just being run out of their New York office (I was calling a New Jersey number for the one I was in). It could be an entirely different set of questions and things they want to glean from the group.
BrudeQuote Reply
The last time they did a focus group was about two weeks before the newer preview and behind the scenes video were shown, so its doubtful that anything gained from it was used in those. However the season finally of BE is going to be mid-December (the 12th to be exact) and I would bet money that HBO is going to want to show something new in the advertisements that night for many of their shows, GOT in particular.
My guess is they’re at least going to have a new preview that’s about 1-2 minuets long which will actually try to inform your average run of the mill HBO viewer who doesn’t research most up-coming shows as to what the general plot of the show is about (i.e. Nobles and low-born plotting and scheming, and people kill, fighting f—ing etc). I’m loving BE so far, and the prospect of a new GOT preview is going to make up for the season ending.
I hope anyone who gets on with focus group really pushes that having alot of DVD extras will really help with sales and that ‘When you play the game of thrones you live or die’ is a bad ass line to use in the previews. I know that a few people from the last focus group mentioned it, but reinforcing the point couldn’t hurt.
GrinbombQuote Reply
@Brude
Thanks for responding. In that case I’ll give it a try, I live in NJ 10 minutes away from NYC, and would love to see some actual footage. But if it’s just talk, I will be disappointed.
John GaltQuote Reply
Thank you for posting this! I’m going to call soon. How exciting :)
ZackQuote Reply
From the Making Of site:
DomQuote Reply
um… if you’re gonna be disappointed if there’s no footage… don’t go. it would be kinda rude to the people hosting it.
you have to treat it like any other convention panel, or screening… you MIGHT get something cool and extra, you might not. but you can’t EXPECT it.
the focus group is exactly that: a focus group where you and others will talk about a product. in this case, you know the product. it doesn’t mean you will get footage, or a free copy of the novel or a t-shirt.
stevelabnyQuote Reply
I’m curious about what were the trivia questions that the focus group organizers used to identify true fans of the books.
Dennis BrennanQuote Reply
It seems like you would want to do focus groups before you start writing/filming.
What good does it do to know people’s opinions after the fact?
JoseQuote Reply
We did get paid like $150 for the first one and there was a little drawing and one person got an additional $50 bonus prize.
The questions were:
Where did Catelyn take Tyrion after she kidnapped him?
How did Tywin Lannister’s wife die?
What is Ser Gregor Clegane also known as?
Who was Robert’s true love?
Who was Cersei’s lover?
The hardest was the question about Tywin’s wife, especially on the spot, because it’s not something that’s part of the main plot of the story – it’s ancient history, something just discussed once or twice.
BrudeQuote Reply
Depends on the purpose of the focus group. The one I was at had mainly to do with how to market the show, especially towards the fans of the books. They asked us about catchphrases “Is ‘Winter is Coming’ a good tagline for the show?” “Any others?” (We suggested a few of the other house words could work, like “Fire & Blood” but not so much “Hear Me Roar,” heh.).
They asked us for ideas about what to do with the website and what sort of extras would be useful there and maybe on the DVDs (we suggested maps and genealogies, among other things).
BrudeQuote Reply
Brude,
Ooh, wish I lived in NYC! I would love to participate in something like this (even unpaid).
And Joanna Lannister died in childbirth while giving birth to Tyrion, right? Like you said, not really related to the plot, but I guess it would weed out those who never read the books.
Half MyrishQuote Reply
If they ask about DVD extras again, could someone say “a play all button”? So many of my HBO DVDs don’t have that feature. Am I the only one who finds this annoying? I actually shrieked with joy when my True Blood Season 2 Blue Ray did.
phoenix_tornQuote Reply
I would have been able to answer all of those trvia questions. Could have even gotten sneaky with the one about Cersei’s lover and given Kettleblack, Lancel and maybe even Moon Boy. In addition to the obvious one. Heheh.
I’ve sent off the email, in any case. I’ll let you know how it goes :)
good luck to the rest of you!
ZackQuote Reply
New teensy dispatch up, sadly no dragon eggs – yet. :(
http://www.makinggameofthrones.com/production-diary/2010/10/21/dispatches-from-the-seven-kingdoms-pigs-and-blood.html
WhipporowillQuote Reply
Just sent a convincing email (fingers crossed). Hope to hear back soon.
Tynan CraycraftQuote Reply
Hmmm…travel to NY in November? Sigh, Guess I’m not gonna make this one. again. I’d totally travel to an LA focus group though….
Critical GeekQuote Reply
I participated in the last one and we did talk about for about two hours with the HBO rep. Even if you won’t see any footage it’s a really good opportunity for fans to give input and opinions about the adaptation. The more they hear from the fans the better they’ll grasp what it is that make the books so great and hopefully that will translate to the way the series is made and marketed.
It was fun, so I’m tempted to inquire about this one but I should probably let others have a crack at it.
T. R.Quote Reply
boy do i feel lucky to be an NYC college student right now =D
SamanthaQuote Reply
Samantha,
NOW you feel lucky? NYC is the best city in the world!
mccrampsQuote Reply
True.
The last time I went to the Paint Hall for a costume fitting, I sat in the car afterwards for a while, watching sets being built, actors and crew walking all around the place, the ‘silence – filming now’ lights going on and off on the Paint Hall walls and I really had a feeling of being at the very centre of something huge.
It’s like a small city there with various workshops all over the place beavering away on sets/costumes/props and sometimes over all this can be heard the eerie call of the direwolves in their holding area.
Can’t wait to get back there!
Good luck to everyone at the focus group. Ask them to make a behind-the-scenes doc about us extras!!
RimshotQuote Reply
Oooh nice! I sent an email, hopefully Bloodraven and I will be able to make this one as well. We had a blast at the last one. And maybe this time we’ll get to see a preview *crosses fingers*
The Winter RoseQuote Reply
If you do, you have to memorize every pixel of it and bring it back here for full dissection, criticism, and above all, appreciation of badassery.
OhDanyBoyQuote Reply
must needs new GOT news…..
tekQuote Reply
yay! i just left my name for the screeners who will apparently be calling on Monday :0
I would so totally take the day off for this.
Danielle Parlatore DalyQuote Reply
To those who made it to the last one: about how many attended?
TimQuote Reply
anyone get a call today?
stevelabnyQuote Reply
I ordered my ASoI&F 2011 Calendar from Amazon today and if HBO comes out with one with the artwork from the show I’ll get that one too.
OldGranQuote Reply
Thanks for reminding me about this. I just ordered it as well!
LexQuote Reply
well i never got a response to the email i sent within 3.5 hours of the original post here, so I just called them and they told me the group was full.
so it sounds like something went wrong somewhere with the company running the focus group. either they got more response from here than they expected or
oh well.
stevelabnyQuote Reply
stevelabny,
What?? Crap, I also emailed almost immediately. Fail.
InkasrainQuote Reply
Also emailed immediately, just called and they said they had been working on it for awhile and all their groups (multiple groups beyond 2 she said to me)
Sounds like BS to me but ah well. Maybe someone from here will be there and we can hear what they will be doing.
Same hereQuote Reply
Wow – I emailed immediately and also called immediately and was told that they would get back to me on Friday or Monday at the latest. They did neither, then called them again yesterday, was told someone would get back to me as they were still trying to organize things…and nothing. Most disappointing that they never even had the courtesy to respond to people (me included). :-(
Jan FennickQuote Reply
That sucks, and must be frustrating… but I can also understand that they must be absolutely swamped and will not be able to get back to everyone.
LexQuote Reply
eh, dump all emails received about game of thrones into one group… BCC a “sorry, all full” form letter. this takes less time then sorting through all the second emails and phone calls they’ll be wasting time on.
stevelabnyQuote Reply
i JUST now got a call about the focus group…asked some basic questions about me (ethnicity, occupation, education level, annual household income etc) and then asked me which cable movie channels i subscribe to…he read a list of shows on premium cable and asked if i watch them, how many books i’ve read in the last year, he read a list of books and asked if i’ve read anything about them (the kite runner, the help, lord of the rings, game of thrones, the davinci code…) he asked if i knew of any new shows being brought to cable in the spring (duh.) and also if i’ve read “the song of fire and ice.” (he really said fire and ice…)
then he said he’d give my info to his supervisor for consideration….
woohoo!
Danielle Parlatore DalyQuote Reply
i just got the call…i’m in!!! who else?!?!?!?
Danielle Parlatore DalyQuote Reply
I got a callback….same questions. I told them I don’t have HBO right now. Just being honest. I got rid of it when Sopranos and Rome ended. Thrones is going to be so huge that I will resubscribe in November just to start catching previews on my flatscreen. I have everyone at work reading the books. Hope we all get picked. Good luck everyone.
Brian AndersonQuote Reply
blah. i know i missed a phone call friday afternoon, and the person hung up on my machine. it was probably these guys.
I also got the form letter email I wanted, saying we were all thrown in a pool and would be called at random OR receive another email saying tough.
So, good turnaround by the focus group guys!
stevelabnyQuote Reply