We Need More Non-Stinking (Film Fest) Lanyards

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You do need a stinking badge, but do you need a stinking lanyard?

We're about to get back into local film festival season: aGLIFF and Fantastic Fest in September, Austin Film Festival in October, and Austin Asian American Film Festival in November (not to mention Lights. Camera. Help. last week as well as other fests around Central Texas). So lanyards -- which every festival badgeholder needs -- are on my mind, especially after throwing out so many of them before my recent move. 

Festival and conference badges come in all shapes and sizes, and you can find many, many lanyard styles out there to go with them, from cheap elastic strings to classic thin cords to fancy flat ribbons. But not all lanyards are created equal. This isn't apparent for people who don't attend a lot of conferences and festivals, but for those of us who do, that rope around your neck that grants you access can be as annoying as a noose.

Maybe I'm just a badge geek, but there's a lot to consider in a good badge and lanyard combination, and it is part of the festival experience. This is something I may be wearing 18 hours a day for a week or more, so this geek prefers an optimal lanyard that's comfortable as well as usable. I want to be able to add a button or two from my favorite movies, and I know some folks like to cover theirs like flair on a Chotchkie's waiter.  When things start falling off, it's annoying. Even worse, when the badge keeps falling off the lanyard. That clip has to hold a badge, and maybe tickets, IDs, business cards, and more. It needs to stay attached, because those badges are not replaceable in most cases.

Most festivals don't rely on the thin elasticized string that frequently pops out of the badge sleeve. Instead they use  a variety of fabric lanyards, the most popular being the flattened fabric weave. Large festivals like SXSW even code their lanyards; the volunteers and staffers can tell if they need to scrutinize a badge by the lanyard it hangs from. 

Apollo 13 red carpetUnfortunately, some lanyards are particularly annoying. In that tangle in the above photo, notice the lanyard that says "BMI." If you look at the bottom of the picture it may look like it's cut, but it's not, it's velcro. Some clever soul thought that this would allow people to easily take the badge on and off. But what they didn't realize is how irritating those corners and the velcro -- even with the 'soft' side towards the skin -- can be. Personally, I've gotten to the point where I bring a spare lanyard with me to switch out that lanyard with another. Sorry if that confuses staffers, but comfort comes first when working 18-hour days at a festival. And I'm not alone; the gentleman in the photo on the right appears to have done the same thing with his Austin Film Festival badge.

The flat ribbon and flattened fabric are the best for comfort, especially if the badge sleeve needs to holds tickets, which are common at SXSW and Fantastic Fest.  My favorite lanyard in terms of fabric is that 2010 Cine Las Americas lanyard. It's jersey-soft and very light on the neck. It was heavenly, and not just because the badge was a simple plastic card with no sleeve to weigh it down.

The downside is the split ring to attach the badge, which can twist around, nearly choking a person who wasn't careful. It's amazing what a little breeze or fidgeting can do to make a lanyard into a noose. The clip connectors can be tricky, especially if badge has too much plastic between the top and the hole for the lanyard connector. If the Cine Las Americas lanyard had the rare swiveling lobster claw "connector," I'd be in heaven. Think about it; the connector swivels so the lanyard doesn't twist around.  But the price points for fancy connectors is high, so they're not all that common. And in fairness, the fancier the connector, the heavier the lanyard. Being headache-prone means I avoid any strain on my neck that might contribute to headaches and the heavier the lanyard and badge are, the more likely to trigger a headache, or even a migraine.

That's not even getting into lanyard length. Some are so long that they end up catching on tables or end up catching food if the badge sleeve isn't snug. Some end up feeling like a choke chain if you wear them at a restaurant and it keeps catching on the table.

I have to wonder how much thought goes in to lanyards. Some film festivals have their lanyards donated by sponsors, so there's not a lot of choice. Most film fests are not high on profit margins; there are a lot of expenses involved, with byzantine logistics to work out, so I know lanyards are probably very low on the list of priorities when it comes to decision making.

However, I know I'm not the only one who cares about lanyard design, and I'm not the only one who carries their own lanyard. Most folks I know who attend film festivals save their badges and lanyards.  How about you? Do you notice the lanyards at all? What's your favorite film-fest lanyard? What's your lanyard horror story?

[Photo credit: "Lanyards" by Jennifer Brown, "Apollo 13 Red Carpet" by Jette Kernion. Used with permission.]

I think the velcro/snaps on

I think the velcro/snaps on the back of the lanyards are actually supposed to be a safety feature -- you've got something dangling from your neck and if that gets caught on machinery, you want the badge to get pulled away, not your head.