Let's have a thread about panels. What were the best or worst panels you've ever to? Also, what was the most interesting? Awkward panel stories are more than welcome.
I've been made panel coordinator for a small con this year, so it's my first time. I'm going to be hosting a few guest ones in particular so I'm rather nervous. Since it's a small con in a regional area the theme this year is "101" where we're going to be introducing various aspects of anime, gaming and cosplay to newcomers. I wonder if anyone would be so kind to give me some advice for hosting? I've been to quite a few panels over the years, but running one is obviously a different point of view.
>>8989813
Don't be nervous on the mic. No one is really there to just heckle you, they're def there just to have a good time with people that like the stuff they like. Just remember to have fun honestly. Being a host is all about entertaining your crowd. Have some light banter, interact with them. Ask them questions about their favorite anime, game, cosplayer or whatever.
JUST HAVE A GOOD TIME.
I actually really enjoyed the "hentai worth watching" panel at AX last year. It was super easy to tell who was there because they wanted to laugh at some absurd porn and who was there to fap, so avoiding the later camp was a breeze. It was really the presenter's senses of humor that made the whole thing fun. The fact that they were all having a good time made it a worthwhile experience for me.
>>8989885
Thanks, kind anon!
>>8989813
Best panel has to be the "Hentai Game Show" panel with the Rocko's Modern Life Q&A and live script reading in a very close second.
Both had me in stitches
Worst panel was probably a "How to be a video game streamer."
The subject matter wasn't bad, it was the speakers who were absolutely cringe-tastic.
>>8989813
I went to a cosplay music video panel once. The second hand embarrassment was so real. No lighting, middle of the park or someone's house, 10 year old video camera, editing software about as old, Hetalia cosplayers dancing awkwardly... Ugh.
>>8990087
What exactly entails a "hentai game show" anyway?
>>8993966
We basically just watched 2 typical "Holy shit wtf" hentai clips and then two people went up and competed with each other by playing porn flash games.
They did about 3 or 4 cycles of it and you just left wanting more.
I think the most fun I had at a panel was the circus panel at MAGFest in 2015. Second and third place are tied between the Joust panel at MAGFest '15 and the Harrumph panels at Katsucon and AnimeUSA.
I'll be doing my first panel on Japanese murderers, but I can't think of a name. What's a good way to come up with an interesting name that will attract people, but still be pretty obvious about what the panel will cover?
>>8994217
>panel on Japanese murderers
Why though? Aren't they the same as any other murderers?
>>8994217
Dial J for Murder: the wild world of Japanese homicides
Killing them softly: Japanese murderers
Japan's best murderer countdown!
Satsujin special
I hosted a learn origami panel once that was fun. It was easy too. Tips would be to make sure you watch the clock, and make sure people get off the stage when their time is up.
>>8994627
Because, I think most Americans know of Son of Sam, the unabomber, ted bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, and John Wayne Gacy.
But how many know Issei Sagawa, Tsutomu Miyazaki, Mamoru Takuma, Hiroshi Maeue, Joji Obara, or about what to Junko Furuta? Plus, it fits in with the Japanese Ghost Story and Yokai panels.
>>8994793
That's a pretty good list!
>>8995328
>Issei Sagawa
Isn't he still living free right now and pretty popular despite being a cannibal?
>>8995328
**about what happened to Junko Furuta**
>>8995333
Yuppppp! There is a really neat interview he did with Vice a few years ago. It's odd how... normal... He seems in it. For someone who ate their girlfriend, I mean.
>>8995328
Wait i have more
Mortal C(K)ombat
Death Notes: stories of Japans Murderers
>>8989813
The best panels I've been to were Hentai fan fic readings and a panel on posing and modeling which I thought was useful for cosplayers and J Fashion fans alike.
I've had my share of hosting and watching panels, and from these experiences, I can suggest the following tips:
>be prepared
Know what you're going to talk about, keep backup material (jump drives, cloud files, spare laptop, etc.), and condense your note cards into a guide with important points, sources, and transitions.
>>8989885
I like that anon suggests keeping it light hearted and having fun, but you do want to steer clear of getting off-topic and ramble before your time slot is up.
>Practice
This is especially important if you're doing an informational panel. Confidence comes from being prepared. Also, be mindful of your use of
"up-talk". Yes, people use it in every day speech these days, but ending your sentence in a question makes you sound like you don't know what you're talking about. Speaking in front of a friend and getting their input helps.
>Get there early.
Depending on your set up, you may need to be ready to go in 15-20 minutes; yes, there might be a panel going on, but it doesn't hurt opening your ppt file while you wait.
>Check Con-Ops on available set up
I've run into situations in which the con's projector is incompatible with my laptop, and I had to borrow their equipment. Every con is going to be different, so check in with them as soon as you pick up your badge if you're presenting.
Break a leg!
>KLK panel
>Pussywhipped friend made me leave early.
>I didn't get to shitpost irl.
I love panels.
Some of my favorites -
Where Fanfic Goes To Die: Reading extremely horrible fanfiction, often with audience members coming up to act it out on stage (with clothes on and a strict no touching rule).
Anime That Scarred Me For Life: Audience members coming up to the mic to tell short anecdotes about anime that, well, scarred them for life. It's NOT an MA rated panel, which makes it so much funnier when the descriptions have to be vague.
I've seen some really great curated clip shows with commentary, where they find absurd anime shit and put it into context. Some good ones have been - Americans in Anime, Anime Abominations (this was entirely CG based anime), Weird Japanese Commercials.
& ANY of the Zapp Branigan Spaceship of Love panels at Sakuracon, they're all essentially anime/convention themed improv game panels with an EXCELLENT host who can make anything funny even if the audience participation isn't any good.
I've hosted a number of gameshow panels and one in-character murder mystery panel. They were all a great success. The most important parts of a panel are preparation and enthusiasm. Have your slides ready, know what you're going to say, and when you get up there be enthusiastic and have fun with it. If you're having fun, everyone else will, too.
I'm planning on doing a panel about visual novels aimed at women & queer people this year, but I'm also running into that wall of What the Heck do I call this. I can't just call it "VNs for people who aren't straight men". I might split it up into two panels (one for Otome games and one for Yuri/BL ?) if I have enough material, and that would solve the problem.
>>8989813
I've attended maybe 2 panels but I've hosted over a dozen with a huge range from comedy panels to scholarly ones, so I'll give my two cents.
Talking into a mic at first is a bit strange if you're not used to it. I'm a teacher and I still got put off a little, but thankfully talking for an hour straight in front of a crowd is what I do all day and can adjust quickly.
I'd say, be open to putting your personality out there and be willing to talk casually and even make fun of yourself or admit to your own weaknesses a bit as if you're just chatting with friends. It makes you come off as likeable and relatable. Don't script everything or you'll be robotic, but have a plan for how long each part of the panel will take and have a plan in case you end early. Body language makes a difference, but that's not something you can really train for before going through the actual experience.
POWERPOINT IS YOUR FRIEND. If you can get a laptop and a projector, have a presentation because it keeps the audience (and YOU) focused on something. Since you're doing an intro panel,.. videos would be great too. I have a panel that's about sharing amazing anime series that most congoers have never heard of. First I have a slide with the basic specs which I elaborate on beyond the slide. The next slide has short blurbs on why the series is generally awesome or unique (done humorously) then the last slide is a clip from the anime to give them a taste. Videos also give you short breaks to recover yourself!
If you have any specific questions, I'd be glad to give additional input from my experiences. Pic related - it's from a slide from my psychology of nerdery panel. One of the more sane slides really...
>>8995522
>Anime That Scarred Me For Life
That sounds fun. What cons have you seen that panel at?
>>8995599
Sakuracon & Kumoricon. Sakuracon depends on whether or not they decide to censor it or allow it, Kumoricon is every year.
>>8995661
Cool, will have to hit the west coast cons some day. Thanks.
18+ panels with audience participation are usually a lot of fun. Most fan panels are really bad because presentation skills are hard.
I don't really go to panels anymore, but the Pokemon Men's panel is probably my favorite. Check it out if you're at Fanime.
>>8995695
I'd also add that while audience participation can be cool, sometimes you need to clearly wrangle that shit in. I've done live riffing at a few cons, an entire movie by myself, and when I have the gall to pause for 10-15 seconds one asshole who thinks he's clever will throw out a joke and throw off my concentration.
So what do you guys look for in panels when looking at the schedule/stopping in random panel rooms? I've hosted a few and other than one that ended up being about shitting on harems, the others fell pretty flat and had very low headcount in the room. I know it's partially about the atmosphere you make and how you act with the crowd, but is it really a popularity thing? What I mean by that is does it really almost come down to the topic?
>>8999549
The topic really helps especially if the panel's audience is at the con. Certain age groups and fandoms are more prevalent at specific cons such as Jojo panels do better at ALA than AoD.
Mainly its a combination of the topic and how its describe.
I'm kind of in the process of planning a Monster Girl panel, but I wonder if people would prefer an overview of the genre with some cultural context and notes about stereotypes of popular monsters or if that's too entry level (because monster girl is kind of a take it or leave it trend)
Or if I'd be better off just sharing as many monster girl series as possible
I ran my my first panels at a local con recently and I'm decent and presenting and answering questions and got enough laughs, but they all ran short. From now on I'm going to practice doing a whole runthrough if I have time or just bringing along a lot of padding content like video clips.
>>8999549
Three things, really: interesting sounding title, panel rating, and panelist reputation.
Most conventions I've been at, if you don't have the app on your phone it's a pain in the ass to look up the panel description. So when I'm scanning through the schedule all I have to go off of is the panel title. MA rated panels are almost always more entertaining than all ages panels, for some reason. And then there's panelist reputation - many panelists do two or three panels at the same cons every year, and if I've been to their stuff before and loved it, I'm more likely to keep my eyes open for what they're doing this year.
Something to think about though, is that my most successful panels have all been ones where I've actively advertised for them at the con. Had announcements at relevant cosplay photoshoots, told people about it who stopped me for a picture in my cosplay, or told cosplayers about it after I took their photo.
>>8989813
>>8995483
This is fantastic advice tbhfam
Over the years the group I run with has always made sure that we had back up speakers, aux cables, and sometimes even a projector just in case.
If you are really feeling nervous, then I might suggest co-hosting it with a friend. Not only does that help calm you down, but then you have someone to work off of when it comes to discussions or just joking around.
I myself, am a really big fan of gameshow panels. Like Name that Anime Tune, or any trivia like panel. Anything that lets me participate or have some sort of prize catches my eye.
If you can't do it by yourself, don't do it.
I ran a scholarly History of Yaoi at a local con recently. I had a lot of issues because my cohost didn't show up till it was the halfway point when the beginning was her part of the panel. So it was a lot of panic rambling from me and apologies that I was shaky, at one point just restarting from the beginning becuase I fucked something up.
Maybe this is a 'shit happens' kind of advice???
>>9001402
I've done a panel with about seven panelists before, all of whom I *needed* in order for any of it to work. It went really well, but the project management involved to make it happen was intense. We talked about it and had rehearsals over Skype for two months in advance, and there was a really strict policy that if they didn't participate in a minimum number of rehearsals/planning meetings, they were cut and written out.
So I wouldn't say don't do panels with other people, just that you have to make sure everyone involved is equally committed, and recognize that the number of people involved will be proportional to the amount of planning required. Understand the scope of your project.
It's always a good idea to have a back up plan though - a way to cut down your material, reassign it to different people, or do it differently so that if something happens and someone DOESN'T show up, the show can still go on.
>>9001402
Yeah, it's a good idea to have some sort of backup plan if something goes wrong- and something always will. The most important thing is to not panic. If something like that happens it's best to just say 'Sorry, I was meant to have another person with me to do this' and laugh off anything that goes wrong. If you know what you're talking about and you're decent at public speaking you can soldier on until the rest of the panel arrives.
Sorry about your ruined panel though, it's never fun having to suddenly improvise in front of a crowd.
