Talent schedules, thousands of exhibitors, and let’s not forget hundreds of other events and happenings that all take place during a convention weekend. Can you imagine what it takes to pull something off like that?
When I saw that there was a C2E2 Team Panel, or “Talk Back”, I decided I really wanted to check it out. I wanted to hear what others thought about the event and have discussions about things that could have work better — and who knows, maybe something will be said to put gears in motion!
Sure we’re all critics when things go wrong, when something is missing, or when things are just not going our way at a convention, in effect ruining our experience. But do you ever sit back and actually think what goes on before, during, and then after a convention?
To say it opened my eyes is an understatement.
The panel was lead by reedPop’s Brian Stephenson, Kim Mueller, and Mike Armstrong and attended by a small handful of con goers.
The crew started off by mentioning that this was the most attended C2E2 since it’s inception and that Saturday was by far the most attended day ever. Which is great news, because it means this con is picking up steam. readPop’s ultimate goal is to make C2E2 THE Spring Con to attend. Next year, it will be moving back into the South Building at McCormick Place, but unlike previous years, where they only used a portion of the show floor, it will take up the entire South Building. For reference, this will be the same show floor that houses the Chicago Auto Show.
One of the first comments from the attendees was in regard to the lettering and font on both the website and other literature. It came from someone who was visually impaired and it was an excellent suggestion.
Others asked about something that seemed to be missing this year — and it was a huge something, DC Comics. Kim took this question and explained that DC was taking a step back and re-evalutating their booth presence but that they were there with tons of panels and guests in a big way. Which I have to agree. It just looked bad because Marvel was there with huge amount of floor space and the next biggest booth/exhibitor was Speed Racer’s car.
A hot topic of discussion was started when someone asked the question, “Why are the rooms not cleared after each panel?” This comes up every at every con, varying to if they do or do not clear the rooms. Personally I like that most cons do not do this, but again I see the pros and cons to both sides. Kim again took the reins on this question and explained that you can’t anticipate most panels’ attendance amounts, it’s kind of a crap shoot. With that in mind, she added that it becomes a hazard to find out where to line up people waiting for the next panel after the previous one ends.
It’s kind of a damned if you do and damned if you don’t scenario — but for safety’s sake and keeping the con schedule flowing, C2E2 (like NYCC and SDCC) does not clear the rooms.
Other things were discussed including the ease of the phone app, size of the con, shuttle buses and more. I even brought up the question of who is brought in as a panel moderator. I’ve always thought it’d be fun to get up there and rev up the crowd and then get to start the conversations with the panel. We had a rough experience with one of the panels (let’s just say the guy didn’t do his homework). Kim explained that a lot of panelist bring their own or suggest who they’d like to have moderate. Some are chosen by reedPop!, generally from local media contributors. All great information should someone *coughmecough* ever want to throw their hat in the ring (which I did).
All in all it was a great panel, and I know I’ll be checking to see if one is on the schedule for the next con I attend. I also highly encourage you to do the same, who knows — maybe something you suggest will find it’s way into the plans!
