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olde_fashionedThis journal is friends-only. I tend to add most everyone who adds me, but I like to know where people come from and what they want to see on my journal, so I'd love it if you could post a comment with that in it before I add you. Most of my journal is private, including my costuming updates. I try to keep my links and tutorials public, though, so if that's what you're here for here's a list of what I've done:
Tutorials:
Basic Hand Sewing Seams and Hems - WIP, Needs Pictures
Basic Machine Sewing Seams and Seam Finishes - WIP, Needs Pictures
Bibliography - WIP
Computer Programs for Costuming
Dimensional Fabric Paint Prosthetic Tutorial
Dying in a Washing Machine - Needs Pictures
Dying on the Stovetop
The Easiest Documentation
Fabric Basics Part 1 - Fibers
Golden Rule of Three: Cheap, Fast, and Accurate
History of Sewing
How to Get the Most out of a Costume Contest Entry
How to Set a Grommet
How to Tell a Costume Scam on Ebay
How to Run a Small Costume Contest
The Money of Costuming, AKA: Why Do They Charge So Much to Make A Costume?
Putting on a Wig for People with Long Hair
Random Makeup Tips
Sewing Machine Basics - WIP
Sewing Machine Recs - HUGE WIP, and I'm not sure I still agree with everything I said but I dont' have time to revise now
Teaching Yourself to Sew with Books
Tips for First Time Judges
What to do if you are scammed on eBay
Links:
Boning Links
Corset History (not yet checked for accuracy of site info) Links
Costume Materials/Fabrics Links
Dying Links
Dye (history) Links
Feather Links
Latex and Facial Appliance Links
Pattern Company Links
Pattern Modification Tip Links
Pattern Review Websites
Wig and Hair Links
A Note on my tutorials: I'll always accept any links or suggestions you feel free to give, but I reserve the right to politely disagree :D I'll leave dissenting comments up for future readers to view, I only delete comments that denigrate into trolling (name-calling, going off-topic to attack other areas, etc). So if you find something that you disagree with, feel free to comment and tell me why. I'm always excited to learn something new!
Not mine, but noteworthy:
jaberwhalky's links to victorian and edwardian clothing resources for steampunkbauhausfrau's Article on recovering 18th century shoes. Probably works just as well for other centuries, too.cidsa's tips for wig wear and care I don't entirely agree with all points, but until I write my own it's a good starting point.As a costumer and conrunner I’m asked at least twice a year “how can my con get more costumers?” I’ve given it a lot of thought and watched a lot of cons succeed and fail at it, so I decided to work up tips. If your con is thinking about expanding their costuming to get more people you can do it in ten steps:
~Commit to expanding an area, now and in the future
These things don’t just happen overnight. If you aren’t willing to commit to at least two years of heavy work with little reward then you shouldn’t try it. You need to formulate a program that includes two (three would be much better) years of work before evaluating the program for success or failure. You also need the commitment of your organization. One person can inspire change, but if you don’t have the backing of the majority of your organization’s major workers then you will most likely fail. Get everyone on board and committed to not only this goal, but in being patient and giving it the long haul. This is especially important for organizations that change over leadership every year. If you have a successor make sure they are as enthusiastic about this as you are, and that they are involved in the long-term planning and goals session and have the support to implement it.
~Figure out where to concentrate
You will need to educate yourself about costuming and the types of costumers there are and which ones you want to attract specifically. Not all costumers will fit in at your convention. Social costumers are different from stage competition costumers, who are different from modeling costumers and construction costumers. Some people have skill and influence in multiple areas, but very rarely in all four. For example, if you don’t have the space to have a huge masquerade stage with tech and the time for rehearsals then maybe it would be best to not concentrate on competition (unless one of your goals is to work up to it). If you have small prefunction spaces and gathering spaces then social costumers may not be the best, since they will gather and clog up your hallways. Modeling costumers work best in hotels that have neat niches and places close by that work well for photo shoots as well as wide hallways and areas in the dealer’s room for them to sell photos. Construction costumers will need heavy programming for learning and events or competitions to show off their work.
~Get a featured guest
This is where you put your money where your mouth is. Find someone in costuming to reach out to other costumers. Someone they trust the opinion of and respect. In choosing a guest be sure to refer back to your area of concentration and choose someone that knows that area well and will also integrate into your existing convention population well. Have backups, because you should have a specialty guest for at least the first three years you’re working on integration, and again every two or three years to keep people involved and interested. Also, work hard to integrate your costume guest into your guest lineup. You don’t need to give your costume guest special favors that other guests don’t get, but make sure they aren’t treated like a second-tier burden. If your guests go to the art show dinner, speak at opening ceremonies, or have a closed party be sure to include your costuming guest just like the rest.
~Reach out to prominent concentration fans in your locale
One guest is not going to be enough to sustain even a small convention population. You’re going to need other panelists, staff members, people to help with brainstorming and point you to local resources, and enthusiasts to drum up interest. Find a core dozen or two that you can bring into your plan early and often to help refine it and make people interested and excited in it.
~Make it easy for newcomers
Figure out how best to integrate new people into your con. Make some way they can get information about what’s going on (Info Desk, Con Tours, Newcomer’s Handbook, Mentorship Program, Newbie Ambassadors, etc). Think about people new to cons altogether as well as people used to cons that are vastly different from yours. Test out and refine your information source before the con with people who can help evaluate its effectiveness and help you improve before the con starts.
~Program with intersectionality and integration
Getting into a new con environment is hard. Build in a social system by starting people small and letting them branch out as they feel comfortable. Find some way to localize your new program (Designated room? Special badges or badge ribbons? Targeted event/s?). Give them a safety zone and a small socialization circle with people who are friendly and welcoming. Then utilize those people to help the newcomers branch out of that comfort zone. Figure out how to utilize your costume guest at non-costuming panels and functions. Figure out who among your other guests and panelists are great at making friends and welcoming people and try to integrate them into costume programming. There can be awesome panels that attract both costumers and non-costumers on things like using clothing for worldbuilding, dressing and posing models for sketching and art, and the future of fashion and fabric technology and science. Brainstorm and think outside the box on program items and events that will draw costumers out to the larger convention as well as ones that will bring your regular con attendees into the track. Also, while we’re close to it, plan on a dealer or two that intersects with your new attendees’ interests.
~Utilize social media, and do it well
Your new program will fail if no one hears about it. Figure out where your new concentration hangs out, and commit to a social media program that utilizes those mediums. Use these with care, because it is much better to do one social media well than have twenty and fail at fifteen. Find someone to manage your social media as their only job. Encourage them to learn how to utilize your chosen system(s) well. There are tons of tutorials and blog posts out there on what, when, and how to gain attention on a specific system, and a few days on google will help immensely. Involve a larger group in planning the media campaign and give support to your social media person in implementing it. Be sure to include integration early in your social media. Talk up what you’ve always done well in a way that will start educating new people about how things work as well as talking about the exciting new things you’re doing. Don’t go too long (either time period or number of posts) without switching from one to the other or one group will feel that you’re forgetting them in favor of the other.
~Police an attitude shift
This one goes close in hand with the last, but it branches out so much I wanted to break it off. You need to commit from the beginning to welcoming new people with open arms. In any organization there will be at least one person who will not like that. If your organization has been around for a while you can probably already identify at least a few of your problem children. You know, the people who will be obnoxious about the ‘invasion’ of new people, will be insulted by the (perceived or real) shift of resources away from their idea of how things should be, and those who will not cope well with change and an expanding social circle. If you can identify these people early you can sometimes work to involve them somehow so they can feel a part of things (and thus win them over to your side). Sometimes, though, all that is to be done is to craft a harassment policy that clearly states that fan-police (statements of “you’re not a real fan” and “you don’t belong here”) will be considered harassing and be dealt with accordingly. This should extend to your online presence about the convention before and after as well as people at the convention. This is also a factor in cultivating your intersectional programming: be sure that the people you choose will work to draw people both new and established together and make friends, not divide them into factions readying for war. You should involve people who know costuming fandom in this, because some areas may surprise you (for instance: a slice of costumers and cosplayers have assumed names, so it’s probably best not to seat your costuming guest with an assumed name on a panel with someone who is going to rail that only frauds and phonies don’t put their real name on their badge at a convention).
~Set realistic, trackable goals, both long-term and short-term
Remember when I said that you need to be in this for the long haul? Most convention outreaches fail by evaluating too early. Year one, especially, needs to be a building year. People need to see that you’re going to put effort into the area in a way that justifies them spending money on it. Get a handful of satisfied fans in year one and they will bring in more people in year two, who will bring in even more people in year three. Give time for that web of buzz and good will to build up. That’s not to say wait forever, but at the very least two years to see how year one worked out. The worst thing you can do is build a program in year one to bring in people, do it well enough that they tell their friends to come next year, and then fail to sustain the program in year two. It not only disappoints the new people who aren’t getting what they thought they would, but it also makes your new fans and salesmen bitter because they feel like they lied to their friends. Also, be public about some of your goals. For instance: if we get thirty people to show up at the costumers’ dinner this year we’ll make it a dinner and ball next year! If we have ten entrants in the masquerade this year then next year we’ll get a spotlight! Involve your fans in helping you reach your goals by publicizing them and letting enthusiastic buzz carry to others. Keep your goal-setting upbeat (saying “we need to get ten people at the panel or we’re axing the whole program” seems less like a goal and more like a hostage situation; learn tone) and positive, and give it every chance to succeed.
~Find something to concentrate on
I’m mentioning this last, but it should probably be first. Think long and hard about your convention, its environment, and what you can support, both financially and socially. Is an extended costuming program really what you want? A lot of times when I hear people say “we want more costumers” what they really mean is “we want more people (or young people), and costuming is popular”. If you can’t do a costume program well and sustained then maybe this isn’t the tack you should take. Sad, I know, but there are others that will work. For instance, if your con is incredibly literary focused a costuming program is going to seem out of place. However, something else that new, young people are interested in is YA science fiction and fantasy. Instead of a costuming program try to develop a YA program. You can use all the same ideas above and concentrate on something that your existing fans can more easily cross over into. (Personal note: I’d be all over a dedicated fannish program about YA SF/F. The few cons that are doing it well seem to be mostly academic and paper-presentation based and/or hugely expensive. This is a much less saturated market than cons that do costuming/cosplay well.) How about integrating LARP, gaming, board games, game creation, fan art, fanfiction, US pop media, amvs, fan parodies, webcomics, the maker community, skeptics, or robotics clubs? How about becoming a place to learn conrunning and an annual social outlet for local conrunners from groups that run cons in your area but aren’t in your fandom group? They are all booming fandoms with young people that can be worked into your con. Do some research about your local area and what other conventions do well and then pick one that is underserved in your area and best integrates with your current group. And I do want to emphasize the "ONE" part in "pick one". Are there cons that do a great job of being big tents and integrating tons of groups at once? Yes. Of course. However, they've got reputation and tradition to build on. If you're looking to integrate you don't have that. It can happen, but you've got to build it, and you'll have a lot more success in building if you target instead of shotgunning a little of everyone and not satisfying anyone. Work your program for a few years, then ask the new people what you should add and implement a couple of suggestions a year. That way you can concentrate resources and creation energy in order to do things well. So pick one idea to start your foundation. It’d be cool if it was costuming, because I love costuming, but not every con needs a huge costuming focus. It takes all kinds to enrich our fandom mosaic.
~Commit to expanding an area, now and in the future
These things don’t just happen overnight. If you aren’t willing to commit to at least two years of heavy work with little reward then you shouldn’t try it. You need to formulate a program that includes two (three would be much better) years of work before evaluating the program for success or failure. You also need the commitment of your organization. One person can inspire change, but if you don’t have the backing of the majority of your organization’s major workers then you will most likely fail. Get everyone on board and committed to not only this goal, but in being patient and giving it the long haul. This is especially important for organizations that change over leadership every year. If you have a successor make sure they are as enthusiastic about this as you are, and that they are involved in the long-term planning and goals session and have the support to implement it.
~Figure out where to concentrate
You will need to educate yourself about costuming and the types of costumers there are and which ones you want to attract specifically. Not all costumers will fit in at your convention. Social costumers are different from stage competition costumers, who are different from modeling costumers and construction costumers. Some people have skill and influence in multiple areas, but very rarely in all four. For example, if you don’t have the space to have a huge masquerade stage with tech and the time for rehearsals then maybe it would be best to not concentrate on competition (unless one of your goals is to work up to it). If you have small prefunction spaces and gathering spaces then social costumers may not be the best, since they will gather and clog up your hallways. Modeling costumers work best in hotels that have neat niches and places close by that work well for photo shoots as well as wide hallways and areas in the dealer’s room for them to sell photos. Construction costumers will need heavy programming for learning and events or competitions to show off their work.
~Get a featured guest
This is where you put your money where your mouth is. Find someone in costuming to reach out to other costumers. Someone they trust the opinion of and respect. In choosing a guest be sure to refer back to your area of concentration and choose someone that knows that area well and will also integrate into your existing convention population well. Have backups, because you should have a specialty guest for at least the first three years you’re working on integration, and again every two or three years to keep people involved and interested. Also, work hard to integrate your costume guest into your guest lineup. You don’t need to give your costume guest special favors that other guests don’t get, but make sure they aren’t treated like a second-tier burden. If your guests go to the art show dinner, speak at opening ceremonies, or have a closed party be sure to include your costuming guest just like the rest.
~Reach out to prominent concentration fans in your locale
One guest is not going to be enough to sustain even a small convention population. You’re going to need other panelists, staff members, people to help with brainstorming and point you to local resources, and enthusiasts to drum up interest. Find a core dozen or two that you can bring into your plan early and often to help refine it and make people interested and excited in it.
~Make it easy for newcomers
Figure out how best to integrate new people into your con. Make some way they can get information about what’s going on (Info Desk, Con Tours, Newcomer’s Handbook, Mentorship Program, Newbie Ambassadors, etc). Think about people new to cons altogether as well as people used to cons that are vastly different from yours. Test out and refine your information source before the con with people who can help evaluate its effectiveness and help you improve before the con starts.
~Program with intersectionality and integration
Getting into a new con environment is hard. Build in a social system by starting people small and letting them branch out as they feel comfortable. Find some way to localize your new program (Designated room? Special badges or badge ribbons? Targeted event/s?). Give them a safety zone and a small socialization circle with people who are friendly and welcoming. Then utilize those people to help the newcomers branch out of that comfort zone. Figure out how to utilize your costume guest at non-costuming panels and functions. Figure out who among your other guests and panelists are great at making friends and welcoming people and try to integrate them into costume programming. There can be awesome panels that attract both costumers and non-costumers on things like using clothing for worldbuilding, dressing and posing models for sketching and art, and the future of fashion and fabric technology and science. Brainstorm and think outside the box on program items and events that will draw costumers out to the larger convention as well as ones that will bring your regular con attendees into the track. Also, while we’re close to it, plan on a dealer or two that intersects with your new attendees’ interests.
~Utilize social media, and do it well
Your new program will fail if no one hears about it. Figure out where your new concentration hangs out, and commit to a social media program that utilizes those mediums. Use these with care, because it is much better to do one social media well than have twenty and fail at fifteen. Find someone to manage your social media as their only job. Encourage them to learn how to utilize your chosen system(s) well. There are tons of tutorials and blog posts out there on what, when, and how to gain attention on a specific system, and a few days on google will help immensely. Involve a larger group in planning the media campaign and give support to your social media person in implementing it. Be sure to include integration early in your social media. Talk up what you’ve always done well in a way that will start educating new people about how things work as well as talking about the exciting new things you’re doing. Don’t go too long (either time period or number of posts) without switching from one to the other or one group will feel that you’re forgetting them in favor of the other.
~Police an attitude shift
This one goes close in hand with the last, but it branches out so much I wanted to break it off. You need to commit from the beginning to welcoming new people with open arms. In any organization there will be at least one person who will not like that. If your organization has been around for a while you can probably already identify at least a few of your problem children. You know, the people who will be obnoxious about the ‘invasion’ of new people, will be insulted by the (perceived or real) shift of resources away from their idea of how things should be, and those who will not cope well with change and an expanding social circle. If you can identify these people early you can sometimes work to involve them somehow so they can feel a part of things (and thus win them over to your side). Sometimes, though, all that is to be done is to craft a harassment policy that clearly states that fan-police (statements of “you’re not a real fan” and “you don’t belong here”) will be considered harassing and be dealt with accordingly. This should extend to your online presence about the convention before and after as well as people at the convention. This is also a factor in cultivating your intersectional programming: be sure that the people you choose will work to draw people both new and established together and make friends, not divide them into factions readying for war. You should involve people who know costuming fandom in this, because some areas may surprise you (for instance: a slice of costumers and cosplayers have assumed names, so it’s probably best not to seat your costuming guest with an assumed name on a panel with someone who is going to rail that only frauds and phonies don’t put their real name on their badge at a convention).
~Set realistic, trackable goals, both long-term and short-term
Remember when I said that you need to be in this for the long haul? Most convention outreaches fail by evaluating too early. Year one, especially, needs to be a building year. People need to see that you’re going to put effort into the area in a way that justifies them spending money on it. Get a handful of satisfied fans in year one and they will bring in more people in year two, who will bring in even more people in year three. Give time for that web of buzz and good will to build up. That’s not to say wait forever, but at the very least two years to see how year one worked out. The worst thing you can do is build a program in year one to bring in people, do it well enough that they tell their friends to come next year, and then fail to sustain the program in year two. It not only disappoints the new people who aren’t getting what they thought they would, but it also makes your new fans and salesmen bitter because they feel like they lied to their friends. Also, be public about some of your goals. For instance: if we get thirty people to show up at the costumers’ dinner this year we’ll make it a dinner and ball next year! If we have ten entrants in the masquerade this year then next year we’ll get a spotlight! Involve your fans in helping you reach your goals by publicizing them and letting enthusiastic buzz carry to others. Keep your goal-setting upbeat (saying “we need to get ten people at the panel or we’re axing the whole program” seems less like a goal and more like a hostage situation; learn tone) and positive, and give it every chance to succeed.
~Find something to concentrate on
I’m mentioning this last, but it should probably be first. Think long and hard about your convention, its environment, and what you can support, both financially and socially. Is an extended costuming program really what you want? A lot of times when I hear people say “we want more costumers” what they really mean is “we want more people (or young people), and costuming is popular”. If you can’t do a costume program well and sustained then maybe this isn’t the tack you should take. Sad, I know, but there are others that will work. For instance, if your con is incredibly literary focused a costuming program is going to seem out of place. However, something else that new, young people are interested in is YA science fiction and fantasy. Instead of a costuming program try to develop a YA program. You can use all the same ideas above and concentrate on something that your existing fans can more easily cross over into. (Personal note: I’d be all over a dedicated fannish program about YA SF/F. The few cons that are doing it well seem to be mostly academic and paper-presentation based and/or hugely expensive. This is a much less saturated market than cons that do costuming/cosplay well.) How about integrating LARP, gaming, board games, game creation, fan art, fanfiction, US pop media, amvs, fan parodies, webcomics, the maker community, skeptics, or robotics clubs? How about becoming a place to learn conrunning and an annual social outlet for local conrunners from groups that run cons in your area but aren’t in your fandom group? They are all booming fandoms with young people that can be worked into your con. Do some research about your local area and what other conventions do well and then pick one that is underserved in your area and best integrates with your current group. And I do want to emphasize the "ONE" part in "pick one". Are there cons that do a great job of being big tents and integrating tons of groups at once? Yes. Of course. However, they've got reputation and tradition to build on. If you're looking to integrate you don't have that. It can happen, but you've got to build it, and you'll have a lot more success in building if you target instead of shotgunning a little of everyone and not satisfying anyone. Work your program for a few years, then ask the new people what you should add and implement a couple of suggestions a year. That way you can concentrate resources and creation energy in order to do things well. So pick one idea to start your foundation. It’d be cool if it was costuming, because I love costuming, but not every con needs a huge costuming focus. It takes all kinds to enrich our fandom mosaic.
For those of you who lust over my computer Sparkling Reviews is giving one away! Go here to enter:
http://www.sparklingreviews.com/2012/01/alienware-gaming-laptop-giveaway.html
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Another awesome computer giveaway, this time a MacBook Air:
http://www.sparklingreviews.com/2012/01/13in-macbook-air-and-apple-tv-giveaway.html
http://www.sparklingreviews.com/2012/01/13in-macbook-air-and-apple-tv-giveaway.html
For those of you who lust over my computer Sparkling Reviews is giving one away! Go here to enter:
http://www.sparklingreviews.com/2012/01/alienware-gaming-laptop-giveaway.html
http://www.sparklingreviews.com/2012/01/alienware-gaming-laptop-giveaway.html
For those of you who lust over my computer Sparkling Reviews is giving one away! Go here to enter:
http://www.sparklingreviews.com/2012/01/alienware-gaming-laptop-giveaway.html
http://www.sparklingreviews.com/2012/01/alienware-gaming-laptop-giveaway.html
I think it's kinda funny how the KC Bid's choice of roaring twenties gangsters is starting to be cutting edge fashion:
The Great Gatsby Movie by Baz Luhrmann (costumes by Catherine Martin, she of the Moulin Rouge Oscar) has released the first set pics. Looks luxe and wonderful! Due out about this time next year.
Gucci's 2012 Spring Collection has a lot of 20's in it too. That cocktail dress is not only a 20's cut, but has art deco beading covering it. Yum!
This dress for Temperley London's 2012 pre-fall (read: summer) collection looks very twenties in cut as well, and also has the geometric sequin patterns.
The Great Gatsby Movie by Baz Luhrmann (costumes by Catherine Martin, she of the Moulin Rouge Oscar) has released the first set pics. Looks luxe and wonderful! Due out about this time next year.
Gucci's 2012 Spring Collection has a lot of 20's in it too. That cocktail dress is not only a 20's cut, but has art deco beading covering it. Yum!
This dress for Temperley London's 2012 pre-fall (read: summer) collection looks very twenties in cut as well, and also has the geometric sequin patterns.
Why don't con panels work? Or, more importantly, why do they work and why don't cons facilitate them working? I'm starting to think I'm just in the minority in what I like at panels, but more and more lately (probably as I spend more time at cons and see more) I'm getting a bored, been-there-done-that feeling with panels at cons. Things don't seem fresh. The topics are the same, the people are the same, and I'm starting to find that I'd rather do other things with my time. Perhaps this is why so many cons have a contingent of people who come just for the parties - why go to panels when you've seen them before? So what's the problem with panels? Why are they uninteresting? I think there are a few reasons:
The panel topics all seem the same. A lot of this has to do with conventions being genre-related. The topic pool is already limited by the convention's focus. Then the topic pool is further limited by the crowd attracted by the main guest(s), the knowledge of the panelists, the breadth and depth of knowledge of the panel coordinator, and what the con attendees want to see. Most panel coordinators work off a list of panels from the convention's previous years and attendee and panelist suggestions.
Panels are ill-defined. There's a strange phenomenon, especially at sci-fi cons, to freshen up the same-old panel topics by giving them clever jokey names. I've found that this really only confuses the issue even further because people can't look at a schedule and know what a panel is about, so they're left guessing what the writer really meant or going back and forth to the panel description. However the panel description can be part of the problem as well. When it's written by the programming department it can be vague and nondescript, making all the panelists wonder what they're supposed to talk about. On the other hand it can also be too specific, which is dangerous when it's not written by the panelists because they may not know, or be able to get to, all the specifics, misleading the audience and making them feel unsatisfied with the panel because it wasn't what was promised.
Panelists have a repertoire. Even the most knowledgeable panelist invokes a "been there, done that" feeling when they've been doing the same panel for years at the same con or region of cons. There's only so much a person can say about a topic, even when they're the premiere expert on the subject (and, let's face it, most of the people paying to give panels at sci-fi cons *aren't*, myself included). Getting the same person to do the same thing, or even rotating between the same two or three people, leads to a stagnation of information and ideas.
Panelists are unprepared. There's lots of reasons for this. I think the primary one is that they're assigned to a panel by a programming head. This often combines with "clever name" and "vague description" to lead to the great panel introductions that go "My name is Bob and I'm not sure why I'm here . . ." Every time I hear that I want to walk out of a panel, because, really, if you're not sure why you're here why should I waste my time? There can also be the problems of panelists being unprepared because the schedules are made at the last minute so panelists don't have time to prepare, or don't have time to work together.
A closely-related topic is that moderators aren't prepared or are nonexistant. A panel of disparate people who know something about a topic but don't know each other need someone to guide and direct the conversation. This person can introduce the panelists (stating why people are panelists is a great way to get over "I dunno why I'm here"), come up with questions, and make sure that the topics listed in the description are covered by the group. Oftentimes, though, a panel doesn't have a moderator assigned so the panelists stumble around until they get a common enough topic that they can talk about for the time period, even if it's not entirely with the topic description, what the audience wants to hear, or coherent. Other times the moderator doesn't know they're the moderator, either because they didn't pay attention or they weren't informed. There's also the issue of moderators not knowing what to do to prepare or moderate. I've been guilty of this one myself. There's not a lot of information on what makes a good moderator online, and what is there is mostly about calming fights and discussion issues, not preparation. Con Programming heads don't spend a lot of time fixing this issue, either, leaving moderators to sink or swim.
Panelists don't work together. I'm not talking about fights, because there are few cons that try to put together panelists that hate each other or have a known history. However, there are panelists who don't know each other or their backgrounds and experiences. Without a strong moderator there can be a period of getting to know each other that takes away from the time the panelists could spend discussing the topic. There can also be the problem of creating a debate topic where all the panelists are on one side of the issue and can't really explore the counterpoints, or where debaters are on opposite sides but can't argue coherently and calmly with other people and make the audience uncomfortable. Or, on the opposite side, the panelists are so smug and condescending to the other side that they make the audience either smug that they are right or angry because they're being insulted for having a view that the con advertised as legit. Personality conflicts can also manifest in panels as conflicts of energy, where one panelist dominates the discussion because they are quick to answer while others are more shy or polite and aren't given an equal opportunity. Or, alternately, a problem I've run into recently is cons refusing to give me a panel alone, so I prepare a panel that I've got experience and knowledge in as if it was my panel and I show up to find that there's someone else on the topic. It's hard in that situation to deviate from the plan I've had and integrate that other person in the plan, so I'm running over them just because I'm more prepared.
Okay, so there's lots of problems. What should be done about it? Personally, I think that cons should work on a variety of types of panels so that they're not counting on one kind to work all the time. Sci-Fi cons and Anime cons both do this. In Sci-Fi cons they've always done panels by coming up with a topic, finding people to talk about it, assigning one of them to be a moderator, and giving them a space to talk. In Anime cons they've always done panels by putting up a box on the website for panelists to create a panel name and description and submit it for approval. Both of these are great ways to get panels, but they shouldn't be the only way. Cons should have a variety of panels. Here's a list of ways to create panels that I think should be considered in every con programming attempt:
~Put up a submissions system. Let panelists submit a topic they can talk on, complete with a topic name and program description and maybe even a topic outline. Let them submit alone or gather a group of their own making and submit together.
~Make a core team of moderators. Make a list of interesting topics and find people who are acquainted with the topic but not experts. Get them together, either in person or online, and teach them. Detail extensively to them what their job is, how to prepare for their panel, and how to be a moderator. Force them to research the topic to find good questions, write the panel description so they know what the major thrust of the questioning will attempt to accomplish (a reason why non-experts are good, they know what they found interesting in their research and what should be detailed more), and have them find panelists who they think have something to contribute. You can even have them contact panelists with the questions a week-ish out so they have time to prepare.
~Ask a knowledgeable individual to give an individual speech or presentation on the topic. Let them write the description of what they'll be talking about.
~Create a group of people to talk about something rather vague and entertaining or informative in an informal setting and see where they go.
~Set up a formal debate. Find a topic that can be polarized and define the sides, get a speaker or two that feel strongly about both sides (or three or four, why limit?), set up introductory arguments, a series of questions for debaters to answer, and closing arguments with time limits. Get a personality to moderate who can keep the debaters calm and on topic while being fair and even.
~Set up round room discussions. This is one that I think is highly under-used in fan cons. Take a topic and get five or six people who know about it. Set them up in a room where each of them have their own area and let the audience rotate to hear the people they want to hear talk about the topic. This can be formal, such as "10 minutes at each station", or it can be informal and people can move when they wish. This is especially good for how-to topics such as crafting demonstrations where each station can be doing a different technique that accomplishes the goal (like makeup or dying) or other techniques such as writers and worldbuilding or getting started where individuals can have a lot of questions that are short and probably won't be asked in a more formal setting.
~Have an individual question-and-answer session for a person or group of people on a related topic. Instead of having a moderator come up with questions have an audience who knows they're supposed to come with questions about the topic, and have interesting guests they'll want to hear talk. Worried that you won't get enough questions? Create a list of backups, both formal and informal. Ask for submissions on the website, twitter, facebook for the con after the panel has been announced. If you're really worried find a website/blog/forum/lj/whatever for the topic or guest and ask them to come up with your backup questions (or, heck, all the questions, make it a gimmick "Bob's Twitter Q&A"). Bonus if you can record or transcribe the answers for the online helpers afterward.
~Create a game show. I don't know why more sci-fi cons don't do this (except maybe work and/or tech). A panel with the same people and the same topics could be made more exciting if the questions were chosen by the panelists from a jeopardy board and they were given 3 minutes to talk on the question they chose at random.
~Have a roast/tribute. Get knowledgeable people to talk about the guest of honor, how they are influenced by them/their work, how they first encountered it, and personal stories and anecdotes about their relationships. Can go together with a GOH speech to make it less pressure on the guest to speak for an entire hour. Can also work for non-guests, such as deceased people, favorite characters, popular series, etc.
~Create variety in showings. This is another area of programming that seems really stagnant: we pick shows from a formula to get variety then stick them in a small room and hope people go. In the age of amazon, torrent, and netflix it's not really working like it did when it was conceptualized. Showings could benefit from an injection of programming variety. Programming can schedule a showing with a following panel analyzing the themes in the show, how it varies from written work, plot its history, or talk about other shows like it. A group of funny people can be collected to do an MST3K-ish showing presentation. A variety of experts (say, a writer, a costumer, an actor, etc) can be collected to talk about what this particular show can teach people in their field.
~Set up some kind of topic-specific social hour. Cons are huge and meeting people can be a problem, especially people who share more niche interests within the larger con scheme. Not everyone can do late night drinking parties for various reasons (night, crowding, alcoholic, mobility, etc). Giving daytime and afternoon socialization opportunities maximizes the integration of new people into your convention.
Other things cons can do? Vary the people. I would love to see a con have a set policy of each year getting 10% of speakers as people who've never done a panel at the con, and 30% of presenters every year are retired for a year. As long as everyone rotates through who is retiring, even the popular people, it gives panelists a rest/fun year while keeping the panelist pool larger and constantly stirred. You can also rotate panelists into the moderator pool, making them the questioners and not the talkers to pull them out of their comfort zone. I know it's a hot topic, but I also really like DragonCon's track system. Dedicating a room and a staffer to a topic distributes the load, makes it easier for fans to find the panels on that topic, and helps to ensure variety in topics. It also creates a smaller community within a con that helps fans to find people who are interested in the subsets of the con's subject that attract fans. Even if the tracks are not as formal or public as DragonCon they can still be used internally by programming to make sure the topics are varied and similar items are not programmed opposite each other. You should also be sure to make a variety of seriousness, from goofing panels to entertainment panels to history panel, informative panels, how-to panels, and demonstrations within each topic area. There should be a variety of formalities, from informal people making fun to a highly structured debate. Different things appeal to different people (or even the same people, people like variety) and having a variety keeps people coming back.
Why don't cons do this now? Because it's work, and cons are run by volunteers with real lives. I get that. I think, though, that a lot of this is stagnation of the "this is how it's done" variety where no one has suggested there is any alternative. Maybe by just suggesting that things could be different people will stop doing the same-old and attempt to make programming better. Even better, by creating such disparate kinds of panels programming will stop putting all its eggs in one basket and even if an individual flakes on a panel and is not prepared there are plenty of other kinds of panels to go around.
The panel topics all seem the same. A lot of this has to do with conventions being genre-related. The topic pool is already limited by the convention's focus. Then the topic pool is further limited by the crowd attracted by the main guest(s), the knowledge of the panelists, the breadth and depth of knowledge of the panel coordinator, and what the con attendees want to see. Most panel coordinators work off a list of panels from the convention's previous years and attendee and panelist suggestions.
Panels are ill-defined. There's a strange phenomenon, especially at sci-fi cons, to freshen up the same-old panel topics by giving them clever jokey names. I've found that this really only confuses the issue even further because people can't look at a schedule and know what a panel is about, so they're left guessing what the writer really meant or going back and forth to the panel description. However the panel description can be part of the problem as well. When it's written by the programming department it can be vague and nondescript, making all the panelists wonder what they're supposed to talk about. On the other hand it can also be too specific, which is dangerous when it's not written by the panelists because they may not know, or be able to get to, all the specifics, misleading the audience and making them feel unsatisfied with the panel because it wasn't what was promised.
Panelists have a repertoire. Even the most knowledgeable panelist invokes a "been there, done that" feeling when they've been doing the same panel for years at the same con or region of cons. There's only so much a person can say about a topic, even when they're the premiere expert on the subject (and, let's face it, most of the people paying to give panels at sci-fi cons *aren't*, myself included). Getting the same person to do the same thing, or even rotating between the same two or three people, leads to a stagnation of information and ideas.
Panelists are unprepared. There's lots of reasons for this. I think the primary one is that they're assigned to a panel by a programming head. This often combines with "clever name" and "vague description" to lead to the great panel introductions that go "My name is Bob and I'm not sure why I'm here . . ." Every time I hear that I want to walk out of a panel, because, really, if you're not sure why you're here why should I waste my time? There can also be the problems of panelists being unprepared because the schedules are made at the last minute so panelists don't have time to prepare, or don't have time to work together.
A closely-related topic is that moderators aren't prepared or are nonexistant. A panel of disparate people who know something about a topic but don't know each other need someone to guide and direct the conversation. This person can introduce the panelists (stating why people are panelists is a great way to get over "I dunno why I'm here"), come up with questions, and make sure that the topics listed in the description are covered by the group. Oftentimes, though, a panel doesn't have a moderator assigned so the panelists stumble around until they get a common enough topic that they can talk about for the time period, even if it's not entirely with the topic description, what the audience wants to hear, or coherent. Other times the moderator doesn't know they're the moderator, either because they didn't pay attention or they weren't informed. There's also the issue of moderators not knowing what to do to prepare or moderate. I've been guilty of this one myself. There's not a lot of information on what makes a good moderator online, and what is there is mostly about calming fights and discussion issues, not preparation. Con Programming heads don't spend a lot of time fixing this issue, either, leaving moderators to sink or swim.
Panelists don't work together. I'm not talking about fights, because there are few cons that try to put together panelists that hate each other or have a known history. However, there are panelists who don't know each other or their backgrounds and experiences. Without a strong moderator there can be a period of getting to know each other that takes away from the time the panelists could spend discussing the topic. There can also be the problem of creating a debate topic where all the panelists are on one side of the issue and can't really explore the counterpoints, or where debaters are on opposite sides but can't argue coherently and calmly with other people and make the audience uncomfortable. Or, on the opposite side, the panelists are so smug and condescending to the other side that they make the audience either smug that they are right or angry because they're being insulted for having a view that the con advertised as legit. Personality conflicts can also manifest in panels as conflicts of energy, where one panelist dominates the discussion because they are quick to answer while others are more shy or polite and aren't given an equal opportunity. Or, alternately, a problem I've run into recently is cons refusing to give me a panel alone, so I prepare a panel that I've got experience and knowledge in as if it was my panel and I show up to find that there's someone else on the topic. It's hard in that situation to deviate from the plan I've had and integrate that other person in the plan, so I'm running over them just because I'm more prepared.
Okay, so there's lots of problems. What should be done about it? Personally, I think that cons should work on a variety of types of panels so that they're not counting on one kind to work all the time. Sci-Fi cons and Anime cons both do this. In Sci-Fi cons they've always done panels by coming up with a topic, finding people to talk about it, assigning one of them to be a moderator, and giving them a space to talk. In Anime cons they've always done panels by putting up a box on the website for panelists to create a panel name and description and submit it for approval. Both of these are great ways to get panels, but they shouldn't be the only way. Cons should have a variety of panels. Here's a list of ways to create panels that I think should be considered in every con programming attempt:
~Put up a submissions system. Let panelists submit a topic they can talk on, complete with a topic name and program description and maybe even a topic outline. Let them submit alone or gather a group of their own making and submit together.
~Make a core team of moderators. Make a list of interesting topics and find people who are acquainted with the topic but not experts. Get them together, either in person or online, and teach them. Detail extensively to them what their job is, how to prepare for their panel, and how to be a moderator. Force them to research the topic to find good questions, write the panel description so they know what the major thrust of the questioning will attempt to accomplish (a reason why non-experts are good, they know what they found interesting in their research and what should be detailed more), and have them find panelists who they think have something to contribute. You can even have them contact panelists with the questions a week-ish out so they have time to prepare.
~Ask a knowledgeable individual to give an individual speech or presentation on the topic. Let them write the description of what they'll be talking about.
~Create a group of people to talk about something rather vague and entertaining or informative in an informal setting and see where they go.
~Set up a formal debate. Find a topic that can be polarized and define the sides, get a speaker or two that feel strongly about both sides (or three or four, why limit?), set up introductory arguments, a series of questions for debaters to answer, and closing arguments with time limits. Get a personality to moderate who can keep the debaters calm and on topic while being fair and even.
~Set up round room discussions. This is one that I think is highly under-used in fan cons. Take a topic and get five or six people who know about it. Set them up in a room where each of them have their own area and let the audience rotate to hear the people they want to hear talk about the topic. This can be formal, such as "10 minutes at each station", or it can be informal and people can move when they wish. This is especially good for how-to topics such as crafting demonstrations where each station can be doing a different technique that accomplishes the goal (like makeup or dying) or other techniques such as writers and worldbuilding or getting started where individuals can have a lot of questions that are short and probably won't be asked in a more formal setting.
~Have an individual question-and-answer session for a person or group of people on a related topic. Instead of having a moderator come up with questions have an audience who knows they're supposed to come with questions about the topic, and have interesting guests they'll want to hear talk. Worried that you won't get enough questions? Create a list of backups, both formal and informal. Ask for submissions on the website, twitter, facebook for the con after the panel has been announced. If you're really worried find a website/blog/forum/lj/whatever for the topic or guest and ask them to come up with your backup questions (or, heck, all the questions, make it a gimmick "Bob's Twitter Q&A"). Bonus if you can record or transcribe the answers for the online helpers afterward.
~Create a game show. I don't know why more sci-fi cons don't do this (except maybe work and/or tech). A panel with the same people and the same topics could be made more exciting if the questions were chosen by the panelists from a jeopardy board and they were given 3 minutes to talk on the question they chose at random.
~Have a roast/tribute. Get knowledgeable people to talk about the guest of honor, how they are influenced by them/their work, how they first encountered it, and personal stories and anecdotes about their relationships. Can go together with a GOH speech to make it less pressure on the guest to speak for an entire hour. Can also work for non-guests, such as deceased people, favorite characters, popular series, etc.
~Create variety in showings. This is another area of programming that seems really stagnant: we pick shows from a formula to get variety then stick them in a small room and hope people go. In the age of amazon, torrent, and netflix it's not really working like it did when it was conceptualized. Showings could benefit from an injection of programming variety. Programming can schedule a showing with a following panel analyzing the themes in the show, how it varies from written work, plot its history, or talk about other shows like it. A group of funny people can be collected to do an MST3K-ish showing presentation. A variety of experts (say, a writer, a costumer, an actor, etc) can be collected to talk about what this particular show can teach people in their field.
~Set up some kind of topic-specific social hour. Cons are huge and meeting people can be a problem, especially people who share more niche interests within the larger con scheme. Not everyone can do late night drinking parties for various reasons (night, crowding, alcoholic, mobility, etc). Giving daytime and afternoon socialization opportunities maximizes the integration of new people into your convention.
Other things cons can do? Vary the people. I would love to see a con have a set policy of each year getting 10% of speakers as people who've never done a panel at the con, and 30% of presenters every year are retired for a year. As long as everyone rotates through who is retiring, even the popular people, it gives panelists a rest/fun year while keeping the panelist pool larger and constantly stirred. You can also rotate panelists into the moderator pool, making them the questioners and not the talkers to pull them out of their comfort zone. I know it's a hot topic, but I also really like DragonCon's track system. Dedicating a room and a staffer to a topic distributes the load, makes it easier for fans to find the panels on that topic, and helps to ensure variety in topics. It also creates a smaller community within a con that helps fans to find people who are interested in the subsets of the con's subject that attract fans. Even if the tracks are not as formal or public as DragonCon they can still be used internally by programming to make sure the topics are varied and similar items are not programmed opposite each other. You should also be sure to make a variety of seriousness, from goofing panels to entertainment panels to history panel, informative panels, how-to panels, and demonstrations within each topic area. There should be a variety of formalities, from informal people making fun to a highly structured debate. Different things appeal to different people (or even the same people, people like variety) and having a variety keeps people coming back.
Why don't cons do this now? Because it's work, and cons are run by volunteers with real lives. I get that. I think, though, that a lot of this is stagnation of the "this is how it's done" variety where no one has suggested there is any alternative. Maybe by just suggesting that things could be different people will stop doing the same-old and attempt to make programming better. Even better, by creating such disparate kinds of panels programming will stop putting all its eggs in one basket and even if an individual flakes on a panel and is not prepared there are plenty of other kinds of panels to go around.
eilis_oneal is hosting a contest on her blog for the chance to win one of two ARC's to her new book, The False Princess. I'm hoping to get one, since it's on my wish list, but it would be nifty if someone on my f-list got one!I've decided that I'm going to participate in The 2011 Debut Author Challenge over at The Story Siren. I love The Story Siren because it's a good blog about YA books, and I think that reading debut novels, while sometimes frustrating, is worth it to find and support good new authors. ( I'm thinking these will be my 12 books:Collapse )
Yeah, that's only 11, but so many of the books don't even have summaries up yet, and I'm only up to June on my list! I'm sure I'll find plenty more to fill it out :D
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So the final thing is if you trust someone to run your costuming track/panels…
Several cons I'm involved with are already using the approaches you mention. But I will be making a bookmark, just…