The spiral staircase from Revolutionary Girl Utena (used for edu/personal reasons, see post)
In my last post I talked about why I do panels.
But people usually see the end result – the finished panel, the lecture, and so on. What goes into a panel?
I’m currently working on a new panel, talking about heroism, compassion and courage in two anime series (Revolutionary Girl Utena and Puella Magi Madoka Magica). Even though I’ve had the idea in my mind for awhile, notes need to be written down. Outlines need to be made. I can’t assume people have seen both of these series, either, so I have to do a bit more explanation/setup and warn for spoilers. (So many spoilers.) I have to find media and cite sources.
A lot of work goes into panels like these. And there’s never any guarantee of it being a success, either: I won’t know that until I present it, and a lot of variables (tech availability, scheduling, etc) can also affect its success. If it doesn’t go well, I take note of what didn’t work (and what did) and make revisions. If it does go well, I take note of what worked, and still strive to improve.
It’s a spiral staircase of sorts, always going back and forth, but that’s how I get better. Plus, the more I work on panels, the better at presenting them I get – presenting on familiar topics help ease any stage fright, making little jokes does the same.
To hear more about the Heroism panel, or try and attend, make sure to keep an eye on the Otakon 2013 website!