Well, the con’s over, we’re home, and things will slowly start getting back to the usual mix of reviews, commentary, and podcasts. After we get all our video up, of course!
If you saw last year’s video diaries, you might remember my parting message was “May AX 2008 be sweeter.” It was. It was much, much better run than last year: lines no more than an hour. (Even registration lines.) Events starting on time. Staff who worked double overtime, like the ones at our panel, to make sure everything worked. Was it perfect? No–we could have used more advance info about photography and video rules for various events, rather than last minute changes announced in an ad-hoc way. But compared to last year, AX have redeemed themselves in my eyes. And that’s not just because I got press and managed to get most of the interviews and autographs that I wanted. :) They really seemed to have turned a corner, and my talking to lots of people have confirmed that impression. They realized it was do or die.
It’s thus very pleasing that they have just announced that they will be returning to the LA Convention Center next year. I couldn’t be happier–the venue was wonderful, providing enough space for everyone (I rarely felt all that crowded), with helpful and courteous staff that didn’t jerk around the AX volunteers like Long Beach did, and while there was some skimpiness with regard to audio for our panel, the volunteers totally came through for us. Plus, there was good accessibility with hotel shuttles and places to eat nearby. It was reachable by LA’s very limited Metro, of all things. And I only lived 30 minutes away or so. :)
My hopes for next year include even bigger guests that I can interview :), and maybe by then I’ll have better camera equipment too. But in either case, it was a great con, and we’ve got some great videos and coverage lined up for you, including a number of exclusive talks with not only the guests of honor but also the winners of AX Idol and the Masquerade. So stay tuned, as coverage isn’t quite over yet–there’s tons to get through still. I simply was too tired most evenings to put together videos like I did last year almost on the fly. But they will be coming out for all of you to enjoy.
Once again, thanks to the AX staff for a great show, and thanks to everyone out there who came out to our panel. It was awesome, and you’ll see why soon!