Behind the Scenes: The Ins & Outs of Large-Scale Convention Coverage

Author: Samantha Ferreira

Introduction

With Anime Boston coming at us in just a couple of weeks, I kind of wanted to take some time to do something special for the Patreon crowd! This week, I’ll be going into the behind-the-scenes process for covering a large-scale anime convention.

That said, Anime Boston is still “small” for one of the big boys. It doesn’t boast Anime Expo’s 107,000 warm bodies, or a certain Texas con’s 36,000 attendees. Still, last year, the con attracted 25,848 attendees - just shy of Otakon’s 29,113. It’s a big convention, that was born from some truly incredible times.

...I have war stories from fifteen years of Anime Boston. ^_^; Ask me and I’ll tell them sometime.

ANYway… tackling a convention of this magnitude is huge business. This is your big time. This is where a site gets a ton of new traffic and visitors, it’s also where a lot of smaller people in the press pools come to network.

But, most important, it’s a place to have fun while you get a ton of amazing content ready for your lovelies. Seriously - a big con like Anime Expo or Otakon can get you about 30-40 articles, easy, through the entire process. It’s just a matter of being serious to your approach, while having fun.

You're going to be doing a lot of work... but it pays off in the end.

As a quick warning, I'm going to assume that you'll be operating with a press pass, which does open some doors for folks working the event. If you'd like to know more about this, or if there’s anything I don’t explain well, please let me know in the comments!

Now, let's get rolling.

Really, we can break this down into three major components:

1. Pre-Con Coverage
2. At-Con Coverage
3. Post-Con Articles

Pre-Con

Pre-con coverage is pretty much as the name implies. This is your collection of write-ups about the convention before it hits. This will always differ from outlet to outlet, to be honest. Some are going to be collecting the news and fiending over every little press release. Others, meanwhile, will post a couple of quick editorials in the run-up to the convention.

Others, still, will just do nothing. But, from someone who’s been at this rodeo fifteen times before, if you’re working the event as press, never do nothing. You’re leaving traffic on the table, not to mention a ton of goodwill from your readers and the convention, proper.

That, and you never know where your content will pop up. On numerous occasions, we’ve seen our pre-con stuff end up as Wikipedia references!

Like… to put it in simply, conventions love it when you talk about them unless you’re exposing a scandal or writing about their attempts to shut down vloggers. You’re getting their name out as you share your own excitement for the con. 

So, really, it’s a win-win.

"Win Win!"

For the Herald, we tend to follow a pretty set format nowadays, mostly because I’ve come to enjoy the setup.

1. For our news readers, we report on every guest announcement that comes across the line. Every press release gets published, plus it gets a full write-up. We treat every guest, from (to use Anime Boston 2018’s list) Steve Blum, to Asaka, to Kazuki Yao their own write-ups.
2. For our feature fans, I typically publish a shorter “bookend” editorial the night before the convention. This helps to set our tone, and get readers primed for a weekend of fun and anime.

Overall, the news coverage tends to be proportional to the number of press releases coming down the pipeline. For this year’s Anime Boston, for example, we ended up with 19 articles, pre-con.

At-Con

I’m sure that you have a ton of nervous energy just waiting to be unleashed in the build-up to a con. The sights, the sounds, the experiences, they can be overwhelming, even for the most seasoned of reporters.

For me, it manifests in this weird abundance of nervous energy, as I stress and fret about what is going on, both on the Herald and within the four walls of the convention space. (Seriously - Reddit hugs that I can’t fix scare me! ;w; ) Chalk it up to social anxiety, chalk it up to this sense of duty to the readers, but I have gained a reputation for just camping out in the Prudential Center and writing until I’m ready to pass out, then staggering up to my room and collapsing on the bed.

Never… I repeat, never do what I do on that end. It’s not healthy (and I promised more than a few people that I’d be trying to not do that this year :x ) 

Seriously - don't do this.

But anyway! This isn’t a place to vent. You want to know how to cover cool stuff!

So, I guess ,the best advice I can give is to go into the event with a plan. You’re on the clock, and you have 2-3 days to get the best darn content possible for your readers. Use a scheduling app like Guidebook (if offered), or just fill it into Google Calendar. Your interviews your panels, meal times, leisure time - plan it all out. You’re on the clock. You want to treat the event as a work - by that, I mean that you need to approach the event with the gravity of your day job. 

That said, don’t stuff your schedule with stuff that you’ll absotively posolutely hate. You’re at a con! This is a time to have fun! And if there’s a gap in the schedule, claim that as leisure time. 

Panels

Brian T. Price hosting Bad Anime, Bad! at Anime Boston 2017 - Image Credit: Samantha Ferreira

Ideally, you want your panel time to be productive - you’ll want to write stuff up, because there’s no guarantee that another outlet will be covering these panels. And that’s the big get! Like, in 2012, the Anime Boston brass of past and present hosted their own panel: “Ten Years of Anime Boston Leadership.” TEN PEOPLE attended the event. It was amazing, though! It was a chance to listen to these anecdotes and stories that probably haven’t been told in a public forum since! 

Seriously! We’re still the only outlet that has anything on that panel! We even chronicled it on video! Write everything up!

A meeting of the minds at 2012's "10 Years of AB Leadership" panel - Image Credit: Samantha Ferreira

But anyway! The common reputation of con reporters is that you attend the industry panels, and well… the industry panels. Maybe an interview.

Honestly, that makes for a very dull and dry convention. Explore the con, and plan to miss industry events. Literally just plan to miss industry events. 

Yes, you miss out on being the first ones to break a story (But let’s be honest. ANN and Twitter users attending will be doing that first anyway :P ), but your readers (and your psyche) will thank you for it.

That said, when planning for Anime Boston, I tend to place emphasis on content in this order:

1. Panels I host
2. Interviews
3. My “Must See” panels and events
4. Industry Events
5. Whatever looks good, otherwise

Granted, I tend to be a fixture in most industry events. Like, I’ve actually seen someone ask on Twitter “Hey, there’s a person who doesn’t seem to move from their seat between panels. They just sit there, snap photos of the boards, and type, like, constantly.” and a person replied with “Oh yeah, that’s just Samantha.” (lol) - but anyway, I also take the time to just explore the event - meet artists, get my shop on (Seriously. Those “My Secret Shame” posts don’t appear out of thin air! X3), and just take in panels that seem fun!

Cosplay

Miss Kobayashi & Tohru (Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid), taken at Anime Boston 2017.  Image Credit: Samantha Ferreira 

Now, before I begin, I have to lead off with this: COSPLAY IS NOT CONSENT. Do not EVER, I mean EVER take photos of people you have not asked permission from. These are people - treat people with respect. (I am so sad that I have to emphasize this ;-; ) 

That said, I follow a philosophy: If I see a cosplayer, and the time is right (read: the person’s not eating, not doing something - basically, at a point where you won’t bother someone if you ask), I politely ask for a photo op. 

At an event the size of Anime Boston, you do not get second chances. There are enough people to fill a Rhode Island county walking around in that space. You do not usually see someone again, so assume that you will never, ever see them again. 

With that in mind, you kind of learn to be quick about putting aside your fears and anxieties, while you talk to people. Worst case, they say “no,” you say “thanks, have a nice con!”, and you both go on with your day.

But, yeah. An active photographer can easily pull in over 100 cosplay photos over the course of the weekend… so bring extra batteries! (Yes, this includes you, Mr./Mrs. SLR with lithium batteries!)

At-Con Content

So, you have all of this amazing content ready to go, and you’re ready to report, right?

Wrong!

Unless you’re part of a multi-person team, never, and I mean never waste valuable time prepping up panel write-ups during the con, unless you’re at a slow period. Statistically speaking, you have a one-week “halo” after the con to publish your write-ups, where you will see elevated traffic levels.

Your core priorities for at-con writings should be the following:

1. “Man on the street” styled write-ups
2. Industry News
3. Quick video content.

By “quick” I mean “stuff you don’t have to edit much.” - This is the video content you can basically just upload to YouTube, hit “Publish”, and go.

Think of it this way: Your at-con stuff should be an appetizer. This should be enough to whet your readers’ palettes for the big, splashy stuff that comes after the convention. Don’t be too upset about posting off your usual schedule, or about doing some weird timings - you are working within your means, and your readers will definitely understand if stuff drops randomly.

Post-Con

Now this… this will always be the main event for any con coverage. These are your A-game. They’re the big, multi-page spreads, which will take more time and effort than the average article. 

And, well, these take time. I can’t say much more than that. Photos will need to be vetted and sifted (and in some cases, approved by publishers!), content will need to be written, edited, and rewritten… and, yeah. This is your representative work. This is the stuff that will say “I went to this convention, and I want you to know how the experience was.”

Your panel write-ups, your concert coverage, your interviews… this is the stuff that will always go up over the course of the week after the event.

As a little protip: Expect to be writing at least 4 hours a day if you have a decently-sized article backlog. 8 if you’re as crazy as I am. Since 2011, I’ve actually made it a point to take 2-3 days after every con off, so that I can just work through. It helps immensely.

Expect to spend 4-8 hours a day in your post-con days writing up your content. We'll forgive you if you get a little loopy. c:

But anyway… this is the point where you have some time, you have that ability to get everything perfect. The bright lights and buzzing energy is gone, but you should have copious notes, recordings, photos, and other reminders to keep your mind fresh.

Realistically, you have about two weeks to get every bit of coverage out. The biggest boom comes directly after the convention, as eager fans look to see how people reacted to their favorite events, and share their favorite memories. After that, it follows a very standard progression down as your traffic levels out.

So, your priority should be to get the huge marquee pieces out ASAP. Get your concert write-ups, your interviews… the stuff you want to associate with the convention first and foremost out to publication quickly. Ideally, you’ll have about 80% of your content out by the Sunday of the following week.

Get your biggest stuff out fast - this is what will garner interest! Taken at Anime Boston 2017, OKAMOTO'S Concert. Image Credit - Samantha Ferreira

Generally, after that point, your traffic will begin to level off and just return to its baseline. If you handled the event well, though, and created (and promoted!) content that people really love, you could find yourself with a few new faithful readers!

In Conclusion

Covering a large-scale convention is, and always will be, a work. You’re going to be putting in long hours, and likely fighting to stay awake at points, as you try to get that one last article out. But always keep in mind that conventions are fun. They’re events, made to meet up with friends, experience new things, and just be yourself for a few days. While you’re going to be working your butt off, take some time to just enjoy the moment, drop that reporter persona, and let loose. Join in those “Marco Polo” chants, geek out over work in the Artists’ Alley, or just find a nice place to kick back and people-watch if that’s what you like to do.

Don’t let your work define your weekend. Let your weekend define your work. You’ll thank yourself for it later.