Panel Submission CLOSED for Tekkoshocon X-2!

Panels and Workshops

Panels and Workshops are an essential part of the programming for Tekkoshocon.  They can be run by guests, staff, attendees, and experts.  Guests may run panels on their recent works or even teach you a thing or two about how to break into the industry.  Staff may give you some insight on what it is like to help run a convention and how you can volunteer yourself.  Attendees help out by providing passionate panels and workshops on their favorite parts of panels.  Experts can provide you with all they know about their areas of expertise.  Just about anyone can run a panel or workshop.

Panels are programming that is more informative than hands on.  They can provide you with information about a range of subjects, from anime to video games, to what it's like to go to Japanand how you can get there too.  Someone might run a panel on the hero archetypes in the anime Tiger & Bunny.  Workshops are a more hands on approach to programming.  These events are where you learn by doing and can be about building model kits, making bentos, learning how to play games, and many other things.  You can learn how to paint an anime cell while actually painting it yourself. You can learn how to fold origami cranes and take your crane home with you.  Panels and workshops cover a wide variety of subjects, both fun and informative.

Are you curious about the history of the Gundam franchise? Are you dying to know if someone else shares your theory on the 'correct' ending to Silent Hill 2? Have an important question to ask your favorite voice actor? Want to learn how to make an apple bunny for your bento?  Do you just need to know where to buy the latest lolita fashion?  Panels and workshops are the places those questions get answered!

Tekkoshocon X-2 Panel & Workshop Reimbursement Policy

How it works…

We are going to be changing up our Panel Compensation/Reimbursement Policy for Tekkoshocon X-2. This year, we will require all panelists to pre-register for the convention, but will offer onsite reimbursement based on the number of panels or workshops approved and performed. For every approved panel completed, both the Head Panelist and (one) Co-panelist will be entitled to a $10 reimbursement up to the full cost of the badge(s) that they purchased.

For example, if you Pre-register for a General Admissions badge ($40 until 12/31) and perform two approved panels, you would be eligible for a $20 reimbursement. If you and a co-panelist who both pre-registered for $40 badges wanted to offer 6 panels that were all approved, you would each receive a $40 reimbursement. If later, you decide you want to upgrade to a Rock Star this year ($150 before 2/28), your co-panelist will still receive their $40 reimbursement for their General Admission badge, and you will be eligible for a $60 reimbursement for those 6 approved/completed panels.

Why the change…

Many conventions have begun to revise their reimbursement policies to require a certain number of quality programming hours to qualify for ‘free’ badges. While we are thrilled when we have panelists offering up a plethora of content, we realize that not everyone has the time or resources to offer multiple panels every year. With that in mind, we would still like to encourage and reward everyone who helps contribute to Tekkoshocon X-2.

Also, after the feedback received this past year, we wanted to be able to extend this reward to co-panelists once again. While there may be situations in which several co-panelists assist significantly and are vital to the content of a panel, we have to limit this reward to only the Head Panelist and one registered Co-Panelist.

Additionally, this allows us to offer compensation to panelists regardless of which level badge you purchase. So panelists who now wish to purchase Premium or Rock Star badges will still be be eligible for the $10/panel reimbursement up to the amount they paid.

“Fine Print”

-          No Show = No Reimbursement. If you have an approved panel that you fail to show up for, you will not be eligible for any reimbursement. So if you have 3 approved panels scheduled, and you complete 2 but don’t show up for the third, you will not receive partial compensation. Furthermore, you may no longer be eligible to provide content for future events. (Exceptions will be rare and at the joint discretion of the Panels Department Head & Convention Chair)

-          All of your scheduled content must be completed before you can receive your reimbursement on Sunday at the show. We will inform accepted panelists closer to the time of the show where and when they will be able to receive reimbursement.

-          The Head Panelist and registered Co-panelist will both need to be present for the panels they are running or the missing party will not receive credit for it. Yes, we will be checking.

-          What about panels that are longer (or shorter) than 1 hour? Though most panels are generally 1 hour, this isn’t always the case as panelists strive to pace their information and balance quality with quantity.  In some cases though, we may request panelists to adjust the length of a panel to be able to fit in our schedule. As such, we will be treating all panels equally for the purposes of reimbursement. (In the event of significant programming contributions, exceptions may be considered but will be at the joint discretion of the Panels Department Head & Convention Chair)