Getting An Edge At SDCC Panels

 I recently heard someone discussing their experience, last year, of waiting 4 hours for the infamous Avengers panel in Hall H…and ultimately not getting in. In a similar vein, I thought about the time I waited nearly 3 hours for The Big Bang Theory Panel…and did not get in. As I reflected more on the horrible feeling of wasting valuable Comic-Con minutes in fruitless lines, I thought it might be helpful to some if I shared my strategy to make the most of the experience.

 In general, I think a mistake many of us make is to look at panels in too simple a light. If you are like me, you look at the schedule for each day and decide which panels or screenings you’d like to attend. If you follow the good advice of many on the topic, you take it a step further and make sure to double-book yourself, as there are so many curves that can happen in a day and you can frequently come up short on your first choice. For many, this is where it ends. The rest becomes a blur as the frenzied crowds absorb us at the event. It is because of the frenzied nature of this King of Cons that I developed a new way to look at panels.

 Before you read further, I must preface a few things. This strategy is not for everyone. If you are of the mindset that each panel on your list is a “must see” and that by missing any one of them your SDCC will be ruined, these tips are not for you. In your case, I suggest keeping a close eye on the line-up for the day and get to your panels super early. Most importantly, if you don’t like planning, this is not for you! However, if you are like me, there are about 10 panels or more, each day, that I would enjoy. Furthermore, I love the entire SDCC experience. Panels, vendors, exclusives, free swag and cosplayers are all important pieces to my SDCC experience, and as such I’m very protective of each minute. I need to be smart about my choices and I can’t look at things simply as “like” and “dislike.” So, what do I do? Simply, I analyze the situation the way I do most other things in life, opportunity costs.

 For those of you who have forgotten your high school economics class, opportunity costs is most frequently defined as the cost of an alternative that must be forgone in order to pursue a certain action. In SDCC terms, I want that exclusive Death Star from Hasbro, but if I fight my way through the mass of humanity to get it, I’ll probably use at least 4-5 hours of my time to do so. Is the Death Star important enough for me to give up somewhere between 33%-42% of my SDCC day? Honestly, I’m wrestling with that decision right now, so I’ll have to get back to you. That being said, if you look at SDCC similarly to the way I do, as the BEST THING IN THE WORLD and WAY TOO SHORT, it helps to make decisions based on the investment of time into each activity.

 My strategy, for deciding which panels and screenings to attend, works this way:

1. Identify all panels/screening that have any interest to me
2. Decide what percentage of my day I’m willing to give up for that panel; I figure my “playtime” is 9AM-9PM, so I base everything on a percentage of that 12 hour day.
3. Make an educated guess as to what percentage of my day the activity will cost, noting the popularity of the other panels in that same room, the panel time itself, and the amount of time that will be necessary waiting in line.
4. Make decisions based on the opportunity costs

 It is important, when making these assumptions, to consider the scarcity and uniqueness of each item/activity. For example, as much as I want to see a panel for Game of Thrones, I live near Los Angeles and think the opportunity will present itself at a different time and venue (PaleyFest, maybe?). I’ve skipped opportunities with Stan Lee, Damon Lindelof, the cast of The Walking Dead, etc. so that I could see them in a less crowded location later in the year. That being said, if you are coming from a place where there are few opportunities like this, you will have to give a greater value to SDCC panels. Had I not seen The Walking Dead Panel, at thePaleyCentera few months ago, I’d definitely be in the crazy Ballroom 20 line on Friday. Also, in regards to most screenings, remember that, as cool as they are, they are usually little more than free tickets to the movies. Last year, when confronted with the opportunity to go to the Scott Pilgrim screening, I passed. It was hard to give up the cool opportunity, but it just wasn’t worth that much SDCC time, when I could see it at the movie theater a few weeks later.

 To use myself as an example, here is my real life interest list for Thursday, followed by the approximate time investment I think it will require. Bolded lines are those that have a positive outcome; simply, I’m willing to give up more of my day than I estimate will be required to get in and participate in the panel:

 10:00 – 11:00 AM       Planet of the Apes in Comics, Room 5AB  -> I am willing to invest 20% (little less than 2 hours, 30 minutes) of my 12 hours of playtime; estimate it will cost 13% (1 ½ hours) of my playtime

12:00 – 1:00 PM          Dark Horse: Fall Publishing Highlights, Room 32AB  -> will invest 10%; costs 17%

2:00 – 3:00 PM            Napoleon Dynamite, Room 7AB  -> will invest 10%; costs 21%

3:00 – 4:00 PM            Game of Thrones Panel, Ballroom 20 -> will invest 33%; costs 66%

3:00 – 4:00 PM            IDW Publishing Presents, Room 9  -> will invest 10%; costs 17%

3:15 – 4:30 PM            20^th Century Fox, Hall H  -> will invest 10%; costs 21%

4:00 – 5:00 PM           Irredeemable/Incorruptible, Room 32AB  -> will invest 20%; costs 17%

4:15 – 5:15 PM            TV Guide: Fan Favorites, Ballroom 20  -> will invest 10%; costs 69%

4:45 – 5:45 PM           Clone Wars Season Four Preview, Room 6BCF  -> will invest 20%; costs 17%

5:30 – 6:30 PM           Kickstart Comics, Room 4  -> will invest 10%; costs 10%

6:00 – 7:00 PM            EW: The Visionaries, Hall H  -> will invest 25%; costs 33%

6:15 – 7:30 PM           Wilfred Screening, Room 6A  -> will invest 20%; costs 17%

7:30 – 9:00 PM           Detecting Deviants in the Dark Night, Room 8  -> will invest 20%; costs 17%

 It is important to note, at this point, that there are “deals” to be had. For example, Game of Thrones and TV Guide: Fan Favorites are both in Ballroom 20. This means that I would only have to invest the line time once. So, if I got in line at 9 AM and left after the latter panel, at 5:15 PM, there would be a total investment of 69%. That being said, the “deal” still doesn’t work for me because I was only willing to give up a total of 43% of my day. In short, even with a discount, I’d be paying more than I am willing.

 Based on the analysis above, you can tell a few things about me:

1. Some panels are more important to me than others
2. I’m not willing to spend more than a third of my day on any single panel
3. In most cases, I’m only willing to spend about 15 minutes waiting for a panel
4. I like math

Based on the opportunity costs, I’m left with 6 panels that seem to have more value to me than they actually will cost:

1. Planet of the Apes in Comics
2. Irredeemable/Incorruptible
3. Clone Wars Season 4 Preview
4. Kickstart Comics
5. Wilfred Screening
6. Detecting Deviants in the Dark Night

From this, I’ll make a further revisions:

1. Eliminate the 10 AM panel because, even though it does have relative importance, I like to spend the first part of my day hunting exclusives and swag
2. Eliminate the Irredeemable/Incorruptible Comic Panel and the Kickstart Comic Panel, in favor of the Clone Wars Season 4 Preview because they conflict and my wife is not interested in them

 So, if nothing else changes, my final panel schedule for Thursday will be:

4:45 – 5:45 PM           Clone Wars Season Four Preview  -> will invest 20%; costs 17%

6:15 – 7:30 PM           Wilfred Screening  -> will invest 20%; costs 17%

7:30 – 9:00 PM           Detecting Deviants in the Dark Night  -> will invest 20%; costs 17%

 I realize that, to some, this approach may seem like over-thinking, but for me it is an important step. Simply, every hour of SDCC is really important to me. We all countdown the days leading up to the event and then it is gone in a flash. I want to make sure that I don’t get caught up, spending more of this important time on endeavors than I would if I gave it a little thought. I love panels, but I’m not a panel junkie. I want to experience all aspects of SDCC, rather than being locked in only one room of panels.

BIG thanks to Shawn Marshall for writing this great article – Follow him on twitter @the_con_fluence