Comic Making Tournament 3: Quick Thoughts

The 3rd Annual Comic Making Tournament has come and gone! The event was an overall success, with some 20 students participating (several more than last year).

A full write-up will come later when I have time. For now, here are some quick notes:

- The Pre-Tournament event only had 3 participants. Based on this, it'll be scrapped for next year.

- The warm-up was too long, ruining the timing for the event and causing me to have to skip over Round Robin Onslaught at the end. It'll be shortened next time.

- I need to do a better job of getting some dedicated judges. Both the judges who volunteered to take part were no shows, making me to rely on an already over-burdened librarian. This causes significant delays in judging and award giving.

- I need to set up the judging area better. Putting it outside was a good move, but my choice of location was poor.

- Short form Pre-drawn can be extended, since everyone seems to finish it very fast and everyone generally likes it.

- I managed to collect satisfaction surveys this time. I'll post an analysis of it soon. Overall, the surveys were filled out well, so their formatting is good.

- Hybrid took too long and wasn't very popular. It'll be dropped entirely next time, with Round Robin Onslaught shorted to reflect this.

- Long form pre-drawn with only one comic for a story may be a bit limiting for some kids. I'll try a mixed form next time with different comics having to be woven together.

- For outreach, I'll be reaching out to principals of schools whose librarians I couldn't reach. I'll also set up a mailing list using the emails of participants from this year. A student has generously offered to help me get the word out to his high school classmates next year.

- I forgot to take pictures and video of the award ceremony this year. D'oh.

- The kids know A LOT more anime and manga this year than last, perhaps speaking to its increasing penetration into American culture. Even the relatively obscure Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei was well known. I'll be adding more anime and manga prizes next year to reflect this.

- The music worked well. I'll just be making minor soundtrack changes for 2010.

Stats, pics, and video will be posted later, as well as a more detailed summary for each event.