The response to my talk at Virtual JaneCon this year titled "Did Knightley Groom Emma?" was phenomenal!
The YouTube premier was well-attended with over 30 viewers contributing to a lively discussion. It was particularly gratifying to see how many comments were added after the premier! Even now, weeks after the conference, new discussions continue to be sparked by the points raised in the video. Having topped 500 views on the video and gotten more than 50 likes, my expectations have been well and truly exceeded and I can't be anything other than humbled by the reactions of JaneCon attendees!
However, my presentation does bear the dubious distinction of being the video with the most dislikes in the entire Virtual JaneCon 2021 lineup! In fact, it has more dislikes than the all the other videos on the program combined!
Haters to the left, if you would be so kind.
It was all a little ad hoc behind the scenes, and there were some flubs, but I was so pleased with how it turned out, even if it wasn't perfect. So pleased, in fact, that I'm considering making a follow-up video detailing examples from other media that were cut from the JaneCon lecture in the interest of keeping the runtime down (and because I ran out of time to properly research and edit that section.)
Yes, this really was how janky the lighting setup was.
These came from the Dollar General and cost $4.50 apiece. I taped one to the wall & one to my office chair with painter’s tape to light the green screen, which was composed of 6 - $1.25 green poster boards taped together and propped against a bookshelf
I beg your indulgence. I do PODCASTS, not video!
(Not that the podcasting behind-the-scenes is in any way more professional and less fly-by-night than what I've just described.)
Working on this thematically-adjacent, lecture-based video as a solo presenter for the established audience of Virtual JaneCon gave me the chance to experiment with different ideas for the ultimate format of the podcast. The original concept of the series was to have a different co-host or guest on each episode, but after recording three discussions, it became apparent that the wide-ranging conversational style of those recording-sessions didn't quite meet the brief. The information-dense style of the "Did Knightley Groom Emma?" presentation felt like it was closer to what That's ProbLITmatic needs to be, but still not quite dialed in.
Having a video component meant I put a lot of energy into reacting to the material on camera and being "a personality" as opposed to just presenting the information. To be clear, I do not want the focus of the podcast to be me and my opinions about things I read. The focus will always be on the examination of problematic relationships in literature and the ways in which dysfunctional relationships and toxic behavior have been normalized in our literary cannon.
So, the snarky tea-sipping, while it was fun for this specific conference presentation, doesn't entirely strike the appropriate tone for future episodes of the podcast. Apologies to anyone who enjoyed that aspect of the talk and hoped to see more in future.
The tea was, in fact, not hot. it was lukewarm, at best.
Speaking of the future... there is some very exciting news about the future of the podcast that I'll be sharing in coming days, so keep an eye on this space for that announcement!
If you viewed my video presentation for Virtual JaneCon, please fill out the feedback survey to let the organizers know what you thought of it, and sign up for the newsletter to be notified for pop-up events we'll be organizing throughout the summer.