Editor impressions on SXSW

Karissa Rodriguez

Editor-In-Chief

Sitting in on an interview with actor Paul Reubens who played the iconic character of Pee Wee Herman and then getting to shake his hand afterwards was my most memorable experience at SXSW interactive.

In the interview, Reubens talked about his career over the last thirty years and his show Pee Wee's Playhouse on Broadway which is being aired on HBO.

Speaking of comedians, I loved all of the comedy showcases that occurred during SXSW this year.

Doug Benson, Chris Hardwick, John Oliver, Thomas Lennon and several other comedians traveled to Austin to provide geek-tastic comedy to the nerd attending SXSW interactive.

To be completely honest, I believe the worst part of SXSW interactive was all of the mediocre and boring panels that took place.

I would have to say that out of all the panels I went to, only four of them proved to be interesting and worthwhile.

At two of the panels I thought would be interesting the speaker was missing so SXSW staff had to cancel them.

My best advice for anyone wanting to attend SXSW interactive in the future would be to be prepared for the unexpected. For example, rather than sitting through a boring panel, walk around the convention center or other conference hotel because you never know when you will run into a cool, unexpected event like the Live Angry Birds game that was being held at the Hilton hotel this year.

Also, plan to spend a whole day just at the trade show to get free swag. I came home with so many t-shirts, pens and other items that my back was hurting from hauling them around all day. Additionally, the trade show is a great place to network and meet new people.

Sarah Vasquez

Assistant Editor

Definitely seeing Hanson for the first time in my life was my most memorable experience at SXSW this year.

It's obvious in my SXSW blog how much I love them, so I become giddy like a fangirl when I think about the show again. Of course, I embarrassed myself when I saw them in person, but we all have our Justin Bieber.

Mine is Hanson.

The New York Times documentary was also memorable for me, because I got to sneak behind the curtain on how the paper runs.

There was also a lot of rudeness from the crowd this year.

Usually SXSW is a fun party, but this year, it didn't feel the same.

It didn't help that I was sick for most of it, but by the end of the week, I was done with drunk people. There were a lot of moments when the press has problems getting close to the front for photos, because the crowd refused to move.

There are already stories out there about the angry crowds breaking down fences because they wanted to get in a show that was at capacity, and there was more than one instance when I witnessed people throwing hissy fits because they couldn't get into a show, because they didn't have a badge or a wristband.

Take it easy when it comes to drinking. Just because there's free booze, don't overdo it. Be respectful of the city. There are people who live in Austin that don't participate in SXSW and have to deal with out-of-towners and Austinites that do participate in SXSW. And if there's a show that requires you to wait in line for longer than an hour, leave. There are a million other shows out there to see. You could discover the new It band.

Natalee Blanchat

Campus Editor

My most memorable experience at SXSW was when I got to sit through Q&A sessions after the films in order to hear the directors, actors, and producers takes on the films.

It was amazing to be able watch someone as talented as Morgan Spurlock drink Pom Wonderful Pomegranate juice as he hysterically re-enacted a Mane N' Tail commercial to promote his new film The Greatest Movie Ever Sold.

My least favorite moment at SXSW was while I, along with about 30 other members of the press, were waiting on the red carpet in front of the Paramount Theater for Jake Gyllenhaal to show up for the World Premiere of his new movie Source Code.

One member of the press, a mediocre camera guy with a hand-held video recorder verbally harassed me by saying that I wasn't allowed to be on the carpet because I didn't have a red press tag on my flip, therefore I wasn't allowed to film.

Although I kindly tried to explain to him that SXSW officials said I did not need one for a flip device, the rude man wouldn't let it go and preceded to film me for at least two minutes as I tried to get coverage saying that he would "exploit me."  

My advice for anyone who chooses to participate in the film portion of SXSW would be two things:

A) Make a schedule for every movie you want to see at least three days in advance, that way you won't be lost among the sea of different screenings.

B) Show up to the high profile films at least one hour in advance. I regret missing some big premiere movies including Beginners and Source Code because I did not allow myself enough time to get there.