BistoCon 2024 Pros Con Report

[jinkyo]

BistoCon is a slash convention for fans of 1977 British crime drama, the Professionals. Traditionally held every two years in Romulus, Michigan, Virtual BistoCon was created in 2020 in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

Virtual BistoCon uses a mix of common community collaboration platforms to bring Pros fans from all over the world together for two glorious days of panel discussions, vid shows, games, and fun.

 

Here's a quick con report on what happened this year - August 9 and 10, 2024.

In the days leading up to BistoCon, the schedule, links, and bingo cards began to arrive in my inbox. It's go-time when those bingo cards show up!

 

Program is scheduled heavy for both days. This accommodates convention-goers in different time zones while offering hour-long chunks throughout the day where you can eat, nap, whatever.

 

Day 1:

Welcome - Catching up with the early bird arrivals and remembering the people our fandom lost since we last gathered. Welcome sessions repeated later in the day.

 

Episode Watch/Episode Discussion - 4 sessions.

Watch, squee, critique, repeat!

You can find The Professionals on YouTube, on TubiTV in the US, Region B discs from Amazon, or, if we're moots, hit me up.

 

Panel topics: Reality in Fic and Nurturing Fandom

 

Day 2 started hella early for me, but the good thing was that I could attend in my PJs while I brewed my morning coffee!

 

Episode Watch/Episode Discussion - 4 sessions. On both days, some of the discussions were full on, hour-long, guided sessions while others were shorter blocks of discussion between scheduled events.

 

Panel topics: The Importance of Setting, Traits of a CI5 Agent, Fic Recs, Secondary Characters

 

Funtime: Bingo! Pictionary!

 

Vidshows: Two vidshows this year, featuring classics both old and new from the long vidding tradition of Pros fandom. Plus two brand new premiering vids from kat-byrd and JinkyO!

 

I usually come out of a con feeling energized and excited about being part of a community. My 2023 was devastating and I did no fan stuff. 2024, it was important for me to hit up the cons that feed my soul - BistoCon does that for me year after year.

 

Learn more about the next BistoCon at their website, socials, Discord, and mailing list: https://bistocon.org/wp/

Comments

[jinkyo]

It was great seeing you as well!

-And thanks for the impetus to go ahead and do the work on this mini-write up. My ADHD brain thwarts a lot of my planned work, so it feels good to type and post a thing, start-to-finish.

The story on the vid is similar. I think you saw an early version of it a few years ago. I'm not 100% sure I nailed everything I wanted, but I think I got at least 90% and that's okay. I worked on it right up to the deadline so now I'll let it sit a day or two before I come back for finishing, titles, and publishing.

I'm hoping, this year, to finish up as many WIP projects as possible. They needn't be great, just finished enough that I'd have no regrets if I became incapacitated somehow and was unable to send these works out into the world.

[tinturtle]

Yes, I do remember seeing a draft of the vid.

I wish you luck with your WIPs. All my video WIPs, such as they were, have been rendered unopenable by an update of my video editing program. D:

[jinkyo]

Oh no no no no no - What do you edit in?
Would getting an older version of the software help?

[tinturtle]

Yes, I may be able to install an older version of the program, Flowblade. I have not yet had an opportunity to beat my head against the problem.