Vidcon 2012 celebrated its third year of existence and truly is one of those ‘for the fans by the fans’ type of conventions.  Last year’s Vidcon was in Beverly Hills and hosted about 2,500 attendees and talent from all over the world.  This year Vidcon moved to the Anaheim Convention Center (a smart move) to allow approximately 9,000 attendees and guests to fill the convention floor and panels.

Vidcon will most likely be back again next year and even stronger – with a dedicated youth fan following of teenagers eager to meet their favorite YouTube celebrity, participate in panels and party the night away.  We’ll most likely see a more organized event in 2013 and an attendance level that will likely double – buy your tickets early!

We went to the Machinima Affiliates panel on Friday afternoon which featured Reckless Tortuga (approaching 900k subs) & The Screen Team (200k subs) who both produce comedy content revolving around video games and pop culture.

The Reckless Tortuga & Screen Team panel debating on the importance of going to film school or not – in which Reckless Tortuga responded that it was ‘up to the individual’ and Screen Team said that film school provided a good ‘sense of the basics to learn about exposure, blocking and lighting’.

Both YouTubers discussed their first ‘viral’ videos and how they became an overnight sensation.  Reckless Tortuga’s ‘Racism In an Elevator‘ was featured on Kanye West‘s blog and Screen Team’s breakout video ‘Pokemon Party Rockers Parody‘ was seen on Smosh‘s blog and spread out around various pop culture websites like Topless Robot.

When asked about securing an audience in one place both panelists admitted it was best to have a central channel or ‘hub’ on YouTube but also encouraged upcoming YouTubers to make sure they also have their own website and spread videos around to other outlets – a wise strategy indeed!