I, also, didn't quite know what to expect when I started going 2 years ago. Since I've been a IRC channel regular, I've gotten to know many people on this side of the screen, but never met them in person before AWA 12 & 13. (The first people I've met both times I've gone, actually, were ZephyrStar and Stratus.

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Since then, I've met a lot of people I didn't think I would, most from the chan environment but never in person before then. The entire environment feels like standing in the middle of the Org chatroom or Org IRC channel -- there's people everywhere watching videos, both non-editor and pro editor. There are panels for all sorts of topics and video projects. It's certainly a humbling experience the first time you see it, but later it becomes a rather friendly and loose environment that is a lot of fun to be at.
As ZS mentioned, the contests and awards are probably the biggest event of the convention. It's a very tough field to win in, as you normally go up against the best of the best in them. They have a few unique contests that make them stand out quite a bit: SAST, Masters, and Pro. The SAST and Pro contests allow both audience and blind video editing peer voting alternatives, respectively, which is rarely effective in other contests I've seen (or been to), but seems to work for AWA.
Overall, it's a place that an AMV editor should visit at least once. Between the contest format, the large video room environment, and some of the best panels around, it's a trip of a lifetime for an AMV editor.
