Pre-recorded audio with music and sound effects, as well as voice-overs that weren't done with a shitty microphone.

Coordination on part of the people participating.

Decent concept. Serious skits are lost on people who don't understand the series itself, so the good skits are generally the ones that are comedy-oriented.

Pre-recorded audio, mentioned again just for emphasis.

>>1330704
PRACTICE THE FUCK OUT OF IT IN THE MONTHS LEADING UP TO YOUR PERFORMANCE.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMc798YxyMI

Actual skills.

jesus christ. Parctice! and don't do a dance. There are too many un rehearsed lame dances as "skits" at cons. Always pre-record. It has a much better effect than passing around a microphone

>>1330767
yeah, enough with the dancing

Include moderately attractive people, make two or more popular male characters kiss, and end it with Hare Hare or Lucky Star dance.

It's genius.

>>1330817
I see what you did thar

Make sure your material doesn't require prior knowledge of the series. In-jokes are fail jokes. No 4chan memes. No crude romance or buttsex jokes. Do use music and sound effects, but make sure that they are well nuanced. Pre-recorded audio, plus well-timed lip-syncing to match. Make sure all audio is good quality, with even volume. All voice-acting MUST be in character. No fighting or dancing unless it is well practiced, dynamic, and concise. No single dance move should be repeated if you can help it. No single "plot" arc (including dances) should lapse more than 30 seconds, maybe a minute or so. If you can, put in a very brief photo op like a dance pose or a fight pose to give the audience and press a chance to see your costumes. Make sure your costumes are good and all parties look clean and professional. Do a dress-rehearsal. Practice with any props or costume-changes ahead of time to prevent failure. Large props and costumes always get points, but be careful and learn how to use them without breakage. Always prepare for Murphy's law. Never assume your skit is unique. Be firm with your skit members, because one failactor can be quite noticable. Never EVER EVER let any actor just "stand around" when it's not their line/section. All actors should look like they have purpose and an agenda. Stick with the masq community and ACP to take note of what's been done, what's failed, what's been successful etc. NEVER repeat something you've already seen done at a con. If you're doing a drama skit, make sure you set the scene well and you give all audience members a reason to feel the emotion. Comedy skits must be witty and NEVER cliched. All parodies must be excellent in order to succeed. You will have to resort to at least 1 gimmick or another to gain the crowd's praise, but choose wisely.

continued from >>1331445

Most importantly, if you are unprepared or otherwise unsure about your skit, keep it as short as you can, 1:30mins is a very generous time limit for meh skits. Even if you think your performance is epic, trim it down as much as possible, and mix it up as much as possible. Perform your skit in front of a decent and unbiased audience ahead of time, and accept all negative feedback with welcome arms. Preferably, find an audience who is not into your series, or better yet, not well versed in anime/videogames at all.

Good luck, anon.

>>1331446
>>1331445

This is pretty much everything, yeah.

>>1330762
That skit was win.

PRE-RECORDED AUDIO. Nothing ruins a skit more for me than poor audio. I also hate it when the actors don't look like they're having a good time.

>>1331445
Enter, motherfucker, do you use it?