The last day of Interactive at SXSW didn't have a lot in the way of big name panels. But that didn't make them any less interesting.

Early in the day Brian and I went to a talk on dashboard design by Aaron Hursman.

Aaron's presentation was one of the few specific and non-conceptual talks that actually spoke to a larger concept well. He showed examples on how to get lots on information in what he calls "word sized graphics". You can see some of what he was talking about over at Slideshare. 

Immediately following Aaron's presentation was a panel on Canvas (a new element in HTML5 that allows the creation of animation using Javascript) vs. Flash.

The panel was moderated by Greg Veen. He was without question the best moderator I've seen at the conference.

A lot of the discussion centred around the viability of Canvas. Pros and cons of Canvas and Flash were well illustrated. All of the panelists had a lot of experience working in both technologies.

Ultimately I think the lack of Flash on iPad and iPhone will be a major driver in the adoption of Canvas over the next couple of years.

Having not taken in any film yet, we made our way up to the Paramount to see The People vs. George Lucas. We waited in a line for about an hour-and-a-half before they let us in. It was worth the wait. The film was a lot of fun.

The People vs. George Lucas illustrated the intense, often-mocked passion of Star Wars fans. Throughout the movie fan-made Star Wars clips are used to illustrate just how far fans will go for something they love.

Beginning with a profile of Lucas as a young filmmaker, the movie covers his rapid rise to stardom and his subsequent fall from grace. It was very enjoyable. You should check out the trailer.

After the show we went back to the hotel to have dinner before heading to the Media Temple closing party at Mohawk.

The party was crowded as expected. And with a 20 minute line up to use the bathroom, some people took to simply going over the rail of the patio (into an empty alley, don't fret).

I can see a change in the crowds at SXSW now. The music part of the festival began yesterday. There are less backpacks with wires jutting out and more beards and leather jackets. The shuttle service at our hotel is going from 15 vans in the fleet to 90. It's about to get very interesting in Austin.