Like many other content management systems, Drupal is built on PHP. With PHP, you can dig in and make it do whatever you want. Likewise, you can dig into Drupal and make it do most everything you want - well, almost. If you're not afraid of writing PHP code, then the sky's the limit. If you're limited by the time and desire to learn PHP, then Panels is likely the way to go!

If you're seeking a high degree of control, regarding the individual building blocks which make up the output of your Drupal site, you can choose one or more of the following. In order of complexity (and decreasing silliness) you can A) generate an XSLT parsing system to re-render what was already rendered by Drupal from your own custom module built to output custom XML code, B) become a Drupal theming master (a topic for another video series) or C) use Panels and be done with it.

My suggestion is to go with 'C' and be done with it. Hopefully, this video will provide you with the head start you're looking for when working with the Panels module.