It has been a good week for me, Cosplay wise. First up, I was a judge at the 2005 Toys and Collectibles Convention! Was glad to see a lot of familiar faces, especially familiar faces trying out new things!
It was rad to finally be a judge at a cosplay contest! I never thought that I was gonna be asked, and it was so hard to keep it a secret because I wanted to be impartial. I only told people about it on the day of the con itself. I now realize what goes on in judging a costume, and I sincerely believe that it has helped me become a better cosplayer in the process.
First up, I never thought that the modeling portion of the costumes whizzes by so fast! As a performer, that few seconds feels like an eternity onstage. But as a judge, I barely had time to jot down my scores. As a result, me and my fellow judges listed down when we could and caught up with the scoring during the breaks in between the batches.
Number two, I realized how important the stage performance part is in the cosplay. Even if the cosplayer is a veteran and/or an acquaintance, I had a hard time recalling the cosplayer during the "catching up" period, unless he/she gave a remarkable performance.
I now know that even if a costume is impressive, a good performance during the stage exhibition is also an integral part of the criteria. Even with a "B" costume, an "A" caliber performance can put a cosplayer dead even with a cosplayer wearing an "A" costume. However, cosplayers must be careful that they don't end up maiming the judges during fight scenes!
Number three, Audience impact matters, but it's not as important as it's all cracked up to be. I was just so pleased at how dedicated some people were in putting together their costumes. I now know that it doesn't matter to the judges whether or not you made your own costume. It matters to you, as a cosplayer, to take personal pride in your work. And I feel that it matters to me to make my own costumes, because I feel proud to strut in something that I made. And believe me, even if your costume is crap, it shows.
Then yesterday, my Slave Leia profile was put up in the Bikini Builder's website!
Click me!
Gyahaha!!! Power, power, POWER!!! Nah, just kidding! I am just glad that I am able to help better the local cosplaying community.
I'm just happy that cosplay has taken me to unexpected places in my life. At the beginning, I had a hard time explaining to my parents, and even myself, what was it about cosplay that fascinated me so. My love of competition? It fulfilled my creativity? Despite the politics inside the community, I'm just happy that I am so fulfilled by this craft. I'm eternally learning new things about costume construction and myself, and I feel that I have LOTS more to learn. I'm still surprised that I've even been asked to judge. I have miles to go, miles to go.
4 comments:
It's nice seeing the flip side of the coin, and I thought the view was very insightful.
Will your judging stint affect any further cosplay competitions that you might want to join? I mean, people might probably consider you a 'judge' now...
Not really. There are a lot of cosplayers who have also been asked to judge cosplay contests and still compete in the next con without prejudice.
Gah! Dapat ako ang magpasalamat! I feel so honored, and I felt that I was undeserving!
So now you know hot it feels to be up in front trying to remember who's who while scribbling numbers, dodging props and blocking off the screams of the crowd. ^___^
Ya did a great job. ;>
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