19 replies to this topic

[patches]

Please put all Masquerade, Fashion Show and Craftsmanship Contest feedback here!

Complaining that skits were not to your liking is not constructive feedback. The Masquerade is an attendee-driven event and it takes alot of nerve and practice to get up there and try and entertain people.  If you want to see something different, step up and compete yourself.

A few of my thoughts:

- Uncle Yo was AWESOME as usual.
- I loved the enthusiasm both backstage and in the judging room.
- Space was ridic limited backstage. Sorry guys! Hopefully this will improve with the venue change.
- Perhaps have medals/trophies for "Best Musical/Dance Performance" and "Best Skit Performance" in addition to "Best In Show?"
- Announce the cosplayer and costume for each Fashion Show participant.
- Yay for everyone getting me their scripts and audio on time before the con! Everything went much smoother this year!

And for anyone looking, a winner's list is here.  All awards have been claimed.  Congrats to those who won and I hope everyone had fun!

[ludus]

I definitely agree with splitting up skits and musical/dance performances, since Tekko Masquerade seems to have morphed into a combination of the K-Fest talent show, the dance competition, and a standard skit-based Masquerade, and I bet it was really hard to judge between some of this year's acts since there were so many different things.

Also agree with more space backstage.

Making participants aware of their free Deathcom print? We went to Deathcom after to get pictures with our award and got a nice surprise. XD

Some way to get it recorded? Right now I'm depending on other people uploading to youtube. Is there any way Tekko could do it instead of Deathcom?

Rehearsal went REALLY smoothly!

I would love to hear more from the judges about why they gave their awards, what they especially liked about the skits, etc. Even if I didn't participate, I would really love to hear things judges liked about the skits! (though I would extra like to know what the judges thought for this Masquerade)

[Jacinth]

I really loved the medals passed out this year!  Please continue to do this or some other similar prize.

Annoucing during the Fashion show would be great as well, particularly for those dressed as lessor known characters.

Not sure if possible, but its always great to be able to meet up with the other fashion show and masquarde particpants and winners - maybe a post or pre Masquerade meetup?

[ludus]

Agree also with the meetup!

Also, just wondering, can you tell us why Deathcom didn't film this year? Not enough interest in Masquerade recordings, copyright issues, or something else?

[GreatPein]

the only issue i had was how they decide what is and isn't allowed in the competition.  i mean the rules said that at least 50% of your skit has to do with "Japanese something" (Anime, video games, etc...) but they allow SHINee dances to be accepted and even win best in show and 2nd place when SHINee is Korean! that's happened the last 2 years when the rules say it isn't permitted. besides from that if you want to enter the masquerade and Dance in it, There's a Dancing competition you can enter!

[RedComet]

Yes GreatPein, I've seen such things popping up at anime conventions as of late.  I know there are people who want to broaden the scope of what is included, but you have to draw the line somewhere.  Last October I was listening to a person give a talk on the limitations of the glucose testing methods used in hospitals.  Certainly not a topic for an anime convention.

Also... I prefer the old masquerade format where there were many short skits instead of a few long skits.  But that's just me.

[patches]

Thanks so much for the feedback guys!  This will definitely help Tekko make a better Masquerade next year! <333

What do you think we could do to get MORE people to participate and enter?  The more we get to enter, the better the show will be!

Quote

Also, just wondering, can you tell us why Deathcom didn't film this year? Not enough interest in Masquerade recordings, copyright issues, or something else?

I thought they did?  They brought in their camera equipment and stuff during setup/press call and I saw them in the back of the room.  Am I missing something? lol

I don't think they're selling their Masquerade recordings anymore due to the issues you listed but I could be wrong.  TMK, they recorded it.

ludus, on 28 March 2012 - 01:08 AM, said:

Agree also with the meetup!

Me too!

I think the meetup/feedback can be addressed by holding a panel on Saturday night or Sunday for Masquerade/Craftsmanship feedback.  To take say, this feedback we are giving now and to allow some time after the panel for participants to talk one-on-one with the judges and staff to see what they liked and how they can improve   I'm hesitant to do it directly after the Masquerade since people will all be tired and hungry and harried etc >.>

GreatPein, on 28 March 2012 - 02:48 AM, said:

the only issue i had was how they decide what is and isn't allowed in the competition.  i mean the rules said that at least 50% of your skit has to do with "Japanese something" (Anime, video games, etc...) but they allow SHINee dances to be accepted and even win best in show and 2nd place when SHINee is Korean! that's happened the last 2 years when the rules say it isn't permitted. besides from that if you want to enter the masquerade and Dance in it, There's a Dancing competition you can enter!

Korean source material is allowed. This is standard protocol for many conventions.  Korean sources are allowed in both the Masquerade and Craftsmanship contest at Tekko.  The Korean and and Japanese scene is so intertwined the we call "close enough" in the cosplay department.

Now I *do* think the rule on source material needs to be revised.  Either for wording or intent.  It is something we struggled with a bit this year.  I did not like how it was worded this year in regards to non-East-Asian things and that will be changed most definitely for next year.  How you do all think non-Asian sources should be considered in the Masquerade?  Should they be considered at all or just outright banned period?

As for dancing - The Masquerade has always allowed dances as long as you're in costume but Tekko now has a place contest just for dancing.  This will be taken into consideration for next year when the new rules are written.


Here's some things that have been brought to me for consideration:

- Banning Dance/Music entries altogether

- Accepting only a certain number of Dance/Music entries, then cutting it off.

- Having a Best Of award for Music and one for more theatrical entries  Essentially splitting the contest into two.

- Shortening the Time Limit to 3 minutes

- Making pre-recorded audio mandatory (no more live-performances of any kind)

- Banning ALL non-East-Asian source material in any amount except for audio

- Banning ALL non-Japanese source material in any amount except for audio

- Having a feedback/meetup panel after the Masquerade

- Having Craftsmanship Contest Judging ONLY on Friday

- Have Tekkoshocon or affiliate record the event for quick upload to the intarwebs (or live stream)

- Limiting the number of people you can have in a skit due to safety and space concerns

- Announcing the Fashion Show Participants by name and character/source.

- Allowing personalized music for The Fashion Show

- Renaming the "Fashion Show" to "Walk-Ons" due to confusion with the EGL Fashion Show the last few years

These are just things that have been suggested, we may or may not implement them!

Overall, I do think the Masquerade rules need to be re-written for clarity/simplicity and content so any feedback is VERY welcome!  Please do not bash on any particular skit, all skits that competed this year were within the rules for this year.

[ludus]

patches, on 28 March 2012 - 03:23 PM, said:

I thought they did?  They brought in their camera equipment and stuff during setup/press call and I saw them in the back of the room.  Am I missing something? lol

I don't think they're selling their Masquerade recordings anymore due to the issues you listed but I could be wrong.  TMK, they recorded it.

OH MAN I totally misunderstood. I overheard something about Deathcom not selling, and I assumed, and... well, that's why there's that saying about assuming. XD  PHEW. ...now I feel a little silly for panicking and posting everywhere about videos of our skit. ^^; So... just for clarification... they'll still post it on their site?


Now re: your incredibly helpful list:
-Does Tekko have Main Event space and time to support a separate musical/dance/talent show competition? Otherwise, maybe it ought to be limited to K-Fest?
-Cutting off musical/dance skits seems more unfair than just allowing them.
-A writing and/or acting award might encourage more skit skits and less dancing/singing acts? Along the lines of the Best Performance award, but for content rather than dancing or fighting.

[Wombat]

patches, on 28 March 2012 - 03:23 PM, said:

- Banning ALL non-East-Asian source material in any amount except for audio

- Banning ALL non-Japanese source material in any amount except for audio

What if non-Japanese sources were allowed if it was the minority of what was presented?  For example if a skit involved a time traveler meet up between Sailor Pluto, Chrono, Mikuru and the Doctor.  Japanese media is clearly in the majority.  Or what about a skit that used one of the English speaking Vocaloids plus the more well known Japanese ones?  Or a skit where it would make sense like say a Kingdom Hearts skit bringing in a Disney character that hasn't yet appeared in the KH franchise?

[crossbred900]

When making suggestions for Tekko X I said they should record the opening/closing ceremonies, masquerade, etc. and sell dvds. They said that was some thing that Deathcom did, but I had never seen anything at their room or on their site that advertized this. I have also never seen any of their videos on their site or YouTube. So, are their videos of past years posted somewhere, or do they just record stuff and hoard it somewhere?

[patches]

crossbred900, on 30 March 2012 - 10:04 PM, said:

When making suggestions for Tekko X I said they should record the opening/closing ceremonies, masquerade, etc. and sell dvds. They said that was some thing that Deathcom did, but I had never seen anything at their room or on their site that advertized this. I have also never seen any of their videos on their site or YouTube. So, are their videos of past years posted somewhere, or do they just record stuff and hoard it somewhere?

I'm not sure if they sell DVD's anymore.

It seems they've been in the process of updating their website for some time.  For many, many, many, many years now they've always hosted past masquerades from cons on there but it seems to be down or something. At least pretty much everything but the photo galleries.

For any questions regarding Deathcom, your best bet is to go ask them on their facebook page or email them.  They are a press outlet and not Tekkoshocon staff and we can't really answer questions for them ^^:

They do have a YT page, but no Tekko's are there.  It seems like a more recent addition to the DCM universe perhaps?

[Mama01Miku01]

Korean source material is allowed. This is standard protocol for many conventions.  Korean sources are allowed in both the Masquerade and Craftsmanship contest at Tekko.  The Korean and and Japanese scene is so intertwined the we call "close enough" in the cosplay department.


Japan is so overly influenced by Korea and Kpop, that its become ridiculous in a good way. a gal pal of mine lives in the heart of Japan and she says they are doing more and more K-pop everywhere she goes.




Here's some things that have been brought to me for consideration:

- Banning Dance/Music entries altogether
~I would suggest against banning musical based acts, such as singing since we dont have a talent comp. But if you want to ban basic dances, I can work with you on Rules and such to make things fair for our dancers and Cosplay dancers
- Accepting only a certain number of Dance/Music entries, then cutting it off.
~Wouldnt be needed if you went with what I just suggested, but if you dont then might be a bad idea, How can anyone say one person is better then another when it comes to personal talent? I mean our attendees are so over filled with epic talent...
- Having a Best Of award for Music and one for more theatrical entries  Essentially splitting the contest into two.
~Good idea
- Shortening the Time Limit to 3 minutes
~well, for the people doing actual Skits this may put boundries
- Making pre-recorded audio mandatory (no more live-performances of any kind)
~that does take away from the "live aspect" Like Nancy's act and Sharon, who all sang really well, live
- Banning ALL non-East-Asian source material in any amount except for audio
~well, that would be great, except, Japan is influenced like we are from everything around us, Memes have become such a huge thing, Personally I feel that this might only make your job soooo Much harder
- Banning ALL non-Japanese source material in any amount except for audio
~same as above
- Having a feedback/meetup panel after the Masquerade
~Would be another good Idea
- Having Craftsmanship Contest Judging ONLY on Friday
~Saturday is when People put on alot of there most epic cosplays bc that is when more people are there I would suggest Saturday
- Have Tekkoshocon or affiliate record the event for quick upload to the intarwebs (or live stream)
~YES YES YES
- Limiting the number of people you can have in a skit due to safety and space concerns
~again another doubles edged sword, For safety yes, but were in the mists of a hotel switch, Id wait to see where were are going to be, who knows our next place might be bigger then we wont have to worry?
- Announcing the Fashion Show Participants by name and character/source.
~Yes! I personally get super confused as to whom people are cosplaying, bc I have never seen the anime/vg before and I know when I was preggers NO ONE knew I was Chancy, XD
- Allowing personalized music for The Fashion Show
~Why not? It give character to the cosplay
- Renaming the "Fashion Show" to "Walk-Ons" due to confusion with the EGL Fashion Show the last few years
~Yeah another awesome Idea, That is how most cons do it, BUT again we are not most cons lol Lets name it something like EPIC COSPLAYS THAT HAVE NO SKIT (just kidding)
These are just things that have been suggested, we may or may not implement them!
~hope my imput helps
Overall, I do think the Masquerade rules need to be re-written for clarity/simplicity and content so any feedback is VERY welcome!  Please do not bash on any particular skit, all skits that competed this year were within the rules for this year.

[Marika]

GreatPein, on 28 March 2012 - 02:48 AM, said:

[...] but they allow SHINee dances to be accepted and even win best in show and 2nd place when SHINee is Korean! that's happened the last 2 years when the rules say it isn't permitted.

patches, on 28 March 2012 - 03:23 PM, said:

[...]
Korean source material is allowed. This is standard protocol for many conventions.  Korean sources are allowed in both the Masquerade and Craftsmanship contest at Tekko.  The Korean and and Japanese scene is so intertwined the we call "close enough" in the cosplay department.

Now I *do* think the rule on source material needs to be revised.  Either for wording or intent.  It is something we struggled with a bit this year.  I did not like how it was worded this year in regards to non-East-Asian things and that will be changed most definitely for next year.  How you do all think non-Asian sources should be considered in the Masquerade?  Should they be considered at all or just outright banned period?

As for dancing - The Masquerade has always allowed dances as long as you're in costume but Tekko now has a place contest just for dancing.  This will be taken into consideration for next year when the new rules are written.


Here's some things that have been brought to me for consideration:
[...]
- Banning ALL non-East-Asian source material in any amount except for audio

- Banning ALL non-Japanese source material in any amount except for audio
[...]
- Having Craftsmanship Contest Judging ONLY on Friday
[...]
- Limiting the number of people you can have in a skit due to safety and space concerns
[...]
These are just things that have been suggested, we may or may not implement them!

Overall, I do think the Masquerade rules need to be re-written for clarity/simplicity and content so any feedback is VERY welcome!  Please do not bash on any particular skit, all skits that competed this year were within the rules for this year.

Hacked those apart because of relevancy to what I wanted to say so I didn't get lost, and didn't address them in any real order.

- I always thought the banning all non-East-Asian source material was already in effect for the Masquerade? I don't really consider the Fashion Show to be part of that, but I'm also coming from having lived in Texas and attending AnimeFEST where it was two separate events held on two separate days, so my mind separates the two in terms of "these are judged while these aren't".

- I like the Craftsmanship Judging being two days, if only because not everyone is able to get there on day 1, or even be there all weekend. I mean, given the costumes that come out of the woodwork on Saturday, I'd also probably be too intimidated to enter if it was all pushed into one day because of the flashiness factor. That is to say, something flashy beats something plain. It's not always true, but the flashy is what stands out in someone's mind, and when flashy isn't your thing, it puts the fear of thinking the judges will go "...oh, it's just Link" when what was in there before was a full-scale Gundam costume made from real gundanium with working everything that transforms and cleans the house at the same time. So what if they're not in the same division, the idea of "..... well, mine sucks" is still there, and the moment that doubt is there, not even the few minutes with the judges can really shake it. I know it probably makes things harder on the judges to have to go through it twice, but... yeah. Speaking for myself, as somebody who would only ever choose the day when there are fewer flashies and big guns for their judging, cropping it to one means I would be too afraid to enter.

- I accidentally cut the one about the time limit being changed to 3 for skits, but I say yes to this. I really hate to say it, but if you can't catch the attention of the audience in 3 minutes, you probably never had it to begin with. Skits for other conventions have worked with time constraints and there are still awards given which means short skits are doable!Those who want to do a skit will figure out how to do it.

- Limiting the number of people on stage due to safety and space is always a good idea! This is not a double edged sword, as stated above, but what it IS is not taking that risk for the possibility of a trip hazard or potential injury. Overcrowding is never fun! REMEMBER THE STAIRWELLS! You can always add more in the instance of a venue shift or larger stage... or a permanent home? (We can always hope!)

- "why is SHINee allowed to even enter if it's not japanese?"/aka. the homogenous argument for source material!: Welp, there goes Magna Carta, Ragnarok, N3, and Rebirth, as well as how many others! Seriously? SERIOUSLY? With how integrated and intertwined Korea and Japan are (for 35 years Korea was unhappily part of the Japanese empire, even)? oO That this is really a question kinda boggles my mind.


AND GENERAL FEEDBACK!

Once again, I loved the way the Craftsmanship Contest was run. The judges are wonderful to talk to and I feel that I got some really good feedback overall for how to improve on things. I can't even crit on the timing running late because if it hadn't, I'd have missed my time entirely due to being stuck on the 12th floor waiting for an elevator! ...but at least I got Kaiba's bias tape done, even if it was a rush job. XD

Normally I don't even go to the Masquerades, so out of 41 cons, this was the 7th I've actually sat through. The Masquerade itself was inundated with song/dance, and while there were some that made me scratch my head trying to figure out exactly what I was seeing, I still enjoyed the ones I knew or could follow! Uncle Yo was great, as always, so that was a plus. I liked that it seemed to go off without a hitch, or at least no really noticeable ones. I only had one real complaint, and that was that for some of us in the Fashion Show, there was a pole in front of us that blocked visibility   The only other thing I can say (which is nobody's fault) is that I haven't seen many newer series, so a lot of the skits went over my head. It kinda loaned itself to the headscratchy, but again, that's not anyone's fault.

Clarification or re-working of the rules would probably be of the good, especially given some of the questions and considerations. I do not envy whoever has to sit down and do it. That was the one part of helping organize arts & craft shows that I always hated because there was always the "but last year..." and the "why did you change it" that had to be answered when something did change, and they usually come from those who wanted them changed in the first place.

[ludus]

Marika, on 08 April 2012 - 03:18 AM, said:

- "why is SHINee allowed to even enter if it's not japanese?"/aka. the homogenous argument for source material!: Welp, there goes Magna Carta, Ragnarok, N3, and Rebirth, as well as how many others! Seriously? SERIOUSLY? With how integrated and intertwined Korea and Japan are (for 35 years Korea was unhappily part of the Japanese empire, even)? oO That this is really a question kinda boggles my mind.

I think the actual issue with the SHINee group is not that their source material is Korean, but that Tekkoshocon has a dance competition. Though... let me rephrase that. What has happened in previous years is over and done with, and I do not mean to question anyone's past actions. I support all awards, rules, and the way everything has gone down. I do not mean to comment on any specific persons, but on the events themselves.

I think everyone could benefit from more of a separation between the dance competition and the Masquerade in the future. There was what felt like a very small audience for the dance competition as opposed to the Masquerade, which was completely full. If the dancing groups are so popular, then more people ought to go to the dance competition and see all of them! They were all really good! And if there are lots of really good dancing acts in Masquerade, some people who want to do something short and/or skit-based rather than dance-based might be discouraged or think their idea is not appropriate.

[celinra]

patches, on 28 March 2012 - 03:23 PM, said:

Here's some things that have been brought to me for consideration:

- Banning Dance/Music entries altogether

- Having a Best Of award for Music and one for more theatrical entries  Essentially splitting the contest into two.


- Shortening the Time Limit to 3 minutes

- Making pre-recorded audio mandatory (no more live-performances of any kind)

- Announcing the Fashion Show Participants by name and character/source.

-This is just speaking from my experience, but I don't think dance acts should be banned from masquerade entirely.  The "Abracadabra" group, which I was a part of, was largely a dance (though we added some story elements to it), but I wouldn't have been comfortable joining this group and entering the same thing in the dance competition, because I know that I am not a good dancer.  On the other hand, submitting the act to the Masquerade seemed more fitting - even if we messed up the dance, our main point was the story element.

I do agree that, since there is a dance competition, this should be taken into consideration when writing the rules or what-have-you.  But people perform things with different intentions, as well.

Perhaps, when writing the rules for the Masquerade, also list the criteria performances will be graded on?  (This is something I'm curious about anyways, honestly.)  Decide early if you want it to be more music-based or skit-based, make evaluation criteria based on that - then groups can decide for themselves whether or not this is where they should be submitting their acts.  Of course, I say this having NO IDEA what goes into this process, or how doable it is.  But I think having some sort of standard for what you're looking for from the outset would make it easier down the road, and there'd be less confusion.  This could tie into the suggestion of splitting the contest into musical and theatrical entries, as well - people would be better able to aim for one side or the other.

As a final note, I think if musical acts and/or live performances will be banned entirely, there should be somewhere for the singers/songwriters/etc to show off their skills - if not Masquerade, perhaps a talent contest?  Or maybe merge that with the dance competition?  The attendance on that was low compared to the masquerade, after all, so maybe this would help distribute the audience a bit more evenly?

-As far as a time limit goes - I know at Otakon, their time limit is not flat across the board, but rather, based on the number of participants in the skit - the more people there are, the more time they have.  I'm not saying this is a good system, and actually, I didn't even see the Masquerade the one time I was at Otakon, I'm just putting it out there for something to consider.

-I do think announcing character name/source for Fashion Show entries is a good idea - there are SO MANY TIMES I see a costume and wonder what anime they're from, especially now that I'm not keeping up with new anime as much as I was when I first starting attending anime cons ages ago.

[Marika]

ludus, on 08 April 2012 - 04:36 PM, said:

I think the actual issue with the SHINee group is not that their source material is Korean, but that Tekkoshocon has a dance competition. Though... let me rephrase that. What has happened in previous years is over and done with, and I do not mean to question anyone's past actions. I support all awards, rules, and the way everything has gone down. I do not mean to comment on any specific persons, but on the events themselves.

Unfortunately, the way the question was phrased was not "shouldn't they have been in the dance competition", but "they allow [the] dances to be accepted and even win best in show and 2nd place when [they are] Korean!". In other words, it was referring to a source clarification issue in the rules where it stated that material had to be of "Japanese something". I'd initially thought it was about them being in the Masq vs the Dance Comp, but the "is Korean" part was what said otherwise. Were it just about the dance competition, that wouldn't have been an issue so long as the other song they'd done was Japanese. I opted to take the wider view of homogenizing source material because the question that phrasing raised, when one really looks at it, would require a much more structured and detailed breakdown of what is and isn't permissible, when a simple adjustment to the rules stating "Japanese and/or Korean something" instead of leaving it an unspoken allowance would suffice. What happened in the past contests is in the past, though, and I support it all wholeheartedly.

I'm not trying to argue or anything, I just wanted to explain why I said what I did since I have a tendency to... not do that the first time XD.

patches, on 28 March 2012 - 03:23 PM, said:

As for dancing - The Masquerade has always allowed dances as long as you're in costume but Tekko now has a place contest just for dancing.  This will be taken into consideration for next year when the new rules are written.

Here's some things that have been brought to me for consideration:

- Banning Dance/Music entries altogether

- Accepting only a certain number of Dance/Music entries, then cutting it off.

Please don't ban them! That'd be like banning Comedic because of the comedy hour thing: it would result in fewer entrants and a masquerade like that one year at the place that shall not be named... where there were a total of 7(?) skits. When the goal is to get more participants, bans really don't help.

Creating a certain number of slots for them could work, so long as the intent of the skit is dance/music. It's the same as any other area of the con, like panels, AA, etc, where you don't want too much of one thing because it gets stale after a while and people lose interest. And like Celinra said, listing the criteria, whether it's in an elaborated fashion or just a general list of what is assessed (much like the category breakdown for the skill levels in the craftsmanship competition) might also be a good idea. Creative freedom is well and good, but creative freedom given some sort of direction to focus its efforts, however vague that direction may be, generally yields better results, especially if they may be weaker in some respects and stronger in others so they know where to focus their efforts instead of spreading themselves too thin overall. Knowing what you're being graded on is usually better than going in blind.

Another thing I mentioned before that I'm all for and want to reiterate is the changing of the time limit. Otakon has the "1-3 get 2, 4-7 get 3, 8-15 get 4" policy. A-kon has a flat 2 minutes and 30 seconds, down from 3 minutes in 2004. Animazement and AnimeEXPO are 2 minutes. I know Tekkoshocon is none of these conventions, but I mentioned them to show that a shorter time limit doesn't hinder creativity. In fact, it kind of forces you to be more creative because how do you get across what you want in a shorter span of time? If there's a song or dance, how can you edit it in order to make it work? Give them a boundary that forces them to give it their all right out of the gate and not rely on the "building it up" that happens with longer times. Tekko's got a nice chunk of talented individuals among its attendees, and I think they could find a way to make it happen.

One more thought could be to add a need for some sort of "storytelling" element to a dance/music skit. Sort of like a musical or (to pull an example from this year's masquerade since it's the one that's fresh in people's minds) the "Abracadabra" skit. This (or a time change) could even help by making it an easier choice for entrants to decide whether they want to take more time to hack up a song/dance or if they want to take it in its full form to the Dance Competition. Also! Would it be possible to have the option of allowing a straight up dance to perform but not be considered in the judging (in the event of a skit shortage)? Or when do the two contests run? If the DC happens earlier, would it be possible to collaborate and have those winners perform at some point in the Masq to help drum up interest or to say "here's what you missed this time, so check it out next time"?

[ludus]

Marika, on 10 April 2012 - 05:12 PM, said:

Also! Would it be possible to have the option of allowing a straight up dance to perform but not be considered in the judging (in the event of a skit shortage)? Or when do the two contests run? If the DC happens earlier, would it be possible to collaborate and have those winners perform at some point in the Masq to help drum up interest or to say "here's what you missed this time, so check it out next time"?

Ooh, like how they used to have rules about if you didn't make your costumes, you could compete, you just couldn't win!
(at least... I think this was a rule last time I did Masq in 2009? That was back in the reign of that one group that always had amazing craftsmanship... what was their name? They won in 2008 and 2009, and maybe before that, but I didn't see or don't remember.)

[RedComet]

ludus, on 13 April 2012 - 01:46 PM, said:

Ooh, like how they used to have rules about if you didn't make your costumes, you could compete, you just couldn't win!

Most often, you find that rule at new anime conventions where there are few attendees and they're trying to attract as many masquerade participants as they can.  Then, when the convention gets bigger, they often change that rule so people who make their own costumes are given preference.

[patches]

Thanks for all the feedback guys!!! <333333

RedComet, on 13 April 2012 - 02:52 PM, said:

Most often, you find that rule at new anime conventions where there are few attendees and they're trying to attract as many masquerade participants as they can.  Then, when the convention gets bigger, they often change that rule so people who make their own costumes are given preference.

You hit the nail on the head!  You get a larger turnout for a Masquerade when you base it on performance and not craftsmanship. Some larger cons (Ohayocon for example) do this as well.  The Masquerade gives those who value putting on a great show and being entertaining or telling a story the spotlight.



In the past we have had it so that you HAVE to have made your costume in order to win Best In Show but that causes ALOT of confusion with both the cosplayers and the audience.  It can also be an issue if say, only two skits out of 10 qualify for BiS because they made their costumes but the judges feel that neither deserve it either based on performance OR craftsmanship quality.  Tekkoshocon never gets a very big turnout for Craftsmanship TBH and even less so for craftsmanship in the Masquerade.  We wanted to eliminate "default" awards and try and get a larger turnout for an entertaining show so Craftsmanship Judging was eliminated.  



Participants may choose to compete in the Craftsmanship/Hall Cosplay contest where they are judged against other people who value craftsmanship if they wish.  This gives those wanting to be judged on craftsmanship a true test of skill IMHO.  To be put against others who value craftsmanship as highly as they do and not just to beat out some people who bought their stuff on ebay/commissioned/whatever solely because you made your own costume (perhaps poorly, but you'd win by default if you get my drift)  Does this make any sense? >.>

We have gotten more positive than negative feedback eliminating the craftsmanship judging for the Masquerade.

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Another thing I mentioned before that I'm all for and want to reiterate is the changing of the time limit. Otakon has the "1-3 get 2, 4-7 get 3, 8-15 get 4" policy. A-kon has a flat 2 minutes and 30 seconds, down from 3 minutes in 2004. Animazement and AnimeEXPO are 2 minutes. I know Tekkoshocon is none of these conventions, but I mentioned them to show that a shorter time limit doesn't hinder creativity. In fact, it kind of forces you to be more creative because how do you get across what you want in a shorter span of time? If there's a song or dance, how can you edit it in order to make it work? Give them a boundary that forces them to give it their all right out of the gate and not rely on the "building it up" that happens with longer times. Tekko's got a nice chunk of talented individuals among its attendees, and I think they could find a way to make it happen.

In the past we have had a time limit based on the number of people in the skit.  There are ways around this (that people used...) and it didn't seem fair.  I totally agree that you can fit an AMAZING performance/skit in less than 4 minutes.  it can also be said that a single person can fit an amazing performance in 10 minutes if they're skilled enough.  We will not go back to skit times based on number of people, but are considering cutting skit time down.

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Or when do the two contests run? If the DC happens earlier, would it be possible to collaborate and have those winners perform at some point in the Masq to help drum up interest or to say "here's what you missed this time, so check it out next time"?

This could be cool.  To work the winner(s) into halftime or opening or something.

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I do agree that, since there is a dance competition, this should be taken into consideration when writing the rules or what-have-you. But people perform things with different intentions, as well.

I agree completely and wholeheartedly.  One can perform in an AMAZING SKIT (like abracadabra) and have it be different from just a dance number.  

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I think everyone could benefit from more of a separation between the dance competition and the Masquerade in the future. There was what felt like a very small audience for the dance competition as opposed to the Masquerade, which was completely full. If the dancing groups are so popular, then more people ought to go to the dance competition and see all of them! They were all really good! And if there are lots of really good dancing acts in Masquerade, some people who want to do something short and/or skit-based rather than dance-based might be discouraged or think their idea is not appropriate.

The Masquerade is a standard tradition at every anime con, not so much is a dance competition.  The Tekkoshocon Dance Comp is very much in it's infantile stages and working out kinks and stuff.  It's not established as a "go-to" event.  The masquerade has been packed to the brim (or nearly) since Tekko's inception. Given time and the right direction, it might start taking away from the Masquerade! XD

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Speaking for myself, as somebody who would only ever choose the day when there are fewer flashies and big guns for their judging, cropping it to one means I would be too afraid to enter.

Everyone who enters the Craftsmanship competition is judged against each other no matter what day you enter.  Fri-Sat is offered due to convenience and fitting in as many contestants as we can.  Fri is judged against Sat.  It's all one big competition ^^;  I can assure you that "flashy" isn't necessarily favored.  I would rather see a simple, well-made costume than a hot mess that's intricate any day as a judge.

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"why is SHINee allowed to even enter if it's not japanese?"/aka. the homogenous argument for source material!: Welp, there goes Magna Carta, Ragnarok, N3, and Rebirth, as well as how many others! Seriously? SERIOUSLY? With how integrated and intertwined Korea and Japan are (for 35 years Korea was unhappily part of the Japanese empire, even)? oO That this is really a question kinda boggles my mind.

We won't be banning Korea in any cosplay events period   Speaking as someone who has competed and won at a con with Magna Carta stuff....lol

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That was the one part of helping organize arts & craft shows that I always hated because there was always the "but last year..." and the "why did you change it" that had to be answered when something did change, and they usually come from those who wanted them changed in the first place.

OH GODS TELL ME ABOUT IT lol

We're always looking to change to suit our attendee wants and needs if necessary though so we're always willing to change up how the Cosplay stuff is run!  If people don't check up on the rules every year before they enter...that's on them.

[Mama01Miku01]

patches, on 13 April 2012 - 07:07 PM, said:

The Masquerade is a standard tradition at every anime con, not so much is a dance competition.  The Tekkoshocon Dance Comp is very much in it's infantile stages and working out kinks and stuff.  It's not established as a "go-to" event.  The masquerade has been packed to the brim (or nearly) since Tekko's inception. Given time and the right direction, it might start taking away from the Masquerade! XD

OH NO! You have discovered my master plan! (just kidding)