I Was A Cosplay Judge For Bangkok Comic Con 2014
My very first time on stage was in sixth grade (Primary Six). I was a moustachioed character shouting at another person, in a skit about "courtesy". I had cut out my "moustache" from a blue-lines on white page of an exercise book, and sticky-taped it on my face. I remember being jazzed about making my grand appearance from behind the curtain and wowing the crowd with my spoken lines and act-ery skills!
But once I stepped out, I froze for a moment, looking at what seemed to be an endless sea of blurry faces of the school. And the moment I woke up from my stupor and moved my lips to speak, my moustache fell from my face. Everything else was a blur after that, and remains still to this day. And till this day, "stage fright" remains within me.
So when I saw the props from Cosplay contestants falling apart on the stage at Bangkok Comic-Con, I felt for them, and wished I could do more to spur them on, like even standing up to clap for them - but alas they had tapped audio blaring out, and thank goodness for them, they did not "freeze" on stage, like I did, and they carried on like the troopers they were :)
Much kudos to each and every contestants, for being brave enough to go on stage and do the things they did, not to mention prepare their costly costumes, and choreograph their own presentations!
DAY ONE:
My first time being a Cosplay Contest Judge, is not something I take lightly. Tasked with being one of the four Judges at the inaugural Bangkok Comic Con 2014, my voluptuous belly was filled to the brim with antsy butterflies, and thank goodness my back was against the crowds (*stage-fright*) … did the organizers make a mistake here? Could I be "worthy" enough to judge these contestants? Thanks to Reno Tan of Movie Mania for his guidance and pointers, I was ready to dole out some judgery and offer my opinions beyond being a keyboard opinionator!
WINNERS OF TEAM COSPLAY CATEGORY:
(View more images HERE on my Facebook)
The Contest itself was held on two days of the weekend, with Saturday seeing the TEAM Category - executed in a well comfortable pace - while Sunday's SINGLE Contests was a sheer test of attention, focus and endurance! The SINGLE category were split between EASTERN and WESTERN Cosplays - which was all fine and good - but the pace in which the contestants came out, did their stance/pose/twirl and walked off the stage, was at a punishing breakneck speed! No doubt a result of a predetermined time schedule clashing with an overwhelming response of contestants, I seriously wished there were more leeway given into the schedule. IMHO.
DAY TWO:
Likened to a cosplay catwalk, I personally had a hard time catching up with whom it was I was supposed to be doling out points for! The initial set of contestants were called out via numbers, in Thai, while the second set were call out i English numbers (for which I am utterly grateful for)
If this is the last time I will be asked to Judge a Cosplay Contest, then so be it. But perhaps an ample allowance of time for the contestants to present themselves, would be fairer to them, much less to Judges assessing them.
Maybe I am taking all this too seriously. Maybe this is all just "fun" and is just a way for everyone to have a good time … Maybe …
WINNERS OF SINGLE (EASTERN) CATEGORY
(View more images HERE on my Facebook)
Mind you, the photos uploaded are hardly complete, as there are much more cosplayers participating - I just simply could not keep up taking pics and writing judgery points at the same time! Not to mention the young chap who went up directly to the stage to snap pics of his favs (which was nearly all lol) and with no one stopping him. Hope he got some sweet shots in tho, and enjoyed himself.
Also my sincere kudos to the (pro) photographer, who had the generosity and took the effort of turning away each time after he took his pic centerstage! You sir, am a gentleman and a rockstar!
WINNERS OF TEAM (WESTERN) CATEGORY
(View more images HERE on my Facebook)
Permit me to add a couple of personal thoughts to the matter of stage presentation, having gleamed from my virgin attempt as a Judge:
01. The lack of understanding the Thai language could not help me understand the emotions enacted in certain scenes - in particular the the Team Contests. BUT, regardless of language (ironically there were scenes from Japanese anime in some instances), to whomever is/are lip-synching the lines, being emotive might really help in both the audience and judges' gauge of your presentation, IMHO. And unlike what you see on television, stage presence requires you to exaggerate even more, or "bigger" performances, as Judges are either behind the crowd in front of your stage area, or in front, and judges are not sitting behind tables right in front of you, like i an audition haha
02. It would be interesting to see, and/or have the time to see, the BACKS of Cosplayers. Do a turnaround in your routine, and strike a pose while you're at it.
In closing, my sincere thanks to the event organizers for inviting me toe a Cosplay Judge! And a hearty congratulations to all the winners and participants for the events! And I leave you folks for an extremely short clip(s) of the duo FIORISTS, who performed "live" during the day of the Team Contests (intermission before results were announced), where my heart warmed up when I heard the theme from Attack on Titan!
But once I stepped out, I froze for a moment, looking at what seemed to be an endless sea of blurry faces of the school. And the moment I woke up from my stupor and moved my lips to speak, my moustache fell from my face. Everything else was a blur after that, and remains still to this day. And till this day, "stage fright" remains within me.
So when I saw the props from Cosplay contestants falling apart on the stage at Bangkok Comic-Con, I felt for them, and wished I could do more to spur them on, like even standing up to clap for them - but alas they had tapped audio blaring out, and thank goodness for them, they did not "freeze" on stage, like I did, and they carried on like the troopers they were :)
Much kudos to each and every contestants, for being brave enough to go on stage and do the things they did, not to mention prepare their costly costumes, and choreograph their own presentations!
My first time being a Cosplay Contest Judge, is not something I take lightly. Tasked with being one of the four Judges at the inaugural Bangkok Comic Con 2014, my voluptuous belly was filled to the brim with antsy butterflies, and thank goodness my back was against the crowds (*stage-fright*) … did the organizers make a mistake here? Could I be "worthy" enough to judge these contestants? Thanks to Reno Tan of Movie Mania for his guidance and pointers, I was ready to dole out some judgery and offer my opinions beyond being a keyboard opinionator!
WINNERS OF TEAM COSPLAY CATEGORY:
(View more images HERE on my Facebook)
The Contest itself was held on two days of the weekend, with Saturday seeing the TEAM Category - executed in a well comfortable pace - while Sunday's SINGLE Contests was a sheer test of attention, focus and endurance! The SINGLE category were split between EASTERN and WESTERN Cosplays - which was all fine and good - but the pace in which the contestants came out, did their stance/pose/twirl and walked off the stage, was at a punishing breakneck speed! No doubt a result of a predetermined time schedule clashing with an overwhelming response of contestants, I seriously wished there were more leeway given into the schedule. IMHO.
Likened to a cosplay catwalk, I personally had a hard time catching up with whom it was I was supposed to be doling out points for! The initial set of contestants were called out via numbers, in Thai, while the second set were call out i English numbers (for which I am utterly grateful for)
If this is the last time I will be asked to Judge a Cosplay Contest, then so be it. But perhaps an ample allowance of time for the contestants to present themselves, would be fairer to them, much less to Judges assessing them.
Maybe I am taking all this too seriously. Maybe this is all just "fun" and is just a way for everyone to have a good time … Maybe …
WINNERS OF SINGLE (EASTERN) CATEGORY
(View more images HERE on my Facebook)
Mind you, the photos uploaded are hardly complete, as there are much more cosplayers participating - I just simply could not keep up taking pics and writing judgery points at the same time! Not to mention the young chap who went up directly to the stage to snap pics of his favs (which was nearly all lol) and with no one stopping him. Hope he got some sweet shots in tho, and enjoyed himself.
Also my sincere kudos to the (pro) photographer, who had the generosity and took the effort of turning away each time after he took his pic centerstage! You sir, am a gentleman and a rockstar!
(View more images HERE on my Facebook)
Permit me to add a couple of personal thoughts to the matter of stage presentation, having gleamed from my virgin attempt as a Judge:
01. The lack of understanding the Thai language could not help me understand the emotions enacted in certain scenes - in particular the the Team Contests. BUT, regardless of language (ironically there were scenes from Japanese anime in some instances), to whomever is/are lip-synching the lines, being emotive might really help in both the audience and judges' gauge of your presentation, IMHO. And unlike what you see on television, stage presence requires you to exaggerate even more, or "bigger" performances, as Judges are either behind the crowd in front of your stage area, or in front, and judges are not sitting behind tables right in front of you, like i an audition haha
02. It would be interesting to see, and/or have the time to see, the BACKS of Cosplayers. Do a turnaround in your routine, and strike a pose while you're at it.
In closing, my sincere thanks to the event organizers for inviting me toe a Cosplay Judge! And a hearty congratulations to all the winners and participants for the events! And I leave you folks for an extremely short clip(s) of the duo FIORISTS, who performed "live" during the day of the Team Contests (intermission before results were announced), where my heart warmed up when I heard the theme from Attack on Titan!
