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[Fyrebyrne]

Originally Posted by LookingGlass

Many of the panels I went to where unorganized and unprepared. The worst one was the "photography" panel. The two hosting it didn't know ANYTHING about photography. I got up and left after ten minutes.

My favorite part of your story was when the panelist tha you're insulting won Best in Show at the PictureThis! contest later that weekend.

[kimiko_yuki]

I was a vendor at the dealers room this year, running the Lolita booth. I have to say that it was pretty dissapointed with the security of the dealers room after closing hours. I left my booth 30 minutes after it closed on saturday and came back 30 minutes before it opened on sunday only to find two empty hangers on the rack and two dresses were missing. I was positive it was stolen since it was one of my handmade peices which i remember clearly and the cloth covering my dresses were pulled back when I came in on sunday.
I told the security people what happened and they pretty much told me that it is very unlikely that I will see those items again. So yeah, that was $150 worth of merchandise gone. I mean, common, I am trusting you guys that my stuff will be safe after I leave the dealers room. This thing should never have happened. I'm not sure if I was the only one missing items that day but that put a huge damper to my spirits. This incident got me thinking that maybe its time I should go back to cosplaying again instead.

[LookingGlass]

Originally Posted by Sufida

We had a rough set up which kind of slowed down the initial pace that was intended for the panel. I had only been to MetroCon once prior a few years ago and was not fully accustomed to their set up, room layout and other things that would of helped its presentation. Also the staff seemed pretty busy with things, but were cordial enough to try and help when they could. This panel was on its second outing and those who attended it prior could tell you it was better at Florida Anime Experience. I believe BellaVoce might of been a little new when it comes to panels, but I can't speak for her. Although this just means me, her and whomever is running the panel just have to take inconsideration of things to make it better for any future runs.

On the bright side we did get some very good discussion and interest amongst those who did attend.

As far as your criticism of "didn't know ANYTHING" followed by "I got up and left after ten minutes". I am not sure what your expectations were and would be very interested in knowing what you would of liked me or BellaVoce to address within those ten minutes to help you out. However if you were expecting an advanced photography panel it does state that this was to focus on very basics to help people who are just starting.

When it comes to not knowing anything while admittedly I never considered myself a professional (I even state taking photos is something I just enjoy doing), I have worked with and learned under some talented photographers such as BigTallCameraDude, RisingSun, and Morataya to name a few. I have also worked with many cosplayers who have posted my work with them on their respective websites.

BellaVoce is also one of the most respected and beloved cosplay photographers in FL that I have had the pleasure of knowing and working with.

I had no problem with the organization of the panel. Sure, the projector image was a bit small. There really wasn't anywhere else to put it.

I learned under nobody. All self taught. Hooray for for the lower-lower-middle class. I wish I could find someone better than me to learn from. But, there isn't anyone locally (Bradenton) who I have found yet. Even my old TV teacher...

As for the "They didn't know anything", and the leaving.... It was more of a troll post to get a reply. So, I do apologize if it sounded a bit dickish, but it was tong-and-cheek. As for me leaving. My phone battery was going dead. I had to sit outside for like an hour for it to charge. :/ Hence why I was fiddling with my phone quite a lot. I was there for at least 30 minutes.

To be more detailed. Analyzing the photos was good. It always good to learn to find the faults in the pictures. But when you guys went over the rule of thirds, you stated the name and very, very slightly touched the subject. If you're going to focus on a more artistic aspect, that is something to go at least a little more in detail. It's a really important 'rule' to learn. It's immensely helpful when trying to learn your composition. I do understand the limited timing. I just think a few more minutes.

You guys did go over the P&S, all the way to the DSLRS. Which I liked. But I think there maybe should have been more detail. Especially for those on the fence. More specifically, on how the lenses affect your image. Though, obviously, not as deeply as f stops, aperture, bokeh, lens manufactures, what lenses to invest in. Just on how vastly a lens can change things.

I do wish I could have stayed. I was looking forward to the panel. If you're hosting another one, maybe I can actually stay. :P

[LadySaiyuki]

Wow I'm absolutely shocked and thrilled with so many kind and supportive comments about how the cosplay events were run at Metro this year. I'm very excited and so happy to know so many had a good time and were happy over the improvements that were attempted, my team and I promise to make even more improvements for next year to make things run even more smoothly. as it's our goal to make sure that people have the best time they possibly can at all Metro Cosplay events.

and I was really happy that no one seemed to be disturbed or upset by the fact that I was like 4 months pregnant running Metro's Cosplay events this year (I did not let any attendees really know prior to the convention as I did not want anyone to feel my staff or I could not perform our duties just because I was pregnant), I do apologize for not being in costumes at all this weekend, most of my costumes didn't exactly look great on a pregnant lady with a belly or they were way too heavy and hot for me to wear, I do promise to cosplay for next years Metro.

for anyone who inquired, the girl that was backstage in the Blue and White Lolita dress with the crazy platform rocking horse shoes, that was Mallory, she's my second in command, MetroCon's Assistant Cosplay Director. ^_^ and I agree O.O I have no idea how she managed to run around in those shoes almost all weekend long....we discovered she runs like Vanille from FF13 in those shoes.....lol

**as for some complaints that were given:
I'm so sorry to any who felt disappointed about knowing ahead of time that they did or didn't win an award in the costume contest, it really boiled down to a safety issue on top of a time constraint issue, as all the cosplayers who were in the contest noticed the back part of the stage was not well lit at all and the way the 100 ish chairs were lined up in the back it was a tripping hazard for anyone in a bulky costume to climb over other cosplayers in the darkened back stage area that were not in the front row of chairs, or the end chairs of a row, we only meant to keep casualties to the minimum, not to disappoint contestants O.O;

Sadly enough we may have to keep this for the costume contest next year if only for safety precautions.... especially being that someone was genuinely hurt due to the stage set up and the stage not being very well lit from all angles and aspects....we'll see what we can do to improve the backstage area maybe spread chairs out more or keep larger costumes in a special row, I promise we will do our best to make things safer and more fun for the attendees and participants of all Metro Cosplay events.

**as for the Fan favorite award, I'm so so sorry to any of the cosplayers who felt ridiculed or embarrassed over this, my deepest apologies, none of the cosplay staff / Metro Mascots meant to hurt anyone's feelings. we only added this award to help the audience be more involved in the contest winners, beforehand our staff even contacted the head of Cosplay for AnimeExpo to check how Fan Favorite awards were done at the US's largest anime convention and it was the same way Metro tried this year. but the Staff here at Metro in no way wishes to make any cosplayers feel ridiculed or embarrassed in any of our cosplay events. and if this award is going to end up a symbol of embarrassment to anyone, I will do away with the Fan Favorite award and just make an extra judges award that will be selected by who the judges all feel the crowd cheered the loudest for based on how they cheered during the competition.

[LadySaiyuki]

**as for Anime Idol- most will be glad to know every judge that was on the judges panel all had at least 3-6 years of Voice training or more (Including myself (I've had more than 10 years of Voice training, as well had some extra voice training while in college, I've competed in what feels like countless choir and chorus competitions nation wide over more than a 10 year span and was a soloist at many competitions and have more than 50 superior ranked trophies and medals from local to national competitions))(This was one of the reasons that Anime Idol was moved to my department (The Cosplay Department)as we were the most qualified to judge and organize it) so please rest assured that everyone who was on the judges panel was qualified to be there.
also, all judges were given internet file folders that had all 10 of the stage contestants mp3 demo songs, mp3 karaoke tracks, as well as mp3's of the original artist sang songs and the lyrics to all of them as well and were studied before the convention competition, and this will continue for all future Anime Idols as well to make sure all the judges are as prepared as they can be for the contestants. ^.^

sadly enough I won't name names (but I had several complaints via email or in person at the convention by a few of the 40+ contestants that applied to be in the Anime Idol competition over this), but some people did not perform as they did in their demo's that were sent to us (this is not the judges fault), all entries were judged for their performance on their demo's to get in the stage competition and their Demo level was what was expected of them, but the judging panel could not have foreseen who would and wouldn't get nervous from stage fright and stammer their performance comparably to what their demo was. O.O;

**This years Best of Show Winner Vonabell Sherman will indeed be invited back to perform during Judging deliberation for Next years Anime Idol competition, as it was one of the suggestions that were given here on Cosplay.com and I think it's a fantastic idea and will set it into motion for next year and years to come ^_^

**as for the Photography set up next to the Cosplay booth it was left set up there on purpose as we wanted the convention attendees to be able to use and enjoy it all weekend long, this will repeat next year as well, as long as the privilege is not abused ^_^


please if you have any more comments that can help us improve any of the Cosplay events, please don't hesitate to make a post or even email me: natalie@ladysaiyuki.com
I'll be glad to read and answer all I can ^_^ as it's our goal to improve MetroCon's cosplay events as much as we can, and your input is important to me and all of the Metro Cosplay staff, as you, the Fans and Cosplayers are the reason our department exists, and we feel you should have a say in the events you participate in, enjoy, and attend ^o^

edited my post : O>o sadly enough due to being an official Staff member on Metro I'm not suppose to make comments about Metro Security o.o
sadly enough terrible things did happened in the dealers room this year, but rest assured that Metro's security did everything they could to find the culprit with the power possessed and will do everything in their power to make sure it doesn't happen again. I'm so so sorry that this happened...

[LookingGlass]

Originally Posted by Fyrebyrne

My favorite part of your story was when the panelist tha you're insulting won Best in Show at the PictureThis! contest later that weekend.

Read the my post that was posted after yours. Tongue and cheek and sarcastic. Anyone who knows me personally knows I am like that. But I 'dun goofed because I wasn't paying attention to the fact that nobody here does. Again, it was a troll post that was successful.

As for winning the "Picture This!" competition. Congrats on him. It wasn't insulting. Trolling.

I was just posting on what I saw. I had to charge my phone. I can't get disconnected from my party.

I have really high standards for others and for myself in regards to photography, film, and music. I'm very blunt and don't sugar cote. Having everyone telling you that you're 'amazing' gets you nowhere because it's not constructive. I have plenty of friends who will decimate my work and point out every flaw. Just a heads up to those of you reading my posts and think I'm a dick.

[KurohaneShizumi]

Originally Posted by LookingGlass

Read the my post that was posted after yours. Tongue and cheek and sarcastic. Anyone who knows me personally knows I am like that. But I 'dun goofed because I wasn't paying attention to the fact that nobody here does. Again, it was a troll post that was successful.

As for winning the "Picture This!" competition. Congrats on him. It wasn't insulting. Trolling.

I was just posting on what I saw. I had to charge my phone. I can't get disconnected from my party.

I have really high standards for others and for myself in regards to photography, film, and music. I'm very blunt and don't sugar cote. Having everyone telling you that you're 'amazing' gets you nowhere because it's not constructive. I have plenty of friends who will decimate my work and point out every flaw. Just a heads up to those of you reading my posts and think I'm a dick.

No offense to your obviously unoffended manner, but being that this is a feedback post, please refrain from making "trolling" or "sarcastic" posts. We're trying to help MetroCon staff and its panelists improve and confusing some people who take this thread quite seriously is very unhelpful. ):

I also believe that Fyrebyrne was being just as sarcastic as you, showing that the saying, "Do unto others as you would like done to you," is indeed the best rule of thumb.

Originally Posted by LadySaiyuki

please if you have any more comments that can help us improve any of the Cosplay events, please don't hesitate to make a post or even email me: natalie@ladysaiyuki.com

My only question that you didn't happen to answer is why is the Cosplay (skit) contest on Saturday and the Costume (craftsmanship) contest on Sunday? This confused me last year and continues to confuse me this year. ^_^;;;

Was I the only one rather upset by this? XDDDD

[LadySaiyuki]

Originally Posted by KurohaneShizumi

My only question that you didn't happen to answer is why is the Cosplay (skit) contest on Saturday and the Costume (craftsmanship) contest on Sunday? This confused me last year and continues to confuse me this year. ^_^;;;

Was I the only one rather upset by this? XDDDD

I'm so sorry KurohaneShizumi, I must of missed answering your question, my apologies O.O

as for why the costume contest was moved to Sunday, it's simply a time constraint issue.
as the number of people we allow to sign up for the costume contest are many and most people do not make Friday of the Con (due to work most people only make Saturday and Sunday) and we definitely need 2 available days for prejudging all of the entries (which we have prejudging on both Saturday and Sunday) and with all the events that we have on Saturday we also were not doing so well in the past to keep all the big events on Saturday running on time and with enough room to set up for the rave that takes place at night. it was just much more time smart for Staff members to move it to a less hectic day to give the cosplayers entering the contest better times available for prejudging, and the Staff for better Prep time.

I'm so sorry for the inconvenience the day change for costume caused you and other attendees. but since the move to sunday, it's run smoother time frame wise and This year was the first Metrocon Costume contest in years to run on time, even with the delays to prejudging.

please accept Metro Cosplay staff's apologies for the inconveniences it's caused O.O; we only wanted to Help Metro Events run more smoothly and on time or as close to on time we could possibly manage with the circumstances.

[DavinDaLilAzn]

Originally Posted by LadySaiyuki

**as for the Photography set up next to the Cosplay booth it was left set up there on purpose as we wanted the convention attendees to be able to use and enjoy it all weekend long, this will repeat next year as well, as long as the privilege is not abused ^_^

Yay, that makes me VERY HAPPY to hear!!! iM Photography and I both took full advantage of the backdrop and we managed to get A LOT of great shots w/ cosplayers there! The location for the backdrop was also in a good spot, the natural lighting made it easier to shoot and didn't affect shadows too much.

[Sufida]

Originally Posted by DavinDaLilAzn

Yay, that makes me VERY HAPPY to hear!!! iM Photography and I both took full advantage of the backdrop and we managed to get A LOT of great shots w/ cosplayers there! The location for the backdrop was also in a good spot, the natural lighting made it easier to shoot and didn't affect shadows too much.

Agreed!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7309685...57627031446186

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7309685...57627031446186

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7309685...57627031446186

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7309685...57627031446186

http://fav.me/d3jm9u7

[kimiko_yuki]

Originally Posted by LadySaiyuki

edited my post : O>o sadly enough due to being an official Staff member on Metro I'm not suppose to make comments about Metro Security o.o
sadly enough terrible things did happened in the dealers room this year, but rest assured that Metro's security did everything they could to find the culprit with the power possessed and will do everything in their power to make sure it doesn't happen again. I'm so so sorry that this happened...

Thank you for addressing my issue even though I was not able to read it pre-editing. I was really upset coz I worked very hard on those dresses only to have them stolen . Just can't trust people these days. I pretty much accepted the fact that there was nothing to be done about it now. I am glad Metro is taking steps to prevent it from happening again next year.

[KurohaneShizumi]

Originally Posted by LadySaiyuki

I'm so sorry KurohaneShizumi, I must of missed answering your question, my apologies O.O

as for why the costume contest was moved to Sunday, it's simply a time constraint issue.
as the number of people we allow to sign up for the costume contest are many and most people do not make Friday of the Con (due to work most people only make Saturday and Sunday) and we definitely need 2 available days for prejudging all of the entries (which we have prejudging on both Saturday and Sunday) and with all the events that we have on Saturday we also were not doing so well in the past to keep all the big events on Saturday running on time and with enough room to set up for the rave that takes place at night. it was just much more time smart for Staff members to move it to a less hectic day to give the cosplayers entering the contest better times available for prejudging, and the Staff for better Prep time.

I'm so sorry for the inconvenience the day change for costume caused you and other attendees. but since the move to sunday, it's run smoother time frame wise and This year was the first Metrocon Costume contest in years to run on time, even with the delays to prejudging.

please accept Metro Cosplay staff's apologies for the inconveniences it's caused O.O; we only wanted to Help Metro Events run more smoothly and on time or as close to on time we could possibly manage with the circumstances.

No, no, I wasn't upset with you. XDDD

Ah! That makes a LOT of sense, actually. c:

I'm still disappointed I've had to miss it the last two years due to this, but at least now I know WHY. Thanks for clearing that up! ^_^

[LookingGlass]

Originally Posted by Sufida

Agreed!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7309685...57627031446186

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7309685...57627031446186

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7309685...57627031446186

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7309685...57627031446186

http://fav.me/d3jm9u7

I like the first one. Nice use of DOF and forced perspective. The blue color grading works well with the image. The only thing that takes away form the images is the tagging of the photos. Maybe try a really small text in an aerial font.

On the others, it's just watching the highlights. Some of the whites are really crushed out. My video cam is bad with highlights, anything just over the threshold is instantly a yellowish-white. Feels bad man.

[dogwitch]

my biggest issue was the awful posting of where ever thing was.