+

[Emerald_Star]

Hey everyone,

Just wanting to see what everyone thought of this years contests and to get feedback for next year.

Thanks,
Melissa
Hall Costume Coordinator 2012
----------------------------------
Winners list:
Congrats to all our winners!

Best Overall Costume - Joshua Hart
Lia De Beaumont - Le Chevalier D'eon

Best Overall Saturday - Reina
Halibel - Bleach

Best Overall Friday - Josephiroth Cosplay
Yukimura Sanada - Sengoku Basara

Best Craftsman Saturday - Vicious Cosplay
The Kirin - Petshop of Horrors

Best Craftsman Friday -Tess
Terra Branford - Final Fantasy VI

Runner Up Craftsman Friday - Athel
Kasuga - Sengoku Basara 2

Best Journeyman Saturday - Elii
Madoka - Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Best Journeyman Friday - Starshadow Senshi
Sailor Mercury - Sera Myu Sailor Moon

Runner Up Journeyman Saturday - Victoria
Seena Kanon - Shining Tears x Wind

Runner Up Journeyman Friday -Chilmark Gryphon
Gilgamesh - Fate/Stay Night

Best Novice Saturday Sakura x Tsubasa
Princess Tutu - Princess Tutu

Best Novice Friday - Lizzy
General Cross Marian - D Gray Man

Runner Up Novice Saturday - Sami
Sakura - Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles

Runner Up Novice Friday - Ger Tysk
Shiva - Final Fantasy X

Best Youth Saturday - Aoi Ichinose
Kaito - Vocaloid

Best Youth Friday - Zillah
Rukia - Kuchiki Bleach

Runner Up Youth Friday - Gilliam
Sakura - Tsubasa/Tokyo Revelations

Mei Hoshi's Friday Award - Matthew & Gisele
Tokunaga - Tales of the Abyss

Mei Hoshi's Saturday Award - ShinraJunkie & Rejected Demo
Wakka - Final Fantasy X

TinKitty's Saturday Award - The Knitted Juggler
Riku - Kingdom Hearts 2

TinKitty's Friday Award - Janet Chiarolanza
Rue Kuroha - Princess Tutu

Dokudel's Saturday Award - Ashbrie
Pearl - Legend of Mana

Dokudel's Friday Award - Brie-chan
Mari Makinami - Neon Genesis Evangelion 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance

Euphoria's Saturday Award - Jenny
Reith - Magna Carta: Tears of Blood

Euphoria's Judges' Award - John Luna
Ganondorf - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

[Mysticete]

In general, I think the competition was really well run. Not a lot of waiting around, I knew where to be and when, so that was all wonderful. In terms of the judging, I was less impressed. I went to the feedback session, but barely got any information out of it. I was told a lot of what was good, but the judges had a hard time telling me how to improve, even when I asked specific questions. As a first timer, it's kind of frustrating not being sure how to improve my work for next time.

For the future, I would love to see a scoring rubric before and/or after the competition. It would be great to see where the points go beforehand to better focus my work. Afterwards, it would be really helpful to see what areas need the most improvement. I would also love to see a more diverse judging panel.

All in all, great job on keeping everything running so smoothly. A huge thank you to the coordinators and the judges for your time and attention to everything.

[Emerald_Star]

Originally Posted by Mysticete

In general, I think the competition was really well run. Not a lot of waiting around, I knew where to be and when, so that was all wonderful. In terms of the judging, I was less impressed. I went to the feedback session, but barely got any information out of it. I was told a lot of what was good, but the judges had a hard time telling me how to improve, even when I asked specific questions. As a first timer, it's kind of frustrating not being sure how to improve my work for next time.

For the future, I would love to see a scoring rubric before and/or after the competition. It would be great to see where the points go beforehand to better focus my work. Afterwards, it would be really helpful to see what areas need the most improvement. I would also love to see a more diverse judging panel.

All in all, great job on keeping everything running so smoothly. A huge thank you to the coordinators and the judges for your time and attention to everything.

I have to remember the judging criteria, but off the top of my head you're judged on construction (seams, cleanliness, execution, etc..), accuracy (how true you are to the character in details), effectiveness (does everything come together to make you look like the character), props/accessories (jewelry, hats, wigs, shoes, prop work), and something I'm currently forgetting, but it is 5 categories for a possible total of 200 points, and no one has gotten that perfect 200. Also, each judge is looking at certain things, TinKitty is big on overall construction and loves when people have the perfect zipper, Dokudel is big on seams and making sure seems are done correctly, etc...

Judging feedback is something that we're trying out, unfortunately the judges see ~100 people over the course of the 2 days, so sometimes they forget details if the costume isn't currently present.

[Tohma]

I'm just curious if we are going to see a list of winners posted somewhere. I didn't get to compete due to some unexpected complications, but I'd really love to see who did!

[Emerald_Star]

Originally Posted by Tohma

I'm just curious if we are going to see a list of winners posted somewhere. I didn't get to compete due to some unexpected complications, but I'd really love to see who did!

I'll probably post a written list tomorrow or wednesday, but I have the photo list available on our facebook fan page https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...57127&type= 1

[Altrus]

Hello, I just wanted to echo Mysticete on this. I too feel like the judging is very inconsistent. My friend and I (I model her costumes) entered the hall costume contest in 2010 and got an incredible amount feedback on our costumes on a variety of costuming subjects from people who were very clearly experts in what they were discussing, and it really helped my friend improve. During the judging, there was discussion of the craftsmanship and accuracy of the costumes and many questions asked about methods. There was really a clear amount of craftsmanship expertise being discussed, and the judges seemed very knowledgeable.

2011 and 2012 felt very different. We got asked very little as far as craftsmanship went, and overall the judging felt more vague than it had before, and there was little general discussion about the craftsmanship or methods. Additionally, afterwards little to no feedback could be given on methods for improvement. Now, as far as organization goes, the contest worked like a well oiled machine, but it was surprising to see such a large difference from our first year competing. Perhaps we could get some deeper insight into the judging process? I too would like to see a rubric, or at least a return to the old judging process with the new organization. It would be a shame for others to lose insight such as what we got back in 2010.

[ChilmarkGryphon]

For the future, I would love to see a scoring rubric before and/or after the competition. It would be great to see where the points go beforehand to better focus my work. Afterwards, it would be really helpful to see what areas need the most improvement. I would also love to see a more diverse judging panel.

This, especially the last part. Being judged on your non-fabric costume by a group of talented seamstresses = feels bad, man. I was talking with a few other people whose costumes were primarily armor-y backstage after Masquerade walk-ons, and there was a general sentiment of having shown up at the wrong competition.

[Emerald_Star]

We try to switch out the judges' with some frequency, so the 2010 judges were a different set from 2011-12 and each judge will handle things differently. I've already posted what they're scoring on, and that's about the best insight I can give you for that, I don't have a full grading rubric designed for them (heck, I personally just learned about them this year) so I can't really give you details about how they determined if you got a 1 or a 10 on any particular thing.

[2layt]

Originally Posted by ChilmarkGryphon

This, especially the last part. Being judged on your non-fabric costume by a group of talented seamstresses = feels bad, man. I was talking with a few other people whose costumes were primarily armor-y backstage after Masquerade walk-ons, and there was a general sentiment of having shown up at the wrong competition.

Seconded on this^. My judging session was comfortable but there was something not quite right. How do I put it...It felt awkward. Yes, I think that is the best word to describe it. It seemed as if after asked how the costume was made, going into detail about things that weren't about cloth or sewing kind of... put them off somehow... I don't know but it felt as if the judges couldn't properly judge armory type of costumes simply because they themselves didn't know much about it. Don't get me wrong, the judges are brilliant and know a whole lot more than I do in general but the simple fact that this year's judges seem to only know a lot about sewing saddens me. I'm pretty sure that there was a lot of talented armor-type costumes entered and for them not to get a proper score just simply because there wasn't anyone who could appreciate it from a judging standpoint... It just seems...unfair almost. I think what we really need is more varied judges. Not only people who know how to sew very well but also people who know the processes behind armor making. The armor costume making process in it's self is extremely different from the cloth costume process and as such cannot be judged under the same eyes.

So please consider admitting more judges who excel in different areas, not just sewing.

I am sorry if anything I said has offended anyone.

[Hime no Toki]

I felt things ran pretty smoothly for the most part. Checking in was quick, and the wait for judging wasn't too long, either. For those wishing for more feedback, I know AWA has a score card method - the judges grade you and after you walk on you have the option of reviewing their scores in different areas and they offer tips/recommendations on where you can improve. Honestly though, this can also lead to hurt feelings - I know I ended up not looking at mine the last time I competed there. :|

One thing you have to remember when going into competition is that judging is subjective and when it gets down to the nitty gritty and having to pick between two people who are very good can often become opinionated - two people may not agree on which is more deserving. It doesn't mean you have a bad costume. For the person who made the comment about the armor-based costumes, I honestly feel judges who specialize more in sewing can be more impressed by props and armor than seeing other costumes done with mostly sewing techniques. I don't necessarily know the areas of expertise of each judge, and nor would I assume anything based on what they were wearing. Not to mention when judging, it's best NOT to wear armor or have props because you need to be able to move around and inspect costumes. Also, one of the best armor/propmasters I know is a girl, so I wouldn't assume based on gender, either.

[Altrus]

If you're being judged on craftsmanship though, feedback is important and gives transparency to the whole process and allows people to AVOID having hurt feelings, as they understand the specifics of why they placed where they did. The vagueness hurts the judge-competitor relationship more than any criticism of the costume will.

Additionally, there's nothing subjective about craftsmanship of a costume. Either the quality is there and it's done right or it isn't. If two things are of the same craftsmanship, move on until one costume shows superiority.

I also disagree about what you said about sewing specialists being more impressed by armor. It actually highlights the need for a panel with very diverse skills. You wouldn't place a Nurse in charge of a Particle Physics committee because they're more impressed by it than a Physicist.

Overall, I feel the reason people are concerned is because the dominating feeling is that the judging is opaque/subjective, and that craftsmanship isn't being valued properly.

[Emerald_Star]

Judging is a hard thing, because there is some opinion that is applied (what is expected of a novice vs craftsman is a good example) I'm definitely going to look into what can be done to improve judging for the future. While I won't disclose scores, I do feel feedback is important. I'm not sure the best way to get a variety of differently focused judges, so if you have some suggestions, I'm listening

[evaunit01berser]

*cough* armor is technically a prop unless its leather work *cough*

[2layt]

Originally Posted by evaunit01berser

*cough* armor is technically a prop unless its leather work *cough*

Then by your same logic, Gundam mech cosplays are just props. Should be judged just as a prop yes?

[evaunit01berser]

Originally Posted by 2layt

Then by your same logic, Gundam mech cosplays are just props. Should be judged just as a prop yes?

Just like the Samus at AWA that got best prop, not BIS. Not my logic, Its something I had to accept that just because you make some "armor" out of whatever material, it is not insta-win because it looks cool. Also this armor argument is invalid in my mind because after seeing the winners, I do see someone with armor that won and I see why they won and the other armorers only got runner up