/cgl/ - Cosplay & EGL

[Anonymous No.7625051]

I found a project on Kickstarter about Sailor Moon cosplayers and thought y'all might be interested. Pic related: it's the doc. If you watch the video - it takes a few minutes to get to the actual documentary footage.

I don't do cosplay - but I am a documentary filmmaker and I've done projects with niche/nerd markets similar to this one. These sorts of consumer based sub-cultures fascinate me. But, I'm wondering, does it equally excite you guys and how does it make you feel to be subjects under inspection? Are you more interested in learning about sub-cultures outside your own?

[Anonymous No.7625159]

>>7625051
So basically you are here to advertise your kickstarter....
You must be new here

[Anonymous No.7625180]

>>7625159

No, I've nothing to do with that project.

I want to know what kind of interest documentaries like this generate and how people feel about it.

If I were to go and make something like this about poor people who are dragging themselves up by the bootstraps - a great deal of people would probably be offended (artistically or morally).

[Siggy !!t8DinvBlO2w No.7625194]

>>7625180
I'm not Sonic! I'm my own original character, Blonic!

[Anonymous No.7625208]

More often we notice that cosplay documentaries being made are about the film makers group of friends go around the con with the occasional random cosplayer thrown in to give the allusion that its about the scene (ie The Other Me). More often than not those making the documentary have no academic background or film making experience and will usually lay their plans out as "I go to a con with a HD camera and film" with no real set plans or film structure in mind as they intend to just collect random footage and stitch together a narrative.

It's because of this I really enjoy the book "cosplay in america" as its more interested in telling the interesting stories of cosplayers than just being a vehicle to try to get people famous. I think you can make a great documentary on cosplay but you need specificity toward the subject and a good gameplan which many people do not have.

With that said here are some good videos worth watching.

Perfection Zero - LOVE this video, The cosplayers and subjects are treated with a level of respect and are seen as normal people in a quirky hobby. You see people fail at goals but there's no drama like how you see in HoC. Worth viewing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zc68Q4ZB84

Leaving Mundania - Some real good insight on the psychology of the hobby and picks some real level headed people as subjects. A bit on the long side but good to watch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3r0MS5KE5I4

[Anonymous No.7625211]

>wanting intellectual/emotional honesty from 4Chan

>>7625194

Fine. Nevermind.

[Anonymous No.7625237]

>>7625208

Interesting. It seems by the way you're talking that there's a lot of homebrew ones floating around - but nothing like King of Kong for this particular scene.

>its more interested in telling the interesting stories of cosplayers than just being a vehicle to try to get people famous

I wonder if the reason behind "fame vehicles" is due to a general desire for attention within the community (backed by general American culture). As an outsider, it seems to be based a lot on an idea of "perfection" and with an uninterpretable goal - which inherently means that someone is the "best" at it.

How many of these docs take the "freak show" route? I'm sure news pieces do this all the time.

Thanks for the links, I'll check 'em out.

[Anonymous No.7625342]

>>7625237
Not the Anon you were replying to but i am currently part of a project that the filmmakers stated purpose is to discuss the nature of subculture and how the people who are part of visible subcultures fit both normal life and subcultural activity into their lives.

When the filmmaker contacted me through a photographer friend i was... skeptical. I don't often like these sorts of documentaries because they tend to be over blown or just silly. Now to an extent the issue is that either the filmmaker thinks the subject is silly, or thinks that its super important and adjusts their focus accordingly for better or worse, OR the subjects take their shit way too seriously and it comes across as autistic and weird making the film hard to watch.
Now i agreed to take part in the documentary because i was curious and i have attempted to be as "me" as possible during filming but ill admit i think i'm actually pretty boring and maybe thats why other subjects of documentaries ham it up a bit?

Regardless, my answer to your question of does it excite me to be a "subject under inspection" is a bit depressingly pragmatic:
Im not excited and i don't really feel very under inspection because as a person who already looks weird in social situations i'm pretty much always under inspection.

[Anonymous No.7625354]

>>7625342
Part two:
However i do like learning about other subcultures, and i am guilty of watching the occasional doco about other subcultures. I do wish the documentaries were a bit less spergy though.

[Anonymous No.7626566]

>>7625237
>How many of these docs take the "freak show" route? I'm sure news pieces do this all the time.

Not necessarily documentaries but local news stations run specials on them and they give that vibe off.

I would love to watch a cosplay documentary but it seems everyone has the same structure/shooting format.

>Pick a few cosplayers
>Follow them around cons
>Have them share their stories and anguish over their projects
>Sprinkle random interviews of con staff and other cosplayers to fill time.

I just want more as the hobby offers more and ironically I think this can best be achieved through narrowing the field and getting really specific so it loses a lot of the meandering feel to it.

Ideas I cooked up

1. Focus on the stories that take place at a con. Follow around a cosplayer, a convention staffer and a regular attendee and see how their POVs and experiences intertwine about events.

2. Follow the story of a few cosplayers entering a huge masquerade (WCS qualifiers). Pick a veteran, a noobie and a judge. Have the video be just about the tournament preparations and struggles that arise.

3. A cosplay documentary but around people who don't partisipate in the hobby/are interested but are still around. Normalfag boyfriends/girlfriends, parents who have their kids cosplaying, the best friend who goes to cons just to hang out but is not really an anime fan.

[Anonymous No.7627313]

no one cares about cosplay documentaries...