[ThatOneChick]

Hey guys, Masquerade ADH here. This thread is reserved for what you guys thought of the Masquerade this year! Let us know what you think so that we can make things better! Sabre will be answering most of your questions, but since he travels a lot, I will be helping him out.

We want to thank everyone who entered this year. You guys rocked our socks off! I know things were a little hectic at times, but you guys handled it with grace and awesome.

Let's get things moving!

This post has been edited by ThatOneChick: 24 May 2011 - 07:07 PM

[Mullenkamp]

Just gonna throw out my thanks again to the masq staff, because if I even had the brains to remember to thank everyone during the masq, I'm not sure they would have heard me from inside the costume. (Side note: I apologize if I ever sounded as if I were yelling at anyone - I realized early on I had to raise my voice even in relatively quiet areas.) On wheels, the ramp looked a lot steeper than I remembered it being, and DEFINITELY seemed narrower than I remembered when I suddenly found myself trying to go down it blind. Thanks for the delaying, thanks for the offers of assistance, and thanks SO much for the directing on the way down. =) The helpful, cool-headed staff are one big reason why ACen is the con where I try new things - I know even if something goes wrong, you've got our backs.

[live_regretless]

I agree with Mullenkamp, some of the staff was especially helpful, giving us our own space to set up in due to the scale of our costume, and regularly checking up on us to see if we needed anything. In that regard, the staff was superb. Unfortunately, one thing that really bothered me and the rest of the group was the lack of communication. We were left entirely in the dark as to what was going on after our walk on was done, and despite asking several times to be told ahead of time if we were going to be needed back on stage, we did not find out until the judges announced to the audience that our group had won the best group award. In the end it didn't end up being a huge problem, but due to the time our costume took to put back on, we would have liked to have been warned ahead of time, as we had asked the staff to do so. Other than that though, we had a great time at the Masquerade, and were so grateful for the help we did receive =D

[Maxite]

Participant in the Masquerade. Things went really smoothly, the staff was incredibly helpful and informative in getting me and the other participants to where we needed to be, as well as making sure we were comfortable. I can't count how many times I was offered water, but it was a lot.

I will admit from my perspective though, as well as some others that I overheard that the skits section was rather lacklustre. I also wish that you would open up some skits for sign-up at con like you do walk-ons. Other problem was a lack of communication in getting judging, as I wanted to be judged but when I signed up at con I didn't hear any news on how to get judging, nor was any information really provided at the meet-up.

Other than that, from my perspective it went really great.

[ThatOneChick]

I'm glad that you guys had a great time.

As far as skits go, 1/3 of wall ons and skits are open at con. We also preview skits before they go on stage. I always say the same thing, if you have a problem with the content, give us something better! I don't usually get to see the skits since I am working.

Communication: We've already talked about fixing this. Next year there will be walkies back stage with everyone who needs one so that we can run more smoothly.

Judging: This entire system is going to change next year since it did not work for us this year.

[manga1]

did you mean this year that 1/3 of skit was open at con, or is this reserved spot, since I was told to sign up months in advance, and did but my entry was lost and only made it in by being an alternate or is it something held open at con?

Oh um after the inital push around and the masq admin, being a bit sour looking at first like they were not having any fun,
they kept checking in on me since I looked nervous even though I was just thinking and always get butterflies before I perform or when I race running, and after the skit the head lady told the person going by with the water give it to him meaning me he needs it more, even though I was only slightly winded and could have went a minute or two without water I am used to it as a runner afterall, and mentioned that it was fine, but she insisted that I drink the water so I did and asked where I would like to sit for the remainder of the competition.

signed Jeremy Manga1 the dancing david from blood + during the masquarade

This post has been edited by manga1: 25 May 2011 - 11:09 PM

[Adnarim]

I had a very pleasant time with the Masquerade. The staff were very helpful and extremely nice!!! THANK YOU SOOO MUCH for being awesome.

I really liked how pre-judging (for skits) was done. The staff gave us tips on to improve our skit, which was a nice touch. In addition, they were very informative on what was going to happen or needed to happen during/before the masquerade. (For that being the first time in ACEN's Masquerade it was good to have an explanation)

During the Masquerade, staff continued to chat and hand out water/food. LOVED that! It looked liked everyone knew what they were doing, they got us to right spot on time (in a timely manner).

I liked having the TVs backstage to be able to watch the rest of the masquerade....only tid bit was that the audio was too low to hear (understandable though--needing to be quiet backstage) but you had to be super close to the TV just to hear it---plus, that doesn't work too well when the TV in front of a busy backstage doorway.

One thing--that i wasn't apart of but noticed---was the craftsmanship judging backstage...I saw A LOT of participants just sitting and waiting...and waiting....and waiting....to be judged. (however, it looked like everyone did get judged in the end)

: I agree with the whole communication thing :
There was communication confusion when it came to announcing awards. When our group was called for something we had no idea what was going on and were rushed to the stage---we got on stage not knowing what we won until after we got backstage again.
The presentation of awards itself was rushed.....(was that due to time restraints?)

My overall grade for the Masquerade is: A-

Fantastic job running the masquerade and making it as enjoyable as possible. I'll look forward to participating again.

[lunaladyoflight]

Just wanted to let you guys know that someone is already whining about the results of this year's contest on Cosplay.com. http://www.cosplay.c...220#post3962220

Also can we post a list of the winners with photos and video included for those of us who didn't attend?

[ThatOneChick]

manga1, on 25 May 2011 - 11:03 PM, said:

did you mean this year that 1/3 of skit was open at con, or is this reserved spot, since I was told to sign up months in advance, and did but my entry was lost and only made it in by being an alternate or is it something held open at con?

Oh um after the inital push around and the masq admin, being a bit sour looking at first like they were not having any fun,
they kept checking in on me since I looked nervous even though I was just thinking and always get butterflies before I perform or when I race running, and after the skit the head lady told the person going by with the water give it to him meaning me he needs it more, even though I was only slightly winded and could have went a minute or two without water I am used to it as a runner afterall, and mentioned that it was fine, but she insisted that I drink the water so I did and asked where I would like to sit for the remainder of the competition.

signed Jeremy Manga1 the dancing david from blood + during the masquarade

Sabre will be here tomorrow to address you personally.

I'm sorry if we seemed sour, it's not our intention. We love our jobs, it's just stressful once the show starts to make sure it's a great show and everyone has a good time.

Adnarim, on 26 May 2011 - 08:52 AM, said:

I had a very pleasant time with the Masquerade. The staff were very helpful and extremely nice!!! THANK YOU SOOO MUCH for being awesome.

I really liked how pre-judging (for skits) was done...

Thank you and as I said before, we will be working on judging and communication next year.

lunaladyoflight, on 26 May 2011 - 10:18 AM, said:

Just wanted to let you guys know that someone is already whining about the results of this year's contest on Cosplay.com. http://www.cosplay.c...220#post3962220

Also can we post a list of the winners with photos and video included for those of us who didn't attend?

I posted, but I have to correct myself on something.

I will try to get that, but I don't know about pictures.

[nikineko]

I thought that masquerade went very well. You guys seem to know what you are doing when planning and making sure participants know when and where they have to be in order to not get disqualified. I also thought it was very helpful to pre-view all skits and also give feedback that could possibly aid a skit to be better than it was before.

Organizing the contestants during set up was done very well. And I think both the staff and the contestants were very nice towards each other. I was glad that food and water was provided and that we were allowed to have bathroom breaks.

Also during the performances, it was nice to have a t.v. in the greenroom that we could watch even though we couldn't hear it sometimes. But it was still nice because I've been to cons where you don't get to see any of the show, if you are in the masquerade and that kind of sucks.

There were only two things that I have questions about and I want to point out that I'm not angry about it in any kind of way, just confused. First is the notion of a skit that was performed with contestants that also performed in the half-time show. I don't know if that should be fair to other cosplayers that want to perform their skits when a group of people get to perform for competition and then again in parts of the half-time show. Second, is about another skit where the cosplayer performed in the same costume two years in a row (with a similar theme to their skit as well) although innovative and funny, there is a rule (rule number 6 in the masquerade section) that says not to perform with the same costume as a previous year. I thought maybe staff would have noticed, that's all. I just wanted to point those out just in case other cosplayers noticed and were having second thoughts about participating in next year's contest and I just want it to be fair for everyone and not want to think the staff is biased towards who enters into the masquerade.

Overall, I would rate the masquerade as a B+ because there is always room for improvement.

Keep up the good work.

[ThatOneChick]

nikineko, on 26 May 2011 - 07:49 PM, said:

There were only two things that I have questions about and I want to point out that I'm not angry about it in any kind of way, just confused. First is the notion of a skit that was performed with contestants that also performed in the half-time show. I don't know if that should be fair to other cosplayers that want to perform their skits when a group of people get to perform for competition and then again in parts of the half-time show. Second, is about another skit where the cosplayer performed in the same costume two years in a row (with a similar theme to their skit as well) although innovative and funny, there is a rule (rule number 6 in the masquerade section) that says not to perform with the same costume as a previous year. I thought maybe staff would have noticed, that's all. I just wanted to point those out just in case other cosplayers noticed and were having second thoughts about participating in next year's contest and I just want it to be fair for everyone and not want to think the staff is biased towards who enters into the masquerade.

Overall, I would rate the masquerade as a B+ because there is always room for improvement.

Keep up the good work.

Well the half time show is just exhibition. They aren't competing for anything. Anything that happened when Zach and Jim were MCing was not part of the contest, it just gave the judges extra time to make up their minds.

Which skit/cosplayers are you talking about? I didn't see the show since I was backstage.

[nikineko]

ThatOneChick, on 26 May 2011 - 07:58 PM, said:

Well the half time show is just exhibition. They aren't competing for anything. Anything that happened when Zach and Jim were MCing was not part of the contest, it just gave the judges extra time to make up their minds.

Which skit/cosplayers are you talking about? I didn't see the show since I was backstage.

That is totally understandable. I was confused in the sense that they were competing and then part of the exhibition in the sense that I usually see Exhibition run/performed by staff and/or special guests, so it felt like they had special privileges in order to perform twice. I remember sitting in the greenroom and when they finished they were told to change costumes so they could perform for exhibition too. That skit was the Super Mario Brothers skit. (I don't know if I'm actually explaining what I'm trying to say... :/ It's hard to emote emotions and explanations over the internet ; ).

The other skit was the Samurai Champloo skit. He performed with the same costume last year.

*Also I just want to make sure to state that I'm not "bashing" the skits in anyway. I thought both skits were performed well and deserved their awards.

[ThatOneChick]

nikineko, on 26 May 2011 - 08:27 PM, said:

That is totally understandable. I was confused in the sense that they were competing and then part of the exhibition in the sense that I usually see Exhibition run/performed by staff and/or special guests, so it felt like they had special privileges in order to perform twice. I remember sitting in the greenroom and when they finished they were told to change costumes so they could perform for exhibition too. That skit was the Super Mario Brothers skit. (I don't know if I'm actually explaining what I'm trying to say... :/ It's hard to emote emotions and explanations over the internet ; ).

The other skit was the Samurai Champloo skit. He performed with the same costume last year.

*Also I just want to make sure to state that I'm not "bashing" the skits in anyway. I thought both skits were performed well and deserved their awards.

No no, not at all.

So if I understand, you are so passionate about competing that you were wondering why you also were not allowed to compete twice? Man, I wish I could put your spirit into everyone who enters. Sabre will be here tomorrow and will be able to address you better than I could and explain about the skits who "competed twice".

[Paladin356]

I will definitely be doing another Masquerade again, i had a bunch of fun...even though my costume decided it didn't want to hold up right at the end of the masquerade.

I heard that there was going to be feed back on walk-ons. IDK if theres a thread for this yet, but is there going to be feedback for them?

[sabre]

Hi everyone, and it's great to see the posts here!. I arrived home from ACEN today (well, this morning at ~2 am). Travelling for work sometimes hurts.


1st off all, thanks for the many positive comments about staff; I'm glad to hear them.

Onward:

At-event Communication:
1) We'll work on during-event communication; there were a couple unintended adventures which we're working through. One thing we're looking at is increasing our radio count -- so we can talk without running all over creation (thus having more time to talk to YOU!)
1a) don't know if any of you noticed, but we actually started the show 20 minutes early. This was a good thing, as it allowed us more time, but this was a bad thing as it cut 20 minutes out of our prep/information time.
2) informing winners. There are two common approaches. With one, you don't tell anyone until you're on stage. With the other, you pull winners right before the awards ceremony. You don't tell them what they've won, but they know they've won something.
Both have plusses and minuses, not just with the winners but all participants. I prefer to announce from stage, but with almost 200 of you (including handlers) involved -- I'm giving serious thoughts towards pulling folks right before the awards. I've always preferred the suspense of no one knowing -- but it's a change that I think will help the awards ceremony overall, so I'm probably going to set my preferences aside.

TV audio:
We knew it was quiet. We tried to fix it. Unfortunately, the same feed went not just to the green room but to lobbies all over the hotel. We turned it up at one point for you -- and deafened others, so we had to turn it back down. Oops! Another thing for us to balance sooner....

Skit sign-up:
We pre-reg all skits. There are numerous reasons for this. One big one is that we want all those doing skits to put planning and forethought into them. When you pre-register (and pre-reg usually ends over a month before the con: something which may make 2012 interesting), you're showing me you're at least thinking about your skit with some time to prepare (I ask for a script). You'll most likely have audio (something I like since the room is so big). Does every single one recieve planning & forethought? Nope --but we can hope. Would some which came & registered at-con have planned? Most definitely yes. However -- every little bit helps. Pre-reg has opened on 1/1 whenever I wake up for at least the past 4 years now. It's not likely to change.

Final thought (at this time -- more later!):
I'm glad you enjoyed participating in the masquerade -- we couldn't do it without you. I look forward to seeing you again next year. There are things which need to be fixed -- there always are. I've got a page of ideas (some of which are terrible -- but they're ideas )

Keep 'em coming!

[sweetbeanpaste]

I was part of Big Daddy's assembly team

The wait for being judged was long, (understandable)but you made it pretty gosh darn bearable. (The image of your face when you found out our little sister was a boy is permanently engraved into my mind-and I love it)

Nice job, guys!