Friday, 29 April 2011

Cosplay: The Series (Episode 1–2 review)

If you still don’t know, Cosplay: The Series is a live action drama about a group of Cosplayers and their struggles in High School! Purely fan made and wholly produced in Indonesia by Bonni Rambatan.

I must admit  I was a little nervous before watching. Because I had so much anticipation after watching the trailer , it would be such a downer if the series turned out to be a disappointment. And being a Vlogger with some filming background myself, I understand the pitfalls. Video production is essentially group work and if the crew and actors don’t pull together, only a lacklustre film will be produced.

And verdict?  I was pleasantly surprised with both episodes!

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Firstly, offering high definition resolution is a definite winner (pun intended add). The style of the filming and post production is modern and helps bring the viewers into the world of the actors. There is nothing worse than boring camera angles and poor editing that detracts viewers from the storyline.

imageThe story starts off pretty typically, with Annisa who appears to be the female lead , running to save their Cosplay Club which is about to be disbanded. Because, let’s face it, how many schools in their right mind would allow a Cosplay Club?! Being forced out of their Club Room and on the verge of being disbanded, Annisa the freshmen comes up with an ingenious idea to save the Club.

As it seems, the story appears to roll out pretty typically with it’s focus on adolescents and the journey of how a bunch of nerds/otakus/cosplayers/outcasts gathered together to fight against the expectations of the mainstream society. I don’t foresee the story in CTS to break any new grounds but I’m definitely not complaining.

As a fan of the hobby, what I look forward to is truthful representation of the hobby and the real struggles faced by cosplayers. Not forgetting , the weird, funny and sometimes lame things Cosplayers do that sets them apart.

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Like little random snippet that only an Otaku would think of and appreciate XD

I enjoyed the first 2 episode of the series and would complain it is too short. Like how others have commented, I am eager for the story to roll out.

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My only other complain would be the obvious lack of professional lighting and audio recording set up. Personally, I think one of the most important aspect in professional filming would be the lights that not only illuminates the scene but most importantly, draw attention to the facial expression of the actors.

There are some slight technical glitches like the obvious line of difference in the scene where the cosplayers took turns to walk down the stairs and some slight panning jerks. But none detracts viewers from the story and CTS is a series I highly recommend to any cosplayer or non cosplayers who would like to know more about this elusive hobby!

So remember to subscribe to Cosplay: The Series and let’s await the next episode!

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P/s: Cosplay: The series also has a Facebook page!

Cosplay: The Series (Live Action Drama)

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Website: http://www.cosplaytheseries.com

If you haven't heard, a group of talented Cosplayers and Film makers from Indonesia have come together to film a live action original story about, yes you guessed it; Cosplay! The story is set in a high school environment and the characters are all from the infamous Cosplay Club in school. Teen dramu loves :D?

Watch the trailer below!

Interview with the Director, Bonni Rambatan

I got pretty excited after watching the trailer because it clearly showed good directing and modern touch in the editing. And after nearly 10 years into the hobby, I must exclaim my personal excitement that our beloved hobby is finally getting more public recognition. The growing amount of talents that are churning out more and more artistic expressions of the hobby amazes me. And it is slowly growing into a commercial monster which I'm not complaining about because like I've discussed previously, commercialism has it’s benefit in the long run. But of course, that's just me.

The Cosplay Chronicles is officially affiliating with Cosplay: The Series and in line with the affiliation, I will be doing Episode Reviews =) Look forward to the 1st one coming up soon! In the mean time, pop over to their official website and watch the first 2 episode!

Thursday, 28 April 2011

Singapore day @ Shanghai 2011! (part 1)

Thanks to the kind people from MICA, I had a blast at Shanghai for the Singapore Day on the 16th April!

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It was a refreshing carnival of free local food, games, stage performances and picnic on the grass! Something not quite suitable to do in humid Singapore but something oh-so enjoyable in Spring Shanghai!!

Alright, kick starting the entry with some a cargo load of photographs to help illustrate the settings!

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The colourful stage with it’s mega LED screen on both sides. I really liked the usage of colours here, definitely brought about the familiar identity of Singapore as a multi-racial and multi-facet society.shanghai 022shanghai 024shanghai 031
All the booths rushing to get everything in place before the crowd floods in. The booths this year was sorted by colours!shanghai 021
Coniferous trees in the park creating a classy backdrop. I can feel the cold air just by looking at this picture.
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The stalls before the crowd came in. Yes, you bet it’s not so ‘quiet’ after that.shanghai 086
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The Ice kachang themed playground with an array of traditional games! Cheyenne randomly asked if I want to enter the Ice Kachang thing and I replied “Are we allowed in?” . She took a double take at me =_= |||
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Giant Graham Crackers tin with MONEY inside Open-mouthed smile You bet we were intrigued!
For those of you who don’t get it, this display is a take on how long ago before banks were secured, people would store their money in random tin cans such as these.
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Of course we couldn’t resist a Photo opportunity!
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The closest I’ll ever get to hitting someone with MONEY! Fear my $50 bill!
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And we’re not the only ones intrigued, look who's taking pictures
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Took the chance to ask for a photo opportunity and Mr Moses Lim kindly obliged! So nice ! He even entertained my cheesy request of shaking hands ala Prize Giving ceremony style xD
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HDB styled sign post! with gigantic T-shirts that measured 4 storey high !
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The MINDEF booth with it’s array of Physical Simulations for the public to try their hands or feet at. Photos at the bottom are the mobile kitchen.
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The kind officer at the station teaching us about how the Standing Board Jump equipment measures our score automatically.
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Here’s me agonizing over my Standing Board Jump score
shanghai 063After much struggle with the chin up, I managed to nail 12 pulls!
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I went on to score full points for the rest of the test and was awarded GOLD!!!!!! hurhurhur =X
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People streaming into the event!
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The Sports simulation booth had a cycling simulation which Cheyenne and I both tried. Everyone’s cycling speed was recorded and the one with the fastest score at the end of the day wins the bike. I don’t own any bikes at the moment.
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The coolest simulation imho, was the F1 race simulation. Not only was it in 3D, it was also a real life representation of the F1 race tracks in Singapore complete with the Esplanade and Old Supreme Court in the Backdrop.


And of course, there’s the MICA booth!
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Post cards to take away for all. Nothing better than a practical gift!
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The MICA Staffs really hard at work!
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Merlion hats!
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Local designer reinvented items on display. Please ignore the random humans in frame, the booth was so packed it was hard to capture anything without a random Mr or Mrs popping in.
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I thought the colourful windows idea was pure ingenuity xD
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This area was the goodie bag giveaway area and one would think the snaking queue was never going to end!
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The really cute T-shirt inside the goodie bag.
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The goodie bag given away by MICA. I mad looooove the artistic direction of the entire thing! Everything from the bag to the T-shirt, to the little notebooks were done so tastefully yet meaningfully!

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SO CUTE RIGHT ?!

Because the Singapore Day was so full of awesomeness, one entry is not enough to justify it. Hence I will be ending part 1 of my Singapore Day entry here. Look forward to more photo spammage, videos and insights about the event!

Ps: I don't want to sound like a bootlicker but the event was really pretty cool.Part 2 to come soon =)
and I'll be uploading video of my AWESOME hotel room xD