SyFy's Heroes of Cosplay

there is a saying somewhere in the movie making industry that says "the best part is the part you dont have to make",i swear i heard that somewhere. the whole costume movie industry is always looking for ways to cut labor, so buying things is always better than making. also "simplicity is the mark of a great engineer", that came from the mythbusters episode involving card throwing,
Heroes of cosplay really is too much
 
Speaking as a judge, those kinds of rules for making everything actually make the contests far *less* subjective than if items can be purchased. Everyone is on the same page, no one needs to query the decisions based on different assumptions. Okay, everything except shoes and wigs.. awesome. Basically if it can be made safely in a home then there is no real excuse to not make it. Mixing dangerous chemicals you need a permit for... no?

When you are marking on outcome as a result of the work of the contestants it is much much clearer and transparent to judge on things that have actually been made by the contestant. If you allow major components to be bought then how can you judge on workmanship? You then have to start making weird calculations like "okay so they made this and that but not that so I can really only judge their work on about 50%.." That's making the judging so convoluted if it is to be fair and the audience gets confused! Frankly it's easier also to say "everyone made their gear, now on with the show".


I totally understand people wanting to buy parts! Good gravy of course :) I have a few toy props to make over. But if you are proclaiming yourself in a contest to be a maker of goods, you need to be the maker of the goods :)

Walking the halls no one really knows or cares who made what, so some contests are an opportunity to be able to say to the world "I made this" with some peer recognition.
 
I thought it made sense that they were quizzed on the bodysuits. The others also had to answer if they'd made everything from scratch, so why wouldn't Crabcat be asked the same question?

Their costumes were much simpler... a brush-painted bodysuit with fur, headpieces and makeup. Yaya knows them and the fact they *can* make a bodysuit if they wanted to/had time, so she might very well have been trying to give them a chance to go "yeah, we made these from scratch".
 
I knew (from this thread) that Jessica's allergy was BS, but I think I'd have figured it out. She has a "wool allergy" yet her big symptoms are nausea, vomiting and lethargy? No red, swollen eyes, no runny nose/sneezing, no rash? Och.

What baffled me most about this episode was the narrator telling us 17 times how the cat costume was Jessica's "dream costume." All that talent and her dream is to throw some paint on a bodysuit? :facepalm
 
The narrator could of said her dream was to have a gang bang in that costume, doesn't mean it's true.

Considering the talent of Crabcat, I'd say the scriptwriters of HoS wasted that line and I'd expect it to come up again when something cooler is done for a future episode.
 
I know it was a scripted scene, but for the rest of the world who may not - who would want to do business with crabcat, after watching them throw a hissyfit, in the middle of the hallway. "My tummy hurts - I'm going to cause a scene, not to mention a fire safety hazard.". Seriously - who, over the age of 6, does that?

Security tells you to get your lazy ass out of the middle of the hall, you do it. Because you "threw up", 5 minutes ago, does not constitute a current medical emergency. If you have time to argue with security and act like a spoiled brat, you have time to move off to the side, or back to your room.



And the thing with Monika and Becky - maybe Monika should win a contest or two, before she gets all high and mighty. If SyFy can't even payoff the judges to help you win, maybe you need to rethink your awesomeness.

-Fred
 
While I don't doubt that the contract may have said XYZ about how you can comport yourself in public following the show (e.g., non-disclosure language and such), there's sort of three things to consider.

First, one of the simple truths about contracts is that, if someone wants to breach it...they're gonna breach it. I tell this to clients not infrequently, particularly when they ask me to write an "ironclad" contract. There's no such thing. If they breach, they breach, and then the question becomes whether (A) you have the will to enforce the contract, and (B) whether the contract is written in such a way as to ALLOW you to enforce it.

Second, the devil is in the details as far as whether you'd actually breach the contract by saying this or that, including HOW you say it. It depends on what you say, and also on how the contract is worded specifically. Like, it might say you're flat-out prohibited from making disparaging comments about the show. But that'd call into question whether saying "So the show was edited so that I came across as saying XYZ, but in fact, the way I feel is ABC." Is that a disparaging remark? I mean, it's not like you're saying "Those lying sonsofb****es edited me to say XYZ! The show is a total scam!" It's simply contradicting what the show depicts (actually, what the show implies BY depiction), which isn't necessarily the same thing as disparaging. So, Yaya saying "We're buds in real life! It's all cool and I really respect her work, regardless of how it may appear on camera," may not be a breach. On the other hand, if they word it to say that you ALSO won't do anything to contradict or undermine the depiction of the show, or act in a way that might be detrimental to ratings, that's a different story. There's also the question of enforceability. Even if the contract says "You must also give us your firstborn male child and commit seppuku live on camera if you breach" that doesn't mean that the clause is enforceable. However...

Third, perhaps the saddest truth about contract law (once you get past the "if they wanna breach, they're gonna breach" thing) is that you still have to have the means to fight a legal battle. The 800lb gorilla is still an 800lb gorilla, no matter what the contract says. Unless you get an attorney who'll work for free, it's gonna cost money -- lots of it -- to defend in court against NBC/Universal or their subsidiaries. So, even if you're right, even if you're safe under the contract, just getting to a point where you can file a motion that'd get the case tossed out is gonna cost a fair bit of coin. And THAT is where the law gives way to practicality.

Now, in all likelihood, I wouldn't expect NBC/Uni to actually try to sue Yaya and/or Jessica for damages...because realistically they don't have the kind of deep pockets that'd make the lawsuit worthwhile. (Old legal aphorism: "You can't get blood from a stone.") But they could easily rattle sabres to get them to pull the video, and perhaps get a gag order from a court that'd shut them up and stop them from making similar future statements, the violation of which WOULD result in serious freakin' penalties (which they still wouldn't be able to pay, but that's not really the point).




Anyway, the behind the scenes stuff about these kinds of shows is not surprising, but somethign that I wish WAS made more public, if only in the hopes that it'd make people tune out. On the other hand, everyone knows that WWE wrestling is fake, and they still enjoy the show.

Hmm. Actually, there's a pretty apt comparison there... "Reality" shows are about as "real" as WWE wrestling is. The action itself is real (if somewhat choreographed), but the "drama" is all made up.

I have doubts that she will get sued. The target audience watches the show and at most talks about it with someone at work the next day. Lather, rinse, repeat. They aren't going to look for or see that video. But if the network sues then people will hear about it on TMZ, go looking for it, and at some point the fact they are doing creative editing will be on public record.

Sent from my Etch A Sketch.
 
Buying an integral part of the costume would be a no no. Like competing in your Ruby's Darth Vader costume. Buying something that supports the costume like a body stocking is ok. However, their costumes were the body stockings so what else did she have to critique?
 
Speaking as a judge, those kinds of rules for making everything actually make the contests far *less* subjective than if items can be purchased. Everyone is on the same page, no one needs to query the decisions based on different assumptions. Okay, everything except shoes and wigs.. awesome. Basically if it can be made safely in a home then there is no real excuse to not make it.

I see your point - but then you have some of these costumers using patterns. I have at times, but for some costumes I draft my own... To me, using a pattern is very similar to pulling something off the shelf. You're still borrowing the work of someone else - so your question in my mind can easily be asked - if you can draft a pattern, why use a bought one? And if you buy a body suit, take it apart and use it as your pattern - what's the difference between just using it?

So... that's why I just think it's subjective. If I were judging a contest I'd be looking at the overall costume effect and THEN I would figure out how they put it together. If they were able to find something a Thrift store that looks perfect for a jacket - great! If they altered it to look more like it even better! If they made it from scratch and had to custom order the fabric, wow! But if they custom ordered it an made it from scratch and it didn't look as good as the found jacket, that would hurt them. IMO it's the final product that matters.

But yeah, if someone just buys a rubys and shows that - no. I'm just talking about costumes you put together, not bagged ones.

I don't have a problem with other judges using their own criteria on what matters to them, though... but I would hope the contestants would know the rules before hand to help them figure out what they have to do. Either way - it's like a beauty contest, you never know what the judges are looking for so make the costume for yourself and if you win, great, if not - you still made something you love. :)
 
Last edited:
but its also the kind of costume you decide to go with, if you decide to do something as simple and asinine as Cats the musical meets internet memes you're going to lose.
 
Right - it was a really fun costume and I loved the concept, but it's more a floor costume than a contest costume. Unless you get in a contest where the judges want fun ideas like that - this was anime, right? Didn't make sense... but still love the idea!
 
I don't know, I was quite unimpressed with the BSG BDU top he was wearing in the last episode. Something so easy to get right if you take your time, and he didn't do that great a job with it...

You didn't like the screen-used BSG:B+C BDU top I wore as a jacket when I went fabric shopping?
 
I can understand not buying a Sailor Moon Halloween costume and entering it in a costume contest, but using a blank netrual pre-made body suit seems okay to me. The down side being that it was 90% of their total costume pieces made it seem worse compared to other, more completed costumes.

I'm of two minds about making from scratch versus integrating some made pieces. On my Vader costume, I didn't sew the bodysuit, gloves or capes. I bought them tailored to my measurements. And I certainly didn't cobble the boots.

But I did make the leather belt from a blank, added the belt box details, cut/sanded/shaped/painted the chest box, made the straps, finished and painted the armor, and I detailed and painted the helmet. All the fiberglass pieces were raw and I had to do all the finishing, and I build all the electronics.

I feel very much that I 'made' my costume, but really I didn't make much of it. I didn't sculpt the armor and helmet from clay and mold/cast it myself. I didn't sew any of the cloth parts, or vac-form the shin armor.

I guess I feel I 'made' my costume because I didn't buy all finished pieces, but I am always in awe of people who sew/build every single piece of their costume from scratch.
 
For the body suit, I can understand Yaya making a big deal about it because it was pretty much their entire costume. Had they made a full armor set and bought a body suit to wear underneath? Fine. But the bodysuit WAS the costume. When you're being judged for craftmanship in a master category, you're pretty much expected to have made 100% of your costume. Buying the body suit that consists of 70% of your costume is a huge chunk off your mark compared to a set like Victoria and Monika who made 100% of the costume.

As far as the Monika/Becky thing...I'm assuming that was 100% scripted for added drama. If Jessica's throwing up was fake, then you can bet the "fight" between Monika and Becky was fake as well.
 
your "Sexy Noun" costume


The bigger question in this thread is, what is a "Sexy Noun"? A sexy School House Rock costume? :lol

Late to the party, but I did my best before I saw it explained a few posts down:rolleyes
noun.jpg
 
You didn't like the screen-used BSG:B+C BDU top I wore as a jacket when I went fabric shopping?

"In this episode of Epic Threads of the RPF, member p51 loses major cred when he is called out by Jinyo. Can his reputation survive such a devastating blow? Stay tuned!"

:D

It occurred to me today that maybe they're showing our heroes losing all the time so that at the beginning of the third act, they're at their lowest point. Then they'll keep getting battered and bruised until they finally hit their Popeye Point and win the big game with an incredible Hail Mary pass at the final buzzer. (I'm thinking it's going to be Victoria, since it's her cred they're always talking about.)
 
You didn't like the screen-used BSG:B+C BDU top I wore as a jacket when I went fabric shopping?

P51, I think you stuck you foot so deep into your mouth it's out your ass and you've made yourself into your own little Oroborus.
 
Back
Top