Singapore Day @ Shanghai 2011 (part 2)

... So continues part 2 of my rendezvous at Singapore Day, Shanghai. If you haven't read part 1, you should scroll down for it.

From the massive photo spam in the previous post, it's not hard to imagine the wonderful food and fun the Singapore Day organisers have put together for the attendees.

I am sure most of the attendees would agree with me that the event was awesome. And one of the biggest highlight of the event would have to be the star studded stage performance.

The list of performances includes Singapore's funniest family, Moses lim, Koh chin mun and Irene Ang (not from the same family but you get the point). The cast from little Nyonya , Pierre Png, Jeannette Aw and Xiang Yun. Of course there were also people with the voices such as Singapore Idol Sezairi, Cai Li Lian and Kit Chan.

And my personal favourite, Babarella Chantal Thomas and Jacques Ooi. Really wanted a picture with them but luck was not on my side =(

Highlight of the performance for me would have to be the skit by the funny family (Moses Lim, Koh Chin Mun And Irene Ang) , Dolly's epic singing, Babarella getting booed for criticising the performance (jokingly of course) and THE DURIANS!!!
Oh yeah, the best surprise/gift of the day for the Singaporeans there would be the free durians.

Like FREE. DURIAN!! An entire box with 5 huge chunk of durians !!! I mean, look at the faces xD!

The durians were gone within 5 minutes. I swear I tried to record the struggle but was knocked over by the gush of durian fighters and everything ended before I could reach my camera that somersaulted 20 meters away.
Okay, fine. I was just kidding about the last part. My camera just decided to pull a stunt on me and I ended up not recording anything.

But I have photos .


And there was a lot of cute children there! I know I sound bias but seriously, is it the air or something? Why does the Singaporean kid there look so much cuter?! Everyone of them are so pinch worthy!!

Parents playing traditional games with their children.

I ate the Camel Spicy tapioca and lost my paper ball.

I must commend the organiser's thoughtfulness in the goodie bag. Not only have they included traditional games and treats for the younger generation to get a feel of how playtime was like for their parents, they have also included useful things like picnic mat and concert bangers.I was swear I got a little haughty when I saw everyone layering newspaper on the grass. Was wondering why weren't they more prepared?! Singapore Day's a big thing you know?

Then I realise the complimentary picnic mat mimics the local papers xD

The organisers also arranged a balloon master for the children.


Can you guess what happened? (arghhh random guy walked into my scene).


It seemed like the children were playing chase and sword fight when the little girl fell and burst her balloon.
And what happen next? the eldest boy with the green sword turned around and offered his sword immediately! Yes, I saw him holding his sword out as soon as he turned around and saw that the little girl had lost hers. What a chivalrous young gentleman! The family has definitely taught him well =)

With all the raving balloon sword fights and babies sighting, it's not hard to notice that many Singaporeans here came with their families in toil.
It was a heart-warming sight to see amidst all the bustling and queuing. Because like what our Theme song implies, Home is the centre of it all. Even though many Singaporeans have moved here with their family but no matter where they move to and no matter how long they’ve been away, Singapore will always hold an irreplaceable place in their heart. It will forever be a place to go back to and a place they miss.
The 5900 turnout is solid proof of that connection.
The feeling of home(sickness) is further emphasised when everyone got together and sang the 1998 theme song with the original singer, Kit Chan.

The event ended on a very heart-warming note and I'm sure everyone went home with a rekindled Singaporean spirit. I really appreciate the government’s effort in organising big scale events like these for Singaporeans living abroad. Not only does it remind them that they are not forgotten, it also gives them the chance to remember their identity as a Singaporean.
I personally shall feel sad that nobody will understand all the durian jokes I shall make in the future =(

Cosplay: The Series (Episode 3 review)

After a week of anticipation, episode 3 of CTS is finally out!

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'm going to do things a little differently this time. Instead of reading my review, please watch the episode first then read my review and see if our sentiments are alike.

Done watching?

Years of Anime and TV watching has made me into some sort of a loser plot genius because with one look at the title, I could already sense the storyline. From the title, it seemed like the series is moving towards the private and emotional side of Cosplay.

And sure enough it did!  With the focus of this episode on the group's Lolita; Agnesya.

The story jumped straight to the past of Agnesya and how her Lolita life had a change. Through the short 5:43 minutes, the episode touched on the struggle she faced trying to be herself and her exasperation with the controlling habit of the society. The feelings of a caged bird that echoes so close to heart for many of our generation.

I might be a little of an emo kid but I can't help feeling that this episode will strike a chord with many Cosplayer. The feelings of awkwardness, confusion  and sometimes even shame, that seemed to shadow this fandom.

My personal complain for this episode would be the horrendous lighting(or lack of) in certain scenes and slightly boring angles.

The scene of Agnesya packing up would have been much more emotionally impactful if more light could have been shed on her face to highlight the expression change.

And I wouldn't mind if there were some close ups of the girls when they were talking. It might bring a bit more impact to the otherwise very ‘internal’ emotion. But that's just me.

All in all, this episode is just how I imagined CTS to be. Though this episode seems to steer away slightly from the main plot but it is a welcomed filler as it brings realism to the hobby and gives the characters depth. Last thing I want, is to watch a Drama about “Cosplay” that’s all happy and gay. I'm glad the story is progressing and as usual, I'm looking forward to the next episode!

Did episode 3 echo close to your heart? Comment and let us know!

 

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

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

Introduction to cosplaying as Kagamine Rin

Hi guys! I’m back with a video and entry to give prospective Kagamine Rin/Len cosplayers an insight into the making of the default Vocaloid costume.

This is NOT a tutorial entry but I’ll try to give as much tips as I can and hope you guys like it. Here goes!
*Videos and photos inside*

The Headphone


My headphone was graciously made by Yuanie who was my Kagamine Len. And she had a method quite different from Inuran’s.

My Kagamine Rin headphones is NOT done using this method. But you might wanna check Inuran’s method out if you’re interested.

It is done with a normal hairband as a base. The earpads are primarily made with cardboard and white foam. The coloured parts are mostly either coloured paper or vinyl tapes.

Body of the microphone is made with bendable wires and wrapped with white vinyl tape while the tip itself is made by coiling white foam around the wire and sealing everything up with vinyl tape again.

You can attach the ribbon to the hairband by gluing it directly. Or you can do it like me, attaching the ribbons to 2 ( I used 2 for security) rubber band and then tying it onto the hairband. Whichever method you prefer would work fine.
I chose to attach the ribbon to the hairband with rubber bands because I wanted it to be flexible. So if I ever want to use the hairband for other purpose, I can.

The Arm Warmers
The arm warmers are done with a very straight forward pattern which I’ll cover that in the future. The LCD patterns on the arm warmer are created with black foam and green velvet cloth. I stuck them on to the Arm warmers with double sided tape, which is a bad choice ^^;

Below's a video to teach you how to make Arm Warmers.

A small tip for those who are having problem acquiring thick black foam. An alternative is to snip them from any old foam mouse pads. They work just as remarkably and you’re helping the environment! ha-ha.



The Belt

The belt is basically a cloth tube with the edges sewed in. For the triangles, we cut a bunch of diamonds from some yellow velvet and stuck them on to the fabric tube with fabric glue. According to Yuanie, you can use white glue too.

I did my costume in a rush so please don’t mind the ugly stitches =\

The Costume

The costume is just a simple sailor fuku kind of top without sleeves. The more confusing portion would be the musical note on the chest area. It is done by tracing the note on the back of a piece of velvet and then cutting it out. We then stuck the note on to the costume with fabric glue.

My pants are just store bought black shorts.

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I’m not exactly sure if you guys would enjoy entries like these so…comment and let me know if you would like to see more ^^ !!

GANTZ Cosplay Party

Hi guys! Encore Films (the company that brought Gantz the Movie into Singapore) is collaborating with SOYC on another Cosplay Competition!

Event Name: GANTZ COSPLAY PARTY!
Date:     8^th May 2011 (Sunday)
Time:     1pm
Venue: The Heeren Level 1, Fountain Stage
Website: http://soy-japtsubasa.net/gantz-cosplay-party/

GANTZ COSPLAY PARTY! Contest

Stand to WIN more than $1000 worth of cash and prizes!
Please send in a photo of yourself in any cosplay outift with your name and contact number to gantzcosplayparty@gmail.com to participate in the GANTZ COSPLAY PARTY Contest.

• Contestants will be selected to compete in our finals on 8 May! More details at http://www.facebook.com/gantzmovie

• Closing date for contest: 6 May

Prizes to be won:

1st Prize   ($300 CASH + GANTZ Hamper)
2nd Prize ($200 CASH + GANTZ Hamper)
3rd Prize ($100 CASH + GANTZ Hamper)

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!

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.

The 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.

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.

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!

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

Cosplay: The Series (Live Action Drama)

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!