Cosplay on telly

By Careyanne. 11/07/11, 06:43 am

Hi everyone,

I'm the researcher for a new, prime-time documentary about the search for happiness. It's going to be presented by the psychologist Nigel Latta.

I'm posting on this forum because we want to film a small group of Cosplayers in action, and then interview some of them.

We are looking for some players who are:
1. Happy and content in life
2. Lively and clear talkers
3. Willing to be interviewed on camera about cosplay, and happiness in general.
4. It would be good if they have a pretty normal sort of day job

Any takers? Please post a response explaining why you'd be good interview material.

I look forward to hearing from you, Careyanne.

By Lowkey. 11/07/11, 06:55 am

Just my $0.02, but I question the addition of "4. It would be good if they have a pretty normal sort of day job". Nigel Latta's amusing enough to watch, but looking at his work on the Politically Incorrect Guide to Teenagers and the titles of some of his parenting books, how likely is it that cosplayers - especially teenaged ones - are going to be portrayed negatively? Trying to find a non-offensive way to say that basically people can be quick to assume cosplayers, as I guess 'nerds' or 'geeks', are socially inept &c and that's not representative at all? If that makes sense. Just cautious because this looks like it's going to lead in with 'normal job by day, playing grown up dress ups by night/convention'.

That aside, it'd be an awesome opportunity.

By Selphiroth. 11/07/11, 06:59 am

I agree with Lowkey here. I think affection-parodies are wonderful, but it' is a murky territory when the element that are getting parodied are still relatively niche, and the general public can't tell a joke from the actual serious elements.

I mean, it could've been the best thing ever. Based on his previous work though, I just don't think Nigel Latta's take is quite the time now, with the little "normal cosplayer" mind primed into the audience and all.

By Kitten Slave. 11/07/11, 07:16 am

Never assume that just because they are youngish or pursue an unconventional hobby, that they will easily accept being portrayed badly.
Lets face it, TV is kinda known for portraying this kind of thing with a generally unfavorable light.

Me thinks that people are going to want a lot more rather in depth details as to what this being on TV thing entails...

Also, like it has been mentioned 4 - a lot of the folk on here are studenty and the like... Though we are probably a few generations in at this point Wink

Dont get me wrong, this is a very interesting turn of events, and I think could be nice exposure, but better to err on the side of caution...

stare

By Careyanne. 11/07/11, 07:36 am

Hi again,

Kittenslave mentioned there are a lot of student cosplayers: my #4 is the least important of my criteria, so if you are a student and you are happy to be interviewed, I would definitely like to hear from you.

Talk soon, Careyanne.

By Lowkey. 11/07/11, 07:39 am

Careyanne wrote:: Hi again,

Kittenslave mentioned there are a lot of student cosplayers: my #4 is the least important of my criteria, so if you are a student and you are happy to be interviewed, I would definitely like to hear from you.

Talk soon, Careyanne.

The fact that you didn't address our concerns about how the community will be portrayed kind of makes me even more uncomfortable about this whole thing.

By Kitten Slave. 11/07/11, 07:43 am

Not being a TV watcher myself, I know nothing of Nigel Latta (though I am googling him now).

Can we see some previous work done by Nigel?
What is the premise of the Documentary? What is its purpose, or pursuit?
What sort of questions are we looking being asked?

These guys will give a lot, if they think that you are worth it, but you of course must realize that there are currently a lot of unknowns surrounding your question, and it is going to be difficult to get much attention unless you are able to assure people that you are legit and well, not going to cause the community trouble...

stare

By Selphiroth. 11/07/11, 07:55 am

Careyanne, can you show us some examples of your old work?

By Kitten Slave. 11/07/11, 08:06 am

Shows he has done seem to include

"the politically incorrect guide to parenting"
"Revenge of the teens"
- which as we might have guessed seems to involve parenting gifted and troubled children.

and "Into the darkness" / "beyond the darkness"
- which seems to be more abuse based.

Im at work, so cant really hit up youtube, but based on the above, and Nigels site, it seems that he is involved heavily with "troubled" individuals. And as a psychologist, his focus does seem to be teenagers / early adults.

His theme for the current show seems to be "happiness" or at least the pursuit thereof.
His approach seems to be light hearted, but Im reserving judgement till I know more.

Happiness tends to lend itself to a perception of not having much potential for negative portrayal, but on spending a few mins thinking about it, I can see how it might be tweaked unfavorably (that said, Im a misanthrope)...

Some of us *cough* can be slightly socially awkward, and with this comes a certain level of paranoia. This does however not mean that we are not happy, just cautious.

lol, he joined a Steam Injected Band?!

stare

By Careyanne. 11/07/11, 08:16 am

Guys, relax!

It's a documentary about happiness and the pursuit of meaning in life. We're going to be interviewing a really broad range of people who are happy: young, old, bus drivers, nuns, cosplayers, altruists, superyacht owners...to see if we can pinpoint some common themes.

We're also interviewing some of the top scientists in the country (and replicating some famous experiments) about the biological markers for happiness.

If anyone shows an interest in being filmed cosplaying, and subsequently interviewed, I'll fill them in on my past work and that of Razor Films.

Frankly I just thought cosplaying sounded like awesome escapism and should be included.

Happy day, Careyanne.

By TinTango. 11/07/11, 08:22 am

Sounds interesting.
And my boss loves Nigel Latta!... though I haven't read any of his books.
Urgh- gotta run away and do some errands...
but what kind of timetable are you running on?
I'm kind of moving round the country at the moment, will you guys be shooting in
any particular location?

Oh wait... what am I gonna wear?
Anyway, will be back later to discuss! Very Happy

By Kitten Slave. 11/07/11, 08:25 am

Ok, I am placated for now. You dont sound too dodgy...
Wait and see what sort of reply you get once people have more time to read.
Dont be too formal, it will open far more doors - people on here are rather relaxed.

+1 endorsement from Tim!

nodnod

By **Tamoo**. 11/07/11, 08:32 am

I apologise if we sound hostile; It is only because whenever cosplayers are portrayed on screen it is usually to mock or make fun. i.e, 3 News' 'Freaks and Geeks'

By TinTango. 11/07/11, 08:34 am

^ 3 News! Oh that was bad. I wonder if the show going to be on 3?

By Careyanne. 11/07/11, 08:36 am

I normally like to keep my technology use to a minimum so thanks for the pointers Kitten Slave.

Tin Tango and others...we're shooting in August and September with a variety of dates to choose from, but I'm hoping to book it in (at least loosely) this week.

If there's a cosplay event in any of the main or semi-main centres, we'd try to get a crew out, but Auckland will be easiest.

If anyone is super keen to be involved, you can contact me on lounge at pl dot net.

Talk soon, Careyanne.

By CMKMStephens. 11/07/11, 09:42 am

I can't say I'm much of a Nigel Latta fan. The whole media popularism/infotainment thing is one that gets me with Latta dispensing 'common sense' against those shadowy PC oppressors and 'breast Nazi's'. Oh, and Sensing Murder Cosplay on telly 875635

This seems somewhat different from the other things he's done, but what kind of image is going to be portrayed? The general media just can't help themselves as per Tammy's example.

By Pyro. 11/07/11, 10:26 am

I'm a bit skeptical about this, like everyone else, but-- I think we have to be aware that at points in time like this, we're going to get media attention. While there is a certain degree of cautiousness that I think we should (and do) exhibit, I'm also wary of us just shying away from the press too much and creating a rift between them and us?

There is a huge discrepancy between a thoughtful look at cosplay and the lololol freeeeeks articles we've had in the past, yes. And asking questions is sensible to try and avoid any more negative portrayals. But, at the same time, maybe we could be a bit less quick to judge? I don't know. It's just a thought I had then that with how we act towards the media when they approach us these days, we might end up going down a worse road. We won't just be 'those wacky cosplayer folks', we'll be 'those wacky cosplayer folks that won't even open up and talk to people'.

I'm not leaping forward to do anything myself (my skills aren't exactly great and I don't want to drag the community down by showing up on TV with sub-par outfits and my derpy teenage mindset) but I think some of you guys could maybe be a bit less negative about this.

I don't know-- I guess the angle it sounds like this is taking gives me hopes that it could be better than the rest of the attention we've had. I'm a bit iffy about Nigel Latta myself, having seen some of his shows, but he can be a good host for some things so this could turn out to be okay.

By Kitten Slave. 11/07/11, 10:29 am

Yeah, we may come across a bit strong, but it is mostly because we have been burned a few times in the past by the media.
This not to say that every experience has been bad - Im sure the have been a few good articles about cosplay, but well, once bitten twice shy and all that...

sweatdrop

**Guest** Guest

unironically uprepping a pyro post, what you gonna do

By Static. 11/07/11, 11:22 am

Throwing in my two cents: I think TinTango would be a great representative for the community :)

By Mischa. 11/07/11, 11:38 am

^ I agree

By **JVCA**. 11/07/11, 11:43 am

Pyro summed up well what I wanted to say; I'll add that I'm quite disappointed that a few people have been (to put it bluntly) so rude. It is entirely possible to raise your concerns whilst remaining polite, and I had hoped that that was one of the things our forum was good at. sad

With that said;

@Careyanne: I believe I fill the criteria you're looking for. I'm a 20 year old third year Graphic Design student at AUT, with the intention of working in the industry full time next year. I work part time in retail at a large NZ chain store to support my hobbies, and am generally content in life. I'm unsure if it would be relevant to you but I suffered from clinical depression when I was younger, so I perhaps have a different viewpoint from the general populace on happiness.

...I'm also articulate and chatty. Razz

I have two questions though:
1) I am not planning on making any new costumes during the time of filming - is this a problem for you? I have plenty of pre-existing costumes & am willing to set up my workspace if 'making-of' shots are desired.
2) Would it be possible to view interview questions prior to the time of the interview and request changes if I feel a question puts our hobby or community into an ill light? (As you may have gathered, we're a bit cautious about media exposure and I don't want to commit to filming and then let you down by pulling out on the day because I am unhappy with the questions. :) )

@Thread: Thirding the TinTango motion. Very Happy

By Pura. 11/07/11, 11:45 am

I have to say, Nigel seems like a good guy to do it. He knows how to make something funny and unserious (that teen show) but he also knows how to do serious things like Beyond the Darklands.

I think because he's done both he knows how to react - he's a psychologist which means he understands all this stuff, so he also knows not to take the piss out of what we do - he's searching for happiness, why would would he make us look bad when it would do the opposite?

By Kitten Slave. 11/07/11, 12:09 pm

Somehow I suspected Jess might be on board for this, I just didnt want to put its name forward without consultation.

Jess and Tim, CNZ representatives.

whee

ps: Im horribly sick atm, so if I seem dreadfully grumpy, that would be why Razz

By **seraphik**. 11/07/11, 02:19 pm

agreeing with pyro here. obviously with this hobby comes publicity whether you like it or not, but if we have a chance to get some decent publicity out there i say we might as well take it.

i would nominate tim, jess and sylvie. :9 i myself wouldn't mind talking, but i'm way down in dunedin and too far away.

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