Re: [h-cost] CC27 historical judge talks about documentation
At 05:42 PM 5/6/2009, you wrote: Do I need compulsive documentation? No. If you don't have any documentation, and if you're doing a period the judges know a lot about anyway (or is commonly done), and if your presentation is good and your construction is right up there, you stand a chance to get an award. You just can't get a doc award without docs. And you might lose out to another entry just as good as yours where the fact that they had docs and you didn't was the tie-breaker. This can be very important. I've judged two Historic masquerades. We had an fabulous entry in one of them that would have been a contender for Best in Show, except the entrant had no documentation. One third of score was eliminated, removing the contestant from consideration from Best in Show. The entry did take major awards in both Workmanship and Presentation. But without documentation it could not be considered for Best in Show. Pierre Those Who Fail to Learn History Are Doomed to Repeat It; Those Who Fail To Learn History Correctly - Why They Are Simply Doomed. Achemdro'hm The Illusion of Historical Fact -- C. Y. 4971 Andromeda ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
Re: [h-cost] CC27 historical judge talks about documentation
Every set of historical judges will be different, but without your docs they can't tell how well you did, and they'd just be guessing how well you knew your stuff. Do I need compulsive documentation? No. If you don't have any documentation, and if you're doing a period the judges know a lot about anyway (or is commonly done), and if your presentation is good and your construction is right up there, you stand a chance to get an award. You just can't get a doc award without docs. And you might lose out to another entry just as good as yours where the fact that they had docs and you didn't was the tie-breaker. This can be very important. I've judged two Historic masquerades. We had an fabulous entry in one of them that would have been a contender for Best in Show, except the entrant had no documentation. One third of score was eliminated, removing the contestant from consideration from Best in Show. The entry did take major awards in both Workmanship and Presentation. But without documentation it could not be considered for Best in Show. ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
Re: [h-cost] CC27 historical judge talks about documentation
Hi Kayta, May I put your article on my website? I think it was very well done, and a good resource for historical costumers. Happy sewing, Deb Salisbury The Mantua-Maker Designer and creator of quality historical sewing patterns Renaissance to Victorian Now available: Elephant's Breath and London Smoke: Historical Colors, Names, Definitions Uses www.mantua-maker.com http://mantua-maker-patterns.blogspot.com - See my Color of the Day ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
Re: [h-cost] CC27 historical judge talks about documentation
Sure. BTW, if you're the same Deb Salisbury who designed the wizard tabard I wore in Costume Maker's Art, now my 21-year-old has started making one. On Thu, May 7, 2009 at 8:41 PM, Deb Salisbury, the Mantua-Maker d...@mantua-maker.com wrote: Hi Kayta, May I put your article on my website? I think it was very well done, and a good resource for historical costumers. ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
[h-cost] CC27 historical judge talks about documentation
I was a historical judge at CC27, and I think I promised somebody a judge's eye view report afterward. In addition, as I told the contestants and audience Sunday night, I will answer specific questions on the results. The first is the perennial question about entering in the first place. Why should I enter the Historical Masquerade? I'm shy, I don't think my outfit is really good, and I get stage fright (and I don't want to have the stress of losing). If any of the above applies, enter Not For Competition. This lets the judges have a break from the stress of judging* and gives you the chance to show your outfit off to everyone, not just those lucky few why happen to see you walk by. (I hardly saw any of the Con, and only went to the two panels I was schedule to do.) It also gives you free stage practice. It also lets you show off something only folks on the opposite coast have seen. It also lets you show off something that has already won a prize someplace else. *(Yeah, it's stressful judging presentation. We have mere seconds to make our stage-award decisions, then we have to clear our minds completely for the next entry. For example, the first entry up this year, Jennifer Lima's Anne Bolyn, gave us goosebumps, all three judges. Then we had to get over it and move on to the next one. Really good presentation, and it wasn't easy for us.) As for the rest of the judging process, there are three aspects of a historical costume that can be judged, and they're all important. These are the research (aka the docs), the execution (aka Workmanship), and the presentation. A Best in Show will score high in all three of these, even if another entry scores higher in one than they do. Part 1 of my observations is about the documentation. Do I need compulsive documentation? No. If you don't have any documentation, and if you're doing a period the judges know a lot about anyway (or is commonly done), and if your presentation is good and your construction is right up there, you stand a chance to get an award. You just can't get a doc award without docs. And you might lose out to another entry just as good as yours where the fact that they had docs and you didn't was the tie-breaker. If I don't need documentation, why bother doing it? The real purpose of submitting docs is to show the judges how well you did what you did. (You've already done the research, haven't you?) It gives judges something to compare with. It also expands the range of what you can do, in that if a judge doesn't know your period well your docs should give them enough education that they can see you did it right. (This is especially useful if you're doing an Anime costume for a SF Masquerade, where the judges may never have seen your show before.) What really needs to be in those docs? Show the judges what you're trying to do, so they can see how well you did it. Use primary sources whenever possible (secondary, etc, only when you have to), and back up any one source with another if you can. Document everything you did, and provide footnotes for each. Think term paper (not Doctoral Thesis). Justify any changes from original practice. If you can't afford the real thing, or it is unobtainable now, document what the real thing was and what you did instead. It is a mark of your costuming skill if you found a good substitute, and costuming skill is what is being judged here, not budget. This is our hobby, and you shouldn't be penalized for not being fabulously wealthy. Likewise, making or finding good substitutes take more costuming skill than buying perfect antiques does. If you don't want to do workmanship judging, your docs should include an image or two of everything that doesn't show from on stage. Have one shot of each whole garment and one close-up of the coolest detail. Document any period skill you learned for this outfit. This might include dying, weaving, period embroidery stitches, fabric painting, etc. Again, it is a mark of your skill if you did the work instead of buying a substitute. What can I leave out of my docs? Don't bother with the whole journal of how you made the garments. Show one image of you doing the hand sewing if you must, but historical judges will believe you did the hand sewing they see if you say you did it. And don't snow the judges with 20 examples where a few will do - they'll only compare yours to the ones that look most like it, so the others are unnecessary. Presenting your docs in what looks like a period manner is a nice touch (Anne Bolyn's docs came wrapped in parchment folded in a period way, and sealed in wax with a 'B' imprinted in it), but avoid getting cute unless your presentation is supposed to be funny. This is especially the case if the judges think you're using cute to cover for lack of content. My docs this year would have been a total of 32 Xeroxed sheets (for the SF Masquerade, and my entry had to scratch) stuffed into a binder with my name on it and
Re: [h-cost] CC27 historical judge talks about documentation
Thanks so much for taking the time to explicate. This was my first CostumeCon. Don't know when, or if, I will go to another, but am toying with the idea of entering the historical masquerade, if I do attend another. Ann Wass **Big savings on Dell’s most popular laptops. Now starting at $449! (http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100126575x1221827510x1201399090/aol?redir=http:%2F%2Fad.doubleclick.net%2Fclk%3B214663377%3B36502382%3Bh) ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
Re: [h-cost] CC27 historical judge talks about documentation
I've got at least two more parts of this, one on workmanship and another on presentation. With all the help I got when I was a complete newbie, it's at least time I gave some back. On Wed, May 6, 2009 at 4:26 PM, annbw...@aol.com wrote: Thanks so much for taking the time to explicate. This was my first CostumeCon. Don't know when, or if, I will go to another, but am toying with the idea of entering the historical masquerade, if I do attend another. ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
Re: [h-cost] CC27 historical judge talks about documentation
Quoting Käthe Barrows kay...@gmail.com: I've got at least two more parts of this, one on workmanship and another on presentation. With all the help I got when I was a complete newbie, it's at least time I gave some back. I can't wait to see the rest of it -- I've already printed the first part out. susan/ jerusha - Susan Farmer sfar...@goldsword.com Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Division of Science and Math http://www.goldsword.com/sfarmer/Trillium/ ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
Re: [h-cost] CC27 historical judge talks about documentation
I'm not the ultimate right answer, and the exact rules change slightly with every masquerade. But I'll be spending time on those other parts tonight. On Wed, May 6, 2009 at 8:40 PM, Susan Farmer sfar...@goldsword.com wrote: Quoting Käthe Barrows kay...@gmail.com: I've got at least two more parts of this, one on workmanship and another on presentation. With all the help I got when I was a complete newbie, it's at least time I gave some back. I can't wait to see the rest of it -- I've already printed the first part out. susan/ jerusha - Susan Farmer sfar...@goldsword.com Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Division of Science and Math http://www.goldsword.com/sfarmer/Trillium/ ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume -- Carolyn Kayta Barrows -- Blank paper is God's way of saying it ain't so easy being God. -- ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
Re: [h-cost] CC27 historical judge talks about documentation
Quoting Käthe Barrows kay...@gmail.com: I'm not the ultimate right answer, and the exact rules change slightly with every masquerade. But I'll be spending time on those other parts tonight. It looks to me like it would be useful in all areas of competition -- not just the Costume Con Msquerade. Is it always the same weekend every year? Maybe one of these years I'll get to go! Susan/ jerusha - Susan Farmer sfar...@goldsword.com Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Division of Science and Math http://www.goldsword.com/sfarmer/Trillium/ ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
Re: [h-cost] CC27 historical judge talks about documentation
It looks to me like it would be useful in all areas of competition -- not just the Costume Con Msquerade. I've done a little F/SF judging and I agree. The F/SF masquerade often requires research, always requires presentation, and sometimes also has a workmanship judge. Is it always the same weekend every year? Nope. Maybe one of these years I'll get to go! I only went last year because it was local to me, and this year because I did a world-class job of finagling my finances. I hadn't been to one before that since my 25-year-old was 7. ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
Re: [h-cost] CC27 historical judge talks about documentation
Quoting Käthe Barrows kay...@gmail.com: It looks to me like it would be useful in all areas of competition -- not just the Costume Con Msquerade. I've done a little F/SF judging and I agree. The F/SF masquerade often requires research, always requires presentation, and sometimes also has a workmanship judge. Is it always the same weekend every year? Nope. Maybe one of these years I'll get to go! I only went last year because it was local to me, and this year because I did a world-class job of finagling my finances. I hadn't been to one before that since my 25-year-old was 7. I've never been -- but just reading all the journal entries makes me want to go! :-) Susan - Susan Farmer sfar...@goldsword.com Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Division of Science and Math http://www.goldsword.com/sfarmer/Trillium/ ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
Re: [h-cost] CC27 historical judge talks about documentation
Go next year Susan, I am. And I would love to meet you. Go here for more info. http://www.cc28.org/ Kimiko Who still has to buy a membership, but I am going. --- On Wed, 5/6/09, Susan Farmer sfar...@goldsword.com wrote: I've never been -- but just reading all the journal entries makes me want to go! :-) Susan ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
