Costume modelling video filming issues

For a while, I have occasionally spent the time to film short videos of myself modelling a costume to embed in my costume hire website on the details pages. Below are some of the interesting issues that I encountered.

My costume videos are meant to show the costume and some movement but be short without being too short or too long.
I start the camera, walk into the target area, slowly turn around, sometimes do other movements depending on the character portrayed and then walk back.

1. Lighting
   Having proper lighting is important, but not everyone has the finance or space to set up proper lighting. Having lights behind the object in the video is a major problem. Whenever I try to film in my small space, I tend to get lights causing problems.
   
2. Background
   Having a less colourful background helps to show a costume. Preferably a bright colour. In my case, I only have a dark sheet that I hang up and it does not cover the entire background.
   
3. Bumping into things
   My filing space is small due to costumes and I cannot really film outside at night. Sometimes I bump into things while filming, especially with the big mascot costumes. Keeping the floor clear around the camera helps a lot when you wear a costume with big feet and head.
   
4. Cutting off body parts
   It helps to take photos ahead of filming to test the camera zoom and aim. Even with the photo, there is a chance of cutting off body parts because of location change during movement in the target area. Sometimes, the head is just too close to the picture edge.
   
5. Retakes
   If you need to retake the video, then do so. Last night, I filmed a mascot costume and ended up doing the filming six times. This was because of cutting off parts, bumping into things and messing up a bit during movement. Mascot costumes make this particularly difficult because of the size, heat and lack of sight.
   
6. Time required
   It takes a lot longer to film than you would expect. Starting with setting up lighting, background, camera, test photos and then finally putting on a costume. Just simply switching between costumes takes time. After that, it is a matter of getting the correct zoom setting for the camera again. Editing, uploading and embedding the video also takes time.
   
7. Video editing
   Get a video editor that allows you to mute the sound or replace the soundtrack. Do some of the early editing using your camera. The video quality output is also important. Some editors make it difficult to embed a logo in a corner. For embedded videos, you do not really want an intro or outro.

Costume renting price increase due to losses

Due to costumes not being returned and people not responding on the phone numbers given, all costume and mask renting fees will be adjusted after the next upcoming annual event. This is to be able to recover from losses. The booking form will also request more details plus a possible approval system.

Easter weekend bunny costumes

According to my count, I have eleven bunny costumes for Easter. It seems like that everyone wants to have the deluxe edition even when they know it gets too hot. Probably just because of the name. A lot of people also consider their costume booking for bunny suits urgent with no regard for other urgent bookings by other people. This selfish behaviour causes me some problems if they decide to not return the costume on time or to collect too early. With the too early part they at least cannot get it if it is still out. What does not help is if people just do not bother reading the opening hours and just assume the opening times.

Twitter and Facebook icons

After a very long time, a Twitter acocunt has finalyl been created. Icons for both Twitter and Facebook are now also at the top of the website. An RSS news feed icon is expected soon as well. Three new Sea Captain Uniform costumes have been added to the collection and one Superman costume has been retired.

The Flamjangled Tea Party

The weekend of 18 to 20 March 2011 will have the annual Flamjangled Tea Party. I have never been to the event, but according to my sources it is more or less like a huge costume party over two days. There will be different smaller events happening at the main event, including different DJs, bands, etc. According to one of my sources, it is the best party of the year.

New Cinderella and nurse costumes plus vacation

Recently one new Cinderella and one new nurse costume have arrived. Models are needed to show properly how they look. The photos are very important for most people based on verbal discussions and website statistics, as well as the long range bookings from other towns and cities.

Going to be on vacation from 23rd December 2010 until 6 January 2011. Only reachable by SMS during that time period.

Couples costume suggestions and costume booking page received updates

Very much long overdue updates in regards to displaying current costume bookings have been set up on the costume booking page as well on the couple's suggestions page. Various people have been asking about this, so it became more urgent to get done. Hopefully this will be of use to somebody.

Website updates

Part of the ongoing website improvements, the costumes are now grouped alphabetically by their character and then by name. This should keep differently named costumes of the same character together for easier viewing. Other changes coming soon.

Over time there will be new photos added which were photographed and edited by Darren Gwynn. An example of this is the black leather Elvis costume.

Plans are being made for a different way to select costumes instead of just having to select by category. This is for those who need a costume for a certain date and then want to filter the list to see what is available.

Sponge Bob costume upgrade

Recently my Sponge Bob costume has received new arms, yellow legs (finally) and feet that are less baggy and keep their shape better. Getting these new parts was not cheap, but it was worth it. If needed, costume performer service will be available on weekends for children's birthdays. Planning ahead of time will be needed for the character.

Various adult sized Barney costume requests

Lately, there seem to be more requests for adult purple Barney the dinosaur costumes even though there is no official adult sized costume available. There are children sizes, but that does not help the many desperate parents who want Barney to appear for the birthday of their children.

Matieka 2010 costume party at end of July

The annual costume party at the German Karneval, Matieka is happening in Stellenbosch. Tickets are limited to 600 because of space and they are pre-book only. The address of the event is the Van Der Stel Sportsclub which is more or less opposite the police station in the CBD.

More details can be found at the Facebook Matieka Group.

Costume booking statistics from Google Maps

Recently, I have added my details to www.alibaba.com like many others did and checked today if I got any traffic from there using Google Analytics. There was no traffic yet. To my surprise, the based on the highest percentage in regards to costume bookings have come the most from Google maps which I was not expecting at all.

New website updates

Lately I have been working on a new details page on my costume renting website. The changes are not live yet, but are part of paving the way to the new layout changes that are being planned.

The new details page will display details about a costume/mask/cape like what the current listing shows, but it will also show details such as popularity as well as current bookings and already has a section that displays thumbnails from the gallery section.

Per costume in the search results list, there will be new links for details, gallery and booking form. Each of these pages will also have those links.

Another new plan for the future is a step by step costume finding system for those people looking for something based on their size and availability with various filtering options to present choices of what they can possibly wear. This in turn then links to the details of the costumes again.

What to do in a mascot costume at a children's birthday

This is based on being in a mascot costume that does not have a cooling fan inside. Being in a full body covering costume can and will get hot in any case after a while. Having to perform for children, which involves moving around a lot, can cause even more heat issues.

Of the several times that I have been in mascot costumes at birthdays, the activities mostly included being there just for the looks and for photos. At times it was also taking part in games or just walking around as well as handing out gifts. There is of course the risk that younger children can get a fright, so being aware of it and backing back a bit is then required. Worst case scenario and last resort would be to take the head off to show the children that there is a human person underneath before putting it back on. This obviously breaks the entire illusion of the effect. Staying around for too long will also wear off the novelty, plus the extreme heat the whole time inside the costume can cause quite a loss of body fluids through sweating.

Usually for event activities it helps if the event organisers (usually parents), have some plan of what the person in the costume is supposed to do with a rough time schedule. The exact starting time is not always important, mostly the duration due to reasons mentioned above. Events can fall apart if children are doing all kinds of things and due to attention span, it does not help if there is some long or complex demonstration going on.

Finally not to forget, leaving and entering the place where an event is being held without children actually seeing the costume parts. This might cause nightmares for some and is also an illusion breaker.

Free Comic Book Day 2010 results

The annual Free Comic Book Day at the Readers Den Comic Book Shop in Claremont was quite successful, but there were a bit less people than in the previous year. It seems like all other various types of events that also took place also had less visitors from what I have been told by various people.

This year there were five people in costume for the event, plus several fans that also came dressed up. There were also the usual two prize draws. The second prize draw had numbers in different colours. The fans at least got lots of comic books, comic drawing books, T-shirts, action figures and posters as well as a decent collection of free comics that were grabbed up quickly.

In Spider-Man costume for two weekends

This coming Saturday and the next Saturday, I will be in a Spider-Man costume. This coming Saturday is one hour for a children's birthday and the following Saturday is several hours for the annual Free Comic Book Day at the Readers Den in Stadium on Main in Claremont. Obviously during those times my costume renting business will be closed.

Free Comic Book Day 2010 coming up

The next Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) at the Readers Den in Claremont in Stadium on Main will be here on 1 May 2010. It looks like there will be up to five people in costume for the event, plus the usual fans that also dress up. In previous years there were spot prizes for those that bothered to dress up. There is a promotion running this year about half price for that event specifically.

Requests for Barney costumes

There are still a lot of really desperate parents who are looking for adult sized Barney costumes for the birthdays of their little ones. The problem being that nobody is allowed to have a Barney costume and even purple dinosaur costumes that look very remotely similar are apparently not even allowed. A dinosaur costume is a dinosaur costume. Anything that humans wear will look fairly similar because of walking on two legs instead of four. The fact that nobody has purple dinosaur costumes or does have and is not allowed to rent it out, makes parents even more desperate and frustrated. In the end, parents might end up hating Barney just alone for this reason.

Costume booking misunderstandings

It seems that there are always one or two people that do not seem to understand that when there is already a booking for a specific costume by someone else, that the costume will not miraculously be available for them or duplicate itself. Then they do not like to hear that a costume is not available and are determined to say that it is. When they still do not like the fact that the costume has been booked by someone else weeks or even months before the time, then they get angry. My website clearly shows which costume has bookings for when and includes collection and return dates. There is not way it can be made even simpler. If some people cannot use common sense, I cannot really help them.

New devil/vampire costume for women and cloak

On Friday, I got hold of a really nice vampire dress which could also be used for a devil costume for women. With that came an extra collar made of some slightly harder material to stand upright. I also got a cloak with it that is red on the inside and black on the outside.