Transcript Episode 8: Comikaze 2014 — “Cosplay Dreams 3D” Interview

Listen to the episode here.

(Intro music.)

Angie: Welcome to Geek Out with Angie Fiedler Sutton, an ongoing discussion on geeky topics.

In this episode, we continue the coverage of Stan Lee’s Comikaze, 2014 Edition. Cosplay is a large part of conventions nowadays, with even its own celebrities, such as Yaya Han. I talked with Christine Kasal Parascandolo and Gulliver Parascandolo, the executive producer and director of a new documentary called “Cosplay Dreams 3D.”

What inspired you wanting to do this piece?

Christine: Well, we had actually spent a few years shooting Comic-Con in 3D for, like, a news segment-style show, and we met so many cosplayers and really got introduced to this amazing community and we were so inspired by their stories and just their passion behind and the artistry, really, of all this. And so, we really had to dig in ourselves and understand what it was all about.

Gulliver: Yeah. it was being at Comic-Con— having the rare glimpse of a celebrity was one thing, but these cosplayers, they brought to life these characters from movies and films and comic books and video games that I really was excited to meet. I almost got some butterflies being with some of these really good cosplayers that brought characters to life that I had never had the chance to see in person. The combination of the craftsmanship— and as filmmakers, we can appreciate the art of costuming, what it takes to actually produce an illusion that’s so convincing and yet, you can walk around for three days at a convention with. And just the personalities of all the people behind it really just made us fall in love with the subject of cosplay.

Angie: Have either of you cosplayed at any time?

Christine: That’s a great question (laughter). Everyone always asks us that, but we don’t. we’ve always enjoyed Halloween, of course, and dressing up and getting creative with costumes, but I didn’t know what cosplay was— didn’t know it meant “costume play,” for example, like a lot of people, but I think it’s really becoming more of a worldwide phenomenon now and people are really catching on (laughs).

Gulliver: Yeah, the more and more that we talk about this film and we find people who actually cosplay that we would never expect— you know, the grocery clerk or a lawyer or an accountant that we meet. Everybody may not know the term “cosplay,” but as soon as you say, “Oh, the people that dress up at Comic-Con,” people instantly know what you’re talking about. And then they say, “Oh yeah, my brother does that.” It’s just amazing how prolific that this hobby is becoming and how it’s just an amazing sort of art form that the young people are learning so many crafts to do. They’re learning leatherwork, how to make chainmail, how to mold plastic into different shapes and helmets. It’s really a departure from the stereotypical thinking of the millennial generation as always on their phones, always behind a computer. These people are actually going out and creating things with their own hands and connecting with their colleagues and friends on a face-to-face level. It’s really inspiring and a really positive hobby.

Angie: Now, one of the latest big issues in cosplay is the whole “cosplay is not consent.” Does your documentary address that at all?

Gulliver: The interviews that we took did address how people use cosplay as a sense of expression, a chance to personify a side of themselves that they don’t normally get to do in their normal lives, and there was a few mentions about just because you’re wearing a sexy outfit doesn’t mean you want to get messed around with. But overall, what we heard from most cosplayers was it was just a completely positive experience, that the community at these conventions is very welcoming, understanding, and they respect each other. So, that didn’t come out of these interviews organically, and we had already finished filming by the time that issue kind of got mainstream.

Christine: I agree with him and we heard a lot of the cosplayers that we interviewed talked about how maybe perhaps they didn’t fit in in their “normal” lives, but the cosplay community has embraced them and accepted them and they feel like they’ve made their true friends in the cosplay community. So, our film really depicts that. It’s really a positive film because that’s generally what everyone was telling us. We didn’t really hear a lot of negativity. Of course, you get the big professional cosplayers like Yaya Han. She talks a little bit about getting some haters online and trolls and stuff, which is very common in really any industry these days — you put yourself online, you’re opening yourself up to that — but overall, it was just nothing but positivity about how this community has just embraced everybody.

Angie: How long have you been working on this movie?

Christine: We have been shooting this movie in 3D for the last two years. It’s been quite a journey (laughs). We’ve been to about 15 different conventions throughout Southern California, as well as Arizona. And…

Gulliver: And not only conventions but we were at a steampunk event on the Queen Mary, which really brought the culture of Victorian steampunk to life, being in that setting. We spent the night with a group of medieval knight reenactors as they battled to crown the new king of San Diego. We didn’t even know we had a king, but I guess we do and we filmed it. We definitely made the choice to film this in 3D after experienced shooting at Comic-Con but also the fact that this is in itself a 3D art The difference between seeing a picture of the statue of David versus standing in front of it, seeing the three-dimensional contours and the proportions on another level, it was what we thought was the best way to represent cosplay.

Angie: And I’m assuming since you’re here promoting it, you’re fairly close to being done?

Gulliver: Well, we have some exciting news to announce: we are the headlining film for the Los Angeles 3D Film Festival, December 6. So, that will be our world premiere of “Cosplay Dreams” and the end of a journey but the beginning of another one, I’m sure.

(Outro music.)

And that’s Geek Out’s latest take on Stan Lee’s Comikaze, 2014 Edition. For more information about “Cosplay Dreams 3D,” visit cosplaydreams3D.com.

Thanks for listening to Geek Out with Angie Fiedler Sutton. The theme song is “Schoolyard Haze” by Jari Pitkanen, available via the Free Music Archive. The podcast is recorded in partnership with Sci-Fi For Me Radio and released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license. Links for more information on all this are available on angiefsutton.com.