July 2021
Group Project - Group of 28 People
Role: Project Initiator, Project Management, cosplayer, Video editor, Promotion
Time Period: 6 months
Skills: Video Editing, Cosplay, Collaborating, Project Management, Problem Solving
A new form of cosplay emerged soon after the pandemic broke out – cosplay relay by video solitaire. It attracted my attention immediately as it’s a brilliant way to bring cosplayers together online, even if we can’t meet, or not living in the same city or country. I initiated a cosplay video relay project for my favorite comic ‘SamTalk’. I worked with 28 cosplayers, finished the final video, and released it right on plan. It became popular quickly on social - in just a few days the video got hundreds of retweets and comments on Weibo and almost 30,000 views on Bilibili (a top video platform in China). It even got watched by the Original author of the comic. Everyone was cheerful and felt proud of the result!
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Being a cosplayer myself, I know most people do cosplay as a hobby in their spare time, and lots of work are needed before the acting, such as preparation for the wig/costume/scene, etc. Their experience, readiness for the role, and time commitment to the project schedule are all critical.
As the initiator, I selected from the candidates carefully by doing 1.1 interviews to find the best player for each role, and left room for plot adjustments. Once the crew is formed, I set up a group chat to facilitate open communication, sharing good ideas and progress.
Instead of making all decisions by myself, I encouraged everyone to contribute their ideas, so they feel a strong sense of participation, and I received feedback from a cosplayer who joined several cosplay relays saying this project was her happiest experience.
PROBLEM SOLVING
Although I selected carefully the candidates and made sure they understand the requirements, there were still problems.
One of the cosplayer’s video was too short and they’re not willing to retake the video.
One cosplayer quit halfway.
One cosplayer never replies to my messages before deadline and they have not yet submitted their videos. The character is important and cannot be missed.
The author of the comic shared our video on their SNS
My solutions to these problems:
Tried video-editing, and communicated with the persons next to the cosplayer that they record longer videos to fill the gap.
Find understudies for the character, analyzed the importance of the character and prepared plan B for editing without the character.
Set a deadline for the cosplayer, asked whether anyone can substitute their role. In the end, I made wigs and props for the character and record myself.