General Karaoke Suggestions

[val]

I was a judge for the auditions and the event and I have a lot of ideas on how we can improve karaoke for next year to make it better for both the participants and the judges.

I think the auditions will have to stay in place, but I would like to see more organization imposed on the actual audition process, including a set time limit and a formal announcement of the criteria/requirements to the performers FAR in advance.

It's only fair to you to know what you're being judged on and this may help you understand the results. Because we don't have an infinite amount of time, it is necessary to cap the amount of people auditioning and the length of their songs both to insure fair judging (unfortunately we don't have infinite attention spans) and to get the results out faster so that the performers can prepare.

Professional auditions do have time caps on songs for this reason. Some people noticed this and requested to have their songs fast forwarded to the parts they felt were most important and we were happy to oblige!

Auditions don't mean that some people don't get to participate in karaoke, you are still free to do open-mic or general karaoke at any time. For the sake of the audience and the judges, however, it is important to keep the actual contest at a reasonable length. For next year, I think it would be wise to go with 12-15 final contestants rather than 22.

During the performance, the sound technicians did have filters on the recorded vocalist, but they seemed to work better for some songs than others. We can target this problem and see what we can do about it for next year. Also, it would be nice if we had a basic library of anime/jpop songs available for people to choose from if they didn't bring music when they came to audition, but I'm not sure if this is feasible (?).

It was really a privilege to see all of you perform and I'd like to thank everyone who participated. Please don't feel discouraged if you didn't perform in the contest. If you just want to have fun and rock the stage without the audition process, go for the open mic or general karaoke sessions!

[Radien]

Thanks Val, I really appreciated your last-minute agreement to judge. It seemed your post marked a very clear dividing line, so I took the opportunity to split it into its own topic. This new thread can be directed at the general public, rather than just karaoke performers.

I have my own comments, but it's quite late, so I'll save them for tomorrow or after a few other people have posted.

[EcchiSpice]

I'm very glad to see another person posting my exact feelings on the Kareoke event.  I, too, feel that there should be a solid base library for the contestants, and that there should be limitations on the amount of participants. Its also important to streamline this event to make it go well. People need to know who is doing what. In the case of the open mic, no one did.

To this end (and I'm realizing I may be repeating myself to anyone who was at the meeting in Portland):
-I have offered to create a base collection of anime related music and other Japanese fare.
-I am willing to create any songs that can't be found in kareoke format into said format
- I would like to have people let me know ahead of time what they would like to have available, whether or not you would participate on the contestant level

I believe that the key to a well formatted contest is organization BEFORE the contest takes place. This would mean a sort of pre-registration (not ommiting last minute entries), through the website and emails if possible. This would ensure that a song would be available and easily accessible, removing the scratched/lost disc problem. Auditions would still be a must, simply because of amount of interest, and people could still use there own discs and the voice fader if need be. The point is, all of this would be known before hand.

I am very passionate about this venture, and would really like the support and encouragement of anyone with a stake in this program.

Please let me know what you think.

(FYI: I am also volleying for a staff appointment (not one of the major elected positions), though nothing is sure until after the election.)

[SailorNaboo]

I think Karaoke is getting really big and perhaps there can be more than one contest.  (Just thinking out loud here....feedback appriciated.

Maybe a "singing a Japanese song" (Japanese Idol Star) type competition for one.

Then maybe a Karaoke/Cosplay hybrid competition where the Japanese song/lyrics could be relaxed a little bit if it really worked with how the characters were dressed and acting.  (I'd add the Filks in here).

This would make for each competition being shorter (I'd start it earlier and then have some open Mic in between each contest while the judges debated the winners for the first section).  The judges could come out and give out the awards when they were ready, but open mic would continue for a set amount of time.   (start at 6, 2 hours of open mike, then start the second contest at 9:30-10...).  Different MCs for each event in case it's too much for one person.

Thoughts?

[Radien]

That's definitely a good possibility if it's in demand. I mean, I'm all for the expansion of karaoke and the addition of a new event, if we get sufficient people to help organize and run that second event alongside the coordinator... but karaoke would have to check with Programming to make sure that such an expansion would be something they'd be willing to allot time, space, and use of equipment.

Having a cosplay/karaoke hybrid sounds like a creative idea... it would offer a very easy answer for people who want to sing in costume, but aren't sure whether their performance best belongs in cosplay or karaoke.

But what would J-Rock costumers be encouraged to do?... Whichever they want, or direct them to one or the other so they don't enter both (particularly not with the same song)? I'm not mentioning J-Pop because I have yet to see any J-Pop costumes; J-Rock is by far the most popular non-anime Japanese costume type out there.

[EcchiSpice]

Quick suggestion:
A singular audition where the judges decide which competition best suites the singer? The judges being the organizers of each paticular event?

[SailorNaboo]

Quick suggestion:
A singular audition where the judges decide which competition best suites the singer? The judges being the organizers of each paticular event?

Great Suggestion!  We can make it pretty clear on the web site about which contest is which, but we could also use the audition to move someone would be more suited for the other area.  And both Karaoke people would need to work well together and really understand the "vision" for his or her specific competition.

I'm running for Director of Programming and the elections are a week from today (October 10th).  This is something that I'd like to move forward with if I'm elected to the position (that and having more available time for Karaoke for the fun of it).  To anyone reading the thread, if these are the kind of events you would like to see for Kumoricon 2005, please come out next Sunday to vote!

Beth

*****
It does bring up a question.  Can someone do both?  My gut feeling is to say that depending on the number of people that enter, perhaps.  I'm just tossing out ideas to be discussed here, not carving rules in stone.

If the "Idol Singer" type competition is full and the person makes it into that, but is also part of a group for a more "presentation based" competition and that group makes it too, yes.  If they are doing a solo in both and we are having to cut people in both, I would have them pick one or the other, so in that case, no.  If they make the "Idol Singer" and no one needs to be cut from the skit based competition and they are doing a solo presentation based piece, yes, they can do both as long as the presentation based entry isn't just a chance to sing another song.  It would need to be a Filk or maybe being in character singing an English song to another character (maybe altering the words a bit to make that clear?)

[Ruriko]

Eeps, I should have posted the most of my comments in here instead of in the other thread.... :oops:

I love the idea of having 2 separate sessions, separated by a few hours of open mic.  That'll free up a lot more time for people who want to briefly check out other events, or maybe get up and let their buttcheeks thaw out...>_>

Yesyes!  I also love the idea that there might be subcategories in your kareoke contest.  As far as I follow:  English lyrics >  Japanese Lyrics > Presentation/Dance (Like the Sailor Senshi) > Filk.  Maybe best in division is a bit too strung out, but it may be handy to group them that way in the two time slots that you're kicking around for next year:  That way those wanting to hear Filks, or see Dances can be sure to be there appropriately.

I'm really stuck on the idea of having more judges...or even if you could swing it somehow, let the audience judge...but the sound meter thing that they use at other Cons isn't very reliable...and I suppose on paper voting isn't practical.  *sigh*  

Just a thought.

-ko

[Radien]

Eeps, I should have posted the most of my comments in here instead of in the other thread.... :oops:

That's okay. This thread was dead until Beth gave it CPR.

I love the idea of having 2 separate sessions, separated by a few hours of open mic.  That'll free up a lot more time for people who want to briefly check out other events, or maybe get up and let their buttcheeks thaw out...>_>

One problem with that: 2 hour contest + 2 hours open mic + 2 hour contest = half a day, minimum. Meaning we probably would have the contests on separate days.

However, is this really a problem? My instinct tells me no. It just means karaoke across multiple days. Hey, it worked well for karaoke room.

I'm really stuck on the idea of having more judges...or even if you could swing it somehow, let the audience judge...but the sound meter thing that they use at other Cons isn't very reliable...and I suppose on paper voting isn't practical.  *sigh*

We were lacking in the judging department because I was utterly clueless as to how to find them. I know musically-experienced people -- plenty of them -- but my networking capability within anime fandom is virtually non-existant. Our judges did a good job, but they were last-minute finds.

As for audience voting, I quote agree with the innacuracy thing if you're talking about an actual person acting as the "sound meter." Even a device might not be very accurate.

Actually, I think Sailor Naboo was responsible for this idea as well, but she suggested something called "post-it note voting:" First, we number post-it notes and hand them out to the audience. Then, we line up all the performers, seated in marked chairs, to show the audience who's who without making them remember names. People make a note of where their favorite performer was sitting, then go up to that chair and stick a post-it note to it.

The numbered post-its would be to prevent the unlikely issue of voting fraud. If any number is seen twice, or if an unexpected number turns up, it is discounted. We could also manage this by using a staff Kumori Con stamp on each note. We plan on having unique stamps next year which are available for official use only.

[hikaru_maxwell]

Another suggestion I'd like to make.....better scheduling. As an audience member of the Karaoke, I opted to leave before it was through because I wanted to go to the Anime Dating Game. Hopefully next year, the two events won't be held at the same time. ^_^

[SailorNaboo]

I'm really stuck on the idea of having more judges...or even if you could swing it somehow, let the audience judge...but the sound meter thing that they use at other Cons isn't very reliable.

-ko

I'm ready to go witha system for "Audience Choice" for Cosplay at Sakura Con and that is a 1000 person audience.  I haven't announced it on the Sakura boards yet, so you are getting a little pre-announcement.

I'm confident an Audience Choice can be done ballot sytle with enough volunteers available at the right time.

[Purishira]

Is there an age limit to take part in kareoke? =3 I've always wanted to sing Super Drive (the opening theme to Gravitation)...although i'll be a Misha cosplayer... O.o

And thanks for posting a thread like this. =D

[Negima]

Another suggestion I'd like to make.....better scheduling. As an audience member of the Karaoke, I opted to leave before it was through because I wanted to go to the Anime Dating Game. Hopefully next year, the two events won't be held at the same time. ^_^

Oddly enough, I was the other way around.  I went to the dating game and wanted to see the karaoke contest as well.

[Radien]

Purishima:

Nope, we have even had a "junior performer" category before at both Kumori Con and Sakura Con. No age limits; just get up there and sing!

Re: Dating Game:

Yeah, I'm sure other people wanted to see both, too. At bigger cons, they sometimes purposely schedule popular events opposite of eachother due to overcrowding issues. This wasn't necessarily why it was done that way in 2004. Depending on our venue next year, we may be able to have fewer simultaneous events. That's partially up to Programming.

[Teh Becca]

Is there an age limit to take part in kareoke? =3 I've always wanted to sing Super Drive (the opening theme to Gravitation)...although i'll be a Misha cosplayer... O.o

And thanks for posting a thread like this. =D

woah!

I was just considering singing that song. O__o;

Ah well, I could always stick with Dejimon... which is what I was considering doing anyway...