MegaCon Tampa Bay 2018: The Best Cosplay Music Video!

MegaCon Tampa Bay is the perfect "first convention" con here in central Florida; it's roughly half the size of MegaCon Orlando, not too big, not too small. A good range of celebrities, huge vendor room, family-friendly, lots of cosplay, AND it's held in my favorite convention center. John and I only had a few hours there each day last weekend, but it has a lovely relaxed vibe with just enough room for filming.

Oh that's right, I hope you're not tired of cosplay videos yet, gang, because we tried a couple new things this time and turned out so fun. EEEEEE!

So turn up your volume and get ready to grin - and maybe chair dance a little. If you can't turn up your sound then come back later to watch this; the music is ESSENTIAL, trust me. (Plus I'm addicted to this song now. Give it a chance, it's seriously so good.)

The intro makes me laugh every time; I love how he starts stab-dancing after the lady in pink, then kind of gives up at the end, lol.

I hope it shows that we went to the con with this song already in mind, plus a whole list of costumes to find to match up to certain words. It was like cosplay bingo, and even though we didn't find everything we hoped for, it added another awesome dimension to our weekend. (How many words & costume match-ups did you find? Some are pretty subtle.)

[UPDATE: For those asking, the song is Mighty and High by Can't Stop Won't Stop.]

John and I are still new at this, but I gotta tell you, I had a blast running around playing director. Lining up shots, suggesting poses, asking people to do or say certain things - and then being delighted when they busted out with something unexpected - it all brought another degree of joy to a thing I already love. The only downside was I had no time to take regular photos, so I'm afraid this video and a few phone shots are all you get.

[J9 Marie]

The remote-controlled BB-Hei Hei kept falling over flat on his face, and it was HYSTERICAL. Probably my favorite thing at the whole con, haha.

I overheard her saying those clear sections are made from dollar store bubble tubes! So smart.

[Olde Man Cosplay]

 These three are all readers:

[Batgirl: Merida Ann Cosplay]

 Also the 3 good fairies in the video at 2:33 are fellow FOE (and super sweet!) Check the video description on YouTube for more cosplayer credits: I've added all the ones I have for now, and will try to keep it updated.

[Blue Fairy: ColossalSmidgen]

I wish I could have gotten closer to these two for detail shots, because everything on them was stunning. They were obviously in high demand, though, so we could only take a few shots from behind other photographers, ha. They each had rhinestones all over their faces, and those flower skirts are amazeballs.

Getting back to the video: In addition to using a song with lyrics for the first time, John and I also tested out a new wide-angle lens. It required some trouble-shooting with our gimbal (we had to add a counter-weight to John's phone), but by Sunday we'd figured it out and managed to get some nice shots. Then last night we spent several hours together getting the edit right. The editing is still 85% John, but I help by making him change stuff at the 11th hour. :D

We ran into a handful of FOEs at the con - who are all in the video! - and even made a few new friends while out exploring the floor. (Exchanging business cards is totally the platonic version of getting someone's phone number, am I right? SCORE!) Cons are perfect for striking up a conversation with total strangers, and between me chasing down cosplayers and curious passers-by asking about our gimbal, John and I got to chat with dozens of awesome people.

I hope these made you smile! Our next convention isn't 'til December, but never fear: I still have lots more from Dragon Con pretties I'll be doling out between now and then.

******

Now, let's announce some art winners from my last post!

The winner of the Ariel print is Lindsay B.

The winner of the Baymax print is K-

And my wildcard winner is mel82178!

Congrats, you three, and please e-mail me your mailing addresses!