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Fiddling Steve and I entered this competition with one purpose. We didn’t enter the competition to try to gain fame, to better theory11, or prove anything. We entered to win. We realized that if we could put part of ourselves into the video - show everyone our personalities, that we would be different. Rather than pretending to be mysterious and underground we took you with us on our day in the city. Along the way several strange things happened, such as a cab driver telling me that the card I produced in his window was his, the random man walking up to me asking about how I threw cards so far, and more that couldn’t be shown.

We had a good time sharing each other’s company and hope that those watching can appreciate this. It is a true rarity in this world to find a fellow flourisher who lives in such close proximity. Add to this, a true camaraderie and the number suddenly drops to single digits. We understood this – it greatly improved our odds. If we could perform moves that utilize the two of us, we would enter into unchartered territories. Surely a panel of judges would appreciate two person moves in a collaboration competition, right? Well…one would think so.

Don’t take this the wrong way; the F501 video was truly an eye-popping work of cinematography. I have the upmost respect for you guys and wish you all luck in the future, although you really don’t need it. What troubles me about the results is the grading system. It seems fair. You look for videos that contain quality, originality, creativity, and a certain something. Naturally the last quality is somewhat gray; there’s no way to concretely explain what makes something “pop.” However, for the other three, there most certainly are. Theory11, you want to be the best forum, store, media center? Learn from those who have had contests before you. Handlordz, the originators of the so called “Battle”, created a system that declared a winner without any doubt. Like a teacher grading a paper, a rubric was designed that graded each portion of the video. This ensured the fairest results.

What happened was, you told us that our video had the best material. Dave Buck said himself that had this been a shorter video, we would have won – hands down. This puts a slightly bitter taste in my mouth. Let me verify for a second that this is in fact a collaboration contest. Were we not meant to create a video that utilized two or more people? What Steve and I did was perform moves that none of the other contestants thought of performing. We collaborated not only during the video, but in the very moves; performing cut sequences in time, transferring packets mid cut, and pulling cards from each others springs. Is this not what you were looking for? These moves had more originality than other groups – they had never been seen, they were devised in a Pinkberry. They were more creative. We saw the collaboration as a challenge and tried to create moves that would best show the teamwork. Quality you said was top-notch. So what then was the issue?

It seems this gray area has reared its ugly head. The intangible “wow factor” seems to have made the ultimate difference. So it was the style? I’m sorry that Steve and I stayed true to who we are. We aren’t mysterious. We’re two unassuming guys who can do some pretty neat stuff with cards. For us to make a video where we aren’t running around doing ridiculous things and generally having a good time would be ridiculous. It would be like the Bucks donning cloaks because it’s the cool thing to do at the time. I think that what many of us may have lost sight of, is the simple fact that what we are doing is playing with cards.

I’m not asking for a recount, an explanation, or an apology, because I don’t expect any. I just want people to see that flourishing doesn’t have to be so serious. Feel free to perform the way you want. With time, people will appreciate what you’re doing. Who knows, YOU may even get to be 3rd place in a contest somewhere!

-Adam

Without further ado… it was difficult for us to judge each of these videos. Our panel spent several hours this weekend going through each video individually, making notes as we went through. Overall, we were blown away by the quality and quantity of submissions, and we will continue to do more contests like it in the coming weeks, months, and years.

The judges’ choices were unanimous. The top three winners are listed below, from third place to first. Some of our judges’ notes on each are included as well:

THIRD PLACE :: 48dumplings by Adam & Steve

Dave Buck: I loved this video, but then I started to really hate it. Why? I felt like it was lengthy. You guys have mad skills, no doubt. However, I believe videos like these, since they don’t create emotion like film, should at least leave you wishing for more. You guys did a great job, but you handed us the full experience, 100%, which became boring and wonderless. There are some really amazing, one of a kind, moments in this video, in fact, pieces of this video were so good, that I guarantee if it were recut to under two minutes, it would be first place with a rating way above any other. It’s like David Williamson always says, “only give them 40%”, and I doubt he’s just talking about magic.

RichardZ: I loved the feel to the video at the beginning. Some very great moves in here too, and loved that they made it into downtown New York. A lot of great moves in the beginning, and I liked how they got other people out on the streets to come talk to them as well. What really set this video apart was the great collaboration moves they had together. Of course not everybody was lucky enough to have an opportunity to do this, so I’m glad they took advantage of this. However, like Dave said, I think the video went way too long, unfortunately and could have stopped way earlier, making it an even better video.

daniel+Madison: A lot of creativity and fun with a lot of personality, it was very entertaining. Very nice work.

SECOND PLACE :: Battle - Bowen vs. Jaspas

Dave Buck: This video showed good use of a solid concept, which by-the-way, if far more entertaining then just a montage, which I’m sure we can all agree too. The subway provided a style and appeal that enhanced the quality of the video but not so much to distract the important aspect of the flourish “Battle”. I also enjoyed the crescendo of music, rhythm, and complexity of each flourish as the video neared the end. Good work.

RichardZ: Another great build up to this video, and got to love Jaspas in a cowboy hat. However like in 48 Dumplings, I think they built up a story (with great build up fitted to the music) that didn’t really ever happen. That is, I didn’t get much of a sense of a battle once they discovered each other, which was too bad. Still some great moves, and I love the moment where Jaspas flicked the angel and the girl freaked. Also I was hoping they would’ve noticed the guy in the middle of the shot just staring towards the camera. It was a bit freaky. Overall great job, and obviously they entertained whoever was on the train. Great work.

daniel+Madison: An energizing and upbeat display of skill and style. I loved the moves, the interactivity, and the choice of location (subway).

FIRST PLACE :: F501

Dave Buck: Great video! I know you guys planned this out, and it shows. Great use of the location, awesome compositions, kick ass material, and well produced. You guys rock. Keep up the awesome work.

daniel+Madison: Amazing, charismatic and cool, perfect cinematography and editing with flawlessly articulated flourishing… Great teamwork; a very entertaining show.

RichardZ: This video had it all. Some form of story, snazzy clothes, great camera work, a Fiat, great setting, unique moves to boot too. Was a great video in general. The one thing I was hoping to see more of was people together. At one point you saw somebody sitting in a car while another person was doing their cardistry, but aside from that I think they could have made their great video even better if they had people doing their moves at the same time. I was also expecting they were going to do more with their story with such the great set-up. I also wasn’t sure what F 501 meant… I’m guessing it was a F 500 but then… why the 1, when there were 3 of them? Is this a sequel to another video they made?

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Congratulations to everyone that submitted a video - great work all around. To all of you that won, prizes will be sent out midweek : custom engineered steel plaques created by Jamie Schoolcraft especially for this contest. Once again, amazing work, and congratulations to our winners.
__________________
// j.bayme
: ceo / theory11

One of my favourites. I love this casual jams. What do you like and what would you change?

This is a poll to discuss who would you like to win the theory11 CCC and why.

Leave a comment and we’ll discuss.

Here is the link to the media section: http://media.theory11.com/ccc+2008

Edit: I’ve been watching them and i would go for the Frenchies, Adam and Steve or the Jaspas and his Disciples.

Time for another podcast with our lazy host Adam. In this episode he talks about what happened these last two weeks.

The HL x-files, Allan Hagen’s video, Sick and Twisted Wings of the Mockingbird Tutorial by Kevin ho and some other things that i want you to discover by watching the video.

What does the name of this episode mean? You’ll see.

Here is the download in mp4 for your ipod / iphone / mp4 player TheCuso’s Podcast: Episode 2 - Pussy and make sure you subscribe with itunes using this feed.

TheCuso's Podcast Episode 1: Fancatch is up live!(click to download)
After some technical issues I managed to upload it to the server and it’s now ready to be downloaded to your computer/mac or ipod via itunes podcast subscription. (it is in .mp4 format so right click the link and save target as…)

In this episode, the pilot, Adam does a live tutorial for a move called Fancatch and talks about some of the projects that he has in mind for the podcast.

After you’ve seen it please leave a comment because feedback is highly appreciated, we need to know if everything works fine and what do you think about the podcast itself.

Thanks a lot,

Alejandro

Adam, Kevin Ho and Fiddling Steve met up last week at Danbury, Connecticut and shot this amazing flourishing video. A must favorite for all you guys.

As Jaspas said… Smooth as lubricant.

I loved this video. What do you think? Adam kicks ass!

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