WorldVII: FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions


Who are you?

You can call me Z. I'm just a fan with a dream, to make this project happen. I'm an student at a tech college studying 3-D animation. I'm 18, and I live in London. I'm a cosplayer, too!

I do have other commitments, but believe me, this is my main commitment. My deviantArt is z-ex.

RJ, aka FlareStone also helps out with the US faction of WorldVII.

I'm very nice, don't be shy! I love to chat about anything!


What is Final Fantasy VII?

Okay, so not so frequently asked, but it's good to throw it in here. Final Fantasy VII (aka FFVII, FF7, the greatest RPG ever) is a role-play game for Playstation created by Square Enix. Since the game was created in 1997, there has been a follow up CGI movie (Advent Children), a prequel game (Crisis Core), a sequel game (Dirge of Cerberus), and a phone game (Before Crisis) centering around one of the antagonists. It is considered one of the greatest games in existence despite the fact the low-res 50-poly characters from the original game aren't exactly the height of technology. I don't care if you don't like it, because we do. Take your hate elsewhere.

If you don't know what it is, turn to wikipedia. Buy the games. Watch the movie. Fall in love. We all did.


What is Cosplay?

Wikipedia says: Cosplay (コスプレ, kosupure?), short for "costume play",[1] is a type of performance art whose participants outfit themselves, with often-elaborate costumes and accessories, as a specific character. Characters are usually sourced in various Japanese and East Asian media, including manga, anime, tokusatsu, comic books, graphic novels, video games, and fantasy movies. Other sources include performers from J-pop, J-rock, Visual Kei, fantasy music stories (such as stories by the band Sound Horizon), novels, and objects from cyberspace or the real world that are unique and dramatic (especially if they have or can be given an anthropomorphic form).

Cosplay participants ("cosplayers") form a subculture centered around wearing their costumes and reenacting scenes or inventing likely behavior inspired by their chosen sources. In some circles, the term cosplay has been broadened to include simply wearing a costume, without special consideration given to enacting characters in a performance context.

For us, cosplay is almost a religion. A lifestyle. It's fun, it's skillful, and it brings us together. The whole WorldVII project is based around cosplay. Try it, you might like it.


I'm not in the UK. Can I take part?

Definitely. We're doing different sections all over the world.


When does my audition have to be in by?

The only deadline so far is for the UK section, which has been moved to JANUARY 31ST for ALL CHARACTERS. That means you and your cosplay. Even if you don't know when it'll be used in the movie.


What should my audition tape be like?

A perfect audition tape would be between 1 and 5 minutes of video of yourself in your complete cosplay, acting as the character you want to try out for. It would include a close-up shot of your face, a profile shot (Side on), a mid-shot from your waist up, and a long-shot which is your entire body. Also include a couple of photographs.

As for what you have to do, that is entirely up to you. Ideas include taking dialogue from the games and re-enacting it, doing something similar to a 'character video blog', or creating your own dialogue/scene that would suit the character.

What if my cosplay isn't complete?

Your auditions don’t have to be perfect – the costumes or wigs can be incomplete - just make a note of the fact you’re not done in your audition video and wear what you’ve got or throw on something the character you’re applying for might wear. I’m looking at ACTING SKILLS, BODY SHAPE COMPARED TO THE CHARACTER, THE WAY YOU MOVE etc. and not how perfect your costume is because we will have a couple of months to fix it up – however, if your costume IS complete, please make sure it’s as accurate as you can get it. We’re looking for the best here.


I don't think I'm good enough. Should I not apply?

Of course you should apply. Whether you're good enough or not is up to me, so don't let your nerves or anything else put you off.


Someone else has already applied for the character I want to try out for. What do I do?

The point of auditions is for loads of people to try out and for us to pick who gets what part. Try out anyway, even if you think the other auditionees are better that you.


I want to apply for more than one character. Can I?

Absolutely. Apply for as many characters as you want. The more, the better. Just do an audition tape for each character.


What can I make my audition tape on?

Video editing software comes with every computer you buy, as long as it has at least Windows 95 on it.

Windows Movie Maker should be on the menu in the same place as you'd find Solitaire, or otherwise just in the programs menu. It's not amazing, but it will do. Just make sure you save often because it is quite glitchy and crashes a lot. It's not a problem with your computer, it's the software.

A better piece of software is Adobe Premiere Elements 3.0. Have a look into it on Google. Otherwise you can get a trial for something better like Vegas 8.0 or Adobe Premiere Pro.

If you have a Mac, you should have iMovie installed when you buy it. That has a handy feature that lets you upload to youtube from the software.


How do I post my audition?

Either upload it to youtube and then go to the first video on the WorldVII channel: uk.youtube.com/user/WorldVII and post it as a video response, or click the post a video response button and upload it from there. It won't come up as one straight away, because I will have to approve it.


How else can I help, if I don't want to act?

We need all kinds of production and post-production help!


Production:

Runners
Second and third camera opp
Sound assistants
Camera assistants
Location assistants
One production assistant for me (message me about this at z-ex )
Set designers

Post-production:

Audio remixers (if you can remix original final fantasy music and want to be part of this, you're in)
3D graphic animators
2D graphic animators
Sound designers

Just message me or comment if you're interested in helping.


How do I contact you?

My deviantArt is z-ex. Please contact me about anything and everything to do with this project either as a personal message there, or on this account.

For emails, you can email WorldVII@live.co.uk

You can also add that to your MSN messenger and I will be on as much as I can.


Are you going to make projects similar to worldVII for other FF games, Kingdoms Hearts and other fandoms?

Absolutely. Eventually, I hope to have all kinds of things going!