Seventh Sanctum Blog

B-Movie Contest WInners!

We got the results in!  Thanks for all the judges hard work - and don't forget our new contest!

Grand Prize

• Helen of Troy Goes To Planet X by Keflavik

Runners-Up:

• I was a Modern Day Caligula by ShotQueensOfRhye
• Bloody Groundhog Day by Tymime

This contest appeared to be hard to judge.  What I noticed was most telling was that things that embodied decades did well, especially earlier ones.  We've got 2 cheesy 50's and one classic artsy 70's winner.

Thanks to all who participated!

- Steve

Some folks have asked about the status of the B-Movie contest. Unfortunately some of the results are coming in late. I expect to have the contest judging complete in a day or two.

- Steve

Our Latest Contest: Anime Mania!

This contest runs from February 2, 2010 to Midnight, EST, April 15th, 2010.

We just had some B-movies, and now it's time to move to something a little more animated!

Your goal is to design a poster, promo card, wall scroll, CD Case or similar piece of Anime mania - around an anime that never existed!

Here's what you do!

• Go to the Anime Title Generator and generate titles until you find ones you like

Now when you design your little piece of memorabilia, you also want to give us a summary of the anime:

• The year it was made, and any interesting stories about its creation.
• A description of the plot and characters.
• Any other extra detail to make it more believable!

Rules:

• You may make up to two entries. You may not reuse results among entries.
• You may use other generators if you wish to add more contents or detail to the entry.
• You may submit "for fun" entries as many times as you want. These are entries entered with no goal of them being judged, but to share with others. You may swap "for fun" and official entries at any time.
• You may use ANY medium as long as you can eventually put it on the web as an image - painting, CGI, cosplay, sculpture, baked goods, etc.
• You are responsible for hosting your entry in an image format at your own site, deviantart, photobucket, or another such place etc. Direct submissions of art will be rejected in most cases.
• If your entry has nudity or mature content, you are responsible for warnings or proper classifications on the storage site. There will be a warning on the link from the contest page to the art. Please keep things within reasonable good taste.
• If at all possible, post generator results at your hosting site so people can judge how well you followed them. I must have the generator results there, or sent to me as part of your submission, so the judges know what results you used.
• Entries must be made specifically for this contest - previous entries or other generator-driven art may not be used.
• Please post a link back to this page with the entry.

To Submit:

You may submit your creation in one of several ways. Please note the rules have changed below.

• You may use the "Send Comment" button in the menu to send a link.
• You may email me at SeventhSanctumSite (at-@-sign) gmail.com.
• If your entry is not posted within seven days, please re-submit it..

All entries must include a link to the art. As noted, please ensure the results of the generators used are at the point of storage. Please be sure that there is some way to contact you if you have won so you can get your prize - email, AIM, something specific tied to your submission.

Prizes

• There will be one (1) First Place winner, who will recieve a $40 gift certificate from amazon.com or an appropriate vendor of the winner's choice.
• There will be two (2) Runner-ups. Each will get a $25 gift certificate from amazon.com or an appropriate vendor of the winner's choice.
• Winners may not participate in the next contest, but will instead be asked to judge it.
• If you win three contests here, be it grand prize or runner up, you will be inducted into the The Hall of Fame. Hall of Fame entrants may not enter future contests except "For Fun" entries, in order to encourage new artists to compete.

Just wanted to let you know the last contest is still waiting on one judge. So, I'm holding off starting the next one for a day or two!

Pro-Fan Pride: The Joy of Knowing

Originally posted here.

What makes you great as a profan/progeek - or a fan/geek/otaku that wants to turn their hobbies into a job?

The fact that you know this.

Seriously.  You, from your love of anime to your disturbingly deep knowledge of sports statistics, have an idea of just what you want to do with your life.  Your fanfic, fanart, web pages, blog posts, reviews, what have you all give you a bloody good idea of just what you should be doing in your career.

Right now you're lucky.  Right now you have direction.  Right now you have something you care passionately, deeply, obsessively about and will push yourself to achieve.  It could be anything from finishing a video game to writing a web page.

But you care and you know what you want to do.

Go to any bookstore and check the self-help sections.  There's a giant industry out there helping people who have no idea what they want to do with their lives.  They can be rich or poor, young or old, in any state/province of your nation and all of them are ready to buy any book to help them vaguely, hopefully get a grip on what their life is truly about.

You have that.  You live it in every anime you watch, every game you run, every story you write, every convention you manage.

You might not want to admit that to some people.  Your hobby may seem silly to them, you may  be close to buying the stupid idea that somehow hobbies can never be careers.  You may not even want to admit you're a fangirl, otaku, or geek.

Instead you should be proud, because even your silliest obsession or strangest hobby brings you closer to understanding yourself and what you truly want to do with your life.

Wave that progeek flag high.  Too many other people don't even have a flag in the first place.

- Steven

Originally posted here.

What makes you great as a profan/progeek - or a fan/geek/otaku that wants to turn their hobbies into a job?

The fact that you know this.

Seriously.  You, from your love of anime to your disturbingly deep knowledge of sports statistics, have an idea of just what you want to do with your life.  Your fanfic, fanart, web pages, blog posts, reviews, what have you all give you a bloody good idea of just what you should be doing in your career.

Right now you're lucky.  Right now you have direction.  Right now you have something you care passionately, deeply, obsessively about and will push yourself to achieve.  It could be anything from finishing a video game to writing a web page.

But you care and you know what you want to do.

Fandom, Gatekeepers, and Careers

Originally published here, at Fan To Pro.

Being the old geek that I am, I've seen fandom change over the decades (yes, decades).  I remember the 'zine days leading to the internet revolution.  I remember when Doctor Who was obscure as opposed to a sex symbol.  I remember the comics revolution - and the comics bust.

Yes, I've seen a lot.  And I'm old - in fact having seen all of this probably makes me feel even older.

One thing that didn't change was the idea of the profan.  The core of "profan" thought that didn't change was the idea that:

1. Your fandom expressed what you were interested in.
2. Your fandom acted as a kind of practice/networking activity.  Fanfic trained authors, fanart trained artists, zine-writing helped you with publishing, webmastery trained technical skills, etc.
3. Eventually you made it to do what you liked for a living.

It's a simple - and simplistic - model, but I think it reflects a basic mindset of fandom as awareness and practice that led to something else.

The problem was the transition between B and C.  If you wanted to make video games you had to hook up with a game company.  If you wanted to do comics you needed to get hired by a comics company or found one (a risky proposition).  If you wanted to be a writer, you needed an agent.  If you wanted to be in film you had to work your way up - or you had to make a shot at the small, indie film.

The problem was the gatekeepers.

They're going away.

You can self-publish a comic easily.  You can self-publish a book easily.  DLC and cheap development tools means faster delivery of video games and a new indie market.  You can podcast your ideas across the world.  Your website or blog can be the main point of a multi-faceted business.  Lulu.com may seem revolutionary now, but at this rate in ten years I could see a "make your own" manga studio that lets you design characters and scenes with no art skills - and if you haven't explored how cheap digital effects are, do so.

This of course is something I consider a good thing.  More people can get more quality materials out, from books to art, faster.  Yes, people can distribute lousy stuff, but there's plenty of lousy "professional" stuff.  I'd rather have more people take a crack at writing, acting, reporting, what have you than less.

But this changes steps B and C.  It's made me wonder how it can change fandom.

If you want to be the next J.R.R. Tolkein you don't need to wait to get publishes.  You can do it yourself, do a website, and spend time building traffic and reputation.

If you want to be a video game developer you can go indie with some friends and make the next Braid - and from there who knows?

If you want to make a film, just take a look at what people are doing on the internet.  If nothing else you may do something low-budget that gets you noticed.

If you're a fan who wants to go pro or partially pro, that phase between practice and success is going away.  With that happening, why not make the "practice" phase professional or semi-professional anyway?  Why not put out a few original short stories instead of fanfic?  Why not start a podcast now to build your pundit career?

I can't say if this is good or bad.  Personally I want to encourage more people to try their hands at doing what they like.  I can say that I see a great change is possible in the profan lifestyle - one where fandom is a starting point and a point of support, but less a place to develop for some people (an artist may do fanart professionally, but a writer would obviously go do original properties).

Where does this leave fandom?  Well, much the same, but I see more people trying professional activities earlier.  I also see fandom becoming even more valuable as a networking and self-promotion tool as people's priorities shift.  That could be good - or become annoying as some people promote themselves over having fun with their friends.

It's all theory.  We shall see . . .

- Steven

Originally published here, at Fan To Pro.

Being the old geek that I am, I've seen fandom change over the decades (yes, decades).  I remember the 'zine days leading to the internet revolution.  I remember when Doctor Who was obscure as opposed to a sex symbol.  I remember the comics revolution - and the comics bust.

Yes, I've seen a lot.  And I'm old - in fact having seen all of this probably makes me feel even older.

Contest Entries for the B-Movie Bonanza, final round!

Wow, we got a LOT of entries at the last moment.  Check them out!

• King Filth
• Skin Reaper
• Radioactive Beauty
• Helen of Troy Goes to Planet X
• Nun of Death (photo credit Ulrike Groesel)
• The Madhouse
• I Was a Teenage Medusa
• The Heart Trapper
• An Atomic Christmas
• I Was a Modern Day Caligula

-Steve

Latest Contest Updates

We have two more contest updates!  Seven more days to go!

The Fate of the KGB, The Return

I Married Lizzie Borden

Some neat stuff.  We seem to have less entries than last time, sadly.  I wonder if this one was a bit too obscure/specific.  Still, as usual, our artists have pulled out the stops to do some great work.

-Steve

Interview with Author Carol Tice!

For you hopeful pro-writers, get some serious advice from the experienced and knowledgeable Carol Tice.

Interview with author Vivi Anna

It's a LONG interview, but it's filled with great advice for you hopeful writers out there.

Find the interview here.

-Steve