2006 Holography contest Q&A/discussion thread

[JohnFP]

So what the vote? Cats? Animals? Any subject? New? Existing?

Sorry it should have read " So what's the vote?..."



I would have thought with taking the full context of this thread in consideration it would have been comprehendible.



But in a more proper and formal English:



So what is the consensus on what we should stipulate as the guidelines and standards for the next contest?



Should we keep the context limited to only Cats or will we allow animals or any subject? Do the holograms have to be newly made or will we allow hologram fabricated prior to the contest date to be allowed?

[MichaelH]

So what the vote? Cats? Animals? Any subject? New? Existing?

Sorry it should have read " So what's the vote?..."

I would have thought with taking the full context of this thread in consideration it would have been comprehendible.

But in a more proper and formal English:

So what is the consensus on what we should stipulate as the guidelines and standards for the next contest?

Should we keep the context limited to only Cats or will we allow animals or any subject? Do the holograms have to be newly made or will we allow hologram fabricated prior to the contest date to be allowed?

How about we finish the current contest before we set the rules for the next?

[JohnFP]

Michael, why are you trying to be difficult? The contest does not start until August 1st. Thus the next contest is the one that starts August 1st of this year. I thought that's what we were all talking about in this thread. I have seen the suggestions of using something other then a dog and using an existing hologram thown on the table. I was just trying to get everyone to vote on what the final decision might be.



Am I overstepping bondries or something by asking for a vote? Or is it my verbage that is confusing?

[Tony]

I'll say a bit more in favor of opening up the subject matter...



I'm sure we're all aware that artisitc productivity comes and goes - it's not something one can control Over the course of the previous year, I've tried to change my subject matter from non-original subjects such as holograms of statues made by Hummel or Disney, to truly original subjects. Some of these have been quite successful, and I'd enjoy a chance to enter these.



I'm not exactly sure what the goal of the contest is. (I'm sure it's written in the forum somewhere, I'm just too lazy to go find it). It seems the name, PCC, 'Porcelain Cat Contest', refers to the use of an existing simple test object to evaluate a holographic setup, or otherwise test the process of making a hologram, not the artistic merits of the holographer. However, last year's results, and the fact that the winner is determined by a vote, implies that artistic value is being given a weight.



If this is truly a contest to make a hologram of a test object, then the entries should be evaluated technically, not artistically. (DE, artifacts, noise, depth, etc).



If on the other hand we're interested in promoting artistic achievement, then it should be a yearly contest open to entries which represent the best artisitic achievement of the holographer in the previous year.



Maybe it's time for the PCC to evolve, given the nice array of prizes now available.

[JohnFP]

Tony, I am going to have to agree with you 100%. Originally the contest was a spin off of the PCG (porcelain cat group). But flat 2d cats, non porcelain cats and cats with other subjects were all allowed after the fact.



I had to go out and buy a porcelain cat as I thought this was the rule (only to find out cat in the hologram somewhere was the literal rule). And I really did not have any intentions on making a hologram of a cat for my own interest. This year, if I intend on entering I need to make or purchase a figurine of a dog, again with no desire of having a hologram of a dog.



Maybe any animal would be better (dog, cat, bird, dinosaur, fish etc...).



I didn't want to express my opinion until others were heard from as I didn't want to sway or sound pessimistic on the guidelines.



What you stated concerning technical or artistic does need to be defined.



I do agree though that the hologram should be newly made.

[dave battin]

With all that is happening around us ,i really must ask again, with all the prizes , there must be some room to expand the contest (a little), I’m not sure how we decided on the dog theme ( I know ,it’s the year of the dog)

Was the first contest the year of the cat??? Please don’t take offence Michael, I know you worked very hard to get us where we are today , and I thank you as well.





PS I’m a dog lover as well..........

[MichaelH]

I'll take your points in turn:

Michael, why are you trying to be difficult? The contest does not start until August 1st. Thus the next contest is the one that starts August 1st of this year. I thought that's what we were all talking about

This contest has for all practical purposes started. The August start date was primarily so that additional sponsors and prize volunteers could come on board and to give us time to advertise the contest and get net-wide interest built up.

in this thread. I have seen the suggestions of using something other then a dog and using an existing hologram thown on the table.

Using an already-made hologram "featuring a dog" is allowed. It doesn't have to be a porcelain dog, statue or anything else you could buy in a store. It can be as real or abstract as you desire, just recognizable as a dog.

I'm not exactly sure what the goal of the contest is. (I'm sure it's written in the forum somewhere, I'm just too lazy to go find it).

The root goal is to get the forum members (and anyone else on the net that cares to join in) to pull themselves out of the typical summer slump and make some holograms. The forum's been focused on minute technical details the last several months and while a few people have been making and showing off their holograms there haven't been enough.

It seems the name, PCC, 'Porcelain Cat Contest', refers to the use of an existing simple test object...

Please look at the announcements again. There is no mention of PCC or any use of a test object.

last year's results, and the fact that the winner is determined by a vote, implies that artistic value is being given a weight.

Absolutely. Remember that it's primarily subjective. While the hologram must contain a dog-form, the winner will be based on the subjective appreciation of each voter.

If this is truly a contest to make a hologram of a test object...

It isn't

If on the other hand we're interested in promoting artistic achievement, then it should be a yearly contest open to entries which represent the best artisitic achievement of the holographer in the previous year.

That wasn't really the intention. That would be a good goal, but at the moment just getting people off the (valuable but not visually interesting) technical discussions here is difficult. The intention was to get people making and showing their holograms.

I think a contest to represent the best artistic achievement of the last year would be a good one but I don't know that we'd get many entries. You yourself have only shown one hologram in the gallery this year, not counting the Fuji test.

Maybe it's time for the PCC to evolve, given the nice array of prizes now available.

This year we have nine people signed up. Who knows how many will actually enter a hologram.
Last year we had eight people enter.
The year before that we had four.

The numbers are increasing but I don't think they merit more than one category. Having taken part in competitions where I was the only entrant in a category, I can tell you that "winning" didn't mean jack.

Given the choice I'd rather have a contest that challenges the entrants for some good prizes rather than open it up to whatever people already have on their shelves.

Maybe any animal would be better (dog, cat, bird, dinosaur, fish etc...).

I have no objections to a modification that would allow any animal. I'll pass it by Colin and see if he does.

I do agree though that the hologram should be newly made.

I would agree only if the category is opened to include any non-human creature. As long as it's narrowly defined I feel that allowing previously created holograms is a good thing to keep entry count higher. Although how we'd know if it was new or old I'll leave to the philosophers.

[MichaelH]

With all that is happening around us ,i really must ask again, with all the prizes , there must be some room to expand the contest (a little), I’m not sure how we decided on the dog theme ( I know ,it’s the year of the dog)
Was the first contest the year of the cat??? Please don’t take offence Michael, I know you worked very hard to get us where we are today , and I thank you as well.PS I’m a dog lover as well..........

As far as I know last year wasn't the year of the cat. A cat was chosen because the contest was closely associated with the PCG. I propsed the dog not out of any particular attachment but knowing that there would likely not be enough entrants for a wide-open contest and that any choice would be poo-poo'ed by someone.



Pass the concept by family members and friends. Heck, I didn't even have a design idea until I told Wifey what the subject was. Even if the contest subject changes I'm still going to do this hologram because it's challenging and if I pull it off will be cool.

[Tom B.]

I kind of like the idea of having a unifying theme, and agree that cats as a subject probably deserve a rest. Arbitrary challenge themes are frequent in creative contests, and provide a common point of departure for peoples improvisations. A good part of the fun is seeing what people make of the challenge.

[dave battin]

Arbitrary challenge themes are frequent in creative contests, and provide a common point of departure for peoples improvisations.

ok,ok i give up! a dog it is and by the way my old dogs name was,"Saxby" named after you know who .............