name:
Mario Bueno

alias:
EMP Maniac

costumes:
Sasuke Uticha
Shuin
Period Garb

What does cosplay mean to you?
To me personally it’s a necessity to as a character actor; the costume facilitates my development of the character I’m portraying. Also while I am not a great craftsman I appreciate the level of art that goes in to making some of the costumes you see out there, when I’m wearing one of those works of art it enhances my art which is acting.

How do you choose what characters your going to cosplay? Do you have a "personal" relationship with the char you cosplay?
For the most part, I do have a personal relationship with them. Because I have to go through a process of "becoming" the character, and in doing so I tend to develop a personality for them that I use as an actor, a "personal" relationship is almost inevitable.

Comically enough, I've found moments where I've gotten defensive about characters I've cosplayed, so even after the costume is off, that connection to the character remains.

I also look for characters that I feel I can fit the appearance of the best so that I can stay as accurate to the character as possible. Because of my own personal approach to character acting, I feel that I have to try and bring the character to life as best I can, trying not to sacrifice too much along the way, especially in terms of appearance.

Sometimes budget factors into it too. Well, budget and available assistance. Because sometimes a character can be whipped together in a heartbeat, but if it's more complex, then I need to see if I can get help on making the costume.

What’s your favorite costume and why?
Beyond a shadow of a doubt my favorite costume is Shuin. As of Anime Boston last week it’s been a two-year Journey with him. Originally I when I started Shuin I was trying to impress a girl, but over the last two years it’s become one of my best known “personalities”.

Wearing Shuin was the start of a social renaissance for me, playing a charter that was out going and charismatic changed the dynamic of my social interactions with other cosplayers, well that and sexy torso power.

Also Shuin represented a group effort, a lot of people were involved in Shuin’s creation, my self, my friends. To me he represents a team sprit, all of this effort and hard work making this one costume that ended up being a signifant part of my young adult life.

What is your most memorable masquerade performance exp?
That would probably be the first performance of "Final Fantasy vs. Kaiju Big Battle" at Anime Next 2004 because of what it did for me personally and professionally, but I guess my most memorable might have been BAAF 2003 when I did a martial arts routine with my "Dead or Alive" cosplay of the character Ein/Hayate. For me, that was my first well-received cosplay skit, and it excited me for the possibilities in the future, while also allowing me to start befriending other cosplayers.

What meaningful experiences as a filmmaker did you take away from making FF vs. Kaiju Big Battle?
Well, the first bit thing you could say I walked away with was a closer bond with all my friends who helped me out with the film. Even to this day, we still carry the film as a sort of "badge of honor" whenever we crack jokes that relate to them, reminisce about times that happened on the set, etc.

I also walked away with was one of the main goals of doing the film, namely a sense of what I needed to work on as a filmmaker and an actor, and how many of my theories relating to those things were right in practice and what I needed to revise. Related to that, it was able to get my first experience dealing with the trials and tribulations of promoting a film, as well as the
other work that goes into post production, none of which I ever really thought about before.

Lastly, I feel I walked away with a sense of accomplishment, because new doors have opened in the wake of the film, and while I walk forward through them, I also can look back and say that I made positive impacts on people's lives, namely the fans of the film as well as it's cast and crew, so that feeling is one of the most cherished things I take with me as I continue making films.

What was the best part of working with cosplayers on a film?
Cosplayers are gung ho for anything; if it sounds fun they will be there.

What was the most challenging part of making a film with cosplayers?
The biggest challenge is you are almost never handed professional actors. Although a good thing in that there's a more relaxed atmosphere, admittedly, it can cause problems when it comes to being strict about schedules and, of course, quality of acting.

During the making of FF vs. Kaiju, you had a very small team working filmmaking part of the project, can you talk a little bit about that part of the production?

Hahah, I practically did everything at the end of the day. Basically, what it boiled down to was having a having a dedicated camera/sound crew and a group of people who were able to show up to help me with equipment moving, mainly for the detailed shoots. At times I even called on some of the people originally brought on as actors to do some of that work because of how
touch-and-go it got with scheduling on occasion.

Also since I was editing on one computer and I was really adamant about testing myself while learning new things along the way, I ended up working solo on all that too, despite offers of help from other members of the crew.

I have to say though, people like my assistant director, who comically wasn't officially given the title until it was slapped on the credits of the film but yet occupied the position well, as well as other members of the cast who helped with the casting, location scouting, and structuring of certain parts of the story, made it possible for me to keep myself together and keep the film holding steady through the ups and downs of production.

Do you have any advice for young aspiring film makers out there?
If you have an idea, no matter how crazy it may seem at the time, give it a shot. Although I've admittedly scoffed at many concepts and always get uneasy feelings about lots of ideas brought up to me, speaking from my own experience, it's sometimes the craziest ideas that make for the most compelling and memorable stories...stories that may even inspire others to take their first bold steps in storytelling, whether it be through the written word, the painted canvas, the strummed note, or the moving picture.