BKlover Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 I am thinking about shows like Cadets 2010, Cadets 2012. In my opinion, there were definite design issues with both shows, but the performers did the best they could with what they were given. I will add Crown 2010, 2011, and 2014 as shows where design was never championship caliber. 2010 cadets seemed like the easiest Cadets show in a LONG time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mboogey73 Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 We may see a prime example this year with Bluecoats if they come up short. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minimaster Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 SCV 2000. The GE judge even says it on the tape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maneuvah Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 Inspired by a comment on the "Crown 2015" thread, I got to wondering... What are some examples of shows that were "championship" level design but the performance just wasn't there. In other words...the garage members (design staff) had the car ready, but the driver (performance level) "missed a shift" and didn't quite pull out the win. Crown 2012 comes to mind. Conversely, what are some shows that you feel, from a design perspective, never really had a shot at winning regardless of how well it was performed? I've noted in other threads that no corps in the last decade or so has squandered championship-caliber talent more than the Cadets design team. In a handful of shows that wallowed in cheese, gimmicks, or other incoherences or aesthetic blunders, the MMs actually outperformed the design. On the other hand, I respect even less the sleight-of-hand design mastered by the Cavaliers and then BD which feigns difficulty and manages risk so much so that I feel fooled or manipulated more than I admire the great skill of the performers. The current judging system rewards risk management more than it rewards risk. It's like someone playing the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto at 50% of the composer's tempo and making not a single intonation mistake, but all the while, strutting and stomping and pelvic thrusting and wincing and teeth-gritting like an 80s Hair Band wanking away on their axe guitars to make the solo seem like the most difficult thing ever attempted. Good job. I guess. I'd prefer a soloist who goes for broke, though. Authentically. True to the score and meaning of the music. Arete. Same in DCI. Design should push the limits, not limit risk and distract the audience with sleight-of-hand 'staging' into thinking what they're seeing is difficult. But the judges know best. They're the ultimate experts. Aren't they? 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spencerg98 Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 We may see a prime example this year with Bluecoats if they come up short. Which way? Championship design with not as good performance or vice versa? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoyWonder1911 Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 (edited) I always thought SCV New Era Metropolis was an incredible show - it was just dirty. I have no doubt that if it were clean, it would have at least been 2nd and would likely have competed with Four Corners. EDIT: Looking through that year, 2001, any of the top 4 had shows worthy of a championship. Cavaliers just happened to be the cleanest. Even Glassmen took 5th that year with an incredible show. 2001 was a great year. Edited July 31, 2015 by BoyWonder1911 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wvu80 Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 (edited) Something that doesn't get mentioned anymore because it was a 20th century problem is what I call "big venue" shows. Nowdays most shows are in big stadiums that can hold 10,000 and has artificial turf. But last century many shows were at local high schools that held 1,500 where the bleachers were ten feet from the pit and a good horn show would light up the spectators like nothing you've ever seen. I will always believe Blue Devils in 1988 had the best "small venue" show I've ever seen. Just incredible even by today's standards. But when they got into the big stadium with those gray uniforms the corps "shrunk" in terms of their impact on the crowd. Today it's go big or go home. Shows have to cover endzone to endzone and front to back sidelines. Today's big shows excite the big crowds found at finals, and that is what every corps tries to achieve. That's what wins. +++ The last show I remember where the kids outperformed the show was Phantom 2008. It was not a championship show but it was a championship performance. Shows where the kids under-performed and didn't win the championship? I'm not sure I remember any. Usually if a corps "lost" in finals it was because some other corps jumped up and claimed it for themselves with an unbelievable finals performance. Edited July 31, 2015 by wvu80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Channel3 Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 (edited) When technical scores are within tenths of each other at finals, these scoresheet items become critically important: GE - Artistry. GE - Conceptual Vision. VA - Depth and Breadth of Design. CG - Overall Design and Concept. Depth of design becomes the deciding factor among the top four corps. Which show has more humanity? Is more universal and unique? Shows a greater sense of purpose? Generates more emotion? Stirs the soul? Unifies the audience? Edited July 31, 2015 by Channel3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spartans87 Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 The sheets and entire judging system lean to heavily on the show design factors, and not enough on the performance. In my opinion, most judges can and do get lost between the difficulty or risk taking and the risk management. Something that looks hard, but may not be, so it gets a higher difficulty rating than it should. As Maneuvah stated above, BD has done a good job of managing or masking risk. Thats just my opinion, for what it is worth... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris ncsu Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 Cadets 2003 -- championship performance, not championship show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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