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BRASSO

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Posts posted by BRASSO

  1. 37 minutes ago, Jurassic Lancer said:

    Except there is a totally different vibe when things are revealed after the season premier. The focus is very different and more holistic. 

    Look at all the crap PR has had to deal with since their show reveal. Is it any better with uni reveals? Where is the upside? 

     I see your point.  I suppose there can be persuasive argument that maybe Corps should not reveal things until the start of the season . I liked it so much better however when young and old alike rarely if ever were ragging or making jokes on Corps attire or whatnot choices.... In April. June... or August.  This does take some getting used to now, doesn't it.

  2. 13 hours ago, xandandl said:

    several days ago I posted about Colts that they looked like the Orange Cavaliers, as opposed to one Reddit poster who referred to Academy's newest as the love child when Cadets 18 betrothed Phantom '13: the result is Oreo Cheesecake.

    Ah the wits and witless are  marking time until the 20th in Detroit.

     

     its a real jungle out there, X.... lol!

  3. 10 hours ago, boxingfred said:

    I think corps are afraid to show their costume designs because we rip on them so bad before we even see them on the field.  I know I've been guilty of ripping a few uniforms. I know I ripped Cadets uniform last year before I saw it on the field. I was wrong. What looked so odd at first glance worked perfect on the field. 

     Well, if thats the reason for the delay in the reveal, it only delays the inevitable. Fans are going to know the attire and headgear the first week of the season, even if the Corps delay to then. From that perspective, if Corps expect to be " ripped on them so bad " by fans, it seems that it would be better  for these Corps then to get the attire reveal out maybe in April or earlier. This way marchers can adjust better to any criticisms that might crop up. Theres not much advantage to  have the reveal come out the week/ month of the opener of the season and have marchers have to deal with being " ripped on them so bad  " during that timeline, imo. There is the old wise adage.." if bad news ( or expected criticism ) is coming forth, get it out early and complete, rather than later ". As for Academy's reveal, I know they are getting ripped to shreds on other social media websites on their attire reveal, but patience is required, as you are correct, until we see these on the field it seems a bit premature to be ripping it to shreds and making jokes about it from an artist's depction, or a photograph, etc.

  4. 9 hours ago, Jeff Ream said:

    on each effect sheet, there's a thing taken into account called audio/visual coordination.

     

    So if you're doing a show about hell, and you've got bright green and pink everywhere...is that coordinated?

     Judges are not instructed to judge headgear, nor fashion choices by  Corps. The judges just naturally assume and expect however that if your show theme is about  " Hell", you 're not going to go out in clown attire, clown shoes, red nose,  red hair,  white make up, bright green/  pink colors  everywhere in colors, etc for your " costuming " with such a chosen theme.

     There is no caption for " costuming ". There is no judge for " costuming ". Costuming is not mentioned in the current GE Captions, it would have insignificant, perhaps non existent evaluative point assessment, except as it could relate to a VISUAL move on the show. For example, if Phantom Regiment takes off their shako and puts it on the field in a portion of their performance, and the judge likes that VISUAL effect of the VISUAL maneuver, he / she would naturally assess that visual move, just like any other visual move the Corps made in the show. But the CHOICE of the attire/ headgear ( which is the subject of this thread ) is irrelevant to that visual move, as the visual move could have been accomplished and " coordinated " with  just about any headgear choice made by the Corps, and the attire worn by the Corps proper was irrelevant to that visual move as well.

     Color Guard at one time in DCI did not have its own caption... its own judge format... its own judge. That section of the Corps does today. Each section of the Corps does. We have the Brass ( Ott Award ), Percussion ( Sanford Award ), Guard  ( Zingali Award ).  Drum Corps competitions  currently have no " Costume " caption... no " Costume " criteria.... no " Costume " judge. If this is where you believe Drum Corps is headed, then I can not state you are wrong, as this is speculation. As such who knows, as we move into " theatre ", for the genre, it is possible that in the future fashion will be considered relevent to judge, and there will  be a separate caption for " costuming ", with its own fashion judge, and an award given for winning this Drum Corps competition caption (  my guess, the Cesario Award ). But in the meantime, where Corps finish in placements in DCI is currently not predicated on the attire and headgear choices they make for themselves, imo.  SCV's DCI Title won last season for their first time in 19 years had virtually nothing at all to do with the attire and headgear choice they made in preseason, imo. Now, if a couple of folks here on DCP think otherwise, then thats their opinion, and of course, they are entitled to such.

  5. 1 hour ago, Jeff Ream said:

    the uniform change DID have an effect on the show.

     

     

     This is pure nonsense. But if any fans are to accept this nonsense that judges are judging fashion choices, headgear choices in shows ( they're most decidely not ... but assuming they WERE ), then it logically compels us to ask if it was SCV's choice in costuming attire last summer that helped secure them their first DCI title in 19 years , and conversely, if BD lost the few tenths they could have utilized because their costuming choices for 2018 were not judged as well by the judges as was the fashion choices made by SCV last season.

     But... this is just plain silly.... of course. SCV won their title last season and the fact they had no headgear, and wore the simple attire  that they did,  had nothing at all to do with the scores and placement the judges awarded them. Furthermore, when Corps opted to go to " theme specific " attire, its reasonable to assume as well we all would have received information that the new judging criteria that went into effect would now be judging attire and headgear choices by the judging community. But to my knowledge, no such info was provided ... anywhere... to anyone.... even from DCI pr Flo Marching.... that judges would  now be judging the fashion choices of the Corps in these judged shows. But there has been no such info disseminated. For a simple reason, imo. Judges, despite the silliness promulgated in some quarters, are NOT judging the fashion choices Corps are making, and as a result, scores and placements are not predicated on what marchers are wearing in attire and headgear. And frankly, God help us, if scores/ placements in the future DO become like a Peacock/ Fashion Runway competition endeavor, than a Drum Corps competition endeavor.

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  6. 1 minute ago, Ghost said:

    Don't know the inspection results, but always heard they had to march one less tenor drummer at finals.  Someone dimed the corps.

     I believe they also threw out the inspection scores for all Corps. Oh well, Cavaliers were a great Corps too, so don't want to take anything away from their accomplishment.

  7. 5 minutes ago, Ghost said:

    64 VFW (Cleveland) was my first major contest with an inspection.  Seventeen years old and shaving for the first time.  My two sided single razor could be set from 1 to 9.  Since I didn't know any better, I walked around for about an hour before we left the hotel with small pieces of TP on three different cuts.  In Boston, getting a tenth off during inspection was the least of your problems!

     As you  know too Ghost, Boston won the '67 AL Prelims. Then were ahead after inspection. But for reasons unclear to this very day, the inspection scores were uncharacteristically thrown out for Finals. Cavaliers won Finals, Boston 2nd.  Amirite ? You were there that '67 season as well, no ?

  8.  Old timers on here will recall when attire and headgear worn did in fact, factor into the scoring in competition.

     Inspections. ( lol!)

     That uniform, headgear, shoes, socks, eyeglasses if you wore them etc had better be in straight, spiffy, polished, condition ( and no loose threads hanging anywhere ! ) or that inspection judge would indeed take off tenths on the Corps score... and even before the Corps played a single note in the show too. I know Corps that have won and lost competitions.. even National Titles.. by those few tenths that came from the Inspection line.

  9. 20 minutes ago, George Dixon said:

    I'm not sure I understand - they won in 2011 in a non traditional... 

     

     Yes and No regarding whether it was " traditional " or not. It was not as" traditional" as far as previous Cadets uniforms were concerned, but the Corps Colors were the traditional M&G they won that 2011 Title in. The Cadets won the San Antonio Regional over all Corps on 7/18/2015. Hopkins soon after that San Antonio Regional changed the uniforms, colors, went to the All blacks, and 3 weeks later unfortunately the Cadets finished out of the medals at 4th...( and have not medaled since ). I'm not saying the Hopkins decision to chuck the 80 year iconic Corps Colors was the reason for the Corps slippage, as that would nullify what I've been saying all along, ie.. that  Corps attire and headgear choices are a non factor in placements. People do associate the Cadets recent placement slippage to attire/ headgear, Corps Colors choices by the Cadets. I'm sure we've all heard this here too. But I do not subscribe to that.. Other factors account for this, imo.

  10. 17 minutes ago, George Dixon said:

    eh - I could make the argument than in "modern" times they have YET to win a show in the traditional M&G

    2005 was the altered uniforms

    2011 were the two angel/demon versions

    2007 - they were in M&G and I personally thought they SHOULD have won

    Again - no evidence that a different uniform would have changed 2007 but by then the organization was beginning to feel the M&G was holding them back as dance & movement/staging started its mighty entrance

     The highest Finals placement the Cadets have had the last decade have been in their traditional M & G's however, George . I don't state that as the reason they should go back to them,  as in todays modern DCI thats probably not a wise thing to do. But the recent attire and headgear choices of these Corps... up and down the entire DCI placement ranks... has not effected these Corps placements at all, ...as near as I can tell anyway. The best " theme specific " attire and headgear in 2017 just might've been Academy, imo... or one of them. They dropped out of Finals. Thats because the show design and execution captions were the end all and the be all among their peer groups... and their attire and headgear choices was a completely non factor in their placement that season. ( and as it should be, imo )

  11. 2 hours ago, Tommeee said:

    Case in point:  Cadets with the Angels & Demons show.  Two separate uniforms, used simultaneously, with drill specifically written to accentuate that choice.  Also, the movement of the angels was different than that of the demons.  This HAD to affect the effect score in a positive way.

    I'm not a judge, so I don't actually have PROOF that they scored higher because of those uniforms.  But that uniform/design choice was nearly impossible to ignore for anyone who watched it.

      Boston in 2013 changed uniforms completely in mid show and even ( as Jeff Ream says is factored in ) used the costumes in the performance effectively by completely changing the attire Corps costumes and colors with that in the performance.  There was no effect whatsoever however on their scores/ placements with that attire/ headgear choices,... as near as we can tell anyway..

     As for the Cadets, they have finished in 1st place and in 19th place with virtually identical attire & headgear in both cases, and that fashion choice and headgear choice had no bearing whatsoever on either that 1st place finish nor that 19th place finish for them, imo. As for Cadets title in 2011, its mere speculation that they would not have been able to win their Title that season without the duality of the attire. The theme was about duality, ( perfect for duality attire ) so the attire change DID perhaps assist with that GE visual caption more than if they had utilized their " onsies ", and attempted to win it with those. I  grant that possibility as a matter of fact.  However, placing 1st in GE Music #1... 1st in GE Music #2,....2nd in Guard,.... 2nd in Brass, ....1st in Music Ensemble,... likely were the principal reasons they won in 2011, imo... not the attire/headgear choice that season. But... who knows.

  12. 1 hour ago, Jeff Ream said:

    actually "attire" can count on effect sheets. Does the costume fit the theme? Do they actually use parts of the costume in the performance? That could bleed over to other sheets as well.

     

    so attire can be a factor that helps.....or hurts. You may want to dig into what effect judges actually look at

     Well, I seen the judging sheets, and the criteria instructions, and there is no mention at all on asking  any of the judges to award or deduct points on the basis of " does the costume fit the theme ?", ... nor is it mentioned in the training manuals and judges's instructions that Corps are supposed to " actually use parts of the costume in the performance " in order to derive any awarding of point credits.  That said, my DCI judging manual/ instructions to judges I've read is now 11 years old. So could you perhaps download this page that covers this in the most recent Judging Manual ? , as that would help me ( and perhaps others ) better understand how the judging has changed since 2008 and where apparently now the attire and headgear ( and presumably the absence of headgear ) is now judged for point gain or loss  on the General Effect sheets ( and how attire and headgear choices could even apparently " bleed over " into Brass, Percussion, Guard captions as well, you say ). Thanks. Jeff.

  13.  All I know is, if a Corps show design is stellar, the marchers execute in brass, guard, percussion better than any other competitors, no other Corps choice of attire or headgear will mean a hill of beans. The Cadets ( for one example ) have finished both in 1st place and in 19th place in DCI with pretty much the identical uniform and headgear. Judges did not care a wit when they gave them 1st place, nor 19th place, on what they wore out onto the field for competition. Nor should the judges have cared. . SCV won a DCI Title for themselves in 2018. Their attire and sans headgear decision had nothing to do with that, I'm pretty sure. And the Corps in back of SCV were not disadvantaged in the least by what they chose to wear for themselves as Corps in 2018 either, imo.

  14. 1 hour ago, Tommeee said:

    You are definitely right about keeping judges' opinions out of it.  And I think this debate goes WAY beyond judging and scores.  After time has passed, the scores mean less and less.  But the IMAGE of the corps lives on.  

    For example, I think back to Cadets 2015 (the "10" show).  I still CAN'T BELIEVE we got cheated out of seeing them march THAT SHOW with white pants, instead of black.  I am personally never going to forgive that decision.  Would white pants have gotten them a better score (or possibly worse)?  We will never know.  Some can argue that they lost momentum when they got the black uniforms.  Then again, other things were at play, so we can't really say for sure what would have happened if they had kept the old uniforms.  But for me, the maroon/gold/white would have worked way better, especially when viewing the show years later on a blu-ray disc.

     Good points all, imo.

  15. 50 minutes ago, 2muchcoffeeman said:

    -  every corps would drop costuming entirely and spend all that saved money on juggling otters on unicycles or something.

     Except when you factor in that some Corps staffers and DCI Consultants have ties to uniform manufacturers., When seen thru this prism, the focus on attire and headgear does seem to make some sense for these Corps. But does it show up on the scores/ placements ? Well, its my opinion that it does not. We've seen Corps lately win DCI championships with traditional headgear, progressive headgear, and no headgear. The last 4 Corps to have won DCI have done so with attire and headgear that is so totally unlike the other, that it leads me to my current assessment that attire and headgear had virtually nothing at all to do with why these 4 Corps won their recent DCI Championships.

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  16. 41 minutes ago, Tommeee said:

    This “scientific analysis” you have shown here has no basis in fact.  It is merely your opinion.  

     

     True... and of course, its opinion.  We only know for certain that judges are not instructed to judge attire. Not only that, DCI does not train their judges on being equipped to adjudicate " Superior  fashion ", ... " Adequate fashion".... nor " Subpar fashion". This much transcends opinion. Its a fact, ie,  no training in it.

     Besides, have you seen these judges attire they wear off the field ? ( and sometimes on the field when judging.. whoa.. one female judge immediately comes to mind ). Not sure you'd want these DCI judges to become the arbiters of what is good attire and subpar attire and award or deduct points for such in these judged competitions. :bigsmile:

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  17. 52 minutes ago, 2muchcoffeeman said:

    .

    . . . But saying that a uniform is "pretty much irrelevant" is taking it a bit too far the other way, imo. If that were true, all corps would wear gym shorts and T shirts and save boatloads of money.

     I would say that any attire that allows marchers to move better on the field  might give them a few tenths over a competitor with more restrictive attire by comparison. But the style worn is likely a non factor in their scores. The modern Guards have a lot to do with a Corps GE and Visual scores. Its their equipment work, dance, show design, etc that is the end all, and be all in their scores too, imo. I thought Phantom Regiment ( for example ) has had outstanding Guard attire some years, really befitting their chosen theme that season exceedingly well, imo...  but to no avail at all on their Guard scores, nor on their overall scores for themselves those years however..

      " All Corps " in any year have never worn the same attire and headgear. As a matter of fact a compelling case can be made that there was far more diversity in attire and headgear worn BITD than today in DCI.. Kilties, Troopers, Muchachos, Anaheim Kingsmen, Guardsmen,  Cavaliers, Cadets,  Bridgemen, Freelancers, Velvet Knights, etc were radically different stylistically from one another in attire and headgear.  Indeed, the Velvet Knights could have" worn gym shots and t shirts" and placed exactly where they did with V shape attire on the cymbals players, 2 piece bikini on Guard,  and multi colored pajamas, red sneakers, and red baseball caps on the marchers. Blue Stars placed 2nd in DCI overall with the Guard in white hot pants one year. Cadets wore similar white hot pants in the Guard one year and failed to make Finals. Thats because the attire and headgear had virtually nothing at all to do with these Corps scores/ placements, imo. It didn't then, and its likely that attire and headgear will have no effect on the scores and placements this summer either, imo.

  18. 36 minutes ago, 2muchcoffeeman said:

     corps directors ought to start swapping costumes around with each other in order to save costs, .

     

    The Battalion were provided the 2015 Boston Crusaders uniforms for the Battalion marchers to wear for 2016.. I like this Corps. But its clear to me that the change to the Boston Crusaders uniforms had no effect either up or down in Battalion's scores/ placements from that attire and shako decision..,..once more illustrating that what you have on your head or on your lower torso is pretty much irrelevant to a Corps scores/ placements.

  19.  Drum Corps currently has no caption for " attire " ( some sports competitions do ). So basically, there is little to be gained or lost on any of the score sheets for " attire worn ". Judges are not even to account for " attire " on even the GE Visual sheets. There are dozens of other things the judges will be evaluating on their particular captions, besides the attire worn in competition. As such, Corps are well served to look for a myriad of other ways to find the extra  2-- 3 tenths for themselves at Championships, imo.  If attire was factored into scoring, we'd see Corps altering the attire throughout the season, as much as they alter other aspects of their show. But typically speaking, Corps keep their attire for the entire season. The only major attire change I recall mid season was the Cadets in 2015. They won the San Antonio Regionals, topping all Corps there. They then scrapped their 80 year traditional colors, unis, for an all black uniform and wound up 4th at Finals 3 weeks later, and have never placed in the top 3 at any Regionals or FInals since. For decades, the Cadets have placed high and low in their traditional attire, and in neither case did the attire have anything at all to do with that placement/score, imo. 

  20.  Thanks for posting his predictions. I share a few of his predictions here, while thinking a couple of others of his predictions will generally not be what we'll see from most of the Corps.  But... who knows ?  It will be interesting to see at the end of the season how it turned out. I enjoyed reading his thoughts/ predictions here. He has a great love for the activity and that comes across well in his postings.

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