Drenched in DeKalb

[Jaltrogge]

The man who wrote the DCI General Effect captions (which is fundamentally the same as when he single handedly wrote it in 1972 when he was not yet 33 years old ) instructed the judges when utilizing his construct not to determine if the audience liked the show or not. He said in a taped interview that it would be impossible for the General Effect judge to ascertain what " effect " the show had on audience members. So he instructed the General Effect judges that would utilize his new General Effect captions to base the " general effect " on how a Corps show effected THEM, and them alone.. This interpretation of audience avoidance was a novel concept at the time, as prior to DCI, many local circuits around the Country and into Canada had written into the General Effect captions an audience consideration. BD does well in the current General Effect captions because the GE judges like what they are doing, and consider it better in their opinion that what the others are producing. So thats a quick, brief synopsis of what General Efffect is meant to appeal to as its fundamental requirements, and why BD does well at present in this caption. Incidentally, the persn who single handedly wrote the DCI General Effect caption, later split into GE Music, GE Visual ( then ratified and approved by Corps, judges alike ) lives in California in retirement now, but still judges at DCI Championships, although now he is into his 70's.

Thanks for this, I didn't know any of this.

[BDCorno]

it's mid-july

scv hasn't given up. why are you?

I think their show is very innovative. I really like it. Unfortunately, there isn't the demand and type of structure that plays to the field sheets. It's quite different and pleasant. Best Vanguard in a very long time IMHO. It's just sooo different than the other top contenders. Musically, I see it as the type of show that will play well in a dome. I look for them to have their best shows indoors.

[Hrothgar15]

RAMD was a bit before my time but one of these days I'd LOVE to get an explainer on Catherine Burr.

[saxfreq1128]

The man who wrote the DCI General Effect captions (which is fundamentally the same as when he single handedly wrote it in 1972 when he was not yet 33 years old ) instructed the judges when utilizing his construct not to determine if the audience liked the show or not. He said in a taped interview that it would be impossible for the General Effect judge to ascertain what " effect " the show had on audience members. So he instructed the General Effect judges that would utilize his new General Effect captions to base the " general effect " on how a Corps show effected THEM, and them alone.. This interpretation of audience avoidance was a novel concept at the time, as prior to DCI, many local circuits around the Country and into Canada had written into the General Effect captions an audience consideration. BD does well in the current General Effect captions because the GE judges like what they are doing, and consider it better in their opinion that what the others are producing. So thats a quick, brief synopsis of what General Efffect is meant to appeal to as its fundamental requirements, and why BD does well at present in this caption. Incidentally, the persn who single handedly wrote the DCI General Effect caption, later split into GE Music, GE Visual ( then ratified and approved by Corps, judges alike ) lives in California in retirement now, but still judges at DCI Championships, although now he is into his 70's.

I learned a lot about GE from the judges' tapes that used to be included on the DVDs. I learned a *lot* from 2002 in particular -- hearing what judges saw/heard in Frameworks that they weren't hearing/seeing in other corps. Hearing how they felt about seeing the Cadets drag those platforms out to dance on (they found it distracting) which is what I think of whenever a corps uses props that seem really inelegant: it's bad GE. Hearing the Music GE judge talk about the sound of Frameworks in terms of hot/cool sounds, or the colors of the sounds, or whatever else. The sheets have changed since then, but the basic idea - that a show should be elegantly designed; that the corps' members have to be working at full capacity to sell the show - is the same, no? It's definitely subjective, but not because there aren't objective measures at play.

Edited July 18, 2016 by saxfreq1128

[BRASSO]

Thanks for this, I didn't know any of this.

You're entirely welcome.

[flammaster]

The man who wrote the DCI General Effect caption (which is fundamentally the same as when he single handedly wrote it in 1972 when he was not yet 33 years old ) instructed the judges when utilizing his construct not to determine if the audience liked the show or not. He said in a taped interview that it would be impossible for the General Effect judge to ascertain what " effect " the show had on audience members. So he instructed the General Effect judges that would utilize his new General Effect caption to base the " general effect " on how a Corps show effected THEM, and them alone.. This interpretation of audience avoidance was a novel concept at the time, as prior to DCI, many local circuits around the Country and into Canada had written into the General Effect captions an audience consideration. BD does well in the current General Effect captions because the GE judges like what they are doing, and consider it better in their opinion that what the others are producing. So thats a quick, brief synopsis as to who General Efffec caption is meant to appeal to as its fundamental requirement, and why BD does well at present in this caption. Incidentally, the person who single handedly wrote the DCI General Effect caption, later split into GE Music, GE Visual ( then ratified and approved by Corps, judges alike ) lives in California in retirement now ( a many year, public school, junior high math teacher), but still judges at DCI Championships, although now he is into his 70's.

So you're saying that busing in loads of screaming bando kids and over the top parents isn't going to effect the score?

[BRASSO]

RAMD was a bit before my time but one of these days I'd LOVE to get an explainer on Catherine Burr.

Hamilton perhaps shot the wrong Burr... thats all I'll say about that ( haha!)

Edited July 18, 2016 by BRASSO

[phd-student-TTU]

I don't think Phantom will stay in front of BK. They might not even stay in front of Blue Stars and Madison. Their show I just think is lacking, although their visual design is better than last year.

Agreed. I see all three passing them.

[BRASSO]

I learned a lot about GE from the judges' tapes that used to be included on the DVDs. I learned a *lot* from 2002 in particular -- hearing what judges saw/heard in Frameworks that they weren't hearing/seeing in other corps. Hearing how they felt about seeing the Cadets drag those platforms out to dance on (they found it distracting) which is what I think of whenever a corps uses props that seem really inelegant: it's bad GE. Hearing the Music GE judge talk about the sound of Frameworks in terms of hot/cool sounds, or the colors of the sounds, or whatever else. The sheets have changed since then, but the basic idea - that a show should be elegantly designed; that the corps' members have to be working at full capacity to sell the show - is the same, no? It's definitely subjective, but not because there aren't objective measures at play.

The Cavaliers in the 90's really ushered in what I call " The Visual Age " of DCI Drum Corps. You mentioned their DCI winning show " Frameworks". In this visual masterpiece, their snare line, bass line positioned themselves in the far right corner, backs to the audience, and did not play their drums, nor move a muscle for over 3.19 minutes in the middle of the show. The Guard, brassline did the visual. It would have been unthinkable in this new " Visual Age " if the Guard was positioned in the far right corner, backs to the audience, and did not move a muscle, and the drums and the brass played instead. They would have been buried on the sheets in what was now ( the 90's ) being most rewarded...Guard/ Visual. Things change. BD did too, by the later 90's, and has never looked back since. BD generally now has the best Guard in DCI most years. Thats critical today. If a Corps does not have a strong guard and visual program, it won't matter how good their brass line and/ or percussion sections are. The Cadets had the best brass line in DCI last season.,.. but did not medal. What do we learn from this ?

Edited July 18, 2016 by BRASSO

[sarnia sam]

RAMD was a bit before my time but one of these days I'd LOVE to get an explainer on Catherine Burr.

you ask the impossible. I don't think there is anyone who could explain (not going to use her name). Let's put it this way, she's one of a small group of people who broke RAMD. On the bright side, her actions lead to the creation of DCP, so there's that.

Regards,

John