DCI "At the Movies" Experience

[Fran Haring]

We saw the top 15 at a Regal Cinemas venue in the Baltimore area.

Small crowd, as usual, at this particular venue. Kinda weird that the attendance at this place is always sparse, when other venues in the area draw bigger crowds.

I like it, though... it's almost like a private screening.  LOL.

Just wondering if anyone else who watched the cinecast had the experience we had.... the audio volume was cranked WAY up for the first five corps, then dropped off dramatically during Crossmen and Phantom Regiment, and for most of Blue Knights.... then got louder again.

I have no idea if it was a venue issue or a feed issue.... but the volume-change thing was strange.

And the audio mix... I'm sure it was much better in person. In the theater, several narration clips got lost during several performances... we either couldn't hear them at all, or just barely.  One example: The Cavaliers' "stand-up comic" joke. Could only hear the punch line, which of course made no sense since we didn't hear the set-up line.  LOL.

And we also could hardly hear Steve, Dennis, and the rest of the broadcast crew at times. 

We've been going to this venue for years now, and this was the first year we've experienced the audio issues we encountered this time around.

Edited August 12, 2017 by Fran Haring

[eightyonepointthree]

I could barely here Steve and Dennis also.  I tried a different theater than my normal just so I could enjoy the personal recliners.  Should have gone back to my old one.  The new one had so many sub woofers that with many of the corps, the sub was dominant.  

Going back to my old theater next year.

[gjramsey]

Cypress TX.  Audio was way too quiet to start.  I had to ask the theater to get the volumn up, and they turned it up a little before intermission.  After they had it right...nice and loud.  

Audio mix was the same.  Lot of lost narration.  Way toooo much GOOOO.   Could not hear much of BAC narration, but was able to hear the last couple of lines before the burning.....

Theater was about 90% full, large number of Band kiddos that did very well.  A lot of clapping for the performances, which I don't get at all!  LOL.

 

[KRtrumpet182]

Lititz/Lancaster, PA. Agree with the sentiments above. A lot of the narration was completely lost in the audio mix. I couldn't hear any of Boston's narration, not even "she must burn." Same with Cavies - I heard the punch line of that joke, something about a face, but nothing prior to that.  

[war eagle]

It was great at my theatre

 I do wonder if what many refer to as the thunderous goo is as loud in person as it is in the theatre. The walls were literally vibrating. 

Edited August 11, 2017 by war eagle

[gjramsey]

At the Houston show, there were several corps that had too much thunderous goo that I could feel to my bones.  One of them were also responsible last night as well.   There were some last night with goo that I did not feel during Houston, so I think mike placement might generate some more to the theater experience.

 

[dans]

1 hour ago, Fran Haring said:

We saw the top 15 at a Regal Cinemas venue in the Baltimore area.

Small crowd, as usual, at this particular venue. Kinda weird that the attendance at this place is always sparse, when other venues in the area draw bigger crowds.

I like it, though... it's almost like a private screening.  LOL.

Just wondering anyone else who watched the cinecast had the experience we had.... the audio volume was cranked WAY up for the first five corps, then dropped off dramatically during Crossmen and Phantom Regiment, and for most of Blue Knights.... then got louder again.

I have no idea if it was a venue issue or a feed issue.... but the volume-change thing was strange.

And the audio mix... I'm sure it was much better in person. In the theater, several narration clips got lost during several performances... we either couldn't hear them at all, or just barely.  One example: The Cavaliers' "stand-up comic" joke. Could only hear the punch line, which of course made no sense since we didn't hear the set-up line.  LOL.

And we also could hardly hear Steve, Dennis, and the rest of the broadcast crew at times. 

We've been going to this venue for years now, and this was the first year we've experienced the audio issues we encountered this time around.

See, you can always find a positive!

[barigirl78]

Regal 14 at Union Square in Manhattan.  The lights were already down when I arrived.  So, I never got a good look at the crowd.

The sound was pretty loud.  The room was probably a third full, but we had some very vocal people.

There were parts of shows that weren't audible, but I attributed that to microphone placement and mixing at the field.  When Crossmen went into their box on the lower left of the field and play dischordant sounds, I know they were playing, but couldn't hear them.  Audio person must have done something because a few minutes later, you could hear the corps proper start the ballad and that is must softer.

As with others, there was narration I couldn't hear.

With different corps having different speaker placements and sounds coming from different directions, I think it's impossible to broadcast this perfectly.  Being there in person is always going to be superior...and should be.

[NakedEye]

Volume was very loud at my usual theater, though the balance issues others have mentioned were present. Couldn't hear Boston's narration at all, and it was muddy/too low for many.

Bigger issue for me was the direction. I thought Blair was doing this again, but it didn't seem to be up to his standard at all. Usually, the cameras are in the right place at the right time 90% of the show, but this was the opposite. Drumlines got major time every time they played, whether it was a featured moment or not, likewise the pit, with very extended shots, even after they had finished playing. Soloist views were up-your-nose close and sometimes from a weird angle, like the cameraman was laying on the ground. Tons of sideline-level work, showing a moving mass of people from a too-low perspective. Shots from the backfield (?) and corners (??).

BD's guard seemed to get the worst of it. Virtually all of the rifle work from the very beginning though Bumblebee gone. Flag feature 90% gone. Most of the wings: gone. The strange thing is, those moments were the major visual points at those particular times, so it wasn't like there was too much to choose from. Instead, lots of closeups of gyrating horn players. 

It all seemed more consistent with Flo's several-month history of poor shot choices than Blair's usual excellence. 

[luv4corps]

3 hours ago, Fran Haring said:

We saw the top 15 at a Regal Cinemas venue in the Baltimore area.

Small crowd, as usual, at this particular venue. Kinda weird that the attendance at this place is always sparse, when other venues in the area draw bigger crowds.

I like it, though... it's almost like a private screening.  LOL.

Just wondering anyone else who watched the cinecast had the experience we had.... the audio volume was cranked WAY up for the first five corps, then dropped off dramatically during Crossmen and Phantom Regiment, and for most of Blue Knights.... then got louder again.

I have no idea if it was a venue issue or a feed issue.... but the volume-change thing was strange.

And the audio mix... I'm sure it was much better in person. In the theater, several narration clips got lost during several performances... we either couldn't hear them at all, or just barely.  One example: The Cavaliers' "stand-up comic" joke. Could only hear the punch line, which of course made no sense since we didn't hear the set-up line.  LOL.

And we also could hardly hear Steve, Dennis, and the rest of the broadcast crew at times. 

We've been going to this venue for years now, and this was the first year we've experienced the audio issues we encountered this time around.

Sounds exactly like my experience but also with synth bass being cranked up so high it rattled the floor and drown out several hornlines.