jasgre2000

Odds on Santa making an appearance at finals?

BD's show is much better live

Is it uncouth to say that I HATE Christmas music right now? Love the holiday, but the music makes me want to puke.

Yep, and doing it in a very entertaining way. You get it.

Hmmmm ... I didnt notice any english VO when I saw their show in person a week and a half ago. Maybe I missed it.

LOVE the chord at the end of SCV show.

I just don't like the use of voiceovers to explain things that can be figured out visually and through the music. A voiceover that is intended to add to the general feel and ambience of the show, such as the french guy in BD's show, is effective in my opinion. But I don't want someone telling me I am supposed to feel fear or anger or peace in a show. Just let me feel it. Treat me like I am intelligent enough to figure it out.

Great show, but I also dislike that they use electronics to cover the chords. It seems like cheating to me.

Electronics in BK show really detract from what the corps is doing, and the corps is doing some amazing stuff. I am not normally critical of electronics, but it is too mich in that show. A least in the beginnng.

Dont know if it is possible, given how hard the rest of the show is, but BK's show could use a lot more movement and energy at the end. The end of Firebird is crazy.

This is much better than it was a week and a half ago. Clearly very difficult show.

Saw BK go after BD in Utah, and it didnt help them. Wonder if it will be better after Scouts. Probably not. Way too much synth in preshow.

I love the mashup. I think it is kind of brilliant. I really wish I could see that show in person.

I have heard that a lot of these type of televised events actually pay ESPN to put them on. They are sort of like an infomercial. Poker is the same situation. Online poker sites pay ESPN to broadcast tournaments. DCI was probably in the same situation and decided it wasn't a good investment to pay to put the competitions on ESPN. I'm not sure I agree with that decision, but it makes some sense.

I might if I have time later. One thing I noticed from a brief glance is that The Cadets and Blue Devils seem to do better than everyone else. It is also true that The Cadets and Blue Devils organizations have expanded beyond drum corps to sponsoring other performing arts groups (WGI, Band, Wind Symphony) and educational programs. Maybe the solution is for drum corps to expand the scope of their vision to improve their opportunities to take in revenue.

For anyone interested in the FACTS about the financial situation of various corps, you can look up their IRS filings on this site: http://foundationcenter.org/findfunders/990finder/ It only has 990 forms through the 2010 fiscal year, but it is pretty interesting to see how different the situation is for various corps. Some spend a lot more than others. Some make a lot more than others. Many are operating at a slight loss. The struggling corps aren't necessarily who you would think. Take a look if you are interested.

Yep. I don't buy the stigma argument. It is about growing the fanbase and nothing else. If people are watching, then advertisers will sign on. That means an effective marketing campaign can have a big return on investment. The "band camp" stigma was prevalent in the 90s, but it isn't the 90s anymore. Being "nerdy" is cool these days, and people who give DC a chance will love it because it is awesome. Limiting the scope of marketing because of some perception of a stigma is a silly thing to do.

If you want good leadership, then you have to pay to get it. Cutting executive salaries means good executives leave and the replacements are mediocre. That is the way the world works, even if you don't like it.

Why not go back to PBS? What was wrong with broadcasting there? Is the concern that DCI would lose revenue that they can pick up from the theater shows? It seems like if you want to grow your viewer base, getting on television is a good way to do it. Surely there are some public broadcasting sponsors that would support a broadcast. I think the hardcore fans, that are really the one group that watches these shows now as it is, will either continue to buy the Fan Network pass or go to the theater shows for a bigger and louder experience. I don't think PBS would eat into the revenue that is currently being made too much, and it would widen the base of fans. HD TVs and DTS audio were made for drum corps.

The year Boston did Bolero.

I think it really depends on personal taste. The shows you listed probably have more mass appeal than others, but I have to say that this year's BD show is one of the most entertaining and compelling I have seen in a long time (and I am not normally a fan of BD shows, to be honest). I took a girl I was dating to a DCI theater show a couple years ago, and her favorite was SCV's Bartok show. It was her first DCI experience. I loved that show as well, and think Star's Medea show is amazing.

Yep. Let's make them all equally mediocre. Competition breeds excellence.

And where is the money for that going to come from?

Why not implement promotion and relegation, like the European soccer leagues: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Promotion_and_relegation

I agree with this, but I do think there needs to be room for the top corps to compete against each other before finals. I don't really understand why people disliked the TOC idea, but I think it makes perfect sense. Regionalize, and then have the top 8 corps from the previous years finals invited to special TOC shows in each region. Watering down shows by preventing the top corps from meeting together is not the way to grow the business.