30 second synopsis

[Perry S]

how is explaining that you feel the show should be experienced as it was intended by the designers and judged solely on the merits of it as such instead of being accompanied by a written or verbal explanation or synopsis not a response to the original post. truly, i'm baffled. did you actually read my post, or are you just trying to be disagreeable tonight?

i have to add, i have posted on here regularly for a few months, and i don't feel like i've "flame baited" or "trolled" at all. honestly, that is never my purpose, not at all, i don't think flame wars are a productive use of anyones time.

Ok So I'll take back Trolling, I apologize. And I did read it. All of it. But when you read the OP's very simple request for very simple help, the response (and it seems to be to most so far) was like WOW! Way over thought for what is in fact a very simple request.

[mad_scotty]

Ok So I'll take back Trolling, I apologize. And I did read it. All of it. But when you read the OP's very simple request for very simple help, the response (and it seems to be to most so far) was like WOW! Way over thought for what is in fact a very simple request.

actually, i typed that out in maybe 90 seconds. so both overthought and off the cuff. but this is a bit of an issue with me, people's strange desire to take an audio-visual medium like drum corps and completely overanalyze it, turning it into a written text in the process. that just doesn't work for me (though about 8 of the top 12 design staffs clearly disagree with me here). really, as overly wordy as i sometimes get, my point is simple, just play it, and hopefully, enjoy it. thats what its there for.

[Perry S]

actually, i typed that out in maybe 90 seconds. so both overthought and off the cuff. but this is a bit of an issue with me, people's strange desire to take an audio-visual medium like drum corps and completely overanalyze it, turning it into a written text in the process. that just doesn't work for me (though about 8 of the top 12 design staffs clearly disagree with me here). really, as overly wordy as i sometimes get, my point is simple, just play it, and hopefully, enjoy it. thats what its there for.

Ok, Now somethig we do agree on. DESIGN STAFFS! Geez don't get me started. What'll some of them want to do next? The Iliad? LOL I think you know what I mean based on what you said.

[ChicagoFan]

but this is a bit of an issue with me, people's strange desire to take an audio-visual medium like drum corps and completely overanalyze it, turning it into a written text in the process. that just doesn't work for me (though about 8 of the top 12 design staffs clearly disagree with me here). really, as overly wordy as i sometimes get, my point is simple, just play it, and hopefully, enjoy it. thats what its there for.

I agree with most of what you've said here and, after reading your other posts in this thread now believe I have a pretty good idea of your position. However, I think your initial response to the OP might have come across as a bit condescending and harsh -- as if anyone who can't appreciate this "art form" at the same level or in the same manner as you is somehow flawed. (Again, I now know that's not what your suggesting but that's what I drew from the initial post.)

[jthomas666]

i think you miss my point jayzer. what i'm saying is, explain what a drum corps is, thats fine, but then let them watch the shows and judge for themselves whether they like them or not. take them as they are. if you're going to like drum corps you'll like it the very first time you see and hear it, and no amount of explaining will make a bit of difference. and it shouldn't.

i mean, really, does someone seeing a corps member dressed like a robber, being chased by another corps member dressed like a cop, sliding through a bunch of red ribbons set up to look like a laser trip wire security net need an explanation? same with crown, who needs to be talked through that? as to the other shows, well, if you need a detailed explanation to "get it", well, that just tells me that the the shows a design failure. and i think that serves the op pretty well. have you ever had to sit through someones long winded explanation of why you should like a movie and what you're going to get out of it and what you should be watching and paying attention to as it plays without being a little irritated? this guy doesn't need better synopses, he needs to pop in the dvd, turn the volume all the way up, and relax a bit. at least thats my pov, and i don't find it any less valid than anyones interpretation of faust in under 100 words.

So, did was PR admitting defeat when they handed out librettos for their first Spartacus show?

When you're approaching anything new--be it drum corps or swimming--a little bit of help can be a very good thing.

[EndzoneEric]

So, did was PR admitting defeat when they handed out librettos for their first Spartacus show?

When you're approaching anything new--be it drum corps or swimming--a little bit of help can be a very good thing.

Good point! Next time I travel to a Broadway show, I'll reject the Playbill and hand the usher a print out of the diatribe posted earlier.

[euponitone]

i think you miss my point jayzer. what i'm saying is, explain what a drum corps is, thats fine, but then let them watch the shows and judge for themselves whether they like them or not. take them as they are. if you're going to like drum corps you'll like it the very first time you see and hear it, and no amount of explaining will make a bit of difference. and it shouldn't.

i mean, really, does someone seeing a corps member dressed like a robber, being chased by another corps member dressed like a cop, sliding through a bunch of red ribbons set up to look like a laser trip wire security net need an explanation? same with crown, who needs to be talked through that? as to the other shows, well, if you need a detailed explanation to "get it", well, that just tells me that the the shows a design failure. and i think that serves the op pretty well. have you ever had to sit through someones long winded explanation of why you should like a movie and what you're going to get out of it and what you should be watching and paying attention to as it plays without being a little irritated? this guy doesn't need better synopses, he needs to pop in the dvd, turn the volume all the way up, and relax a bit. at least thats my pov, and i don't find it any less valid than anyones interpretation of faust in under 100 words.

You are right - in that trying to explain everything to someone can get annoying...sometimes its better to just sit and let things play out. However, you picked the two shows last year that anyone could have figured out, but it aint always like that. Of the top 5 from 06, maybe 1 or 2 themes would be apparent to a newbie. In the end, I just think this was a simple thread, with a simple request, thats been blown way out of proportion. Good answers have already been given....

[JayM]

I stand by my point.

In person, I don't think any explanation is needed, but with DVDs (which even I find boring after a show or two) I think a tiny bit of guidance is helpful.

[eightyonepointthree]

if you feel a need to have a storyline explained to you, after viewing any work of art, you should consider that work of art, within your personal context, a complete failure. because, at least in your case, it is a complete failure. art is, it exists in a world outside of explanations and commentary, those who feel the commentary is necessary are soulless drones with no taste for art who are trying to fill the (w)hole in their consciousness with white noise. don't fall for that sort of subthinking. go out, get more life experiences, and approach the shows again a few years from now, see if they speak to you. and if they don't, well, maybe they just sucked, at least to someone with your tastes and sensibilities. as far as showing them to someone else, well, explain what the activity is, so they will know what they are seeing, if you feel a need to, but let the shows stand on their own. either the person watching will get it, or not, kind of like with anything.

Do you feel better now?

[contra love]

... have you ever had to sit through someones long winded explanation of why you should like a movie and what you're going to get out of it and what you should be watching and paying attention to as it plays without being a little irritated? this guy doesn't need better synopses, he needs to pop in the dvd, turn the volume all the way up, and relax a bit. at least thats my pov, and i don't find it any less valid than anyones interpretation of faust in under 100 words.

While I'm not even going to say that "someones long winded explanation" necessarily a bad thing, the OP never was asking for that, a 30 second synopsis is more like a movie trailer and not really any amount of deep thinking. The point, while I may be incredibly wrong, is not to explain what the shows mean to the viewers or to enlighten them before they view the shows, but to give them something more to expect than "its kinda like a marching band."

I mean, most of us look forward to, at the very least, musical selections of each corps. We might not care about why they chose to put those songs together or what they want to portray with that selection, but just knowing the repertoire is a little exciting.

With a non-drum corps audience, telling them what they are playing could mean a lot, or nothing (none of us know who the OP plans to show the shows to, or how much musical background of any kind they have). Telling them the basic story that is being presented can produce imagery in their own minds no matter what kind of knowledge, musical or otherwise, they currently have.

Giving them a short idea of what they are seeing is not going to ruin the show, nor should it really have much of an effect on their personal enjoyment of the show as they are watching it. A 30 second synopsis is just that, 30 seconds.