silvertrombone Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 Kudos to Jeff, first of all, for his effort at blogging about Precisison West via his cell phone!! Technology is amazing. I'm something of a tech dunce...catching up with technology these days. But this thread made me ponder... ...what kind of cool stuff is coming that will affect our activity? Obviously, pretty soon, it will be completely possible to have, like, 1,000 raving idiots doing this same thing (not calling Jeff an idiot, obviously). Having DCP completely inundated during performances with updated threads tacking on hundreds of entries per minute seems kind of...feasible. I know I'd be entering such stuff...although, hopefully, with a little bit more intelligent commentary than average. "Whoa, that was sooo coool" just doesn't interest me. And this brings up the issue...how long will it be before pictures and video can be shot live and uploaded to DCP immediately via cell phone. This is, of course, an issue because you can't well restrict 5,000-10,000 fans from bringing in their cell phones, can you?? But perhaps even more important to consider... ...would you WANT to?? I mean, this whole technology in the palm of your hand era simply amazes me. And this could be a HUGE opportunity for DCI to gain a little bit more of a mainstream presence. I mean, put content out there, allow fans to blog, shoot photos/vids and upload them and that just feeds the raving fan that most of us has become. Total, complete, all-summer, unfetered access to every performance practically live, unedited and nearly immediately after its completion. The Internet is showing that access to information drives people accessing that content and that drives both interest and, therefore, REVENUES!! Think about it...Encyclopedia Britanica used to be sold in sets...remember the announcement that they would be putting their content out there for free?? Online??? And from what I know, they seem to be doing pretty well. Most of us have friends in every region, and I imagine that most of you are like me--I would tend to take what my friends have to say about a performance over one of you strange strangers...no offense! :-P That being the case, I could draw on my network of friends to put such photos/vids online with their commentary in June when no corps are within 1,000 miles of me and see how things are progressing...compare design from June 20th to July 31st, etc...uniform changes...new visual add's, etc. There are some implications for all of this on the revenue side as far as existing video sales go. But I think that the problems could be pretty easily resolved. For example, the argument goes that putting content online for free would reduce video sales. Now, I disagree, because these videos are high-quality, professional vids shot in multiple views versus someone's cell phone, which is still years away from even REMOTELY comparing to a half-bad professionally shot video on a semi-outdated digital camera. But it would be good enough to generate interest...the point. I'll betcha that video sales would increase because people would want the "through-the-year" version that shows a show from June 20th to finals on weekend regional performances. Just my thought. Simply raising ticket prices $5 per seat all summer cancels out any negative effect on video sales. The idea being, you're going to pay $5 more live, but you're going to get ALL OF THIS on the Internet all summer. Maybe that's encapsulated in Fan Network, but there are some kinks that have to be worked out there. Thoughts?? I think we're still a couple years away from cell phones being capable of such stuff...but video cameras are already pretty danged good, so its not to far out. So I think the corps need to start strategizing how it should be handled so that when the technology DOES get released two months before some future season, DCI is ready to implement basically on a moment's notice. Because at the speed of technology, there won't be much lead time or time to react...its got to be a ahead-of-the-curve type of thing. Anyone have anything to add on any related subjects? I know we have many more technologically-gifted people than me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvertrombone Posted June 14, 2009 Author Share Posted June 14, 2009 A little long, but t-mac's original post in his Carolina Crown thread is a perfect example of what I had in mind. This would be a great post via cell phone at a show, albeit a bit wordy. You get the idea. Attach vids and voila...instant, live show updates... ...and 2 million DCI fans/addicts and marching band detractors in the media suddenly sitting riveted to their computer screen every night seeing what the new update is! Spent about 2 1/2 hours watching Crown rehearse yesterday (1 hr in afternoon/brass and 1 1/2 hrs at night/full ensemble no guard). Afternoon: Middle of the show (not exactly sure of the piece) working one particular section where the tubas are playing up in the euphonium range followed by a muted trumpet feature. Mellos then take over while the low brass follow the leader into a tight circle with contras on one side in a circle with all mid and high brass in a very "Cadet -like" tight grid on other side of field. Some good impacts, lots of good instruction going on concerning energised air stream, toungue placement and maintaining tone "concept". Time signature is a bear (7/4 at @ 180 or so I believe) but they are handling it with ease. Evening runthru: Working on First two sections (plus one). Show starts with "Pre-show" music and about 32 sets of drill before first big impact. Lots of really nice small ensemble playing as corps "comes on to the field kinda randomly building to a full fledged chorale unified form. I am not going to give away to much because I am sure there will be changes, but I will say that once the show actually gets going, it is not a typical beginning as the brass give way to the percussion which allow the hornline to do some nice geometric drill leading up to a nice brass hit into a nice "Cavalierish" unwinding block. Lots of high energy (they are pushing 188 right now but I think are going to eventually shoot for 200) giving way to slower movement. Very nice Brass sounds, especially during the more Chorale type sections. Very enjoyable what I've seen so far. Look forward to seeing more this week. Will try to keep you updated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smj02 Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 I like the enthusiasm and all, but... There's a reason corps request that videos be pulled off YouTube, there's a reason DCP has a strong policy about linking to those videos. I think DCI is doing all in its power to answer to the multimedia demands of its fan base - the Fan Network has empowered corps to be their own multimedia promoters. If money grew on trees, DCI could offer Fan Network for free, but they've gotta pay the bills somehow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvertrombone Posted June 14, 2009 Author Share Posted June 14, 2009 I like the enthusiasm and all, but... There's a reason corps request that videos be pulled off YouTube, there's a reason DCP has a strong policy about linking to those videos. I think DCI is doing all in its power to answer to the multimedia demands of its fan base - the Fan Network has empowered corps to be their own multimedia promoters. If money grew on trees, DCI could offer Fan Network for free, but they've gotta pay the bills somehow. Ever heard of the term 'viral'?? I occurs to me that the wrong approach going forward is control. Corps are so concerned because there are a bunch of crazy people out here who call ouselves 'fans' and they don't want their "brand" to be besmirched. Got news...happens every day! Again, I'm not a tech geek, but 'viral' I do know. facebook works...AMAZINGLY so! Twitter. You mentioned youTube. Perhaps we are fans of a 'niche' activity for a reason?? And, again, perhaps the way going forward to solve some problems, generate some 'buzz', bring in some new fans--geez, how many fans aren't within 100 miles of a show?? Hello, Miami?? Not much going on up in Seattle. West Coast shuts down after July 4th or so?? Get some interest from fans in those places and revenues will take care of themselves. Again, maybe Fan network accomplishes this. Then again, the NFL doesn't have its own Fan Network...that's called ESPN. In other words, the teams don't market for themselves. Granted, the NFL does that...but more than not, it is accomplished by media, broadcasts (free, I might add!), and fan-generated buzz!! There's a lesson in professional sports even for those who don't like the comparison! Its the Internet era, folks. And even more can be done, even in DCI. Just sayin... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smj02 Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 The issue isn't technology or lack of enthusiasm on the corps/DCI's end...it's copyright and legal issues...about which I know very little except that corps have to be careful about what video and audio content is available on the web for fear of being sued by the copyright holders of the music they perform. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freelancer7577 Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 DCI should put out individual high quality "hits", or "singles" on Youtube. Artists do it all the time... videos is what got MTV started. You cannot stop it anyway - there are always going to be ripped off shows on Youtube, like it or not. So DCI should give up the battle and attempt to win the war... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NR_Ohiobando Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 * Do online vids and pictures drive people to make DCI purchases? Absolutely. * Are people always going to video-tape corps performances illegally? Yep. People are sneaky SOBs. * Should we allow people to video-tape/upload performances? Nah. I think we're fine the way things are right now. If I see 10,000 people at finals holding up cell phones and cameras video taping the performance, it'll be a little distracting to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvertrombone Posted June 15, 2009 Author Share Posted June 15, 2009 DCI should put out individual high quality "hits", or "singles" on Youtube. Artists do it all the time... videos is what got MTV started. You cannot stop it anyway - there are always going to be ripped off shows on Youtube, like it or not. So DCI should give up the battle and attempt to win the war... THANK you...I figure if my point was able to drag someone out of the shadows to make post #14 in 5 years, I must be onto something. Re: bando's post...if it builds buzz and hype, why not? And if people are going to do it anyways, why not stop policing youTube and find ways to get idiot composers to relinquish a little bit of control in the effort to get their music before a broader audience. Fact: One DCI corps performing 35 seconds from an obscure composer will result in a whole bunch of high school bands performing that music, in MB if not concert season! And that means ROYALTIES!! There's no reason DCI can't pay royalties on video stuff...and getting composers on board...maybe ASCAP would be easier?...would just increase buzz, interest...and credibility for all! But you guys aren't talking about technology...you're bogging down in legalities. C'mon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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