jjeffeory Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 understood. i've never been much of a drill guy. i know what looks good when i see it but I don't have the foggiest on HOW to make it work. I didn't get the fan network this year so I can't comment on what they have done so far or how they look. it must really be bad though, from what I gather in all of the discussions. It's not really bad, but it's not currently as good as it has been in the past. I'll go ahead and agree with the staging issues idea. I don't really want to comment on the rest of this though, as it's probably counter productive and we'll be seeing some changes soon anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaseyW Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 (edited) I'll say yes, because of one thing: staging. The staging of the corps throughout the show has direct and immediate impact on the performance effectiveness of every caption. I can't tell you how many thousands of musical and visual impacts I've heard and seen over the decades fizzle simply because not everyone in the corps is positioned in the show correctly to make the impact have maximum effect. Look at the Blue Devils. I usually think their drill difficulty leaves a lot to be desired--their musical design, too--but their staging is flawless, every single year, every single minute of every show. It's freakish. It's one of many, many reasons why the Blue Devils are always in the Top 3, but make no mistake, it's a big reason. I just don't get it though. Hinshaw is a phenomenal writer; his visual packages are amazing. Look at Avon (yes I know - they're not a drum corps), year after year they are producing great visual programs as well as musical. I'm just going to go with the simple fact that the Cavaliers have had many staff changes, and a young corps to boot. No conspiracies. Edited July 6, 2012 by kaseyW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corpsband Posted July 6, 2012 Author Share Posted July 6, 2012 I'll say yes, because of one thing: staging. So the question is - does the drill writer alone really have THAT much of an impact on a corps success or lack of success? The staging of the corps throughout the show has direct and immediate impact on the performance effectiveness of every caption. I can't tell you how many thousands of musical and visual impacts I've heard and seen over the decades fizzle simply because not everyone in the corps is positioned in the show correctly to make the impact have maximum effect. Look at the Blue Devils. I usually think their drill difficulty leaves a lot to be desired--their musical design, too--but their staging is flawless, every single year, every single minute of every show. It's freakish. It's one of many, many reasons why the Blue Devils are always in the Top 3, but make no mistake, it's a big reason. Flawed premise in the GP's question: Gaines is far more than a 'drill writer'. Agree with everything you're saying here, Hos. Gaines has a gift for creating opportunities for effect -- both visual and musical. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Boo Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 When Michael Gaines started with Cavaliers, he was very, very good...but he had yet to become Michael Gaines. And now, the fans will wait and see how long it takes Richard Hinshaw to become Richard Hinshaw. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hostrauser Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 Flawed premise in the GP's question: Gaines is far more than a 'drill writer'. Very, very true. Same with Jay Murphy and Jeff Sacktig. And Michael Boo just summed it up perfectly, I think. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookies Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 (edited) When Michael Gaines started with Cavaliers, he was very, very good...but he had yet to become Michael Gaines. And now, the fans will wait and see how long it takes Richard Hinshaw to become Richard Hinshaw. I agree. The fact that the Cavaliers may (or may not) be having a different year = get over it. Either way, changes happen. Changes are done to try and make things better. Nobody ever decides "Let's change this so we can look like complete sh.t" So calm down everybody. Change takes a while to fully be 'changed'. Make sense? Edited July 6, 2012 by Cookies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavies79 Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 This is not the first time that the Cavaliers have gone thru changes in their drill writers. When Steve Brubaker took over for Ralph Pace (1982) as designer, there were many critics of his writing. As we all know, that changed as Steve's visual style evolved. Same thing will happen for Richard. He is a very talented writer and takes pride in his work. The Cavaliers will be fine. One last thing, after Steve Brubaker, there were 5 different writers...Richard makes number 6. Yet, they have been very competitive almost all of those years. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjeffeory Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 This is not the first time that the Cavaliers have gone thru changes in their drill writers. When Steve Brubaker took over for Ralph Pace (1982) as designer, there were many critics of his writing. As we all know, that changed as Steve's visual style evolved. Same thing will happen for Richard. He is a very talented writer and takes pride in his work. The Cavaliers will be fine. One last thing, after Steve Brubaker, there were 5 different writers...Richard makes number 6. Yet, they have been very competitive almost all of those years. They've been competitive ALL of those years and there have been times when more than one drill writer has stepped up in a season to contribute. I'll wait until the end of the season before even thinking about passing judgement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.