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Drum Corps on TV


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Ah... forgot those... just pretend it is 80's Cadets and it's accurate. :-)

let's not. We're trying to move away from those days

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I'm going to leave this question as open as possible. Think about what the question is really asking.

What do we have to do or change to make Drum Corps more TV friendly?

As much as I too miss seeing drum corps on TV (either PBS or ESPN), I think with the age we are living in, DCI's push toward a bigger presence in the world of Online Videos is really a better way to go now days. The DCI Fan Network even has a Youtube Channel now that recently put out "highlight's videos" that reminded me very much of the old highlights broadcast. Lets face it, internet video is now running the show - which is why youtube in conjunction with advertisers even offer royalties now for videos that get a high volume of views.

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old news and not a big deal in many corps...2011

in 2011 we want to advertise the activity as a place where 20 and 16 year olds have sex?

just kidding, I know that's not what you meant. I don't think homophobia is an issue in drum corps, but it likely would be for portions of the audience you are trying to attract. Drum corps seems to be a fairly accepting place. Except when you don't hit your dot.

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Turn it into a reality show.

And that's not a joke. Cross "The Real World" with a drum corps season, pick 6 or 7 telegenic kids from a few different corps, make the storyline about their experiences and interactions with others that summer rather than the shows themselves, and people will watch.

Because drum corps shows themselves aren't that interesting to the majority of people. The music used isn't popular to begin with (how many albums has Frank Ticheli sold? yes, THAT is a joke... :cool: ), and once it's sliced and diced into 90 second arrangements, it's even less appealing. So look at the backstories for tv, and let a few minutes of each corps' shows be seen in context of the personal story, and maybe you'll pick up more people for the shows themselves.

I hope the camera crews don't plan on staying on the bus all night, but the stuff that goes down on buses (real world style) would get lots of views.

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good point,............question: has there ever been any sort of study to understand what the activity fan base size really is?

not sure I think so but unfortunately like in most things surveys, opinions, factual data can be very scewed depending on who is doing the answering...example...do you like todays programming........answers from survey data may show a no BUT who is doing the answering, are the majority answering the question etc etc.

A good question might be also is how long a fan..drum corps fans from the past tend to be life long fans and many people today could be just for a period of time.

Im sure there is a way to get this data but I guess you would also have to look at all drum corps data and also compare year to year on things like....members auditioning..an up swing or down, attendance at ALL shows, visits to web sites,sales of other things other than tickets. and maybe also have a campagain to get all to be involved in the information. My guess would be it would be surprisingly low compared to most other activities.

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I find the television coverage issue resurfacing interesting, especially the possibility of television crews filming a twenty year old “sharing” a sleeping bag with a sixteen year old. Now I remember hearing stories back in the day of the wild things that happened on tour, but I often wondered how true the stories were, since more often than not, it was one corps usually trashing another. Of course if this kind of thing happens in this day and age and a television camera catches it, bad publicity is the least of the problems. It’s illegal in most states, and even if the minors are talented enough and mature enough to participate in drum corps, corps directors have a moral responsibility to watch the minors in their care. Enough of the soap box.

I am in agreement that television can help publicize drum corps, but it is limited. As I said in an earlier post, a great deal is lost in broadcasts. Reality television could be helpful. While MTV has given us bawdy at best shows such as “Jersey Shore” and “Real World,” they have produced some excellent high school aged reality shows. I recall one focused on a school newspaper and had its share of drama and politics, but got to the core of what makes a newspaper come to be. The “Made” series also portrays high school interests well and someone auditioning for a corps would be a perfect candidate for the show. A show on a championship high school football team as also excellent. While the coverage was well done, I don’t know if it generated new interest in the topics covered. I am also not sure if the shows were successes in the ratings game.

Of course what would be better than reality television to boost interest and publicity would be more local corps. I’m sure Little League and Babe Ruth fosters a love of baseball and I know baseball fanatics who love major league games but also love watching kids play for the purity of the game. The same could be true of drum corps. Of course reviving local corps is my answer to just about everything drum corps, but that’s another story.

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Of course reviving local corps is my answer to just about everything drum corps, but that's another story.

Local drum corps has never been healthier (just ask all the instrument manufacturers jumping into the game trying to capture a piece of it).

It is just called high school marching band and winterguard/percussion.

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