corpsband Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 (edited) I've been marching, teaching, and judging for over 25 years. Judging, especially on the field, isn't the big mystery many people make it out to be. IMO standing on the front sideline is pretty much a joke (and it probably impedes performers as much as being on the field --seen many "sideline" judges getting in the way of equipment changes). If you're gonna have field level judges, they need to be on the field. Otherwise you might as well evaluate from the box. Maybe we should mount field judges on Skycams ! Edited February 5, 2012 by corpsband 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2000Cadet Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 IMO standing on the front sideline is pretty much a joke (and it probably impedes performers as much as being on the field --seen many "sideline" judges getting in the way of equipment changes). If you're gonna have field level judges, they need to be on the field. Otherwise you might as well evaluate from the box. Maybe we should mount field judges on Skycams ! I have always wished they'd use skycams on a DCI show. Can you imagine the possibilities with those things? Every time I watch a football game, I imagine what it would look like during a drum corps show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
actucker Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 I've been marching, teaching, and judging for over 25 years. Judging, especially on the field, isn't the big mystery many people make it out to be. Who said anything about mystery? There's no way around it. There are things that you just can't judge from the box. Unless you are willing to sacrifice the ability of your judges to judge those things, then you need some judges on the field. This isn't my first rodeo either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadets98 Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 There are a couple of flaws in your argument that lead me to believe that maybe you don't know exactly why the judges are on the field in the first place. Typically, the field judges are down there for individual execution. They are looking for uniformity of approach, blend from player to player, intonation etc. A lot of that is very difficult to judge from up top because many of the parts aren't exposed enough through the entire ensemble to be absolutely sure. I'm sorry, but you can't accurately judge the Cadets and the Blue Devils brass lines against each other for execution from all the way up in the box. Again, these guys are not looking for big picture. That's what your effect judges are for. Obviously the big picture is what's important to the crowd for the most part, but there are execution factors to the sheets for a reason. So no, drum judges, brass judges, individual marching judges, etc could not do their jobs without getting an up close comparison from player to player. They use their ears AND eyes in their job because that IS their job. Thank you. And I wonder if Kamarag has ever been to a rehearsal where the majority of the staffs from all sections are running around the field to evaluate and fix errors. If percussion staffs can do that a mile away than why do we have techs. Hollow argument. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
84BDsop Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Thank you. And I wonder if Kamarag has ever been to a rehearsal where the majority of the staffs from all sections are running around the field to evaluate and fix errors. He's an alum of Suncoast Sound and Blue Devils....so I'd guess yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Agreed, if our only priority is the big picture, sure, we could pull the field judges and do just fine, but a big part of the activity has always been the precision of it. Even BOA, which is much more big picture oriented than DCI, still has individual music judges on the field. If they take away the field judges, 1 of two things will happen. Either groups will stop attempting the level of detail that doesn't always get appreciated in the box, or they will stop trying to clean it since they won't get credit for it anyway. The fact is, without an army of judges, the panel is going to miss a lot of stuff. The Cadets show is a good example of that. There's no way to catch everything, particularly with drill spreading the corps out as much as they do these days. As for percussion judging, I've always thought that the system they used to have with a field judge and a box judge was the best way to go. Just as there are things you can't judge from the box, there are things you can't judge from the field too. Brass and visual are the same way. I'm the first to admit that my knowledge of guard is limited to a) stuff should typically go around together, and b) drops are bad. However, I would imagine that there would be similar stuff in the guard world. Anyway, the way the sheets are written, there need to be judges on the field as well as in the box. To remove the field judges, we'd need pretty drastic sheet changes. Maybe that's what is on the new sheets everyone is talking about. and given that ensemble music inherently ends up being brass dominated or percussion dominated based on who's judging, bring back both the updstairs ensemble people Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 So we have two judges who have commented here with opposing viewpoints on whether they should judge on the field or not. which one of you is 'more correct' guys? ..I say two men enter, one man leaves.... i win. just cause Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 I have always wished they'd use skycams on a DCI show. Can you imagine the possibilities with those things? Every time I watch a football game, I imagine what it would look like during a drum corps show. yeah i can see a rifle flying into one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCIHasBeen Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 I remember back in the day ... You needed an extra Accidental Death and Dismemberment policy if you wanted to judge. It was tough back then ... And some corps even encouraged 'distracting' judges, particularly with bass drums and contras... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corpsband Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 I have always wished they'd use skycams on a DCI show. Can you imagine the possibilities with those things? Every time I watch a football game, I imagine what it would look like during a drum corps show. It would be a very cool angle. And I suppose you could -- with enough planning -- keep the camera away from the weapon line. Unfortunately the cables would present a real problem :-\ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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