zig zig ZAG Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 Let's do some meta-analysis here on two schools of show design. As I see it, themes keep coming up in the last decade especially: which philosophy of show design is more demanding, which connects with the audience more, which connects with the judges more, which wins. Over the years, I connected with SCV and Cadets because what I saw was corps pushing the physical and musical limits of performance. Virtuosity I love. CC seems to fall into that category too, even though I can't help but loathe most all body movement and anything redolent of marching band. I would put Star in this group too; always loved them for pushing the limits in every way. I always loved BD because of their jazz and their consummate skill and sophistication, especially musical, and Cavies because of their skill and style, especially visual, that is often mind-blowing. I enjoy watching young people marching AND playing AND pushing the limit, and that means simultaneously for the most part. SCV and Cadets usually try to do this. (After all, when you call yourselves "Vanguard" being on the cutting edge is your raison d'être). When they are able to clean it, they win. Usually, they can't quite clean it. In the end, at the top-five level (all have decent enough show designs even in the top-12), cleanest wins. BD and Cavies in different parts of their shows, to a greater or lesser degree, clearly, indisputably (yes, the video can be analyzed, yes, there is such a thing as evidence, as fact), prioritize either marching or playing, not as much both simultaneously, or will march slower if the music is demanding, or vice versa. That way, it's much easier to clean and control. Usually, in the last decade or so, that approach wins. Which 'school' of show design is valued by the fans depends on your taste. Corps like Phantom and Madison are harder to categorize, but they mainly try to emotionally connect and draw at times from both of the above schools. The judges and fans do value the 'effect' of how impressive or emotionally moving shows are, so at times, Phantom and Madison out-perform everyone. Until the judging system explicitly values demand and can agree on what's demanding, we'll have nothing but bickering on here, and we'll be moving towards more cautious, clever, show designs that are selectively demanding. Some will say "brilliant staging" instead of my choice of word "clever", but that reveals which school of DCI show design you're coming from. Yes, this is all an oversimplification, but that's what a meta-analysis tries to do. I'm biased towards virtuosity and demand (aim over your head). Other fans are biased toward clean (aim lower, manage risk, be clean). What do all y'all think? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CLD Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 I'm biased towards virtuosity and demand (aim over your head) That one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tez Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 That's a pretty good analysis of corps' styles over the past decade or so, and is one of the things I find so interesting about the activity. I will point out that although the Blue Devils are on a ridiculous hot streak over the past six years (3 wins, 2 seconds (1 by .025), probably another win this year)... no other corps has been able to replicate their design philosophy, or for the most part performance levels (except for maybe Cadets last year... but still not solidly across the board as they lost several captions). Certainly there are several corps with far easier shows than the Blue Devils, which can't get anywhere near as clean as them still. And, what Crown is doing this year has become widely accepted as one of the most difficult shows ever attempted... and it is easily beating every other corps out there not from Concord by a pretty wide margin....even shows which seem cleaner. So no, I don't think corps will be moving toward more "cautious" show designs in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spinastick Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 You need to write some type of blog for DCI! What a great analysis. I love that you didn't use it as a soapbox to completely bash someones style choices either. Just good balanced opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burgerbob Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 Personally, I like things to be "good" rather than "hard." Of course, this doesn't mean I want everyone to do high school shows perfectly, but I don't much like watching programs like Crown this year because it just seems like the needle went all the way over to the "hard" side in the design stage. Same kind of deal with Cadets last year. I like the shows. I wanted Phantom to win in '08, even though it wasn't as good as BD. This year, I want BD to win because it's a great show. It also happens to be really "good." Then, of course, there's shows like Crown last year and Madison the last few seasons. Can't stand them. Maybe I'm just in the wrong age group. Phantom I love, and I'm not sure why. Maybe it's just because of 2008! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockyGranite Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 (edited) I don't think I have the knowledge or experience to be able to pinpoint which "school" I fall into. On one hand, when I watch the sheer physicality of Crown running all over the field while playing beautifully...or when I see the absolutely controlled chaos and randomness of BD...I can't help but be amazed and in awe that some person or group was actually able to write and perform this stuff. On the other hand, when I hear the lush, full harmonies of "Pure Imagination", see the crowd's delighted involvement with the banana sticks around me and watch the kids of Jersey Surf really have fun doing their show, I can't help but think: This is what drum corps is all about! Bottom line, I guess, is that I'll need a few more years to be able to give that meta-analysis the consideration it deserves. Until then, I'm going to just watch and enjoy the show. Edited July 30, 2012 by RockyGranite 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasgre2000 Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 (edited) This is somewhat off topic, but I don't think speed and "playing and marching at the same time" are the only difficult aspects of drum corps. I understand the point, but I think sometimes the point can be used to unfairly criticize other corps. Sometimes restraint and musical sensitivity is more difficult than playing as loud as you can while marching as fast as you can. And sometimes an amazing horn run will distract from an amazing visual. I'm not making any particular accusations, and I don't know how my point exactly fits into this conversation, but it is the first thought that came to mind when I read the original post. Edited July 30, 2012 by jasgre2000 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasgre2000 Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 Personally, I like things to be "good" rather than "hard." Of course, this doesn't mean I want everyone to do high school shows perfectly, but I don't much like watching programs like Crown this year because it just seems like the needle went all the way over to the "hard" side in the design stage. Same kind of deal with Cadets last year. I like the shows. I wanted Phantom to win in '08, even though it wasn't as good as BD. This year, I want BD to win because it's a great show. It also happens to be really "good." Then, of course, there's shows like Crown last year and Madison the last few seasons. Can't stand them. Maybe I'm just in the wrong age group. Phantom I love, and I'm not sure why. Maybe it's just because of 2008! I agree with this. Do the most ambitious show that you can do perfectly (or close to perfectly). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 Let's do some meta-analysis here on two schools of show design. As I see it, themes keep coming up in the last decade especially: which philosophy of show design is more demanding, which connects with the audience more, which connects with the judges more, which wins. Over the years, I connected with SCV and Cadets because what I saw was corps pushing the physical and musical limits of performance. Virtuosity I love. CC seems to fall into that category too, even though I can't help but loathe most all body movement and anything redolent of marching band. I would put Star in this group too; always loved them for pushing the limits in every way. I always loved BD because of their jazz and their consummate skill and sophistication, especially musical, and Cavies because of their skill and style, especially visual, that is often mind-blowing. I enjoy watching young people marching AND playing AND pushing the limit, and that means simultaneously for the most part. SCV and Cadets usually try to do this. (After all, when you call yourselves "Vanguard" being on the cutting edge is your raison d'être). When they are able to clean it, they win. Usually, they can't quite clean it. In the end, at the top-five level (all have decent enough show designs even in the top-12), cleanest wins. BD and Cavies in different parts of their shows, to a greater or lesser degree, clearly, indisputably (yes, the video can be analyzed, yes, there is such a thing as evidence, as fact), prioritize either marching or playing, not as much both simultaneously, or will march slower if the music is demanding, or vice versa. That way, it's much easier to clean and control. Usually, in the last decade or so, that approach wins. Which 'school' of show design is valued by the fans depends on your taste. Corps like Phantom and Madison are harder to categorize, but they mainly try to emotionally connect and draw at times from both of the above schools. The judges and fans do value the 'effect' of how impressive or emotionally moving shows are, so at times, Phantom and Madison out-perform everyone. Until the judging system explicitly values demand and can agree on what's demanding, we'll have nothing but bickering on here, and we'll be moving towards more cautious, clever, show designs that are selectively demanding. Some will say "brilliant staging" instead of my choice of word "clever", but that reveals which school of DCI show design you're coming from. Yes, this is all an oversimplification, but that's what a meta-analysis tries to do. I'm biased towards virtuosity and demand (aim over your head). Other fans are biased toward clean (aim lower, manage risk, be clean). What do all y'all think? I think Jersey Surf finishing 20th in GE Music in Atlanta was funnier than a barrel of monkeys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris ncsu Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 Very well said! 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.