breezemont Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 (edited) this is also funny. Star paved the way for so many thing but who else has setup a For profit Like "BLAST"... which could actually sustain a non-profit like the corps. there is only one that I am sure about but it lives under the non-profit side of the business. STU... to answer your question... this is what I would do. A for profit theatrical touring unit. a) Blast was after Brass Theater which began "after" Star disbanded; so how did Blast sustain Star? b) How could a touring for profit theatrical unit like Blast sustain itself "and" a multi-million dollar a year touring DCI corps? Edited August 20, 2012 by Stu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Boo Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 a) Blast was after Brass Theater which began "after" Star disbanded; so how did Blast sustain Star? b) How could a touring for profit theatrical unit like Blast sustain itself "and" a multi-million dollar a year touring DCI corps? I think what Kevin was saying was such a venture could sustain a not-for-profit entity like a corps, not that one already has done so. Blast! did end up making quite a bit of money; but before it started to break even, it lost a formidable amount. I was told what both figures were, and there is no question in my mind that the venture required a whole lot of faith and a whole lot of patience...plus a whole lot of upfront commitment financially. It paid off in the long-run, but if I was responsible for its success, I'm not sure I would have gotten much sleep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobrien Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 Considering that it takes an entire day to load in and hang a bus & truck show for multimillion dollar touring productions, and that the 'truck' portion for the lights alone can equal two semis worth of lighting gear - that's for a theatre; a football field would take about 10 times as much equipment - and that the time to tech the cues in a new venue can take upwards of another 5 to 10 hours even for a show that has been on the road with an experienced crew for awhile - I'm pretty sure that "lighting" is not in drum corps' future in any significant way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 (edited) I think what Kevin was saying was such a venture could sustain a not-for-profit entity like a corps, not that one already has done so. Blast! did end up making quite a bit of money; but before it started to break even, it lost a formidable amount. I was told what both figures were, and there is no question in my mind that the venture required a whole lot of faith and a whole lot of patience...plus a whole lot of upfront commitment financially. It paid off in the long-run, but if I was responsible for its success, I'm not sure I would have gotten much sleep. You are actually supporting my point that this idea is not feasible; even in your paragraph here about Blast you show that Blast could not have sustained itself "and" a corps like Star. If it was actually designed to support Star it would have continued to lose a formidable amount; Why? Because it would have been channeling all funds from its inception into Star and not back into itself which allowed it to mature enough to break even and show a profit. If, however, a mini corps was a subset of the major corps, and that mini corps consisted of performers from the major corps who were receiving dues discounts to perform with the mini corps, then it might, I say might work to some extent. But even then it would not pull in a huge amount of money. Edited August 20, 2012 by Stu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perc2100 Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 Last year WGI brought the lighting rule which some groups succeeded and some did it just because they could. The problem i see is with a bright area it has less effect. This is the show in the dark and its ####### awesome. Inside you could barely tell from the top This is a great video of Rhythm X's show. I saw this video first, and then saw their finals performance; I was pretty disappointed at how little the lights 'popped' indoors compared to this outdoor night video. I only saw video, so I don't know what it looked like live. I'm sure it looked better than the videos, but still not as cool as this nighttime run Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perc2100 Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 Herein is the most fallacious issue within drum corps; most "designers" do not know, and apparently do not even care, about the financial burdens; and unless you are copping out, you apparently have no clue whatsoever where the money will come from, how all of this design increase will be financially debilitating, and how it will cause the implosion of an activity which cannot sustain the costs. To be blunt: If a corps director is paying for design elements the corps can't afford just because of the whims of his design staff, the corps "deserves" to fold due to incompetent management. Frankly, it's not really the design team to come up with a budget: it's their job to come up with ideas & put those ideas from brain to paper to the field. If the designer comes up with an idea that's too much, they either typically scale back to fit the budget or are scratched. Do you not know how the inner-workings of a corps work?! As for a corps director's means of raising funds to meet an annual budget, obviously they do the same thing now with electronics, props, whatever that they did in the olden days: member fees, fundraisers, corporate sponsorships, donations, grants, souvie sales, performance fees. If a corps can afford the live large and use the shiny new toys, who cares: good for them. If a corps is struggling financially and can't afford shiny toys, then don't buy 'em. It's pretty simple, and I don't think corps who have more popularity and higher financial means (which they generally gained via good management and competitive success) shouldn't have to be limited by corps who are struggling (who are typically struggling due to not-as-good management and/or lack of competitive success). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perc2100 Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 You are actually supporting my point that this idea is not feasible; even in your paragraph here about Blast you show that Blast could not have sustained itself "and" a corps like Star. If it was actually designed to support Star it would have continued to lose a formidable amount; Why? Because it would have been channeling all funds from its inception into Star and not back into itself which allowed it to mature enough to break even and show a profit. If, however, a mini corps was a subset of the major corps, and that mini corps consisted of performers from the major corps who were receiving dues discounts to perform with the mini corps, then it might, I say might work to some extent. But even then it would not pull in a huge amount of money. Also, FWIW, I think most logical thinking people around here realize that not only are extensive lighting rigs likely not financially viable for a drum corps, but most corps are not even concerned with crazy lighting rigs at this time also, FWIW, I have no real desire to see crazy light shows for drum corps shows. Or WGI shows, for that matter. HOWEVER, if it's effective why not use it? I have no desire to see cheap magic tricks in drum corps shows, but SCV did pretty well for itself in 88 and 89 doing that sort of thing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 Lighting effects themselves I don't think would work unless the stadium lights are turned off... That's my take on it too...I don't know how lighting effects would do much in a well-lit stadium, and I doubt the lights could be turned on and off with the flick of a switch like they were in a living room. If they can figure out a way to make them effective, fine, go ahead and use them. I'm just not seeing how it could happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Powell Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 a) Blast was after Brass Theater which began "after" Star disbanded; so how did Blast sustain Star? b) How could a touring for profit theatrical unit like Blast sustain itself "and" a multi-million dollar a year touring DCI corps? you dont get it... and wont. it is pointless convesation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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