Fred Windish Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 I have now viewed the Blue Devils Semi-Finals performance for the 5th time via FN. I become more amazed with each viewing. A BRILLIANT production! As slick as can be. I regret having been critical of Blue Devils here earlier, based on my initial viewing. Therein lies the problem . . . Drum corps presentions should NOT require multiple viewings to understand and appreciate. Further, I had the benefit of multi-cam and all other enhancements brought to me by the art's best producer. This Blue Devils show is way ahead of its time. It transcends any ability to appreciate the total package in a typical single-seat, live, in-person one time opportunity. You know, what the typical LOCAL crowd pays for when this comes to their neighborhood. This is a real problem, for Blue Devils and any other corps. No? I'm telling you, those who only watched Blue Devils, in person, did NOT watch the same performance I enjoyed on my big screen and sound system. The synthesizer portions were effective and helpful, the poles made sense (seeing them from many different angles, high and low). The whole thing flowed cohesively. Performance moves were almost perfect. BUT. . . . I'm concerned it was Tom Blair who brought this excellence to me. He is NOT there for the local family in a high school stadium. Blue Devils were not the only corps with what I suspect are "hard to find" nuances. Geez, the wonder of where drum corps truly is today is available to find in most all the corps. So, here are my questions. Can we find an audience large enough to sustain this solely from the bleachers? Is this product crying out for more success on a better stage? 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.E. Brigand Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 Would it be fair to say that for at least the past seven months you've been advocating for drum corps to abandon stadium performances? Perhaps to follow the example of the pianist Glenn Gould, and leave live performance in favor the recording studio, where the sound can be tweaked to perfection, removing the possibility of error (and any interruptions by the audience)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrumcorpsmademeaTuba Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 I have now viewed the Blue Devils Semi-Finals performance for the 5th time via FN. I become more amazed with each viewing. A BRILLIANT production! As slick as can be. I regret having been critical of Blue Devils here earlier, based on my initial viewing. Therein lies the problem . . . Drum corps presentions should NOT require multiple viewings to understand and appreciate. Further, I had the benefit of multi-cam and all other enhancements brought to me by the art's best producer. This Blue Devils show is way ahead of its time. It transcends any ability to appreciate the total package in a typical single-seat, live, in-person one time opportunity. You know, what the typical LOCAL crowd pays for when this comes to their neighborhood. This is a real problem, for Blue Devils and any other corps. No? I feel like I couldn't disagree more :smile:/> The day drum corps membership is limited to less than 80 members is the day that I'll agree. Every viewing of a single show on a single day you'll take something new away from it, and I think that the more times that can happen down the line, the better. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bernie_VKpit Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 I have now viewed the Blue Devils Semi-Finals performance for the 5th time via FN. I become more amazed with each viewing. A BRILLIANT production! As slick as can be. I regret having been critical of Blue Devils here earlier, based on my initial viewing. Therein lies the problem . . . Drum corps presentions should NOT require multiple viewings to understand and appreciate. Further, I had the benefit of multi-cam and all other enhancements brought to me by the art's best producer. This Blue Devils show is way ahead of its time. It transcends any ability to appreciate the total package in a typical single-seat, live, in-person one time opportunity. You know, what the typical LOCAL crowd pays for when this comes to their neighborhood. This is a real problem, for Blue Devils and any other corps. No? I'm telling you, those who only watched Blue Devils, in person, did NOT watch the same performance I enjoyed on my big screen and sound system. The synthesizer portions were effective and helpful, the poles made sense (seeing them from many different angles, high and low). The whole thing flowed cohesively. Performance moves were almost perfect. BUT. . . . I'm concerned it was Tom Blair who brought this excellence to me. He is NOT there for the local family in a high school stadium. Blue Devils were not the only corps with what I suspect are "hard to find" nuances. Geez, the wonder of where drum corps truly is today is available to find in most all the corps. So, here are my questions. Can we find an audience large enough to sustain this solely from the bleachers? Is this product crying out for more success on a better stage? Here are the answers to your questions: NO NO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Windish Posted August 13, 2013 Author Share Posted August 13, 2013 Absolutely, N.E.Brigand! I believe a segment of this activity could prosper in a big way if adapted to "hockey-sized" arenas. Plus, that type of stage works MUCH better for television. I really DO believe this is where a part of our activity (G-7?) is headed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 Well-said, Fred!!! I agree... there are thousands of fans who do not, for whatever reasons, get a chance to see a given corps multiple times during a season. That's where the "being able to enjoy it at face value, on first/only viewing" concept is a valid one, I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wallace Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 (edited) When I watch early season drum corps I come from a perspective of where the show can go rather than where it sits currently. I knew BD was going to be a contender again. I felt the same way about Cadets 2005. I'll think "that will need to be fixed or changed or sped up", but ultimately, it will give me a good guesstimate of who the big dogs are going to be in a given season. Edited August 13, 2013 by wallace 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Windish Posted August 13, 2013 Author Share Posted August 13, 2013 Well-said, Fred!!! I agree... there are thousands of fans who do not, for whatever reasons, get a chance to see a given corps multiple times during a season. That's where the "being able to enjoy it at face value, on first/only viewing" concept is a valid one, I think. Thanks, Fran! There's something wrong here when the paying public needs to see this multiple times to "get it." We have got to make this thing appealing to any "hit and run" purchasers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shempy Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 I don't think it's as black and white as you make it seem. I think there are some really great examples of shows that can both fully entertain a crowded stadium and also give something a little deeper to notice on repeated viewings/listenings. For example, 2010 Cavaliers - it brought the house down at Finals and throughout the whole year. But to those who give it repeated viewings, a whole new "world" opens up that isn't accessible with just one stadium viewing. I think a more recent example of this is The Cadets' Side By Side. I'm really looking forward to the DVD/CD release so I can give it the diligence the program deserves, but it was also a pretty big crowd pleaser. I'm not sure why BD this year (and to a lesser extent in a few past years) has chosen to go so far to one side as to basically abandon a good chunk of people. Maybe they're trying to make statements, maybe they're trying to push barriers in the activity, maybe they're just bored and wanted to do something different - I doubt even BD's staff can pinpoint an exact reason. But I think we'll see BD return to its roots within the next 2-3 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ordsw24 Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 (edited) I really like your post, and I totally agree with you about BD's production this season. I disagree, though, that a show should not take more than one viewing to (fully) appreciate. I have found in the past that certain shows grow on me considerably with each viewing, and it's always exciting to find something I never noticed before despite multiple viewings of a show. In fact, I actually believe that a truly great show needs to be viewed in multiple viewings from multiple angles in order to be appreciated, but that's just me. Coming from a WGI perspective, I really welcomed the advent of multi-focused shows, which if I am not mistaken were at least in part created/ perfected by current and/ or past BD designers. With multi-focused shows, you very literally either have to let your eyes relax and get fuzzy to attempt to take it all in, or you have to choose to focus on one element going on among several happening at any given moment and zero in on that. To a point, this has always been the case in DCI -- but it has been more about choices you make, such as whether to focus in on the percussion, the color guard, a soloist dancer, or the entire field. Generally speaking, you can view the show's entire package and your brain feels like it is taking it all in. But about 20 years ago in WGI, a few shows really started to explore the multi-focus avenue, where at times, there were several elements going at any given moment actively competing for your attention. Your brain simply could not take it all in as a cohesive whole, and to try to do so became almost disconcerting. Designers have many clever ways to direct one's eye around a show, guiding our attention from one element to the next. In traditional design, various elements complement each other and do not compete for your attention (if they did, it was not by intention). There might be a lot going on, and the design might be complex and very creative and effective, but it is clear to the viewer what is being emphasized. In contrast, with multiple-focused shows (not my term btw, WGI used it to describe these shows when they were introduced) there are sections in which there are no clues as to what the designer wants you to watch -- you literally have to choose between competing elements that are (if well designed, anyway) discrete and equally arresting, yet still tied to the overall concept of the show. I only saw BD's show once this year, but I would not be surprised at all if the designer(s) of BD 2013 did not also design some of those early WGI shows so well known for being multi-focused (Bishop Kearney most clearly comes to mind). I absolutely love this type of writing/ designing. When done well, it can be very engaging, exciting, and cerebral. The various layers and elements are just more chock-full of goodies to be uncovered and explored with each successive viewing. This type of design also can demand more of the viewer, something I believe gets a bit too much resistance in the pageantry arts sometimes. Edited August 13, 2013 by ordsw24 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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