drumcat Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Just an observation... Drum corps as an activity can be so technical, and so precise, it inhibits overall judgment. How many people are qualified to judge execution in brass, battery, pit, and guard? Probably can count them on two hands. That said, is it any wonder that visual is the overarching how-you-judge-everything caption? It's the only one that requires one skill set to evaluate all the performers. It might simply be that judging such a complex "soloistic" activity has made it essentially impossible to judge holistically. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie1223 Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Just an observation... Drum corps as an activity can be so technical, and so precise, it inhibits overall judgment. How many people are qualified to judge execution in brass, battery, pit, and guard? Probably can count them on two hands. That said, is it any wonder that visual is the overarching how-you-judge-everything caption? It's the only one that requires one skill set to evaluate all the performers. It might simply be that judging such a complex "soloistic" activity has made it essentially impossible to judge holistically. Well, one could say that the guard's visual component is not at all the same as the corps visual component. I certainly can't judge equipment utilization but could have more of a grasp on the corps' proper visual component. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigW Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Well, one could say that the guard's visual component is not at all the same as the corps visual component. I certainly can't judge equipment utilization but could have more of a grasp on the corps' proper visual component. The main thing- is how it all integrates with the total package. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 (edited) Just an observation... Drum corps as an activity can be so technical, and so precise, it inhibits overall judgment. How many people are qualified to judge execution in brass, battery, pit, and guard? Probably can count them on two hands. That said, is it any wonder that visual is the overarching how-you-judge-everything caption? It's the only one that requires one skill set to evaluate all the performers. It might simply be that judging such a complex "soloistic" activity has made it essentially impossible to judge holistically. I think you stole my thought process re. this.. Its my fault. I should have had it copyrighted ( haha!) Edited February 27, 2014 by BRASSO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigW Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Technically, Effect is the most Holistic caption. You are evaluating the sum of the whole with theoretically different emphases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drumcat Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Technically, Effect is the most Holistic caption. You are evaluating the sum of the whole with theoretically different emphases. Technically, you're right. General effect in a general sense would be. Effect as defined on the sheets is hardly general. Without going into that, the point is that every judge, effect included, is narrowing in on the details of their sheet. In every case, that means doing something more specific than the whole. The one exception would be the person judging the "picture". Bad baseball analogy time... 4 umpires usually. They watch their base. They occasionally rotate as the play dictates, but none are watching everything. They all depend in the aggregate that the other guys get their calls right. There is a crew chief, sure, but the umpires couldn't work from a single vantage point. DCI asks most/all its judges to sit in one location, albeit a good one, and make those calls specific to what they see. There's so much going on all at once that "dividing and conquering" is needed. This is the main problem with the judging concepts - once one gets good enough to judge a caption, they become more focused on said caption to ever be unbiased in the aggregate. (i.e. they're always on second base) How do you fix this? I don't know. Well, I have an idea or two, but that's not this thread. As for the scoring getting flattened, I think it would be a good concept to kick around. I think one could make the case that a 25x4 split for Effect/Visual/Brass/Percussion would be at least a starting discussion for this. If you want it flat like that, take this year's scores as they come out, and keep tabs on what that would look like. Would things change? Remember one thing... Those winning aren't going to be quick to vote out a system they're winning in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 i'd still emphasize performer more than design. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigW Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 i'd still emphasize performer more than design. No beef there, but would it fundamentally change things for the better? Everyone notches it down to be cleaner, but it might not alter whether a show is more enjoyable to watch or not. I would think any creative staff can generate boring, insipid, or pretentious no matter how the rules are cut. Or, generate more excitement and inspire. The next question- would it change who's on top? I somehow doubt that- though it might make more of the 4-6 bracket more comparable and tighter to those corps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drumcat Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 You can still judge performers for simultaneous responsibility and complexity as a factor - it's not ticks. The reason ticks were eliminated was your point; too simple. It was who could play cleanly with no need to make things too hard. When that was changed to involve complexity, you saw complexity vault ahead in the early 1980s. Even if total design was 20% of the total score, it would still be important enough to be taken seriously. Just remember this about scoring... it's not about 100 points. It never is. It's about the differences in scores. World class rarely sees anything below a 50. Therefore, it's really a 50 point game. Then, when you see a "two-tenths" difference in effect, it's a different deal than a "two-tenths" in a divided category... thus, flattening isn't such a bad idea. However, if you look really closely at the top 5 corps, note the differences in scores between them. They start to get more binary, and as such, no amount of "points" is going to matter specifically -- if A is better than B in a non-divided category, and B is better in a divided category than A, 9 times out of 10 corps A wins. Oversimplified, but as corps staff understand this, so goes their attentions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exitmusic Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 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.