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Meaningful Drill


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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmRWmvHVNeU

Cavaliers 2006 is just one example of a corps that has what I like to call "meaningful drill". The significance of the drill is not just about what pictures that are made but how dynamic the forms and "visual scenes" are that are being portrayed in the show. I feel like every visual phrase has a reason for being there and you can very actively see the theme of the show or intention of the phrase in every visual idea.

I feel that many designers have drill for the sake of drill where they transition from picture to picture or have random lines or shapes (which aren't all that interesting) instead of creating dynamic and meaningful elements within those pictures. It's as if the fact that members can't actually teleport to the next picture is an inconvenience to the drill designer! Michael Gaines, to me, really understood motion, pattern, dynamic pictures and the significance of even just a single person moving within a form.

I wish more shows had "meaningful drill".

Anyway, I really love the drill to this show! It's incredible!

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Pete Weber is also great at that. Watch SCV 2009 and 2010, amazing drill that perfectly captured the music.

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Many drillwriters can write great "moments," but can also get a bit bogged down by the transitions. Michael Gaines is just about the best I've ever seen at writing the most seamless transitions, to the point where even his transitions can sometimes be "moments." I have great respect for his talents as a designer.

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I love the drill in this show. There are several moments where I just laugh out loud in amazement. Bought the Cavaliers Championship dvd set just to get the high-cam versions. I'll have to check out those 2 SCV shows. I really liked their drill in the '99 show.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmRWmvHVNeU

Cavaliers 2006 is just one example of a corps that has what I like to call "meaningful drill". The significance of the drill is not just about what pictures that are made but how dynamic the forms and "visual scenes" are that are being portrayed in the show. I feel like every visual phrase has a reason for being there and you can very actively see the theme of the show or intention of the phrase in every visual idea.

I feel that many designers have drill for the sake of drill where they transition from picture to picture or have random lines or shapes (which aren't all that interesting) instead of creating dynamic and meaningful elements within those pictures. It's as if the fact that members can't actually teleport to the next picture is an inconvenience to the drill designer! Michael Gaines, to me, really understood motion, pattern, dynamic pictures and the significance of even just a single person moving within a form.

I wish more shows had "meaningful drill".

Anyway, I really love the drill to this show! It's incredible!

Totally agree, and I think there are very few visual designers who can develop forms that perfectly match musical phrases the way Gaines does. Even non-Championship shows he did with Cavaliers had incredible drill (for example, the Billy Joel show they did had this great, not-that-flashy couple of phrases during the classical canon section that always made me smile when I watched it).

Webber is also good at this, to a lesser extent than Gaines. Blue Devils visual designers do incredible work, with a different style/in a different way than Gaines and Webber. But Gaines designing Cavaliers visual package was the apex of the medium; it's no coincidence that for over a dozen seasons with Gaines writing their drill Cavaliers fell out of Top 3 only once (and placed 4th), while the last few seasons without Gaines designing they've been out of the Top 6

*this is NOT a paid advertisement for Michael Gaines drill design :tounge2:

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmRWmvHVNeU

Cavaliers 2006 is just one example of a corps that has what I like to call "meaningful drill". The significance of the drill is not just about what pictures that are made but how dynamic the forms and "visual scenes" are that are being portrayed in the show. I feel like every visual phrase has a reason for being there and you can very actively see the theme of the show or intention of the phrase in every visual idea.

I feel that many designers have drill for the sake of drill where they transition from picture to picture or have random lines or shapes (which aren't all that interesting) instead of creating dynamic and meaningful elements within those pictures. It's as if the fact that members can't actually teleport to the next picture is an inconvenience to the drill designer! Michael Gaines, to me, really understood motion, pattern, dynamic pictures and the significance of even just a single person moving within a form.

I wish more shows had "meaningful drill".

Anyway, I really love the drill to this show! It's incredible!

Also, as a huge movie nerd, I never would've thought that any show would appeal to me in any given season more than Blue Devils playing Godfather! I really liked that Godfather show, but for me in 2006 Machine owned, and visual design was a huge part of that

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