N.E. Brigand Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 There is an agreed-upon set of criteria that is being met. This is they key. BD is achieving what all the corps collectively have told the judges corps should achieve. That said, a reasonable comparison might be made to the Oscars, because that's another case where the artists set the criteria by which excellence is determined (even more directly than in drum corps, since the judging is done by the artists themselves). Any given viewer will, more likely than not, feel that the Best Picture is nothing of the sort. And with time, a consensus opinion (even of those same artists) may come to align with that viewer. Similarly it may be that in thirty years people looking back at Crown 2013 or BD 2014 may shake their heads sadly and wonder what on earth the judges were thinking. But corps who want to win now have to play to the sheets of today, not the judgment of posterity. So if you think, e.g., that Bluecoats should be winning, remember that their staff probably sees how Blue Devils are in fact achieving what the sheets call for: the very sheets whose usage the Bluecoats approved. In fact, at Ft. Wayne, I sat next to someone working for Bloo (although not in a major position), whose first word after watching BD's show was "sixteen". All that said, this doesn't mean that the judges can't make mistakes. Just that we should be careful to distinguish what we feel to be such mistakes from our personal disagreements with the rules now in place. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flammaster Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 I was surprised that Pacific Crest didn't score higher in brass. Their horn book is one of my favorites. I was very impressed with PR too. I think SCV has the best sounding Euphonium section. wow 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cappybara Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 Feels weird being at Allentown on a Friday (first time since 09)... Will do a two day review, but a few quick thoughts: -What's BD supposed to do this week? Is there anything to clean anymore? Seriously, I would support the fact of this being the best show ever put on at Allentown -Get some towels for BK, because they got HOSED by the judges (especially brass). -I trust Jeff Prosperie, but BD by a 0.3 over Vanguard? I can concede him putting BD on top (though I don't agree), but not by that margin. -BAC has some BALLS to put on a show like that. The lack of subtlety made it even better. -Calling it now, Oregon will be the next "first time finalist." Not Pac Crest. I trust Prosperie as well. I suspect he had to leave some room in between in case the Cadets or Bluecoats catch on fire tonight. It's just the unlucky nature of judging a 2 day regional Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luv4corps Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 OC's score is a disappointment. Only bright spot is that hornline and drumline beat Colts. The judges managed to leave acres and acres of real estate between OC and Colts. Not sure there is THAT big of a difference there. I realize there are several corps to yet fit in that slot, but hopefully not TOO many. The crowd was really into the show. Sorry, rant of a momfan whose son is aging out this year. GO OC! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bannedforlife Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 The drill is effective and very well executed, but how is it innovative? What are they doing, drill-wise, that's never been done before? One of my favorite drill moments from BD this year is when the company front moves diagonally backfield and each count another person breaks off the line in double time. Another favorite moment that made me smile was at the beginning when various members broke out of the form to do body movement. It's not that these things haven't been done before, but how it is done. Just like all 12 notes have been used before but in different orders and octaves and occupy different space in time. The same song fast or slower than usual can have a completely different feel. Just because you arrange the notes sporadically in a way that's never been done before does not necessarily mean it's innovative. Anyone can fart notes onto a page and convince themselves they are innovative, same goes with drill. I like to compare BD's drill to a flock of birds flying through the air. One second the flock appears uniform, the next they change direction and is apparently random, it suddenly pops into clarity again. BD's drill is the same way that it can appear random at times but there is always balance and direction to the visual concepts. So there's your answer. In all honesty when I first started watching drum corps I was confused why the drill didn't make shapes that corresponded to the show, I couldn't tell what they were "supposed" to be shapes of. But obviously that's not how art works, and it took a lot of studying of BD's shows and similar productions to grasp the artistic nature of what I was seeing. Nowdays when I watch BD's shows, my creative spirit resonates very strongly with their visual design and is very stimulating to watch. But that's just my perspective. Most fans stop at either "people and judges are nuts to like this crap" or "it's too advanced and you just don't get it". When I was younger I definitely didn't "get it" and was scratching my head as to why BD always won with what I was convinced were ridiculous shows, but now their shows makes perfect sense to me and are a very moving experience. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precious Roy Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 I like to compare BD's drill to a flock of birds flying through the air. Wait...I thought that was Blue Knights a couple years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.E. Brigand Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 One of my favorite drill moments from BD this year... [...thoughtful comments on BD's drill...] Most fans stop at either "people and judges are nuts to like this crap" or "it's too advanced and you just don't get it". When I was younger I definitely didn't "get it" and was scratching my head as to why BD always won with what I was convinced were ridiculous shows, but now their shows makes perfect sense to me and are a very moving experience. Thanks for your answer. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Splooie99 Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 Someone wrote a topic about seating for Allentown and I predicted OC's seating was very bad for OC. I feel I was right. Their performance was better then their score. I hope they get some credit in Indy. Still, the best corps from OR ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luv4corps Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 (edited) Someone wrote a topic about seating for Allentown and I predicted OC's seating was very bad for OC. I feel I was right. Their performance was better then their score. I hope they get some credit in Indy. Still, the best corps from OR ever. Seriously, I picture the judges putting their little slotting puzzle together based on the way things are 'supposed' to be, on tradition and history, not what they were seeing. I just watched OC's show again and they are cleaner, no question about it. They had the crowd. Edited August 2, 2014 by luv4corps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clutchtow Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 (edited) So in regards to BD's drill. The difficulty comes from the individual exposure of having large sweeping forms that take a long time to develop. These types of things are extremely hard to clean to the level that they are executing since in my experience, errors become more pronounced the larger the move. The thing is, it doesn't look hard since for a large majority of the show it is low velocity and their is no shock to visual cortex to say. Now they do have many parts where the drill is high velocity, especially in the closer (I'm sorry, let me take a moment to say how awesome the jazz running neon light effect from the trumpets is, it is beautiful!), but compared to other corps the drill is slower. In my opinion, I prefer high velocity as opposed to what BD is doing, but I understand how it is effective. EDIT: I want to clarify that although i wrote this from an objective tone, it is subjective and these are simply my thoughts and opinions. Feel free to disagree. Edited August 2, 2014 by Clutchtow 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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