George Dixon Posted September 17, 2015 Author Share Posted September 17, 2015 popular shows always get copied a lot right after they happen. Do you know how many Les Miz shows I saw in 1990 and again in 2014? one offs don't count. Until you see the ideas offered the last two years by Bloo become a staple of the activity, then it's game changer. even with Star 93, you couldn't really say that the ideas there truly took hold until 2000. Very much agree the adoption is extremely organic. You really have to look back years later to see where the "game changer" really changed to direction of things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 Very much agree the adoption is extremely organic. You really have to look back years later to see where the "game changer" really changed to direction of things. it's like the Cadets old shirt...first we zigged, then everybody zigged.... but it was at least 5 years til everybody zigged,,,,,and then Star 93 hit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cixelsyd Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 I agree completely. This show was ground breaking and not given it's due. You can tell by a few of the comments here on how little is actually understood of what they pulled off from a mic, delay, and sound augmentation standpoint. They broke new ground on how they had to set this up in terms of cabling, repeaters, etc. Or maybe they understand precisely what Bluecoats did... but just disagree with you on its significance. I remember BD supporters going on and on about those chairs in 2009 to the point where it sounded like it was such a key innovation that all other corps would have to step on/off furniture to have any hope of competing. But that did not stick, not even with BD. Time will tell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenoris4Jazz Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 it's like the Cadets old shirt...first we zigged, then everybody zigged.... but it was at least 5 years til everybody zigged,,,,,and then Star 93 hit I wore that shirt at least once a week to HS band practice and NOBODY understood. Still my favorite corps t-shirt of all time. Identifying innovation is like identifying a recession... you can't determine it exists until you see the trend develop and go back and find the initial creation point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobias Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 (edited) I think Bluecoats finally found a niche, they dived into it, claimed it and now have a stylistic approach that is Bluecoats. Personally, I think they can play in that arena a few more seasons with success as their talent base will allow the design team to continue to challenge the members and themselves. We all know BD, Crown, Cadets and now Bloo all have groups that can be in contention in the upcoming season. It should be interesting which group will prevail. As far as the new Star 93, no. Fans and judges rewarded Bloo 2015. That was not the case as far as fans go back in 1993. Edited September 17, 2015 by Tobias Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corpsband Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 I think Bluecoats finally found a niche, they dived into it, claimed it and now have a stylistic approach that is Bluecoats. Personally, I think they can play in that arena a few more seasons with success as their talent base will allow the design team to continue to challenge the members and themselves. We all know BD, Crown, Cadets and now Bloo all have groups that can be in contention in the upcoming season. It should be interesting which group will prevail. As far as the new Star 93, no. Fans and judges rewarded Bloo 2015. That was not the case as far as fans go back in 1993. Yeah that's kind of how I see it too. Their whole "isn't this stuff cool" approach is working for them. I do think they run the risk of hearing "all of your effects are the same" from a design standpoint; they may be different electronic effects entirely but it's really easy just to lump them all together as "electronic effects". As for their approach being a paradigm shift ... I dont see it. OTOH it is something "new" and new is good. But I don't really expect to see any other "contenders" (Crown,Cadets,BD) to racing to field similar effects. I think each of those corps will be seeking to push their particular piece of the envelope in new directions. Identity is good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drumcorpsfever Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 Backfield electronics (Bluecoats) and sound looping (Blueocats, SCV). Is this a paradigm shift? If you think it is, then how will it impact furure show design and sound? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mingusmonk Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 Backfield electronics (Bluecoats) and sound looping (Blueocats, SCV). Is this a paradigm shift? If you think it is, then how will it impact furure show design and sound? And how does that play into the potential Darwinian Extinction of the medium vis-a-vis Punctuated Equilibrium, status quo and the Competitive Exclusion Principal? (may God have mercy on our souls this off season) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartskipsabeat Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 (edited) have they had many age outs?...besides the almighty Willie V of course.. Edited September 17, 2015 by heartskipsabeat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perc2100 Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 nah. In my view the 2014 show was a good show with one (well, two) great moments. The 2015 show is a masterpiece of design from start to finish. Not relying on a single bit WOW. JMO of course. I agree, and in that way IMO Bluecoats 14/15 can compare to Star 92/93. In 1992 Star started experimenting with body sculpting, but didn't have the time/inclination/whatever to add a ton into their design by Finals week. They clearly made the conscious decision to explore that visual idea in depth in 1993 (if you have ever read/hear from Bill Cook's thoughts on the drum corps he flat out has said as much). In 2014 Bluecoats seemed to experiment with electronic sound capabilities. While their designers have always been awesome at weaving electronics into their productions, they really seemed to strive in 2014 to make electronics a unique voice within the ensemble that contributed fully at times, blended well other times, and was integrated with the visual design. Their "tilt chord" was a clear fan favorite moment for the season and got attention from even the most "pedestrian" or casual drum corps fan. That year felt like more of a gimmick than an evolution. In 2015 Bluecoats seemingly jumped into the electronic design full on, committing to making that just as integral a voice at all times as the acoustic instruments: even more so than something like Crown's 'Rach Star' where the piano/synth was a featured voice in an already-established, conventional way. Bluecoats saw the success from their experimentation in 2014 (where electronics/sound design was maybe a handful of featured moments that carried an impact or something) and were inspired to design a show around the sound design in 2015 (where much of the entire show is structured around the electronic/sound design). Just like Star, they took a part of an idea and ran with it the following year. 2015 felt like an evolutionary concept based on past experience from the music design team Unlike Star, it will be interesting to see where Bluecoats go next. Who know what Star would've done to expand on their ideas even further in the competitive DCI idiom; we WILL see what Bluecoats do next. The last few years have been a clear progression for Bluecoats, and we'll know pretty quickly if 2015 is a one-off amazing idea executed well, or has a TON of other opportunities to continually expand/experiment with. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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