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What works and what doesn’t work


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Just gonna do top 5

 

SCV:

What works - high energy show with a musical package that keeps the audience engaged every single second

What doesn't work - Bland and visually unappealing drill/prop pushing. No memorable visual moments beyond the horn snap and backflips

Blue Devils:

What works - entertaining music, creative theme, dazzling colorguard, and amazing screamers. Members seem to really buy into the show and story

What doesn't work - hard to follow characters, abrupt and jarring transitions, exposed high octave parts leading to intonation issues, high octave fatigue in opener 

Bluecoats: 

What works - same as SCV, will add that the color palette is very appealing and provides great contrast to make things pop

What doesn't work - opener is a bit long, new closer has very jarring/poor transition to singer that leads to loss of momentum

Carolina Crown:

What works - Brass amazing as usual, the rewritten ballad is a highlight of the season, 2nd last movement is lots of fun musically and visually

What doesn't work - Nothing about the first half of the show is beastly, props are too static the whole show, ending seems tagged on

Cavaliers: 

What works - Holy brass. This hornline probably isn't taking home the Ott but the musical selections with that sound leads to one of the most fun shows to listen to. Colorguard commands the field like no other

What doesn't work - Lots of visual clutter at times, closer doesn't have the drill to match the music 

 

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1 hour ago, Cappybara said:

Disagree with that, the best visual programs use up that space well imo

That was sarcasm.  I guess I should have been a bit more obvious, thought the context would make it clear.

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1 hour ago, Cappybara said:

Disagree with that, the best visual programs use up that space well imo

I actually think that crown uses quite a bit of space in their show this year.

Edited by MadisonBandMan1
typo
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Top 3 

 

SCV- What works- The music for this show is fantastic and engaging throughout the whole show. I love the uniform and the theme they are trying to convey. 

           What doesn't-  Design (especially the props) are a little underwhelming to me. Last years worked better IMO. And the choreography, while fresh and exciting, doesn't really fully capture me. 

 

Blue Devils- What Works- Great ballad, great overall design, and I especially love the drum speak section. Guard looks great as well! 

                       What Doesn't- I wish the music did something to convey the themes the guard is doing such a good job of expressing. I'm probably missing something when it comes to that, but I can't really bring the two parts of the ensemble together. 

 

Bluecoats- What works- My favorite design of the season, wonderful music, and incorporation of a vocalist that completely blends in with the vibe and musicality of the ensemble.

                     What Doesn't- Ballad, while great, needs some smoothing musically specifically with the soloist-ensemble synchronization. The new ending is fine for me thematically and visually but is underwhelming and derivative musically. I'd be disappointed if they kept it this way. 

 

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10 hours ago, PamahoNow said:

 I think they are just things to take up space so they don't have to march in those sections of the field.  A football field is just too large.

 I might point out too that what works and may not work for fans might be an entirely matter with judges. In other words what works and does not work for judges might be entirely different with some ( or many ) fans.

 You mention here " a football field may be too large ". You may be onto something here, insofar as what is being rewarded on the judging sheets increasingly. Judges , particularly in the GE Visual captions, used to value and place a premium on Corps whose productions covered much of the football field, from endzone to endzone, and from front to back. Also Corps that did whip lash drills ( Cadets, Cavaliers of recent past ),  and marching ( not jogging ) fast from set to set.

 However today, spreading the field is not as valued. Staging is. The props have allowed the Corps to go vertical in productions, not so much horizontal, and most importantly, receive credit for essentially working most of the show front and center, and most of the show production done mostly within the 35 yard lines, and across the front sidelines, and be rewarded  for the condensed field coverage. Also, marching from set to set is no longer considered valued as much as running from set to set quickly to set up the new musical segment/ visual segment there. These are judges preferences now. What fans prefer could be either the wide field coverages, or the condensed field coverages we are seeing. I prefer the wider field coverages, as these shows are still performed in the summer outdoors and on " football fields ". However, the shows that are indoors now, the WGI variety that are not performed and judged on " football fields" are quite appealing in these condensed indoor settings. I can appreciate them, and do watch these indoor, winter productions, and enjoy them in those particular indoor settings.

Edited by BRASSO
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10 hours ago, tedrick said:

Bluecoats - the trombones were working at the beginning of closer and it sounded great - swung hard -

 but then they added plunger mutes in Houston and it doesn't sound as good --

That's actually my one and only complaint about the whole show. I know it's true to the source music, but IMO the piece sounded so much better without the mutes. I know they probably won't, but I really hope they revert back to their original way of playing it by finals. 

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Are today's productions attempting to serve two masters? One, the live outdoor audience, and the other the indoor, controlled elements, television audience. Seems to me, this is the difficulty with electronics integration. Also with some of the costuming (uniforms) nuances. 

I still find MUCH to like while viewing on Flo. Haven't attended live yet this season, but not so sure I'll have the same appreciation watching/hearing from a single grandstand location dirctly across from a rack of speakers.

For me, the competition wear works very well on Flo. I do miss the traditional and reliable uniform identification, but understand the movement to show-specific attire.

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30 minutes ago, Fred Windish said:

Are today's productions attempting to serve two masters? One, the live outdoor audience, and the other the indoor, controlled elements, television audience.  

Over the years, the majority of thoughts on DCP is the shows are geared for the indoor stadiums.

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