DCI World Champs Prelims - Aug 9, 2018

[IllianaLancerContra]

2 hours ago, cixelsyd said:

I think they had an injury in that section just a few days ago.

Sorry about the injury, but my point is you either march the hole or you don't.  It is a binary decision.  

<<WARNING - Old Flatus Comment - WARNING>>  In Yea Olden Days (prior to 1984) the Academy performance last night would have been tick city.  There were 4-6 individuals in the horn line that looked like they didn't quite know the drill.  That should not happen at DCI prelims if you are a serious contender for a finals spot.   

[C.Holland]

12 minutes ago, Gizmit26 said:

This was exactly my experience in section 141. 

unless they've isolated the sound to be supported from the area its coming from.  more sound from the speaker closest to the soloist.  

[KVG_DC]

 

23 minutes ago, IllianaLancerContra said:

Sorry about the injury, but my point is you either march the hole or you don't.  It is a binary decision.  

<<WARNING - Old Flatus Comment - WARNING>>  In Yea Olden Days (prior to 1984) the Academy performance last night would have been tick city.  There were 4-6 individuals in the horn line that looked like they didn't quite know the drill.  That should not happen at DCI prelims if you are a serious contender for a finals spot.   

I spotted a hole in the Cavies last night.  It was amazingly clear where that whole was the entire drill.  My eye kept trying to follow it instead of seeing other things on the field.

[Cappybara]

1 hour ago, Usually Mistified said:

Tom Blair could have just referred to footage from the last 10 years, the only difference was no white poles. Repeat music, repeat body movement, repeat staging, repeat long hair #metoo guard section. etc...

You need some new glasses

[Ghost]

2 hours ago, Mello Dude said:

 BAC love the ways you incorporate Morse code in your show.  Cool.

Wonder if the judges are aware of this.

[Triple Forte]

8 hours ago, TRacer said:

Back from the theater in Honolulu.

First, my rant...

In the movie “Field of Dreams” Costner’s character was told to “Build it, and they will come.” In DCI it’s “Lay down a tarp, and they will trip on it.” Why oh why do designers insist on using grounded tarps ** if you know performers are going to be marching back and forth over them **?? I don’t care how good you are, it ain’t safe!

I have judged or watched too many shows where casualties happen when an Attack Tarp runs amok. Case in point: tonight’s hapless victim was a poor Cavie tuba that went down by the back sideline as soon as he hit the red strip nearly perpendicular, then the tubas had to come all the way back to the front. That kid looked like he was still favoring his leg a bit in the following camera close up. 

Lots of great performances marred by mic issues. All I want to say to their users is hey, you voted for ‘em. 

Dennis didn’t look or sound particularly well, almost as if it was “just get me through this.” Then he stepped out and let Will take some of the interviews. 

Best moment was before Bloo’s stepoff: “Don’t wrinkle your jacket!”....and then Sam  carefully folds it and lays it on the podium. Lots of laughs in our theater. 

Big spontaneous cheers and applause for Cadets *during* closer ((gasp!) “OMG they’re doing it!!”) and afterward! Lots of tears, myself included.

Teared up at the short SCVC clip and the close up of the trumpet player that I’m 95% certain was my kid (face was obscured but the hairstyle was his.) 

Choked up at The Horn Snap; I saw a number of heads in the theater do a headbang when it hit. 

 

 

Unfortunately we are going to continue to see tarps and props until the activity decides it's not summer wgi and Indoor drumline :(

 

[MikeRapp]

8 minutes ago, Cappybara said:

You need some new glasses

Every top 10 World Class Corps has what we in UX call design patterns, ways of doing things that are associated with the brand. Some of those are intentional, some are not. 

Design patterns are useful in product design, because they help the user understand your intent, and what will happen when something happens. Cadets’ z-pull is probably the best current example of this. 

Where design patterns become insidious is when you don’t know you have them, and don’t realize you are using them over and over again. Or worse, you think you AREN’T using design patterns, and never have.

Blue Devils has a clear set of design patterns they have used and relied on for much of the past decade. They are steering out of some of those, recently. But still, they use their tried and true concepts as the glue that holds the parts together. Scatter drill, “hairology,” high brass sound and tuning, staging concepts, color palette. These are, to the aware, quite obvious when you watch a BD show. How you feel about that largely has to do with whether you like those patterns and ideas.

Where I believe DCI needs to continue to address, very aggressively, is the creeping danger of making design patterns a necessary aspect of successful scoring. This corps didn’t do a symmetric drill, therefore they aren’t going to score as highly as one that did. This corps didn’t do a staged drum feature, that show didn’t feature a huge set concept.

The frustration, imo, with BD is that their artistic presence has been so dominant that many feel that their design patterns have or had become the only de facto way to be successful on the sheets. It’s a chicken and egg thing, to some extent, but somehow the activity has to be really self aware about allowing styles to become scores. Otherwise, you get sameness that kills the activity. There is always going to be only so much elite marching and playing talent a available. If one or two corps can dominate that talent and at the same time dictate what style is a winning style, then you have big problems.

[BD 79-82]

3 minutes ago, MikeRapp said:

The frustration, imo, with BD is that their artistic presence has been so dominant that many feel that their design patterns have or had become the only de facto way to be successful on the sheets. It’s a chicken and egg thing, to some extent, but somehow the activity has to be really self aware about allowing styles to become scores. Otherwise, you get sameness that kills the activity. There is always going to be only so much elite marching and playing talent a available. If one or two corps can dominate that talent and at the same time dictate what style is a winning style, then you have big problems.

Good points, but honestly isn’t this “same as it ever was”?  See Garfield Cadets 1983-85 (drill design), Star of Indiana 91-93 (body movement), Cavies 2000’s ( whole show design integration). 

[MikeRapp]

Just now, BD 79-82 said:

Good points, but honestly isn’t this “same as it ever was”?  See Garfield Cadets 1983-85 (drill design), Star of Indiana 91-93 (body movement), Cavies 2000’s ( whole show design integration). 

Yes. Agree. It’s our nature to affirm success. DCI is a unique activity, very insular, so you have to be very proactive to recognize this and try to stop it. Everyone wants their favorite corps to win medals, but it is inarguably that a successful activity of any kind does not empower one member to always win. Sure, the Yankees are always going to be against anything that lessens the likelihood of them dominating baseball, but baseball can’t survive if the Yankees can dictate the system of baseball to ensure their future success. 

[Box5Opinion]

11 hours ago, brassboy said:

It actually stressed me out FOR him that they were talking to him right up till show time! He sure handled it like a pro. Is he by any chance studying broadcasting or anything like that?

Talk about in the zone - he should get more credit for doing that! One of the best drum majors in the activity!