A Commentary on Narration

[1956OPR]

Although I am utilizing the Bluecoat's 2022 program as a framework for my discussion on Narration, I do not wish to have my comments adversely impact the efforts of the MM and most of the staff of this admiral corps for which I have always had great respect. The MM do what they are taught to do. My commentary is directed at the Bluecoat's design team and DCI's tolerance of narration. 

In another thread in a recent DCI World Class forum, a contributor whose thoughts I respect (Poppycock and his indomitable crew) said about the Bluecoat's 2022 progrqm that " The more I see them, the less I like them ". I agee with their conclusion. His crew may have their own reasons for their conclusions but here is mine : the godawful use of narration.

The Blue coat's design team's use of narration is an insult to Drum & Bugle Corps. The DCI  judging community's tolerance of narration of the scale and scope used in the Bluecoat's 2022 program is unfathomable.

Consider the Bluecoat's program presented at Kent, Ohio on July 2, 2022. First, you have this enormous paper-mache head, and its accoutermonts,  planted on the 35 yard line of one quadrant of the field, effectively blocking perhaps one fifth of the field and artificially reducing the demands of field coverage.

Second, you have an electronic narration by Lou Reed or Dennis Hopper or Lou Hopper or Dennis Reed or Jack Kerouac or Joe Schmoe rambling on about ?????..

Third, the show at Kent, as viewed on the You Tube presentation took ca. 12 min; I calculated a start time on the YT presentation of 3 minutes, 55 seconds and an finish time of about 14 minutes, 52 seconds.

Of that 12 minutes of "Show Time", about 21.7 % of the time was spent on narration, 60.8 % on Music and 17.5 % on Other Stuff.

I grant you that, during that 21.7 % of the time spent on narration, there were judgeable movements of parts of the corps but there was little or no music to be judged.

So, what to do?

One option is to allow drum corps to continue to use (in my judgement, to be corrupted by) narration.

Another is to take a stand and say no to any electronic narration on the field.

A third is to say yes to narration but your corps will be, e.g., penalized .1 or .5 or 1.0 point (you choose) for every 5 or 10 or 15 seconds (you choose) the corps' designers utilize this  technique. In the case of the Bluecoat's Kent, Ohio presentation, they used ca. 156 seconds ( 2.6 minutes) of narration. That might not make any difference in some of their early season competitions (e.g., they beat the Crossmen in Kent by 6.65 points) but come San Antonio and Denton and beyond, it would.

To do nothing re this narration intrusion into D&BC competition will resort in a parody or travesty of our beloved marching arts : in a lighter measure, as a parody, t will be a satirical imitation of D&BC competition in the future or, as a travesty, it will become a grotesque imitation.

What do you want?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[KVG_DC]

2 minutes ago, 1956OPR said:

Bluecoat's

That's a new one for me :twitch:

[FTNK]

and though I can fight

I’d much rather recite

That’s entertainment!

[Lance]

if you don't like it, then don't pay for content anymore.  all you can do unless you lead some sort of rebellion, but that's probably not going to work either.  back when this same thing was going on with a&e, some of the most passionate and amazing people you'll ever meet got organized and even got an audience with dci bigwigs...it changed nothing.  

i dislike singing a lot more most of the time, and actually despise mics everywhere, synth, megaprops, and non-brass and percussion instruments blasting over speakers, but none of it is going anywhere. 

but yeah, i'd love it to go away.  

also, please put the stopwatch away.  

 

 

 

Edited July 13, 2022 by Lance

[Incognito365]

This is a fight that many over the years have fought, and have lost and had to embrace the changes to the marching arts. I see this going nowhere.

[Big Bird]

The music is the narration. It is the source material. The show cannot exist without the narration. The narration, in my opinion, is probably the most tasteful narration done in the activity in many years precisely due to the fact that it is from the source material. It isn’t singing, it isn’t campy narration that’s inserted into the show for no reason, it is what the entire show is built around. 

[Tony L.]

Not to dip my toe to deep into this debate, I will generally say that I found much of Bluecoats'narration to be insipid.  Only one viewing, but some of those lines made me laugh.  That can't be good.  I willreserve final judgment until Finals, but as for the viewing at the cinema:  Yowza!

[Incognito365]

I will add, I believe that a show should be able to stand alone without the narration. If the show makes zero sense without the narration, it should hinder GE.

[Big Bird]

12 minutes ago, Incognito365 said:

I will add, I believe that a show should be able to stand alone without the narration. If the show makes zero sense without the narration, it should hinder GE.

In some cases, I agree. In the Bluecoats case, no. The source material is the narration. The show is built around the piece Taming the Dragon. What you are asking them to do is to remove the source music that is the foundation of their entire program

[Lance]

1 minute ago, Big Bird said:

In some cases, I agree. In the Bluecoats case, no. The source material is the narration. The show is built around the piece Taming the Dragon. What you are asking them to do is to remove the source music that is the foundation of their entire program

I feel like both of your posts in this thread would make good narration on top of Bloo's narration.  Let's go full trippy.