Carolina Crown 2023

[wigwam]

1 hour ago, nsxanax said:

Because of my self professed ignorance on drill design in particular and my rudimentary—if not archaic understanding of the activity in general—I’m loathe to fault find with any corps show, especially Crown.

I will only say this: a CrownSET from day one of the season I found unusual. Crown faithful are generally losing their minds if we don’t see it by Atl or NightBEAT. But it’s something we wait for and anticipate every year.

Figured it was an omen of some sort.  

Perhaps a non issue in the big scheme of things, but it stayed in the back of my mind the whole season.
 

And keep the crown set longer than 3 seconds to let it sink in.   It was great and evoked a huge reaction, but by the time everyone stood up to cheer it was dissolved into a scatter blob.   

But overall I loved the show and last nights performance was incredible.   

[ZTWright]

1 hour ago, nsxanax said:

Because of my self professed ignorance on drill design in particular and my rudimentary—if not archaic understanding of the activity in general—I’m loathe to fault find with any corps show, especially Crown.

I will only say this: a CrownSET from day one of the season I found unusual. Crown faithful are generally losing their minds if we don’t see it by Atl or NightBEAT. But it’s something we wait for and anticipate every year.

Figured it was an omen of some sort.  

Perhaps a non issue in the big scheme of things, but it stayed in the back of my mind the whole season.
 

Yes! The revelation of the Crown set is something we all always look forward to, and the discussion of WHEN they will reveal it was always a fun one to read through for me. Having it on the field after 3 competitions I believe (?) seemed a bit much too soon. 

I will say though, I ADORED that it was a traditional Crown set this year rather than the 2017 and 2018 iterations of "Is that the Crown set? Is it just a couple of jagged lines? I guess it can be interpreted as the Crown set".

22 minutes ago, wigwam said:

And keep the crown set longer than 3 seconds to let it sink in.   It was great and evoked a huge reaction, but by the time everyone stood up to cheer it was dissolved into a scatter blob.   

But overall I loved the show and last nights performance was incredible.   

Yes!!! I liked that the Crown expanded, but it definitely dissolved MUCH too soon. It could have warped or something. 

 

Also, am I the only one that was disappointed that the prop wasn't made into a drill set with follow the leader marching so that it looked like it was rotating/moving (a la the cube and pyramids from 2012 and 2013 respectably)? I felt like that was a huge miss. They could have had the circle in the closer leading up to the Crown set dissolve into a prop mimicking set with follow the leader movement and then dissolved it into the Crown set. 

[arabica]

2 hours ago, nsxanax said:

Because of my self professed ignorance on drill design in particular and my rudimentary—if not archaic understanding of the activity in general—I’m loathe to fault find with any corps show, especially Crown.

I will only say this: a CrownSET from day one of the season I found unusual. Crown faithful are generally losing their minds if we don’t see it by Atl or NightBEAT. But it’s something we wait for and anticipate every year.

Figured it was an omen of some sort.  

Perhaps a non issue in the big scheme of things, but it stayed in the back of my mind the whole season.
 

As a designer, my only intention is to move people in some way - it doesn't matter if they understand how or why, only that they are. If they can see a few layers deeper, then that's great too. That Crown '22 or any show makes a connection with you is the entire point and greatest reward...in that aspect you're already an expert of the activity! 😀

[arabica]

20 minutes ago, ZTWright said:

Yes! The revelation of the Crown set is something we all always look forward to, and the discussion of WHEN they will reveal it was always a fun one to read through for me. Having it on the field after 3 competitions I believe (?) seemed a bit much too soon. 

I will say though, I ADORED that it was a traditional Crown set this year rather than the 2017 and 2018 iterations of "Is that the Crown set? Is it just a couple of jagged lines? I guess it can be interpreted as the Crown set".

Yes!!! I liked that the Crown expanded, but it definitely dissolved MUCH too soon. It could have warped or something. 

 

Also, am I the only one that was disappointed that the prop wasn't made into a drill set with follow the leader marching so that it looked like it was rotating/moving (a la the cube and pyramids from 2012 and 2013 respectably)? I felt like that was a huge miss. They could have had the circle in the closer leading up to the Crown set dissolve into a prop mimicking set with follow the leader movement and then dissolved it into the Crown set. 

YES to everything you said! I'm probably reading into things but I actually thought there were a few references to the prop scattered throughout the drill: the hold at the end of opening hit [left form], the hold and move into the closer pit feature [right form], and in a way, the figure eight move in the opener then repeated in the shape of the laid fabric from second movement. The fact that I'm not sure is indicative of the overall design opportunity, isn't it? 🙃

[nsxanax]

1 hour ago, arabica said:

That Crown '22 or any show makes a connection with you is the entire point and greatest reward...in that aspect you're already an expert of the activity! 😀

That’s far too kind, but thank you.

ZTWright became my new best friend on Thursday. or Tues., but obviously you’ll be shortlisted for same.

In all seriousness, have found your comments to be extremely accessible and even more informative. Both you and ZTW have certainly raised the level of discourse ‘round these parts.

Thank you both👑♾️

[ZTWright]

1 hour ago, nsxanax said:

That’s far too kind, but thank you.

ZTWright became my new best friend on Thursday. or Tues., but obviously you’ll be shortlisted for same.

In all seriousness, have found your comments to be extremely accessible and even more informative. Both you and ZTW have certainly raised the level of discourse ‘round these parts.

Thank you both👑♾️

My pleasure. Also if you ever have questions about design or anything marching arts related, feel free to message me. I'm no expert, but I can lend my thoughts and expertise from my experience.

Edited August 15, 2022 by ZTWright

[skevinp]

13 hours ago, Cappybara said:

I hope Crown goes back to the simplicity that they were best at from 2006-2016. The design team just has not had a focused idea since they joined in 2017. Crown is best when they don’t think too hard about what they’re communicating and just do. I hope they come back very strong next year 

I don’t know what it is but I completely agree with the time period.  2016 was the last year I absolutely loved one of their shows.  

That said, this year is the show I have liked the most since then, so maybe they are moving in the right direction.

[ediblewaffles]

14 hours ago, Cappybara said:

I hope Crown goes back to the simplicity that they were best at from 2006-2016. The design team just has not had a focused idea since they joined in 2017. Crown is best when they don’t think too hard about what they’re communicating and just do. I hope they come back very strong next year 

This time 100. I think they are trying too hard to be unique and stand out with not super clear ideas (most notably in It Is.) Even in an activity where complexity and coordination is key, the KISS rule can still apply!

 

Also, watching San Antonio live and Finals night, there felt like way fewer music/visual changes than I would typically see from crown, outside of more fabrics and whatnot. Making those chnages may have caused RHRN to not fade as hard as the season progressed.

[Jake W.]

I would just love to see more clarity and intent from Crown, both from the initial design through the growth and changes that always occur throughout the season. 2019, as much as I loved that show, had so many layers and vague ideas from the start, all of which achieved clarity to varying degrees of success, and none achieved it completely. This season, on the other hand, seemed like a simple, clear idea from the start, but it became more convoluted as the season went on and the design team attempted to add depth.

BD - love them or hate them - are the absolute masters of starting with a larger picture and distilling it down to its essence and detailing it out and trimming the fat as the season goes on. All choreography, drill, prop design, and musical direction ends up buttressing the theme, vibe, or mood by the season's end, and therein lies the keys to BD's success year after year. If it doesn't add or clarify intent, it's gone. Crown was the opposite this year (and the last few years), expanding the original idea "out" instead of "in" as the season progresses, and losing or muddying intent in the process. All of the fabrics were a perfect example of that this year. Inferno (and E=MC2, Rach Star, For the Common Good) was distilled down masterfully by the end of the season so that every subtle movement, brass run, and dynamic shape felt like it purposefully (and organically) portrayed the intent of the show. It didn't matter whether that intent was clear (Inferno) or vague (Common Good), you got it. It Is, Beast, Beneath the Surface, and Right Here Right Now all became muddier and less purposeful as the season progressed to its end.

Crown still attracts a huge portion of the most skilled performers in DCI. I think a lot of us in the community feel that given a vehicle with a bit more clarity and intent, the sky is the limit. I know a lot of Crown fans waxed poetic this season about appealing to the audience vs. appealing to the judges, but quit selling your expectations short - it's beyond time for the design team to achieve a balance of both!

[ndrudy2013]

7 hours ago, Jake W. said:

I would just love to see more clarity and intent from Crown, both from the initial design through the growth and changes that always occur throughout the season. 2019, as much as I loved that show, had so many layers and vague ideas from the start, all of which achieved clarity to varying degrees of success, and none achieved it completely. This season, on the other hand, seemed like a simple, clear idea from the start, but it became more convoluted as the season went on and the design team attempted to add depth.

BD - love them or hate them - are the absolute masters of starting with a larger picture and distilling it down to its essence and detailing it out and trimming the fat as the season goes on. All choreography, drill, prop design, and musical direction ends up buttressing the theme, vibe, or mood by the season's end, and therein lies the keys to BD's success year after year. If it doesn't add or clarify intent, it's gone. Crown was the opposite this year (and the last few years), expanding the original idea "out" instead of "in" as the season progresses, and losing or muddying intent in the process. All of the fabrics were a perfect example of that this year. Inferno (and E=MC2, Rach Star, For the Common Good) was distilled down masterfully by the end of the season so that every subtle movement, brass run, and dynamic shape felt like it purposefully (and organically) portrayed the intent of the show. It didn't matter whether that intent was clear (Inferno) or vague (Common Good), you got it. It Is, Beast, Beneath the Surface, and Right Here Right Now all became muddier and less purposeful as the season progressed to its end.

Crown still attracts a huge portion of the most skilled performers in DCI. I think a lot of us in the community feel that given a vehicle with a bit more clarity and intent, the sky is the limit. I know a lot of Crown fans waxed poetic this season about appealing to the audience vs. appealing to the judges, but quit selling your expectations short - it's beyond time for the design team to achieve a balance of both!

You may see some changes next year to achieve this