Roark1 Posted September 7, 2005 Share Posted September 7, 2005 (edited) it wasn't interesting, they didn't show enough of the show, and he turned it off half way through I was watching with my 11 year old daughter, whom I had taken to her first show this year (she loved it), and she fell asleep. Edited September 7, 2005 by Roark1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaSqueegee Posted September 7, 2005 Share Posted September 7, 2005 Jeff comments on the ESPN2 broadcast on the Cavaliers website..... Cavaliers Message Board I guess you can take that as the Cavaliers and DCI's Board viewpoint on the issue!! B) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaSqueegee Posted September 7, 2005 Share Posted September 7, 2005 I was watching with my 11 year old daughter whom I had taken to her first show this year (she loved it), and she fell asleep. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> It was on kind of late for the Eastern timezone. I am kind of dragging here at work today. I didn't get to sleep until 1:00 A.M. cause my blood pressure was up from watching drum corps....feels like the summer again!!! :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiBoyinLA Posted September 7, 2005 Share Posted September 7, 2005 I thought the program was well done, as always, by Blair & Co. I have a couple suggestions for how to make next year's show more compelling, perhaps, to the average ESPN2 viewer (i.e. young male). WARNING: Some of these suggestions are not politically correct. I make them because I think they would attract more viewers. (1) More mid-range shots that emphasize the physicality and athleticism of the idiom. (2) At least SOME significant explanation of what is being judged, and why some performances aren't "as good" as others. For instance, use the telestrator and slow motion replay to point out crooked lines, dropped equipment and/or foot phasing. Conversely, if you don't want to highlight the negative, show uniformity of an equipment toss or focus on a snare line's uniform stick heights. TV coverage of other somewhat subjectively judged sports like diving, figure skating, etc. can serve as a model for this. If I was a newbie, I would have no idea why Cadets' show was one of the best performances of all time, like Delucia said. Was it because they used microphones? (3) Gotta keep emphasizing the visual aspects, because average Joe simply won't understand the musical concepts. Newbies can relate to equipment tosses ("look, Ma, they all caught them things!"), drumline visuals, really fast drill ("wow, they are running and playing"). (4) More close-ups of attractive guard girls. Hey, it works for Cheerleading contests. (5) Less close-ups and interviews of effeminate guys (and unattractive girls). (6) If you're going to do a feature on an individual, try following him/her a bit more during the actual performance. (7) More fan reaction shots. Pick out crazy fans with face-paint, flags, etc. to show how this really is "kind of like" other sporting events. (8) Ballads = boring to sports fans. Leave 'em for the DVD. Show me fast, agressive, loud. Bottom line, if the show is going to be on a SPORTS channel, the presentation could and should be presented more as a SPORT than as an ART. JMHO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
incognito Posted September 7, 2005 Share Posted September 7, 2005 Maybe I missed something, but with the exception of letting the audience know that the Boston Crusaders were from Boston, I don't think there was any mention on where the corps came from. The was no real focus on where these kids were from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt_S Posted September 7, 2005 Share Posted September 7, 2005 From the Jeff Fiedler post on Cavaliers' board: Bascially, Public Television told us a few years ago that their affiliates would have a lot less interest in running the DCI show if it were to stay as full length shows (they stated in no uncertain terms that the full shows were boring on television)....they wanted more smaller interesting clips to help viewers understand the whole activity and just small segments of corps performing..."snippets" I believe was the word they used.....ESPN2 basically gave us the same information when we presented the project to them last winter....... We (DCI) consulted Bill Kurtis - a national media consultant and A&E and Cable Television producer of Chicago fame - a few years ago with the longer broadcast, and he basically asked: "....and people watch this the whole time? You're kidding, right?" Get the picture? So, what Broadcast Producer Tom Blair (Cavalier alum) has done is make it more accessible to the masses, as well as to the decision-makers (PBS, ESPN, etc...) who decide what gets on the tube. If you really want to see the full length shows to appreciate the actual reality of what the activity is - and this has always been the case - YOU HAVE TO ATTEND THE CONTESTS. If you can't make the contest, you'll need to buy the DVDs or the CDs if you want the longer versions, or subscribe to the DCI Season Pass at DCI.org Interesting for me to hear that ESPN made the same sort of request that PBS did, about the shortened format. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lance Posted September 7, 2005 Share Posted September 7, 2005 It doesn't surprise me at all that PBS or ESPN would say that. It's hard to get an average TV watcher to focus on the same thing for more than a couple of SECONDS, much less 12 minutes. And I completely agree with Mr. Fiedler that seeing it on tv is for exposure, not for any type of authentic drum corps experience. You have to see it live before that can ever happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhantomMom Posted September 7, 2005 Share Posted September 7, 2005 Have not been following this thread so sorry if this is a repeat.....Checking something else on AOL and see the top 5 Video Clips for the day #2 Phantom Glory....... http://television.aol.com/franchise/top5.adp Beat Samuel L Jacksons first commercial :P OK - scratch this post, see a thread has just been opened on this topic <{POST_SNAPBACK}> THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! How cool is that? My daughter will be impressed since we are AOL subscribers. Go Phantom!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony L. Posted September 7, 2005 Share Posted September 7, 2005 But, they always did have a "snippets" version of Finals where the Top 12 were all shown and got at least one song each. I don't think the broadcast needs to be full Top 6, but I do think they could have given the viewer a little more of actual performances. It has been done and it can be done again. What is a snippet anyway? Why don't we just have a nice rock song playing in the background and show a really cool (neatly editted) video montage of the corps. Now that would really make the activity look really cool on TV! The format is basically fine, but I think that they may have just gone a bit too far in the quest to deliver the "Snippet". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danc0969 Posted September 7, 2005 Share Posted September 7, 2005 Three things every drum corps fan knows; :P 1- Who should have really won the contest 2- How to better run DCI 3- What should have been shown on the DCI/ESPN2 broadcast <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Just like every football fan knows who their team should draft and what plays should be called. People having opinions on your activity is a GOOD thing. If you are bothered by those opinions, a Web discussion thread is probably not a good place for you to visit. I am pleased that Drum Corps is getting more mainstream exposure. Anyone that claims that last night's broadcast couldn't use improvement simply wasn't watching. I am also confident, though, that as an activity we can and will get better at presenting the excitement better as we go forward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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