JT76 Posted September 7, 2005 Share Posted September 7, 2005 It felt like a two hour (really longer) "Infomercial"... :) Here I was all excited about this and emailed all my friends and family to make sure to watch ....I was hoping to at least hear the Contra part in Phantoms show I was bragging to my dad about it (who loves Gershwin and plays Tuba)..and oh well..should've known. The editing part of the shows, just didn't make sense really... I noticed in all the "commercialization" of this DCI forgot to mention that the kids pay to be involved in this activity. Boy are some newcomers gonna be in for a shock uh? The technical aspect of it was brilliant, the camera work was done nicely, the Tom Blair production, but I wish they could work on the writing and interviewing skills of their "Infomercial". Anyway...I am sure I will think of some more things but the thing that sticks out..Not ONE mention of how the kids and their families have to pay to do this..why? Why not? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I completely agree with you! It did seem like a long infomercial. If that is what DCI was going for than that is what they got. The prodcution was good. It served their purpose. Now we will just have to wiat and see what effect it had on the kids not marching yet. They did mention at the very beginning that the kids had to pay to be in the corps...it was something like "unlike the NFL superstars these kids have to pay a hefty price to march in these corps." Or something like that. But I do rembere them saying that. I couldn't help but think - after they had built up that these kids work all summer long and how hard they work and then they just show 1 song from Boston - that someone out there thought, "They worked all summer and that hard just to play that one song?" :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Posted September 7, 2005 Author Share Posted September 7, 2005 WHOA!! Hold on here. I made that ad and I had to work with the resources we had on hand. I did not have ANY DCA material to work with and the deadline was very close. For you to assume that DCI had an agenda is not only incorrect (Because DCI had nothing to do with its production) but is just plain silly.Steve Vickers and I had total control over the ad's content. You need to stop and get the facts before you complain! The truth will set you free! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> WOW - this is why I seriously love DCP these days - someone says something silly and then the actual person who knows the reality will turn up minutes later to tells us what really happened! Great we get the actual truth from the source rather than going on rumor mill like the old days. You go DCW and Steve Vickers!! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted September 7, 2005 Share Posted September 7, 2005 What's with all the Phantom members wearing dogtags? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> so if they got lost they could be returned to their owners :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Posted September 7, 2005 Author Share Posted September 7, 2005 I couldn't help but think - after they had built up that these kids work all summer long and how hard they work and then they just show 1 song from Boston - that someone out there thought, "They worked all summer and that hard just to play that one song?" <{POST_SNAPBACK}> well - let's just take it for granted that the viewers were actually listening when the referred to the clips as a "segment" a "song from their program" a "portion of their program" etc throughout the broadcast we hear these comments / complaints every highlights style broadcast year and unless we had flashing two inch high letters on the screen stating "THIS IS ONLY A PORTION OF AN ELEVEN MINUTE PROGRAM - THIS PROGRAM HAS BEEN EDITED FOR TV" I guess we'll keep hearing this year after year :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Appleknocker Posted September 7, 2005 Share Posted September 7, 2005 Marketing 101 people,....get a grip!!!! I would hate to hear your reviews of the last episode of Lassie. Oh,....they should have shown more of Timmy crying,...why didn't we see Grampa in this episode????,......Timmy has a girlfriend named Carmen,...but she was nowhere to be found!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCIFanOfAllDivisions Posted September 7, 2005 Share Posted September 7, 2005 I think they should show the entire show of the champion that season... the rest can be segments but each year show all of the winner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michsta8 Posted September 7, 2005 Share Posted September 7, 2005 My honest opinion about the whole thing. 1) At least the activity got some well needed exposure. This is all that's good to say about it. I have been a part of this activity for 20 years. I actually got tired of it and turned it off. It did not keep my attention. If I had never seen this activity and happened to cross it channel surfing, I do believe that I would have kept on scrolling. Way too much "behind the scenes" with no history about the activity. I do believe that ESPN2 had it right, this was a band competition. Anyone outside of the activity clearly saw it that way. All the focus on the cameras seemed on the dancers, singers, drumspeaks and characters. I am sorry to say that I was quite disappointed. Not sure if the disappointment is from what I saw produced or just what the activity has become. When I see a football game these days and at halftime when the band is out there, I am sorry, but we must all realize this THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE ANYMORE. Just go ahead and approve the ww. That's all that left. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwillis35 Posted September 7, 2005 Share Posted September 7, 2005 I will just say that I loved the broadcast last night. Thank you, DCI and ESPN2. I realize that many drum corps fans would rather see more corps performances. I would have loved to see the top 6 in full. But what DCI did was exactly what was needed in my opinion. Often times when you watch ice skating or cheerleading, or other types of competitive activities on ESPN you only see snippets of the shows or routines, they only announce the last three placings (Bronze, Silver, and Gold), and you get many human interest stories. DCI did this very well. The interviews were all excellent, and I loved the behind the scenes look at the activity. My favorite was on how shows are created with the Cavaliers. Scott Koter and that team are simply amazing and I love how they use technology in their preparation process. The story on the girl from Phantom Regiment was excellent, and that was one of those human interest stories that really grabbed people like my mother, my brother and sister, people who know very little about the activity. Explaining the judging system was also good, although perhaps a bit too long, but people need to know how this activity is judged. Most importantly, I thought DCI did an amazing job of integrating all these segments in order to bring light to the differences in drum corps competition vs. HS and College marching band. I think it was obvious and it didn't have to be about what instruments we play, it was more about methodology. People who tuned in now know that flag lines are not just a bunch of girls spinning pretty flags. They know that horn lines tune and work on musicianship of a high level, and they do so on music that is incredibly demanding. They know that the drum line is amazingly tight, physical, and highly trained; and they know that these kids ARE THE SHOW, not just some halftime diversion for some larger event. It was clear that the work ethic rivals that of sports, and those that watched learned. Hopefully, many high school and college administrators caught parts of this presentation and that they have a better idea of where the marching art form is going, and how hard these young ladies and gentlemen work to perfect their craft. Finally, Bravo to DCI for the excellent commercials and for also including the commercials about music in the public schools. I really believe that this broadcast has a higher calling than that of just pleasing drum corps fans who already know what these kids do and how they look and sound. If we really want to see the full shows we can go to them in the summer or we can buy the videos/DVDs. And DCI did a nice job of advertising their web site and the purchasing of these items. DCI exists in a free enterprise market in which you can no longer give everything away for free, and that includes the entire top 6 or top 12 corps in full on PBS or ESPN. They understand that and I applaud them for that. They made excellent use of those two hours on ESPN2 and I, for one, will be able to use that information in helping to recruit my students into the activity and getting them to understand how the marching art form has changed. Bravo! DCI and ESPN2 and thank you! Jonathan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrumCorpsFan27 Posted September 7, 2005 Share Posted September 7, 2005 What makes you think the crowds are shrinking? Some older fans may be leaving if they don't like the direction things are going, but new fans are being made all the time. Nobody can really say how the total number of fans today compares with 20 or 30 years ago, but however you slice it, it's still doing pretty well. I don't know where this myth of the evaporating fan base comes from. Just 'cause some people don't like it doesn't mean that there aren't a whole lot of people who still do. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Fan base is not evaporating and there will be fans for a long time. However, the fan base seems to be growing only minimally. This is due to a large number of fans leaving. In Geerge Hopkins response to Scott Stewart's essay, one of his main objectives was to stop the lose of long time fans. He has since said that he iw more than willing to lose those fans to continue his vision (the former vision included keeping legacy fans, the latter does not). This seems to be the prevailing attitude of the BoD and so instead of creating new fans to add to the existing legacy fans (which would cause the growth to be greater) DCI is creating new fans to replace old ones. Now, I ask you, which makes more sense... creating new fans to replace old ones who used to be DCI's greatest supporters but now leave? or creating new fans to ADD to the legacy fans who are DCI's greatest supporters? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrumCorpsFan27 Posted September 7, 2005 Share Posted September 7, 2005 Yeah, and millions of kids play it around the USA.....no need to recruit them, ESPN, DCI and the like dont even know their audience....yet, this telecast was not a top 12 show, it was a drum corps teaser to whet the appetitie, to introduce something to what 99% of the public has no clue about.Soemone had a good point, the more you watch the broadcast, the less drum corps seems like marching band. They did a great job in that aspect also. Again, why would anyone complain ? Buy the dvd's. If you(perverbial you) are expecting a free show, forget it. If I was DCI, I wouldnt give you a free show either. ~G~ <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Was this the purpose of the show? To sell DVDs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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