BorisTS Posted December 16, 2005 Share Posted December 16, 2005 Check out this stuff: http://www.pathwayproductions.org/ezdd.htm Uh, why? I don't write drill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan H. Turner Posted December 16, 2005 Share Posted December 16, 2005 im not sure if all the drill is still being done by hand at BD, but when i was there a few years ago it was all hand written. im guessing it still is I wouldn't be surprised. At a winter guard show about 6 years ago that I was announcing, Jay Murphy was sitting next to me. Jokingly, I said, "If you had one bit of advice to give to me as a drill designer, what would that be?" And he seriously looked at me and said, "Don't use a computer to write your drill. Do it by hand!" Hmmmm...he seemed pretty serious. Don't know if he's changed or does what I do with Dream by giving it to someone to put into Pyware...but your observation makes sense with me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted December 16, 2005 Share Posted December 16, 2005 (edited) See post below... Edited December 16, 2005 by ScadesBari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morgoth Bauglir Posted December 16, 2005 Share Posted December 16, 2005 I have found the opposite to be true when I write. One can make a computer printout look as nice as one wants, just like you can choose to write nice numbers by hand, or use chicken-scratch. I like using a computer cause I can do things like color code sections, or put ina performers name and not have to waste time doing that for every page. And the consistancy from page to page makes it much easier to read. As for accuracy, you can't get more accurate than a computer. It tells you dots to the nearest 1/4 step, shows you pathways and possible collisions, tells you the step size of every single performer as well as the largest step size in any one move. I also teach all of my groups and lines to be dot-oriented, and take straight lines. So if the move is physically possible, there is no MIGHT about it. What you see is what you get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted December 16, 2005 Share Posted December 16, 2005 I have found the opposite to be true when I write. One can make a computer printout look as nice as one wants, just like you can choose to write nice numbers by hand, or use chicken-scratch. I like using a computer cause I can do things like color code sections, or put ina performers name and not have to waste time doing that for every page. And the consistancy from page to page makes it much easier to read. As for accuracy, you can't get more accurate than a computer. It tells you dots to the nearest 1/4 step, shows you pathways and possible collisions, tells you the step size of every single performer as well as the largest step size in any one move. I also teach all of my groups and lines to be dot-oriented, and take straight lines. So if the move is physically possible, there is no MIGHT about it. What you see is what you get. Yeah, I just finished up a weeks worth of finals, what I typed isnt what I wanted to say necessarily... :) But yeah, I agree with you. However some drill writers who I have seen do it by computer, have always had issues. I end up printing the list/sheet with the exact dots for the kids to see. The drill itself "looks" nice because its computer generated, but the symbols often times do not line up exactly... I like both. When I took the class here at school, as part of our major, we had to do it by both hand and computer, so I can appreciate either. I think the 3d Java version of Pyware is easier to read than the older versions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitn0926 Posted December 16, 2005 Share Posted December 16, 2005 I end up printing the list/sheet with the exact dots for the kids to see. The coordinate sheets are one of the main advantages to using a program like Pyware. Like one other person said above, I e-mail all of my drill/coordinate sheets to the school in PDF format that they can then print out and give to the kids right away. The PDF also gives them a backup copy of the file for later use. The main band I write for puts all of the PDFs on the band's website so the kids can download it themselves if they ever lose anything. Even if you handwrite your drill, it should still be put into Pyware for this kind of usage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bssop97 Posted July 16, 2006 Share Posted July 16, 2006 (edited) REMOVED BY AUTHOR Edited August 7, 2006 by bssop97 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reauxbee Posted July 16, 2006 Share Posted July 16, 2006 There is a newer software out there called Vdrill. It is not as complicated as pyware and certainly not the $800 to purchase. Although I haven't written drill in 20 years. It doesn't seem too complicated and does allow for creativity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavalier81 Posted July 16, 2006 Share Posted July 16, 2006 I start writing by hand, in 1995 or 96 I got my first copy of pyware. I've been using that since then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morgoth Bauglir Posted July 16, 2006 Share Posted July 16, 2006 (edited) 1-How much of a learning curve should I expect in the future? At least a few weeks. Pyware is getting better with each version. But there are still a lot of things that you would not expect a program to do. I can't really describe it. It's just that I use a computer all the time, and most computer programs for Windows are set up similar. They have similar menus, terms, shortcuts, behaviors, etc. Pyware seems like it was programmed by people who don't actually know a lot about programming for Windows. It's very...quirky. And there are still some glitches now and then. And that stuff is just getting used to it being different than a normal computer app. The actual usage of the program will take a few weeks. And it will be mostly trial and error. So I wouldn't start out with anything that is really important or needs to be done quickly. When I started it was for a winter drumline. I wrote the stuff by hand, and then tired inputting it into Pyware and see how it acted. So I spent a whole season learning to use it, but still relying on hand charts. The upcoming band season though, I was 100% Pyware. 2-Did you find Pyware effected you creativity? Yes. I found I was able to do a lot more. Seeing things actually move allowed me to weed out a lot of bad ideas before the kids ever see the charts. In addition, I don't have to think of large groups or sections as much. I am able to do a lot more complex stuff using individuals instead of just moving sections around. 3-Do you hand chart then put it in Pyware? I don't exactly do real charts by hand, but I do draw real rough sketches in storyboard format before putting anything in Pyware. It lets me know what ideas I want to use and where everyone needs to be. I work the dots out later in Pyware. 4-Am I on crack for the method I'm doing things the way I'm doing it currently? No. Switching over from tried and true methods to something new is always difficult. For me, I had only done hand charts for a few seasons before switching to Pyware. So I wasn't that wigged out about it. But if one has been doing it one way for years and years, I would expect that Pyware will be completely different in every way than what they are used to. So for a long time pro, it might be a more difficult transition. Edited July 16, 2006 by G-Cym Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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