Matt_S Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 I would agree. Last year's "Liquid" was the best drill on the field. Though there were some excellent isolated moves by other corps, only Liquid flowed (pardon the pun) from start to finish. I think the rest of the Cadets 2005 program, and 2006 failed to live up to the standard set by Liquid. Absolutely. Liquid was brilliant all around, I feel like the show gradually loses steam from that section on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kamarag Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 I think he's asking that drill be written with an intention in mind, that there be no wasted moves. Too often drill can make it look like the members are moving for the sake of moving, and that's something (out of a great many things) that John and I agree on. Yep. It's no different than volume. The best way to show off just how loud your brass can get is to follow a very loud segement with complete silence. It's not the volume itself that's impressive, it's the contrast. Corps can, and some have (Cadets being one) used little or no movement segments to contrast the really hard and fast stuff. I wish more corps would do this more often. It's ok to stand still and wail for a while...and the sooner designers realize this, the better off they (and we as fans) will be. I call it the "La Fiesta Moment" after '84 Blue Devils. To me, that was one of the most amazing couple of minutes ever done on the field...and they only moved a few pages. Of course, the "new school" crowd will say it sucked because they didn't move much. My response is that it didn't call for movement! Today's drum corps need more La Fiest Moments to contrast with the running around stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xmenjeffb Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 Yep. It's no different than volume. The best way to show off just how loud your brass can get is to follow a very loud segement with complete silence. It's not the volume itself that's impressive, it's the contrast.Corps can, and some have (Cadets being one) used little or no movement segments to contrast the really hard and fast stuff. I wish more corps would do this more often. It's ok to stand still and wail for a while...and the sooner designers realize this, the better off they (and we as fans) will be. I call it the "La Fiesta Moment" after '84 Blue Devils. To me, that was one of the most amazing couple of minutes ever done on the field...and they only moved a few pages. Of course, the "new school" crowd will say it sucked because they didn't move much. My response is that it didn't call for movement! Today's drum corps need more La Fiest Moments to contrast with the running around stuff. Now all of this line of thought i agree with . There is drill for the sake of movement and it to me seems like the visual answer to playing loud all the time. My other pet peeve contrived dynamics and shaping. So many times this makes drills look wrong. The score is marked FF for 4 bars and then they put in some psuedo dynamic shaping and the drill looks like it should be doing something else !! This happens far more than people may think. That and I know some humerpus yet sad storied of drill being changed in sectionals while the designer is away and it is like What happened there ??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssorrell Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 (edited) I swear, this is absolutely the first time I've +EVER+ heard anyone say that the formations the corps makes on the field have to have something to do with the theme of the show. - - I always just thought it had to look cool, have some nice "wow" moments, and make sense within the context of the music they're playing at that moment. Unless you are doing some artsy-fartsy Cavies-type theme that's all about shapes, that is. But if your theme is "Alice in Wonderland" or a Depression-era dance marathon ... rather than "Squares and Triangles in Ab-minor" ... well, I guess I just don't get it. I totally agree with you Dan. I don't get it either. How do shapes and forms on a field have anything to do with the music being played (with the noted exceptions of Frameworks, and other Cavies shows)? I've never considered drill to be a literal interpretation of the music, nor will I ever. It is one person's artistic impressions of the music, and in many cases it's not about the "picture" or form but the "motion" and the flow. Edited July 21, 2006 by ssorrell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kamarag Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 I totally agree with you Dan. I don't get it either. How do shapes and forms on a field have anything to do with the music being played (with the noted exceptions of Frameworks, and other Cavies shows)? I've never considered drill to be a literal interpretation of the music, nor will I ever. It is one person's artistic impressions of the music, and in many cases it's not about the "picture" or form but the "motion" and the flow. Absolutely correct. I don't see a problem with tossing in some literal forms, much like the Blue Devils have done this year with the dagger sets from The Godfather, but the very idea that you have to be literal all the time is nonsense. Sure, some music calls for certain kinda of drill (angular vs soft), but the idea that drill is broken....well, I think the original submitter is trying to solve a problem that doesn't exist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt_S Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 Absolutely correct.I don't see a problem with tossing in some literal forms, much like the Blue Devils have done this year with the dagger sets from The Godfather, but the very idea that you have to be literal all the time is nonsense. Sure, some music calls for certain kinda of drill (angular vs soft), but the idea that drill is broken....well, I think the original submitter is trying to solve a problem that doesn't exist. I think you misinterpret. When I say that I think drill should have a greater relevance to the show, I'm not asking for literal sets. I don't want to see Crown and SCV spelling words on the field. I simply mean what you state in your last paragraph, that perhaps corps could do a better job fitting certain drill to certain music, or even certain music to certain drill. Cavaliers do a great job every year of meshing the visual with the music, and they rarely resort to literaly drill. SCV's drill around the turn of the century (think 1998-2000) was some of my favorite, because it was disjointed, sharp on the edges, just like the music. That's what I'm talking about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kamarag Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 (edited) I think you misinterpret. Not at all. Your view isn't the one I take issue with...it's the original submitter's. Edited July 21, 2006 by Kamarag Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cymbal_steve Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 Just wanted to point out that I am enjoying this thread. I'd say that visual is the area in the activity right now with the most room to grow. Let's not forget the relevance of using form to feature different groups musically and visually (guard moment). To the original poster, do you write drill now? Do you aspire to? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt_S Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 Not at all. Your view isn't the one I take issue with...it's the original submitter's. Heh, fair enough. Me too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asifindnoarta Posted July 21, 2006 Author Share Posted July 21, 2006 Just wanted to point out that I am enjoying this thread. I'd say that visual is the area in the activity right now with the most room to grow. Let's not forget the relevance of using form to feature different groups musically and visually (guard moment). To the original poster, do you write drill now? Do you aspire to? 1) I do not write drill now. 2) I'm not sure about that actually. I certainly feel pasionate about the artform but I'm not sure if my contributions would even be possible. I'd probably end up writing shows impossible to execute well unless you had excellent athletes and five years to clean it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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