Blackstar Posted October 1, 2006 Share Posted October 1, 2006 For the 100th times I've seen a HBCU type drum line in a TV commercial. They had thier own movie (Drumline) and get all the pub. What can drum corps due to reach this type of popularity. And please don;t say we don't need to that popular because we do. It would only help the activity. My one suggestion would to be more entertaining and not so esotic (sic) that people don;t understand what is going on on the field or with the music. Case in put, Blue Devils and Phantom equal understandable music. I'm not going to give a negative view. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GGarrett Posted October 1, 2006 Share Posted October 1, 2006 I know what you're saying...and I agree whole-heartedly. You can find posts here and there on DCP where I have commented on the various drumlines being used in commercials (ie: the Mercury car commercials, the Shoe Carnival commercial, et al...) It is annoying at best to see such mediocrity "settled" for in many commercials when "we" (the drum corps fans) know that something far more dynamic and impressive exists that could make a much bigger and better visual and audio impression. There in lies the "esoteric" problem you elude to... that being that really only "we" would be that impressed by the actual obvious difference there would be. The vast majority of viewers simply see a 30 second spot of drummers banging it out with visuals thrown in (basic stick twirls or lean back and forward moves...) to an obviously over-dubbed soundtrack. You can just watch the stick movements and see that it doesn't synch up with what your hearing. The uniforms are geared towrds the movie style seen in "Drumline" with that hip-hop edge to them (ie headbands instead of hats or shakos) because that is what the majority of kids recognize as appealing, even peripherally. Having worked in the advertisng agency world for a few years in my past, AND been in a few drum corps as well, I can only offer a few possible reasons why the logistics and feasibility of using drum corps drumlines vs. university or high school lines seems to be the norm: - Most drum corps drumlines are only all together once everydays start, and at that point there isn't enough time for a week spent doing a commercial. - The same time constraints apply once the season is rolling on, and stopping for taping a commercial would be impossible. Getting all necessary shots could take days. - If the actual sound was used from a corps line, they would no doubt have to learn yet another piece along with the complicated excercises and show music they have. - Most advertisng people don't appreciate or think along the lines of what sounds "crisp & clean" vs. what just sounds like "marching band drumbeats" I would agree that our activity could be used in a far more effective way over marching band style drumlines, and the extra publicity couldn't hurt at all. But the difference seems to be that what would be used in the general media would be the "whatever is close to what theme we're looking for" versus the "probably more suited for the public television/fine arts audience" that would understand the difference. Just my thoughts on an issue that I have wondered (obviously! :P ) about myself... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keith Posted October 1, 2006 Share Posted October 1, 2006 didn't Bridgemen do a commercial for i think twix's in the late 70's early 80's. and BD was on Ellen in 2005. Drum corp people recgonize the difference between marching band and drum corp but the average viewer would still think it was a marching band. also what would a corp charge to do a commercial. also CMCC Warriors were in a Richard Pyor movie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orpheus Posted October 1, 2006 Share Posted October 1, 2006 My one suggestion would to be more entertaining and not so esotic (sic) that people don;t understand what is going on on the field or with the music. Case in put, Blue Devils and Phantom equal understandable music. I'm not going to give a negative view. The grammatical vagaries of those last two sentences are sort of blowing my mind, but if I understand you correctly, I'm not sure that playing less esoteric music is necessarily going to make drum & bugle wildly popular with the general public. After all, twenty years ago corps performed shows that were a lot more straightforward and less difficult to "get." But was the activity vastly more popular then than now? Most people, whether it's 2006 or 1986, equate marching music with what they see at halftime of football games. The idea that we can actually get "Joe Six-pack" to care about competitive marching music is sort of a pipedream, isn't it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayM Posted October 1, 2006 Share Posted October 1, 2006 The grammatical vagaries of those last two sentences are sort of blowing my mind, but if I understand you correctly Hahaha. My thoughts exactly. The general public doesn't care about us, and probably never will. We're a niche activity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackstar Posted October 2, 2006 Author Share Posted October 2, 2006 The grammatical vagaries of those last two sentences are sort of blowing my mind, God blessed me with looks not spelling skills :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OMello1 Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 I know what you're saying...and I agree whole-heartedly. You can find posts here and there on DCP where I have commented on the various drumlines being used in commercials (ie: the Mercury car commercials, the Shoe Carnival commercial, et al...) It is annoying at best to see such mediocrity "settled" for in many commercials when "we" (the drum corps fans) know that something far more dynamic and impressive exists that could make a much bigger and better visual and audio impression. There in lies the "esoteric" problem you elude to... that being that really only "we" would be that impressed by the actual obvious difference there would be. The vast majority of viewers simply see a 30 second spot of drummers banging it out with visuals thrown in (basic stick twirls or lean back and forward moves...) to an obviously over-dubbed soundtrack. You can just watch the stick movements and see that it doesn't synch up with what your hearing. The uniforms are geared towrds the movie style seen in "Drumline" with that hip-hop edge to them (ie headbands instead of hats or shakos) because that is what the majority of kids recognize as appealing, even peripherally. Having worked in the advertisng agency world for a few years in my past, AND been in a few drum corps as well, I can only offer a few possible reasons why the logistics and feasibility of using drum corps drumlines vs. university or high school lines seems to be the norm: I would agree that our activity could be used in a far more effective way over marching band style drumlines, and the extra publicity couldn't hurt at all. But the difference seems to be that what would be used in the general media would be the "whatever is close to what theme we're looking for" versus the "probably more suited for the public television/fine arts audience" that would understand the difference. Just my thoughts on an issue that I have wondered (obviously! :P ) about myself... Maybe part of our problem is the elitist attitude we tend to portray, as evidenced in this thread? M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GGarrett Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 Maybe part of our problem is the elitist attitude we tend to portray, as evidenced in this thread? M sorry...did I offend you with my opinion? For what it's worth, I was a band guy as well. Didn't mean to sound "elitist" ... just addressing the "esoteric" comment made in the previous post. But I'll be a snob if that's what you want me to be... :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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