Tom Brace Posted May 1, 2007 Share Posted May 1, 2007 Ding ding ding... The appeal of many sports (particularly individual sports such as ice skating and NASCAR - to cite those mentioned in a previous post) is as much in the personalities as in the competition. For example, the onset of figure skating mania and almost year-round television coverage can, in many respects, be traced back to the Nancy - Tonya saga. It was a popular fascination with the characters involved rather than in any sudden interest in figure skating itself, which had long received only minimal media coverage. The same may be true of NASCAR's recent surge in popularity. Only with the advent of cover-boy drivers and interesting characters did this long-suffering sport come to the attention of the general public. Drum corps, unfortunately, lacks such individuality. It is not driven by star performers or whacky characters (George Hopkins excepted) who grab media attention. I do agree...it's about the sports personalities. The NASCAR driver, the NBA star...sports is very much about the individual and so much less about the team. Drum corps is mainly about the team. Sure, there are soloists at one point or another. I could usually care less if a corps had a soloist or not. For me, drum corps is a celebration of true teamwork. We all eat together, sleep on the gym floor, clean up the school, load up our stuff, all together. Even on the field...it's about the team. Too bad we don't celebrate teamwork in this culture nearly as much as we celebrate stardom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piper Posted May 1, 2007 Share Posted May 1, 2007 One time we had a parade in our home town, so we did the obligatory short concert in front of the reviewing stand. Anyway, we played the opener that had a wailing sop solo in it, and just for a goof one our bari players stepped out in front and faked the whole thing while the sop player was blowing his brains out in the background. The locals were cheering like he was Maynard Ferguson. The point being that the public in general really doesn't know all that much about Drum Corps. It would be nice however if it were made more available to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drumcat Posted May 2, 2007 Share Posted May 2, 2007 If you want to do a TV series, I think there is already a model out there. Anyone watch Deadliest Catch? People are more interested in watching a corps director swear and kick stuff when his bus breaks down, as long as the kids end up with a performance at the end. The problem is that the hottest "airing of laundry" TV would be counterproductive to the image that most drum corps want to exhibit, as well as DCI in general I'd venture. If that's the case, then you have show left. Like Tom was saying, you can have a multi-series "competition" broken up by editing... but let's not forget one thing. It has to be ESPN, or ESPN goes away. They own coverage rights now, and as such, this discussion should center around ESPN, in my opinion. They appear to be option A -> Z. If ESPN is the choice, you could then edit the thing down like "Contender UK v USA". That's a 6 part series that's really one fight night. If you were going to do that, you lose any head to head, since we have full-sheet competition. In other words, what happens when you have something like 8v7, 6v5, 4v3... and a corps like Bluecoats messes it all up, jumping from 5 to 4? Anyhow... I don't know what the answer is. I think if there was an answer, it'd be happening already... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fifer Posted May 2, 2007 Share Posted May 2, 2007 It's being done already. Quarterfinals cinecast. No it hasn't. I think Marsha's idea of a top 12 pay per view during the winter months where you can sit at home and watch it on your own TV or Tivo it is much different than a shlep to the theater to end up with someone with big hair sitting in front of you and blocking your view. I'd definitely purchase the pay per view show but you'd never get DCI to do that as it would cut into their DVD profits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffro21 Posted May 2, 2007 Share Posted May 2, 2007 If you want to do a TV series, I think there is already a model out there. Anyone watch Deadliest Catch? People are more interested in watching a corps director swear and kick stuff when his bus breaks down, as long as the kids end up with a performance at the end. That's the only format that I think would work. Simply showing corps shows would not. There has to be some type of way the viewer can relate to the performers. Most Americans don't desire to watch instrumental performances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoHmempho04 Posted May 2, 2007 Share Posted May 2, 2007 If you want to do a TV series, I think there is already a model out there. Anyone watch Deadliest Catch? People are more interested in watching a corps director swear and kick stuff when his bus breaks down, as long as the kids end up with a performance at the end. REAL WORLD DRUM CORPS!!!!!!!!!!! It might work but it would be more like the MTV following the Hoover High football team. It would focus on a few members, the corps director, and the families and how they react to their children disappearing for a full summer. That might be pretty good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marianne Posted May 2, 2007 Share Posted May 2, 2007 I think a good approach would be in the reality tv realm. Something along the lines of Cheerleader Nation or the more recent Cheerleader U. Follow a corps (or for that matter, a winter guard or percussion ensemble) through the audition process, the spring training, etc. Pick a few individuals to focus on so the viewer finds someone to root for. And profile what that person goes through from auditon to Finals (and of course have the obligatory person who was cut but is determined to make it "next year."). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrunchyTenor Posted May 2, 2007 Share Posted May 2, 2007 (edited) I guess the issue is that they're tying to cover two very different audiences with the one program.If the intent is to expand the audience, market drum corps, and grab as much attention as possible, maybe a one-hour "best of (current year)" program would work better. You'd have to cut way back on the number of corps performances and/or the length of each show clip since you'd still want to have a lot of "a day in the life" clips. It would become much more of an entertaining "marketing" piece than the broadcast of a performance. Keep things short, keep thing moving, keep the audiences' attention. Here's where I disagree. They're not showing Andre Rieu doing his laundry, or a typical day in his life. What people want to see is performance. That's where DCI has dropped the ball, IMO. Average Joe doesn't really care if you spent 12 hours on a bus and slept on a gym floor, or that you only get to do your laundry once a week. He wants to see the performance. Give them less fluff and more drum corps. Garry in Vegas Edited May 2, 2007 by CrunchyTenor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrunchyTenor Posted May 2, 2007 Share Posted May 2, 2007 Unless you are a die-hard hockey fan, who watches Versus? Other than die-hard Versus fans, who watches hockey? :P Garry in Vegas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madscout96 Posted May 2, 2007 Share Posted May 2, 2007 Other than die-hard Versus fans, who watches hockey? :P Garry in Vegas People who don't live in Las Vegas (those who live north of the Ohio, east of the Rockies). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.