bawker Posted June 14, 2007 Share Posted June 14, 2007 ...some good points. It's difficult (for me at least) to frame this show as a new way of experiencing drum corps when Cavaliers, Regiment, etc do the old way so well, though. :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayM Posted June 14, 2007 Share Posted June 14, 2007 After seeing/hearing it: I feel as if the show would not work without the narration, as it seems to me as if it's a bunch of acts (say...as if it were a play) that have no relation to each other whatsoever. So basically we have a bunch of non-sequiturs tied together loosely by narration, something that most of us have decided by this point is relatively ineffective in a drum corps context. So the show can't exist without narration, but with narration, comes across as something that many find disagreeable. So what do you do? Take out the narration? Design a more cohesive show? Is it possible to turn what they have now into a show that works without narration? I don't think so. I'm not sure if it's possible, and I'm not sure that if the show is left as it is that it will come across in the manner Hoppy would like. If nothing else, the Cadets are in for another adventure this summer. I hope they're all prepared... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerpCorpsNut Posted June 14, 2007 Share Posted June 14, 2007 I guess maybe I'm one of the few who has the ability to almost "tune out" the narration... I don't even remember much of what they say. Fortunate for me, because I'm really loving this horn book. I was expecting much worse when it came to all the narration, quite honestly. I'm not a huge fan, but it's something I can deal with, tolerate, etc., and I can't wait to see it live at Annapolis. I agree with KingJoe about listening to it as part of the music instead of something over it. There are some parts where I think it fits well. Doesn't mean I want it there, and it sure doesn't mean that I think anyone else needs to accept it and be happy, but I've found a way to enjoy the show myself and maybe some others here will eventually be able to do the same. (Sidenote to C.M.A. - this is in NO way a flame to anyone who hates the narration and says s/he will not enjoy the show because of it... just my opinion.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psidancer Posted June 14, 2007 Share Posted June 14, 2007 A show should be designed to create the moods and feelings the designers want to convery. If the designers think that including narration is the best way to convey whatever it is they are looking convey, so be it. If not, also so be it. "Your lyrics lack subtlety. You can't just have your characters announce how they feel! That makes me feel angry!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meaghatron Posted June 14, 2007 Share Posted June 14, 2007 I guess maybe I'm one of the few who has the ability to almost "tune out" the narration... I don't even remember much of what they say. Fortunate for me, because I'm really loving this horn book.I was expecting much worse when it came to all the narration, quite honestly. I'm not a huge fan, but it's something I can deal with, tolerate, etc., and I can't wait to see it live at Annapolis. I agree with KingJoe about listening to it as part of the music instead of something over it. There are some parts where I think it fits well. Doesn't mean I want it there, and it sure doesn't mean that I think anyone else needs to accept it and be happy, but I've found a way to enjoy the show myself and maybe some others here will eventually be able to do the same. (Sidenote to C.M.A. - this is in NO way a flame to anyone who hates the narration and says s/he will not enjoy the show because of it... just my opinion.) It's very hard to hear narration as part of the music, rather than on top of it. If you do that, then just sing it. Make it an actual song. Talking just detracts from the (excellent) music, IMO. I feel like I'm trying to listen to a show, and rude people around me keep talking. I just want to turn it off. :( It seems like there's more narration in the first 30 seconds than there was in the entire Cadets show from last year (sans the singing during the ballad). The music is wonderful... just play it! (Pretty please!) I'll be looking foward to the final project come August though. Maybe they'll win me over. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bawker Posted June 14, 2007 Share Posted June 14, 2007 "Your lyrics lack subtlety. You can't just have your characters announce how they feel! That makes me feel angry!" Winner. :lolhit: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dccorpsfan Posted June 14, 2007 Share Posted June 14, 2007 "Your lyrics lack subtlety. You can't just have your characters announce how they feel! That makes me feel angry!" Exactly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerpCorpsNut Posted June 14, 2007 Share Posted June 14, 2007 It's very hard to hear narration as part of the music, rather than on top of it. If you do that, then just sing it. Make it an actual song. Talking just detracts from the (excellent) music, IMO. I feel like I'm trying to listen to a show, and rude people around me keep talking. I just want to turn it off. :(It seems like there's more narration in the first 30 seconds than there was in the entire Cadets show from last year (sans the singing during the ballad). The music is wonderful... just play it! (Pretty please!) I'll be looking foward to the final project come August though. Maybe they'll win me over. :) I totally understand this sentiment. I didn't like the narration from last year so much, and found that difficult to like, but for some reason I don't mind it so much this year. IMO, even though there is a crapload more of it this time around, it fits with the show more and is better integrated. I'd rather it not be there, but it's going to be and I can't change that, so darnit I'm going to enjoy this show because the music makes it worth enjoying, despite everything else :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobrien Posted June 14, 2007 Share Posted June 14, 2007 (edited) Why it doesn't work, when it doesn't work. 1. The sound quality of the amplification system they have is one step up from a portable PA system. If you have professional sounds coming from the rest of the performance, and a styrofoam-like series of voice-overs projecting from the speakers, you have a mis-match of sizable proportion. It only makes the vocal work sound worse in comparison, which takes some work since... 2. Some of the phrases given to the performers don't border on inane; they're definitions of inanity itself. 3. There's just way too much at this point. If there's just a lot of voiceover work, but no emotional or linear reason for the specific phrases coming out, they all become white noise that has to be listened around rather than listened to. I'd hope that once they throw it on the field, that the staff will recognize where to start cutting back. Historically, they've been pretty smart about knowing where to change things, so I'd imagine that by the time they hit Pasadena, this show will still end up being fairly competitive. Should be a very good year for all concerned in this activity. Edited June 14, 2007 by mobrien Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingJoeVII Posted June 14, 2007 Share Posted June 14, 2007 (edited) It's very hard to hear narration as part of the music, rather than on top of it. If you do that, then just sing it. Make it an actual song. as I remember from last year, this was unacceptable to many people as well...(not necessarily you, but by a good amount of people) Edited June 14, 2007 by KingJoeVII Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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