10-15-2012, 03:09 AM
(10-13-2012, 10:58 PM)Kevin Wrote: What is funny is that some of the stuff that was in that video wouldn't be considered all that challenging for competition level stuff. I always found it a bit humorous that the things that tended to score highly in the competitions were things that just weren't as interesting for fans at half time shows. I can't fully blame them because some of the difficulties of the technical marching and performance is lost to people that don't know/care about it. Fortunately the directors from the Scouts realized this too and we would do "simpler" stuff that was very easy to visually get for the halftime shows. So things like spell stuff, or a clear image that went with the music. My favorite was doing two football helmets, one with our school logo, one with the opponents and having them collide with the opponents "shattering." Looked very cool and did have some difficulty in execution too and the crowd loved it.
So true. Marching into a picture form is not particularly difficult. But crowds like a picture that matches the music in a way they understand. They don't always appreciate the abstract, regardless of technical merit. I think that is a big part of college marching band. Everyone has a certain style and traditions that they want to uphold, and beyond that it is about entertaining a crowd of football fans.
Sometimes band geeks want to make the direct comparison to the world class DCI groups. Maybe we get it more with Ohio State because of that TBDBITL moniker. "That show was alright but have you seen what the Blue Devils did last year?" It's kind of an apple to oranges comparison. These halftime shows are put together in one or two weeks, while school is in session. New show for every home game. If you throw in too much technical stuff there is no time to get it right. That applies to the music itself as well as the drill. But funny thing is most football fans would like this show better than a Blue Devils world championship show anyway.